Apr 1 (TM) Noting that the Govt’s recent decision to revise the payments made for solar power amounts to reversing the progressive steps taken to improve renewable energy sector in the country, SJB, urged the Govt to take prudent and scientific decisions when it comes to the electricity sector. SJB MP Ajith P. Perera expressed concerns that approximately 40,000 individuals are employed in the solar power more..

Apr 1 (AD) Minister of Science and Technology Krishantha Abeysena says that fuel prices cannot be reduced further as the conditions imposed by the IMF on the country’s economy are still in effect. Minister said, “We would also like to reduce fuel prices, but it is not possible at this moment as we are still dealing with the IMF conditions. We have to consider the country’s income and expenditure. The govt must have a stable income. It is difficult to implement a significant reduction at once.” more..

Apr 1 (DM) The free visa scheme, proposed for 39 countries, is expected to secure the Cabinet approval within the next two weeks, before being tabled in Parliament for the final approval, according to Tourism Deputy Minister Prof. Ruwan Chaminda Ranasinghe. Speaking to reporters last week, he noted that the Cabinet paper has already been submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers. The initiative is expected to boost tourist arrivals, in particular during the lean or off-peak season. more..

Apr 1 (AD) A person has been injured and admitted to the Gampaha Hospital after police opened fire during an altercation when checking for narcotics at a road block in Minuwangoda today. Meanwhile, another individual has been arrested following the incident. The incident had occurred when police officers from the Gampaha Divisional Crimes Bureau had ordered a motorcycle to stop at the police roadblock in Welhena, however, the motorcycle rider had continued without stopping. more..

Apr 1 (FT) SL last week marked a significant milestone in its digital payments landscape with the successful hosting of its first-ever Cross-Border Payment Symposium, organised by LankaPay in collaboration with the SL Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) and other key tourism industry bodies. The landmark event brought together financial leaders, tourism stakeholders, and representatives from regional payment networks to explore the transformative impact of more..

Apr 1 (DM) Nearly one-third of a Rs.922 billion rise in the govt’s revenue projection for 2025 is expected to be driven by the value added tax (VAT), an analysis conducted by analytics platform PublicFinance.lk showed. The approved budget estimates indicate the total govt revenue, excluding the provincial council revenue and grants, is set to reach Rs.5,012 billion in 2025, reflecting a 23% increase from Rs.4,090 b recorded in 2024. more..

Apr 1 (PMD) Board of Governors of the President’s Fund convened under the leadership of Prez Anura Kumara Disanayake, has decided to provide financial assistance as an encouragement to ensure the uninterrupted education of children from families affected by daily incidents of elephant intrusions into their villages. Priority will be given to families who have lost a member or have individuals injured due to elephant intrusions. Additionally, children from families that have suffered more..

Apr 1 (FT) AI tools can now reproduce and distort any content with remarkable ease. That will accelerate today’s crisis of trust in shared content. How can audiences trust that what they are seeing is not a manipulated AI reproduction? Verité Media, a division of Verité Research, has spearheaded a simple QR code-based publishing method called Trace-it. It is a digital fingerprint that enables media users to instantly verify the authenticity of content by accessing the original source. more..

Apr 1 (FT) As Sri Lanka seeks to attract greater foreign investment to drive economic recovery, Govt’s economic policy framework faced intense scrutiny at a panel discussion last week. Amid improving credit ratings, a rebounding rupee, and rising investor confidence – panellists emphasised transparency, capital formation, and market efficiency as the building blocks of sustainable growth. more..

Apr 1 (NW) Local milk producer, Milco Pvt Ltd, has announced a reduction in the price of several of its products, effective from today. The price of a Highland yoghurt cup has been reduced by Rs. 10, with the new price being Rs. 70. The prices of several fresh milk products have also been reduced as follows; 450ml pasteurized milk – reduced from Rs. 225 to Rs. 200; 450ml fresh milk packet – reduced from Rs. 200 to Rs. 170; 900ml fresh milk packet – reduced from Rs. 440 to Rs. 380 more..

Apr 1 (EN) Sri Lanka is mulling sending medical team to Myanmar following the 7.7 magnitude earthquake on Friday, which has killed over 2,060 people as of Monday, Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said. “The Myanmar embassy said to keep the medical team on standby. They said if in need they would let us know,” Nalinda Jayatissa said. A medical team will be deployed with necessary medicine and medical equipment, Jayatissa said, four days after the earthquake. more..

