Planters’ Association Chairman proposes 5-point plan for industry revival at 172nd AGM

Malwatte Valley Plantations PLC Director / CEO, Shanaka Samaradiwakara was appointed as Chairman of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PAC), while Kahawatte Plantations PLC Director / CEO Binesh Pananwala, was appointed as Deputy Chairman at the Association’s 172nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 19 September at the Cinnamon Grand.

The event was graced by Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe and Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman, Raj Obeyesekere as Chief Guest and Guest of Honour respectively.

In his inaugural address, Samaradiwakara outlined a five-point vision for the plantation sector, focusing on value addition, research and development, land-use and productivity, irrigation and long-term security of tenure. He emphasised that the future of commercial agriculture in Sri Lanka would hinge on how effectively all industry stakeholders could work together, while maintaining clear understanding of the ground realities faced by producers.

Value-added tea accounted for more than 50% of total tea export volumes in 2025. Samaradiwakara noted Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) have accounted for the majority of that volume through continuous investments, including most recently in matcha, green tea and artisanal teas.

In that context, he sought the support of the Sri Lanka Tea Board and the export sector to protect this emerging high value segment, given that significant quantities of green tea and other high-value teas remain unsold at auction while similar products continue to enter the country. “We respectfully request the authorities to review this matter and introduce appropriate measures to support domestic production and value addition,” he stated.

On research and development, he observed that commercially viable alternatives to several essential crop protection products remain limited. Accordingly, he called on the Tea, Rubber and Coconut Research Institutes to lead the development of practical, scientifically proven alternatives, while stressing that disease threatening the rubber industry requires immediate attention. “We cannot afford to repeat the experience of the coffee industry, where coffee blight devastated the sector,” he added.

Turning to issues around land-use policies and productivity, he noted that RPCs have diversified for over two decades in response to changing rainfall patterns, introducing crops such as oil palm, pepper and avocado. He warned that these investments are increasingly threatened by unsupportive policy, agricultural theft and crop damage by wild animals, costing companies millions of rupees each month in security. “It is imperative that these investments are protected through strong enforcement, appropriate regulatory reforms, and effective measures to address both agricultural theft and crop damage,” he noted. On irrigation, he appealed to the Government to relax archaic restrictions on groundwater use and simplify approvals for drilling tube wells in order to enhance climate resilience.

Addressing security of tenure, he highlighted that replanting often takes more than a decade to generate meaningful revenue, and that uncertainty over lease extensions is making it harder for RPCs to attract foreign direct investment and long-term financing. “If we are to attract fresh capital, accelerate replanting, modernise our plantations and improve productivity, security and certainty of tenure are mandatory,” he added.

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England 119/2 in 20 overs

England had moved to 119 for two at the end of 20 overs after electing to bat first in the first ODI against Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street yesterday.

Captain Kusal Mendis returned to the side after a long injury lay off while Sri Lanka handed over debut to leg-spin bowler Sachindu Colombage.

Captain Harry Brook was unbeaten on 35 with Joe Root on 41.

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Police may seek clarification from US

C’mbo Port ‘Ice’ detection:

By Shamindra Ferdinando

A senior police official said that the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), inquiring into alleged loopholes and irregularities in the August 31 raid carried out at the Colombo Port, might seek clarification from the US Embassy here.

The official said so responding to The Island query regarding the need for the SIU to get in touch with the US against the backdrop of its own admission that Senior DIG Ranmal Kodituwakku had been informed by the US Drug Enforcement Administration regarding the drug stash on 31 August.

The official said that the SIU already recorded SDIG Kodituwakku’s statement in connection with the investigation.

Earlier, the US Embassy in Colombo declined to comment on the SIU probe into the recent narcotics detection jointly made at the China-managed Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) by the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Delhi Country Office and the Sri Lanka Police.

US Embassy spokesperson said that the mission wouldn’t add to their press release, issued on 02 September, in the immediate aftermath of the raid.

Police Headquarters, on 11 September, declared that the Central Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) was conducting investigations into the recovery of 463 kg of Crystal Methamphetamine (‘Ice’). Police never acknowledged the role played by the US in the operation.

Among those arrested in connection with the Colombo Port narcotics detection were three Pakistani passport holders. In our previous report, regarding the Colombo Port detection, we inadvertently stated that the police didn’t acknowledge the role played by the US.

The police official said that once the IGP received the SIU report, he would take necessary action, depending on the findings.

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Trump LIVE: Andy Burnham makes dramatic U-turn on US President ahead of first-ever meeting

Burnham will meet Trump for the first time at the UN General Assembly, having previously been critical of the US leader during his time as Mayor of Manchester.

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Three arrested with ‘Ice’ over Kotahena murder

By Norman Palihawadane

Two main suspects, wanted in connection with the murder of a man in Kotahena, and another person who allegedly aided and abetted the crime, have been arrested with 28.6 grammes of ‘Ice’ (crystal methamphetamine).

