Apr 5 (ST) As Sri Lankans prepare to celebrate the upcoming National New Year, the NPP govt is facing multi-pronged challenges that threaten to unleash disastrous consequences for the country in the coming weeks. One of the most pressing is a potential electricity crisis that may result in scheduled power cuts having to be imposed for a prolonged period. Last Sunday, the govt officially launched its Surakimu Lanka more..

Apr 5 (ST) China this week stepped in to offer Sri Lanka fuel stocks on a priority basis in a bid to maintain stable fuel supplies. China’s Ambassador Qi Zhenhong met President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath yesterday to assure support to Sri Lanka, given its perilous situation in obtaining adequate fuel stocks. This was after Sri Lanka also sought assistance from China in addition to seeking support from India and Russia. more..

Apr 5 (AD) The strike launched by the GMOA against the appointment system for doctors who have completed their internship lacks any basis for discussion, Minister of Health and Mass Media, Nalinda Jayatissa has stated. The Health Minister said that if there are concerns regarding the system, the GMOA should resolve the issue through the courts instead of taking patients’ lives hostage. Expressing his views today (4) on the trade union action, Minister Jayatissa stated that more..

Apr 5 (TM) Sri Lanka will not seek additional financial assistance from the IMF despite recent disaster-related pressures, according to Finance Ministry officials, who maintain that the country’s recovery programme remains on track within its existing financial framework. Ministry of Finance Dept of Fiscal Policy Director General Dr. Kapila Senanayake said that the Govt had no immediate plans to request further funding, more..

Apr 5 (ST) Sri Lanka has turned down a Russian offer to go nuclear in the energy sector after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko, who was on a visit to SL recently, said discussions could begin should SL express an interest in obtaining a small modular nuclear power plant for the country. Talks with Russia for a small nuclear plant have been ongoing for several years. Russian Ambassador Levan S. Dzhagaryan, who met with Minister Vijitha Herath early March more..

Apr 5 (SO) Security will be stepped up across the country as Christians celebrate Easter Sunday today, with police and military personnel deployed in and around churches following special instructions issued by the IGP Priyantha Weerasuriya. IGP has directed all police stations to implement heightened security measures, particularly in areas surrounding Christian places of worship. The authorities said that the measures are precautionary to ensure the safety of worshippers. more..

Apr 5 (Island) The internationally recognized Walk for Peace, originating from the US, is set to take place in Sri Lanka starting April 21, led by the Most Venerable Pańńakara Thero and a delegation of twelve monks from the Maha Sangha, President’s Media Division said. Spanning seven days across the island, this pilgrimage’s purpose and concept are guided by the Buddha’s teaching, Caratha bhikkhave carikam bahujana hitaya bahujana sukhaya lokanukampaya more..

Apr 5 (ST) Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, facing a significant drop in arrivals, wants the government to expedite a campaign to be launched to showcase the country as safe and open with no issues. Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators Association President Nalin Jayasundera said said that compared to last year they expect a drop this year due to the restrictions on air travel and increased fuel costs impacting arrivals from Europe, a traditional market for Sri Lanka. more..

Apr 5 (AD) Leader of Opposition, Sajith Premadasa attended the launch of book Searching for the Mastermind of the Easter Sunday Attacks, authored by Udaya Gammanpila, leader of the of PHU, confirmed SJB MP Mujibur Rahman confirmed. The confirmation comes after some SJB members claimed that Premadasa did not actually attend the event and that his presence was artificially created using AI technology. MP Rahman said: “You would have to ask him directly,” he said more..

Apr 5 (TM) Sri Lanka is haemorrhaging approximately $ 70 million monthly due to the conflict in the Middle East, SLTDA stated on Friday. To mitigate the impact on the tourism industry from Middle East tensions following the Israel-US war on Iran, SL authorities are scrambling to recalibrate tourism strategies by shifting focus towards Asian markets, where travel is less dependent on Middle Eastern transit hubs, more..

