Apr 8 (TM) Govt has warned all businesses – large, medium, and small – as well as individuals, to settle any outstanding tax payments. Those who fail to fulfil their tax obligations will face serious legal consequences. Govt official said that no entity – whether a State or private institution, or an individual – would be exempt from the tax structure. All taxpayers were required to comply with their responsibilities to avoid facing legal action. more..

Apr 8 (FT) In 1850, the French economist and statesman, Frédéric Bastiat, distinguished a bad economist from a good economist by looking at how he will consider the consequences of an economic policy. He said that a bad economist will consider only the consequences that can be seen immediately, and a good economist will consider both the immediate consequences and those that can be foreseen.1 It seems that President Donald Trump and his economic advisors fall into more..

Apr 8 (DM) Pity Wijeweera, late leader of the JVP, whose life came to an end in 1989. The late Wijeweera feared our giant neighbour India. He claimed India had expansionist intentions and even wrote chapters on the subject in his own little red book. Members of his organisation took these anti-Indian essays so seriously that during the 1988-1990 reign of terror, our countrymen and women, on the pain of death, were forced to refer to the name of the vegetable Bombay Onion as ‘B’ Onion. more..

Apr 8 (DM) Indian PM Narendra Modi’s week-end visit to SL proved to be quite a success according to print and electronic media reports. The highlights of the two-day trip from Friday (4) to Sunday (6) were the signing of a MoU on defence cooperation that recognised the inter-linked nature of national security of both countries and the conferment of the Sri Lanka Mitra Vibhushana award upon the Indian PM by Prez Anura Kumara more..

Apr 8 (CT) SL’s Police have had a less-than-desirable image when it comes to citizens dying while in Police custody, with multiple such instances happening each year and several in the past causing wide public outcry. With the most recent incident involving a young man who died while in the custody of the Welikada Police, we must once again consider if we have done enough to truly be accountable and transparent for the safety of those who have been placed under police custody. more..

Apr 8 (TM) The last six years have been tough for SL. We have seen the disastrous security failures of 2019 and the aftermath of mismanaging accountability pre/post incident, weathered Covid-19 pandemic, survived the ensuing socio-political climate, was battered, bruised and brought to our knees by the worst economic crisis. We had just managed to get on track towards recovery, when the US Prez took a baseball bat to the world trade order and slapped a 44% tariff on SL exports to US. more..

Apr 7 (FT) Ties between SL and India have reached a new high following the successful visit by PM Narendra Modi who reinforced his country’s commitment to strengthen relations aided by additional support. After an eventful 3 days, Modi flew back in what was a historic visit, being the first global leader to set foot in SL following the election of Prez Anura Kumara Disanayake and NPP Govt, whose members previously castigated more..

Apr 7 (ST) The SL media was blocked out from covering Indian PM Narendra Modi’s visit, with the President’s Media Division (PMD) taking full control of the coverage and failing dismally in coordinating events with local journalists. While the Indian HC coordinated the Indian media personnel, an entourage of around 30, many travelling with their prime minister, SL media was left to its own devices, given access to cover only the ceremonial welcome at Independence Square. more..

Apr 7 (FT) Ceylon National Chamber of Industries (CNCI) has urged the Govt to take immediate steps to resolve crisis emanating from the imposition of high 44% tariff by the US President Donald Trump on Sri Lankan products. “SL has been assigned a 44% ad valorem tariff on its exports to the US. This is one of the highest rates among all countries targeted. This has created a serious threat to the country’s export competitiveness, employment, and overall economic stability. more..

Apr 7 (TM) Acting IGP SDIG Priyantha Weerasooriya has submitted a recommendation to the Ministry of Public Security to be presented to the National Police Commission (NPC), seeking to remove the OIC of the Welikada Police station, following a custodial death of suspect arrested in Nugegoda, Police Dept said. Police said that the Acting IGP has also directed the CID to take over the investigations and has also more..

Apr 7 (Island) Former ministers Champika Ranawaka and retired Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera, over the weekend, said that SL shouldn’t under any circumstances enter into a MoU on Defence Cooperation with any country. Responding to media queries in support of LG candidates, Ranawaka said that the MoU could place SL at an extremely vulnerable position as the world and regional powers battled for supremacy in the Indian Ocean. more..

