Sri Lankan AI News Summary.

SRI LANKA DAILY NEWS DIGEST — Thursday, October 8, 2026 TOP STORY: FORMER FIRST LADY REMANDED Shiranthi Rajapaksa, wife of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) over allegations relating to the failure to provide a CT scanner intended for the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children. Colombo Additional Magistrate Darshima Premaratne ordered her remanded until October 13. A former NSB Chairman arrested in the same matter was granted bail. Her defence counsel, President's Counsel Anil Silva, told court no corruption was involved, saying the money remains in the 'Siriliya Saviya' account at the Suduwella branch. Of the Rs. 160 million needed for the scanner, only Rs. 42 million had been collected by 2014, after which the account was frozen following a complaint made after the change of government. In a separate CIABOC case, former Foreign Affairs Minister Rohitha Bogollagama has been remanded until the conclusion of his trial. Commentators note the cluster of high-profile cases reflects the rule-of-law agenda of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's government. GNANASARA THERA DE-ROBING SPARKS DISPUTE The Mahanayaka Theras of the four main Nikayas have objected to Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera being produced in court in lay attire following his imprisonment. Most Ven. Medagama Dhammananda Thera, Secretary of the Asgiri Chapter, questioned the legal basis for removing his robe, and PHU General Secretary Udaya Gammanpila called the move contrary to the law and the Constitution. Prisons Media Spokesman and Commissioner Senaka Pallathtenna responded that anyone serving a sentence of more than three years must wear the prison uniform in court regardless of status — including, he said, the President. POLITICS AND COURTS Court of Appeal contempt proceedings against six people — including former Ministers Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila and MP Dilith Jayaweera — over allegedly false and contemptuous statements on the Easter Sunday attack proceedings were fixed for October 15. SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa told Parliament the government cannot sustain politics by suppressing its opponents. Separately, MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake said the Presidential Secretariat is to obtain 16 vehicles on lease. ECONOMY AND BUSINESS The Colombo Stock Exchange fell further on October 7, with both benchmark indices closing lower and the ASPI sliding towards 20,500 as selling pressure built through the session. Boston Consulting Group and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce released a new market study showing consumption has rebounded to a record Rs. 9 trillion, six years after BCG's first assessment in 2020. The Board of Investment is fast-tracking two Export Processing Zones at Paranthan and Kankasanthurai in the Northern Province, with internal infrastructure work scheduled. The Export Development Board has appointed 24 new Advisory Committees for 2026–2029 as it pushes towards a US$36 billion export target. The government is seeking legal advice on action against private fuel companies restricting supplies, under existing agreements and powers vested in the Ministry by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation Act. SPORT Sri Lanka's women's Under-19 side, captained by Chamudi Praboda, meets Bangladesh today in a T20 Tri-Series fixture, aiming for a second straight win. In tennis, Methuli Naotunne and Kiara Jayamanne knocked out the top two Indian seeds in the girls' singles quarter-finals of the ATF 16 & Under tournament in Colombo. ALSO TODAY Public Health Inspectors ordered the temporary closure of an eatery near a long-distance bus stop in Hunnasgiriya over unsanitary conditions. WORLD Belgian-born physicist Prof Francis Halzen won the Nobel Prize in Physics for pioneering work on an observatory that detects "ghost particles" from space, shedding light on the distant universe.