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Chaminda Kularatne, Senior Attorney-at-Law, interdicted Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary-General of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, recently participated in the UNAM–IPSA RC08 International Workshop, “Parliaments in the Global South: Challenges and Transformations,” held in Mexico City, on 6–7 October 2026, where he presented his research on parliamentary democracy and legislative governance in Sri Lanka.
Kularatne has challenged his interdiction in the Court of Appeal.
Invited by the organisers to present his research, alongside internationally recognised academics and parliamentary scholars, Kularatne participated in his personal capacity as a PhD researcher at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
His research paper, “Executive Dominance and Legislative Constraints: The Transformation of Parliamentary Law-Making in Sri Lanka,” was presented on 06 October during the panel on “Representation and Executive Power.” The paper examined executive influence over parliamentary law-making, institutional constraints on legislative independence and the need to strengthen parliamentary accountability.
The workshop was organised by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), one of Latin America’s largest universities, in collaboration with Research Committee 08 of the International Political Science Association (IPSA). According to the organisers, the event brought together more than 100 participants from 36 countries.
Kularatne was among the invited presenters and panel participants at the workshop, alongside distinguished international academics, including Professor Irina Khmelko of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, United States; Professor Emma Crewe of SOAS University of London, United Kingdom; and Professor Khemvirg Puente Martínez of UNAM, Mexico. The workshop provided valuable opportunities for international academic exchanges on parliamentary democracy and comparative legislative systems.
Kularatne has also been granted associate membership of the International Political Science Association (IPSA), one of the world’s leading international academic organisations in political science, further facilitating international academic collaboration and professional engagement.
A significant highlight of Kularatne’s visit was his engagement with both chambers of the Mexican Congress, one of Latin America’s major legislative institutions.
On 07 October, he visited the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Mexican Congress, where he met senior parliamentary representatives and officials, including Alfonso Ramírez, a deputy leader in the Congress, and Hugo Rosas, Chief Clerk.
During the visit, Kularatne and the accompanying international academic delegation received a distinguished parliamentary welcome. They were invited into the parliamentary chamber during an ongoing sitting and were formally acknowledged and warmly welcomed by the President of the Chamber of Deputies.
The delegation also met representatives of both governing and opposition political parties, exchanging views on legislative procedures, parliamentary administration and democratic governance.
Kularatne described the occasion as an unprecedented experience for a Sri Lankan particularly the formal recognition extended inside the Mexican parliamentary chamber during a sitting. The visit provided a valuable opportunity to strengthen professional and academic connections between Sri Lanka and Mexico.
On 08 October, Kularatne also visited the Senate of Mexico, the upper house of the Mexican Congress, where he met Dr. Arturo Garita, Secretary-General for Parliamentary Services. Their discussions focused on parliamentary administration, legislative procedures and comparative parliamentary practices.
Kularatne is a Senior Attorney-at-Law with over 20 years of legal experience and a senior public servant with more than two decades of experience in parliamentary administration, diplomatic affairs and government service. He has held several senior positions in the Parliament of Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka High Commission in London, the Presidential Secretariat, the Prime Minister’s Office and other key government institutions.
He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management from the University of Colombo.
He is currently pursuing doctoral research at the University of Colombo on strengthening parliamentary democracy through private members’ legislation in Sri Lanka, with comparative reference to the United Kingdom and India. His research is supervised by Professor Nishantha Sampath Punchihewa, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, and Professor Sanath Wijesinghe of the Department of Legal Studies, the Open University of Sri Lanka.
Kularatne is currently under interdiction from his position as Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary-General of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He has challenged the interdiction before the Court of Appeal. According to his petition filed before the Court, he maintains that the interdiction arose from a personal dispute with the Speaker of Parliament, Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne. The case is scheduled to be taken up for support before the Court of Appeal on 15 October 2026.
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The opening ceremony of the 63rd General Assembly of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) was held in Colombo on Sunday morning (01), under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Representatives from 225 electronic media organisations across 66 countries affiliated with the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union are participating in the conference.