Apr 7 (NW) National People’s Power (NPP) Parliamentarian Kosala Nuwan has passed away at the age of 38, hospital sources confirmed. He was reportedly admitted to the Karawanella Hospital following a sudden heart attack and was pronounced dead shortly after. Kosala Nuwan was a newly elected MP and a prominent youth figure within the NPP. Further details are awaited. more..

Apr 7 (FT) Seafood Exporters’ Association of SL has urged Prez Anura Kumara Disanayake to immediately negotiate with the US Govt to reduce the high 44% reciprocal tariff. In a letter to the President the SEASL has requested him to negotiate with the US to take the tariff back to zero or to a minimum so that industry can continue to grow the sector and reach the target of $ 650 million in exports and create over 15,000 skilled jobs by 2028. The written representations was made by more..

Apr 7 (ST) US Department of State honoured Sunday Times Deputy Editor-Investigations Namini Wijedasa, among eight women, at the 19th Annual International Women of Courage Award Ceremony this week in Washington DC. Held at the Benjamin Franklin Room of the US State Department in the presence of First Lady Melania Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the eight women leaders from around the world were celebrated for their extraordinary courage and leadership more..

Apr 7 (ST) On Wednesday, Sunday Times received from a source a cloud storage link that contained thousands of explicit images illicitly obtained and shared without consent. The storage link had 9,605 files in 500 folders, adding up to 10 GB of data. Photos were separated into folders with the alleged name of the girl or woman in the image and, in some cases, their Instagram handle. Storage was created on Mega Cloud Services more..

Apr 7 (FT) Leading business magazine LMD reports that business confidence has dropped a few rungs after briefly matching its all-time high. In the aftermath of the Budget 2025, LMD Business Confidence Index (BCI) fell from February’s record-equalling high of 204, shedding seven basis points to settle at 197 in March, it notes. “Despite the dip, however, the index stands 74 points above its historical median (123) and is 59 points higher than the 12-month average of 138. more..

Apr 7 (CT) Hemas Hospitals Group has marked a major milestone in Sri Lanka’s healthcare sector with a Rs 1 billion investment in its Wattala facility, unveiling the country’s most technologically advanced catheterisation laboratory. The facility, which houses the Philips Azurion 7 imaging system, enables a record 60-minute door-to-balloon time for cardiac emergencies — outperforming global benchmarks by 30 minutes. It also reduces radiation exposure by 67% through innovations more..

Apr 7 (Hindu) MDMK General Secretary Vaiko on Sunday condemned the MoU signed between India and SL for defence cooperation during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the neighbouring island nation. In a statement, Vaiko said Modi visited SL and held talks with Prez Anura Kumara Disanayake. The two sides signed seven MoUs which included cooperation between the defence forces of two nations. “It was the SL defence forces that massacred over 1.37 lakh SL Tamils [during the civil war] and more..

Apr 7 (TM) Brilliant scrum-half Heshan Jansen scored a game changing try in stoppage time with scores at 34-33, as Kandy SC withstood a fierce challenge from CR and FC, to win 41-33, in a pulsating Inter-Club Clifford Cup Knockout final at Nittawela yesterday. With this stirring victory last evening, Kandy SC also reclaimed the Clifford Cup for the first time in seven years, as they clinched the double to back up their outstanding league championship success, with an unbeaten run. more..

Apr 7 (CT) SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva expressed mixed emotions over the official opening of the Prabashwara agricultural warehouse complex in Dambulla, a major infrastructure project he had championed during his tenure in the Opposition. Dr. de Silva described the moment as another historic day in his life and said he was sincerely happy to witness launch of temperature – & humidity-controlled facility, more..

Apr 7 (ST) Sunshine Holdings PLC is aggressively expanding into the pharmaceutical sector and consolidating its superior position while aiming to collaborate with international partners to look at other new products. “We are looking for products of complexity (international partnerships) where there could be technology transfer, as in biosimilars, such as insulin, Sunshine Holdings PLC Group CEO, Shyam Sathasivam, said in an interview on Wednesday in Colombo. more..

Apr 7 (DM) SL, facing 2 weather patterns of high heat and thunderstorms at the same time, is expected to continue for the month of April, an official from the Dept of Meteorology said. Meteorologist Malith Fernando said that SL has almost no wind pattern this month and due to wind patterns being low the heat is felt even more than that with windy weather. The humidity in SL has also increased in comparison to the previous year, with high-end temperatures reaching above 30C. more..