Apr 5 (DN) A speedy and environment friendly mechanism for the Biodegradable Waste Management was implemented jointly by the Govt and the private sector in the Sabaragamuwa Province. Under this mechanism, the Ratnapura MC and a private sector organisation Aqua Terra has implemented a pilot project recently at the Ratnapura Kanadola Waste Recycling Centre. With this novel method, larvae of a fly generally called Black Soldier is used to decompose Biodegradable more..

Apr 5 (EN) Sri Lanka’s exporters have met Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) officials to discuss concerns about fuel accessibility, distribution bottlenecks, and the need for a reliable and prioritized supply mechanism for export-oriented industries. The SL export Development Board (EDB) convened the meeting between the CPC and a broad cross-section of the export industry to discuss the current fuel distribution mechanism and its impact on the export sector. more..

Apr 5 (AD) Three suspects have been arrested by police along with 20 vehicles, including recently assembled luxury vehicles that were illegally put together. It has been revealed that the illegally assembled vehicles were used for organized criminal activities and that police officers and members of the armed forces had assisted in assembling these vehicles unlawfully. The arrested suspects are residents of Kadawatha, Gampaha and Ja-Ela. more..

Apr 5 (ST) When it comes to the controversial 2025-26 coal tender, the govt’s position is now clear: something may be wrong with the coal, but there was no fraud in the procurement. Guidelines were followed to the letter. The Sunday Times tracked the process, based on documents and interviews with officials, and found that a tender that typically takes a little over three months took seven months to conclude. more..

Apr 5 (NW) The 1990 Suwa Seriya Ambulance Service opened its new office in Horton Place, Colombo 07, on Friday. The office was inaugurated under the patronage of Health and Mass Media Minister Nalinda Jayatissa. Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Harsha de Silva and several other ministers and parliamentarians also attended the opening ceremony. Officials said the new office is expected to support the continued expansion and operations of the 1990 ambulance service. more..

Apr 5 (AD) Around 96% of medical graduates who recently completed their internship have applied for post-internship appointments, Ministry of Health stated. Applications for post-internship medical appointments closed at noon today (4), as scheduled by the Health Ministry. Accordingly, out of 453 doctors who completed their internship this year, 435, or 96%, successfully applied for appointments, Health Ministry said. Those who completed their internships will be assigned to new hospitals more..

Apr 5 (ST) The vehicle number plate issue in SL is transitioning from a 10-month delay in new number issuances to over 400,000 newly registered cars, vans, buses, lorries motor cycles, and three wheelers to a resumption phase, following the awarding of a new contract to South Asian Technologies (Pvt) Ltd. The market has been chaotic due to the delay in the issue of number plates, particularly owing to surging vehicle imports more..

Apr 5 (ST) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will hold an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) tomorrow to pass three key resolutions aimed at transforming governance, domestic competitions, and sports infrastructure in the country. The first resolution proposes amendments to the SLC Constitution to allow broader engagement in sports infrastructure projects both in SL and abroad. SLC seeks the mandate to promote, develop, and sustain cricket and other sports by more..

Apr 5 (SO) Thurstan College dominated the second day of the 63rd Battle of the Brothers Inter-School Big Match against traditional rivals Isipathana College, which continued at the SSC Grounds in Maitland Place yesterday. Isipathana, trailing by 117 runs on the first innings, finished the day struggling at 22 for two wickets in the second innings, needing a further 95 runs to make Thurstan bat again on the third and final day. Earlier, Thurstan went on to pile up a formidable 276 runs and more..

Apr 5 (TM) National Olympic Committee of SL (NOCSL) Vice President Shirantha Peries, a respected businessman and sports administrator, officially announced his candidacy for president of the NOCSL on Tuesday (31). Furthermore, he presented a clear and practical mandate to strengthen governance, unify federations, and elevate SL’s sporting performance on the global stage. With over four decades of professional experience, Peries is also the owner of more..

Apr 5 (Island) SL’s long-standing dominance in the men’s 400 metres received another major boost as talented young sprinters, led by Omel Shashintha, delivered outstanding performances at the Junior Selection Trial held at Diyagama earlier this week. The trial was conducted to select the national team for the upcoming Asian Junior Athletics Championships scheduled to be held in Hong Kong from May 28 to 31. The performances at the meet underlined that the 400 metres more..