The conference is set to hold extensive discussions on technological advancements in the regional media industry, sports broadcasting and media content, as well as current challenges facing the sector, including the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the media and cyber security.
Several technical and expert committee sessions were also held on 30 and 31 October, alongside the General Assembly.
A commemorative memento was presented to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to mark his participation in the opening ceremony of the General Assembly.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath, foreign ambassadors, government officials, heads of the security forces and media industry representatives also attended the event.
Appointment letters were presented to 2,819 trainee nurses from the 2020 student nursing cohort, who completed the three-year Higher Diploma course at nursing colleges under the Ministry of Health and Mass Media, recruiting them to the Sri Lankan health service as Grade III nursing officers.
The ceremony was held at Temple Trees on Sunday morning (01), under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The 2,819 nursing officers who were appointed had sat the GCE Advanced Level examination in the Science and Mathematics streams in 2019 and 2020. They entered 16 nursing colleges across the island in 2023 and successfully completed the three-year Higher Diploma course.
The newly appointed nursing officers will be assigned to hospitals and healthcare institutions across the island administered by the central government and provincial councils.
Alongside the presentation of these appointment letters, promotion letters were also presented, under the patronage of the President, to 76 Grade I nursing officers (Hospital Services) for promotion to the Special Grade of nursing officers (Hospital Services).
Addressing the event, Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr Nalinda Jayatissa said that steps had been expedited to fill vacancies in order to address staff shortages across the country’s hospital system and provide the public with a higher-quality healthcare service.
The Minister noted that, since 2017, the Ministry had given special attention to filling vacancies in the nursing service.
He further stated that, in line with the health policy and strategic plans for the next decade (2025–2035), staffing requirements had been forecast using scientific data. Accordingly, arrangements had been made, subject to the approval of the Department of Management Services of the Ministry of Finance, to recruit 13,000 personnel to the nursing service over the three-year period from 2027 to 2029.
Deputy Minister of Health Dr Hansaka Wijemuni, Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Mass Media Dr Anil Jasinghe, and several additional secretaries, deputy directors-general and other ministry officials attended the event.
At least 21,356 people from 5,800 families have been affected by adverse weather and Cyclonic Storm ‘Arnab’ across Sri Lanka, as a new Cyclone, named ‘Murasu,’ intensifies over the Bay of Bengal, prompting a red-level warning for strong winds and rough seas.
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said six people had died, eight were injured and three remained missing in weather-related incidents, between October 23 and November 01.
The adverse weather has affected 137 Divisional Secretariat Divisions, in 19 districts, while eight houses have been completely destroyed and another 737 partially damaged.
Ratnapura remains the worst affected district, with 10,051 people, from 2,666 families, affected across 15 Divisional Secretariat Divisions. Puttalam follows, with 6,900 people, from 1,850 families, affected across 11 divisions.
Meanwhile, the Department of Meteorology yesterday issued a red-level warning for strong winds and rough seas, following the intensification of the deep depression over the Southeast Bay of Bengal into Cyclone ‘Murasu’.
The warning, issued at 3 p.m. yesterday by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre, will remain valid for 24 hours.
The Cyclone was located near latitude 12.1°N and longitude 85.3°E at 11.30 a.m., yesterday, and was moving west-northwestwards.
The Meteorology Department said ‘Murasu’ was very likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm over the West-central Bay of Bengal today (02).
The system is thereafter expected to move northwestwards, and cross the Andhra Pradesh coast of India, as a severe cyclonic storm, between midnight on November 02 and the early hours of November 03.
The Department warned that winds in the affected sea areas could reach 70–80 kmph, accompanied by heavy thundershowers and very rough seas.
Naval and fishing communities have been strongly advised not to venture into deep-sea areas bounded by 10°N–15°N and 80°E–90°E until further notice.
Those already operating in the affected areas have been urged to move to safer locations.
The warning also covers deep-sea areas, extending from Mannar to Trincomalee, via Kankesanthurai, where fishing and naval communities have been advised to remain vigilant and closely monitor weather forecasts and further advisories.The Department urged all those operating at sea to follow official warnings as the Cyclone continues to intensify.
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