After Jaffna Monitor published its editorial on Sunday questioning Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam’s decision to invoke Sri Lanka’s Online Safety Act against dozens of Tamil critics, media figures, and political actors, the lawmaker telephoned this office to present his version of events. Speaking at length, Mr. Shanakiyan defended his decision to seek relief through the courts and described what he said was a prolonged, coordinated campaign of personal defamation directed not on

Colombo, March 17, 2026 After days of assuring citizens that fuel supplies were sufficient, the Sri Lankan government said on Monday that it would close government offices, courts, state schools, and universities every Wednesday until further notice to manage fuel consumption. The announcement comes as rising tensions in the Middle East have stirred fresh concerns about energy supplies in a country still clawing its way back from one of the worst economic crises in its modern history. The orde

COLOMBO — March 16 Sri Lanka’s reinstated National Fuel Pass system, intended to regulate fuel distribution amid global supply uncertainties, ran into significant technical problems on its first mandatory day, leaving many motorists unable to register their vehicles and triggering criticism of the digital platform developed by the technology firm MillenniumIT ESP. The system, which requires motorists to present a QR code linked to their vehicle in order to obtain fuel, became compulsory nation