Apr 5 (ST) The debate surrounding SLC's physical performance test took a new twist this week with fast bowler Nuwan Thushara suing the board for refusing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) after the sling-arm paceman failed to meet required fitness standards. What began as an internal fitness assessment to improve the physical standard of the cricketers, has now become a public debate about transparency, fairness and more importantly more..

Apr 5 (Island) Once more, a public gathering to discuss J. R. Jayewardene was held last week. A country that has written so extensively on this phenomenal figure should, prima facie, have at least one person who understands him properly. Echoing Pete Seeger, “Where have all the flowers gone?” It is necessary to understand these social phenomena as we were subjected to their decisions, with the question: why were they not able to achieve what other countries were able to do? more..

Apr 5 (CT) As Christians celebrate one of their most sacred religious events today, Sri Lanka still awaits justice for the 270 killed and the 500 injured, after the passage of seven years, in one of the most heinous atrocities carried out in the country against innocent people at prayer. The attack, carried out at several places of Christian religious worship, including the St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, the Zion Church in Batticaloa, and luxury hotels in Colombo, more..

Apr 5 (Island) Health Ministry and the GMOA are playing a game of chicken over doctors’ transfers. The GMOA is protesting against an alleged govt move to gain control of doctors’ transfer scheme. It insists that doctors’ transfers must be handled professionally, free from political interference, for the benefit of doctors and the public. Accusing the govt of trying to politicise doctors’ transfers for the benefit of the ruling party loyalists in health service, more..

Apr 5 (ST) My Dear Jayakody sahodaraya, I thought of writing to you because you have suddenly gone from being which Jayakody? to a person that everyone is talking about. Even our good old Maco referred to you as Prince Win Flag. Now though, there is no need for such disguises. The cat is out of the bag. You are in the limelight. You may wonder why many, including those who support the maalimaawa, are demanding your resignation. Please don’t misunderstand. more..

Apr 5 (ST) The Walk for Peace, a 110-day peace walk across 10 US states from Texas to Washington conducted by a group of Buddhist monks, captivating millions in that country and garnering worldwide attention, will take place in SL later this month. The Walk for Peace Programme in Sri Lanka will be undertaken by twelve monks led by the founder of the American peace walk, Venerable Pannakara Thero. more..

Apr 5 (CT) Many of us shaped by the JVP in the late 1960s and 1970s carry convictions that have never fully faded. We were young and angry at inequality. We were incensed by colonial economic legacies that persisted long after independence. We believed SL’s people deserved far better — socially, economically, and politically. Today, a party grown from those roots governs the country. The question before us is not whether we have arrived at the destination, but whether we are truly on the more..

Apr 5 (TM) Just 4 years later, the date that shook the foundations of SL’s political order has slipped quietly into obscurity. It was the night of 31 March 2022 that marked the historic rupture between the governed and those who governed. That anniversary passed last week without even the faintest acknowledgement from the country’s political leadership – no statements, no reflections, and worse, not a word from civil society or the so-called watchdogs that were aplenty, until recently. more..

Apr 5 (TM) Amidst some turbulent times politically and economically due to political as well as external challenges brought on by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, today (5) is a politically significant day for the JVP, which is the key coalition partner of the ruling NPP, as it is the 55th commemoration of April Heroes’ Day that marks the fallen comrades of the JVP’s 1971 insurgency. The party has organised April Heroes’ events more..

Apr 5 (ST) The war in West Asia has started taking a direct toll on ordinary citizens—the fuel quotas last week and, beginning this week, a steep increase in their electricity and gas bills. The knock-on effect is higher food prices and the resultant increase in the cost of living. The Govt has a convenient excuse—the war. Its critics say the Govt has taken advantage of the war to cover up its dismal handling of a coal tender that has aggravated the domestic fuel crisis. And to cap it all, more..

Apr 5 (SO) “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you” is a popular saying attributed to Leon Trotsky. Indeed, no country other than the US and Israel is interested in waging war against Iran, but the consequences of the war have affected practically everyone on the planet. Experts had warned that Iran would probably block the Strait of Hormuz to marine traffic, which includes oil tankers carrying 20% of the world’s crude and refined oil supply, apart from vessels carrying more..