Apr 7 (DM) A stock of 50,000 kilograms of large shrimp, previously recommended for destruction, was discovered stored in two containers and being transported to the Peliyagoda Fish Market Complex, allegedly to be sold to the public. The raid was carried out by officers from the CAA, which has since launched an investigation into the incident involving the shrimp containers at the Colombo Port. Shrimp was found being fed into machinery more..

Apr 7 (CT) As the country prepares to celebrate the Sinhala and Hindu New Year, the charm of traditional batik and handloom clothing once again comes into focus. Colourful shirts, sarees, sarongs and lungis — woven or dyed with care — grace shop windows and wardrobes. These are more than just clothes. They are works of art. They are a proud expression of SL culture and identity. Despite their popularity, the batik and handloom industries are struggling. High production costs, labour shortages, more..

Apr 7 (AD) PM of India Narendra Modi has proposed to exhibit sacred relics of the Lord Buddha that were discovered in the 1960s in Gujarat. Indian Prime Modi along with Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake paid homage to the sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura this morning (6) and received blessings. Following his visit to the sacred site, PM Modi proceeded to the Udamaluwa, where he had an audience with the Chief Incumbent Most Venerable Dr. Pallegama Hemarathana Nayaka Thera, for a cordial discussion. more..

Apr 7 (TM) The spectre of custodial deaths has long haunted the law enforcement system of SL. It is a symptom of a systematic sub-culture of impunity and lack of accountability, which has been long entrenched in the SL Police. Custodial deaths and forced confessions and the SL Police have a long-standing relationship. The practice of beating out a confession is nothing new to most law enforcement forces which were modelled under colonial policing objectives. more..

Apr 7 (Island) Indian PM Narendra Modi’s SL visit saw the signing of seven MoUs between New Delhi and Colombo. Prominent among them are the MoU on the implementation of HVDC Interconnection for import/export of power, the MoU on cooperation among the gots of India, SL, and the UAE on developing Trincomalee as an energy hub, and the MoU on defence cooperation between India and SL. The signing of those MoUs, especially the one on defence cooperation, on 05 April, more..

Apr 7 (TM) SL is set to sign a termination agreement with Australian-based United Petroleum (UP) after the company decided to cease its operations in the country. A senior official from the Ministry of Energy confirmed that the issue with UP had been resolved, and that the Cabinet had approved the termination agreement. Since 1 Jan 2024, CPC has taken over the operation of 64 fuel stations previously managed by UP. more..

Apr 7 (TM) Govt is currently in the process of identifying a suitable private investor for the joint development of the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm in partnership with Trinco Petroleum Terminal Ltd. (TPTL), with the announced refurbishment of the 61 tanks allocated to TPTL currently at a standstill until a private investor is identified. Lanka IOC (LIOC) Managing Director Dipak Das revealed that no decision had been made yet on how the 61 tanks allocated to TPTL would be developed. more..

Apr 7 (ST) SL’s junior golf star, Reshan Algama, claimed a thrilling victory at the 2025 Robert Rock Junior Masters Golf Tournament, concluded at the Al Hamra Golf Club, Ras Al Khaimah, in the UAE. The 17-year-old’s remarkable win secured him his maiden international title, capping off a nail-biting final day of competition. Algama, who finished regulation play tied at two over par (218), displayed nerves of steel in a dramatic three-way playoff. Despite a modest start to the tournament, more..

Apr 7 (DM) Lakshman Kadirgamar once described India–Sri Lanka relations as one of irreversible excellence. Unfortunately, under some govts, they have been neither irreversible nor excellent. In particular, past insensitivity to India’s security concerns has strained relations. That lesson, however, has now been well learnt—and is unlikely to be repeated in the foreseeable future; certainly not by the current govt. Today, Sri Lanka’s chief concern is economic. more..

Apr 7 (DM) By the time this editorial is published, Indian PM Modi will have left our shores. During his visit Premier Modi signed a number of MoUs with our govt led by Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake; the most important among them being the Defence and Co-operation Pact. Prez Dissanayake himself assured Modi that SL would not allow its territory to be used in ways that could harm India’s security. MoU on defence co-operation between our two countries came nearly 38-years after more..