Apr 1 (AD) Western Province Three-Wheeler Drivers’ and Owners’ Association has stated that despite the reduction of fuel prices, there is no possibility of making any changes to the three-wheeler fares. President of the association Lalith Dharmasekara stated that rather than reducing three-wheeler fares, the government should intervene to provide a more efficient service to the public through proper regulation. Dharmasekara added, “Petrol has been reduced by Rs. 10 more..

Apr 1 (EN) A Swiss business delegation proposes to visit Sri Lanka in mid-June, the ambassador of Switzerland to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Siri Walt has said. “This visit aims to strengthen business ties through dedicated forums and B2B meetings,” ambassador Walt was quoted as saying at a forum organised by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board. The EDB forum discussed enhancing bilateral trade relations and expanding economic collaboration between Switzerland and SL. more..

Apr 1 (DM) Sri Lanka is set to lose US $ 1 billion in FDI since Adani wind power project in Mannar is now uncertain with both the project company and the SL govt remaining firm on tariff rates, Daily Mirror learns. India-based Adani Group was selected to implement the 484 MW Wind and transmission projects by the previous govet. The then Cabinet gave approval to enter into five MoU. Adani quoted US$ 0.826 as its tariff per KWh. more..

Apr 1 (AD) Colombo is set to witness a rare celestial phenomenon on Monday (7), at 12.12 p.m., when shadows will momentarily vanish, according to astronomer Anura C. Perera. “This is actually an optical illusion,” Perera explained. He further commented: “At this time of year, the sun is directly overhead, meaning SL is receiving maximum solar energy. That means the sun will be directly overhead the country in the first two weeks of April. This will last from April 5th to 15th.” more..

Apr 1 (FT) Former Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has dismissed the motion submitted by NPP MPs to remove Deshabandu Thennakoon from the position of IGP, stating that it holds no legal validity. Rajapakshe pointed out that the Supreme Court had already issued an interim order declaring Thennakoon’s appointment as IGP invalid. As a result, he argued, Thennakoon is no longer the IGP, making any motion for his removal irrelevant under Removal of High Officials Act No.5 of 2002. more..

Apr 1 (FT) Govt took a significant step towards self-sufficiency in salt production with the opening of the Raja Salt factory at the National Salt Company’s Elephant Pass saltern. Inauguration ceremony, held on Saturday, was presided over Ministers Sunil Handunneththi and Ramalingam Chandrasekar. Equipped with modern technology, the new plant has the capacity to produce five tons of salt per hour, with 1kg and 400g table salt more..

Apr 1 (FT) Philip Gunawardena Commemoration Society held the 53rd commemoration of this veteran politician, popularly called Philip and credited to be the Father of Marxism in Sri Lanka, in Colombo last week. It was a simple ceremony without flamboyance attended by leading members of the Buddhist clergy close to Philip’s family, heads of select diplomatic missions which have an interest in his work, and a galaxy of political leaders including two previous Presidents. more..

Apr 1 (NW) The Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) has announced that the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) will be mandatory to register new vehicles and their related services. Clarifying that the TIN will be mandatory for the registration of new vehicles, the DMT said, however, certain types of vehicles are exempted. The department said the TIN number is not mandatory for the registration or transfer of motorcycles, three-wheelers, tractors, hand-tractors and tractor-trailers. more..

Apr 1 (DM) Nuwara Eliya April Festival, organized by the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council, commenced today with Central Province Chief Secretary G.H.M. Ajith Premasinghe as the chief guest. The inaugural ceremony was held in front of the public market in Nuwara Eliya town and featured cultural performances and school band displays organized by state and private sector institutions. Municipal Commissioner Wijekoon Bandara stated that the festival, which began yesterday, will continue more..

Apr 1 (FT) With three consecutive Presidents endorsing it, the people of SL would have been convinced that the goal of achieving 70% contribution by Renewable Resources for power generation, is a firm policy and a target that all relevant authorities would be obliged to achieve. While the target of 70% seemed far too low a target, considering that Sri Lanka had a proud record of being served by nearly 100% Renewable Energy (RE) based electricity a few decades ago, more..