The arrests followed an investigation into the killing. The victim was hacked to death, in Kotahena, on September 14.

Acting on information gathered during the investigation, police arrested the three suspects in separate raids conducted in Grandpass, Kolonnawa and Mattakkuliya.

Police also recovered 28 grammes and 600 milligrammes of ‘Ice’ from the suspects.

The suspects, aged 19, 25 and 39, are residents of Mattakkuliya, Colombo 14, and Kolonnawa, police said.

Kotahena Police are conducting further investigations.

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In the Iran war, a tale of old American dilemmas

Japan in 1945 and Iran today are fundamentally different cases. Nor can the atomic bomb of 1945 simply be compared with today’s sophisticated nuclear arsenals.

By By Milinda Moragoda

Eight decades ago, US President Harry S Truman faced a decision that would change the nature of warfare forever.

Japan was still fighting after the surrender of Nazi Germany. The US possessed a weapon unlike anything the world had seen. Truman and his advisers had to decide how best to use America’s overwhelming military power to end the war.

Today, Donald Trump faces a different problem. Iran has suffered substantial military damage, but military success has not translated into the decisive political outcome the US seeks.

Japan in 1945 and Iran today are fundamentally different cases. Nor can the atomic bomb of 1945 simply be compared with today’s sophisticated nuclear arsenals.

Yet, there is a common strategic problem: How does a great power turn military superiority into a political outcome? If Washington were pushed into a corner — by the cost of the conflict, the inability to compel Iran’s submission or pressure to demonstrate that American power can still deliver a decisive result — the temptation to consider previously unacceptable options could arise.

What would other nuclear powers learn if the nuclear threshold were crossed? The decision-making process surrounding Truman was more complex than the familiar image of a President simply deciding whether to drop the bomb. The views of members of the administration, military leaders and the scientific community were all sought, and they were not identical. The principal US objective was to force Japan to surrender while avoiding the heavy American casualties that an invasion was expected to entail.

An atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6. Japan did not immediately surrender. Three days later, Nagasaki was struck. Around the same time, the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan. The sequence matters. Even unprecedented destruction does not automatically translate into political capitulation. Japan’s surrender followed a combination of factors. The decision also had consequences beyond Japan. Moscow was watching. At Potsdam, Truman informed Stalin that the US possessed a powerful new weapon. US officials understood that possession and use of the bomb could affect the emerging relationship with the Soviet Union. Some policymakers hoped that America’s nuclear monopoly might strengthen Washington’s position in dealing with Moscow.

It would be wrong to reduce Hiroshima and Nagasaki to a message to Stalin. The historical debate over “atomic diplomacy” remains contested. But it would be equally wrong to assume that the Soviet Union was absent from American strategic calculations.

We cannot know what is being said privately in the White House, nor should we invent positions for advisers whose deliberations are not public. Trump has not publicly advocated the use of nuclear weapons against Iran. But the possibility has nevertheless entered public debate as the conflict has remained unresolved.

Any American administration confronting an inconclusive conflict with Iran would have to consider not only what further military action might achieve in Iran, but also what its consequences would be elsewhere. Capitals around the world would ask whether an American action demonstrated restraint, established a new threshold or created a precedent. They would examine whether escalation produced political results or merely greater destruction.

The most consequential message may be the precedent that other States believe has been established.

For almost eight decades, nuclear weapons have occupied a peculiar place in international politics: Their paradoxical purpose has been to ensure that they are never used. If that understanding were to change, the consequences would extend far beyond the country against which a weapon was used. Other nuclear powers would examine the circumstances, the justification offered, the international response and, above all, whether nuclear use achieved its political objective. India has its own nuclear doctrine and strategic assumptions. If the circumstances in which nuclear weapons could be contemplated were to change elsewhere, New Delhi would have to examine what that meant for its own security. That would require a serious debate about deterrence, escalation and thresholds.

A great-power action can have several audiences at once. An adversary may see a warning. An ally may see reassurance. A rival may see an opportunity — or a precedent. The meaning of an action is never entirely controlled by the power that takes it. The world of 2026 is also very different from that of 1945. Information travels instantly, and every major use of force is subject to scrutiny by far more actors, each making its own calculations. Military superiority can destroy an adversary’s capacity to fight. It cannot, by itself, determine what comes after the fighting. That is the enduring problem of converting power into political order.

(Milinda Moragoda is founder of the Pathfinder Foundation, strategic affairs think tank. can be contacted via . courtesy Hindustan Times)

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Immigration official arrested over alleged illegal passport for criminal

By Norman Palihawadane

An Assistant Controller of the Department of Immigration and Emigration has been arrested by the CID for allegedly assisting in the preparation of an illegal passport for an organised criminal.

The suspect was arrested on Thursday (17) by officers of the CID’s Special Investigations Unit at the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

Police identified the suspect as a 42-year-old resident of Gampaha.

The CID’s Special Investigations Unit is conducting further investigations into the incident.

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