Apr 1 (TM) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake has announced that a bill aimed at recovering illegally acquired assets will be presented to the Parliament on 8 April by the Govt. Speaking at a public rally, Prez emphasised: “On 8 April, we will pass legislation in the Parliament to recover stolen and illegally accumulated wealth. This bill is not about personal revenge but about upholding the law & restoring sovereignty in our motherland” more..

Apr 1 (AD) Inland Revenue Dept (IRD) has announced that individuals earning less than Rs. 1.8 million annually can now claim relief on the advance income tax (AIT) charged on interest or discounts from deposits. To avail themselves of this tax relief, eligible individuals must submit a self-declaration to their respective banks or financial institutions. IRD has instructed these institutions to implement a 10 percent reduction in AIT on interest and discounts payable to depositors, effective from today. more..

Apr 1 (DN) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake has declared that the Mannar Adani Wind Power Project will not move forward unless the pricing terms are revised to meet his govt’s demands. He criticized the agreement made by the former president, under which a wind power unit was to be sold to the SL govt for Rs. 25. Dissanayake emphasized that continuing the project at these rates would be a crime, especially as Indian company Adani withdrew from the project due to price disagreement. more..

Apr 1 (TM) Former Minister of Power and Energy Patali Champika Ranawaka claimed that a CEB report revealed the island wide power outage on 9 Feb was caused by a defect at the Victoria Power Station and accused the CEB of attempting to alter the report. There have been several island wide power outages over the last decade, with the most recent one occurring on 9 February, which took several hours to restore. more..

Apr 1 (DM) SL has experienced a significant surge in HIV/AIDS cases in 2024 recording over 800 cases. According to National STD/AIDS Control Programme, SL has logged 824 cases reflecting a 18% increase compared to the year 2023, which saw 694 cases. Out of the cases reported in 2024, 99 males and 13 females fall within the age range of 15-24, while the remaining cases are individuals above 25 years old. The male-to-female ratio of reported HIV cases in 2024 stands at 7.3:1. more..

Apr 1 (NW) Former Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles has left the CID after recording a statement in connection with a shooting incident in 2023. Tiran Alles left the CID after recording a statement for more than 5 ½ hours. The former minister reported to the CID this morning to record a statement regarding the shooting incident in front of a prominent hotel in Weligama in 2023. Suspended IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon is already under remand custody over the incident. more..

Apr 1 (Island) Newly appointed President of BASL Rajeev Amarasuriya has intervened on behalf of Attorney-at-Law P. Udayangani who had been remanded by Puttalam High Court Judge Nadee Suwandurugoda for contempt of court charges following an incident on March 28. The Court of Appeal yesterday ordered the release of lawyer Udayangani. A two-member Appeals Court judge bench, comprising Acting President of the Court of Appeal Justice Thahir Laffar and more..

Apr 1 (DN) Underworld leader Rotumba Amila has been arrested by Russian security authorities and Russia has informed SL about this last week through Interpol. Rotumba Amila is being held in Russia based on a red notice issued against him by the Interpol. Although several other people were present when he was held, no information about them has been made available to this country so far. CID sources stated that the process of bringing Rotumba Amila back to the country has already begun. more..

Apr 1 (TM) In the wake of calls from religious and civil society organisations representatives for him to disclose any information he claims to have regarding the masterminds behind 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks, BBS General Secretary, Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera said that he would reveal such information only if summoned by relevant authorities. Representatives of several religious and civil society org more..

Apr 1 (Island) A full-scale investigation has been launched to track down an underworld character, Navy Dinesh, a key accomplice of Ganemulle Sanjeewa, for issuing death threats over the phone to three police officers, including the Gampaha HQI, Crime Branch OIC, of the same police station, and others. Navy Dinesh is believed to have fled the country. The threats were issued following the arrest of Navy Dinesh’s father and brother in connection with a drug trafficking case. more..

Apr 1 (FT) Airport and Aviation Services (SL) Ltd., announced that the Jaffna International Airport (JIA) welcomed the inaugural direct IndiGo flight from Tiruchirappalli to Jaffna. The new international service, which will operate six days a week, has taken a major step forward in enhancing direct regional air connectivity, significantly improving travel options between India and SL’s Northern Province. Under the new schedule, IndiGo flights will depart Tiruchirappalli at 13:25, more..