COLOMBO, Oct. 27 – Passport applicants in Jaffna, Vavuniya, Kandy, Kurunegala and Matara will need an advance online appointment to be served at their regional passport office from Thursday, Oct. 29, the Department of Immigration and Emigration has announced. The requirement covers both the one-day and the regular passport service at all five regional offices. Applicants must reserve a date and time on the department’s official website, www.immigration.gov.lk, before visiting. Those without a b

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka, Oct. 27, 2026 — Long-distance buses began leaving Jaffna’s new long-distance bus terminal on Tuesday morning, nearly five years after the 134-million-rupee facility was completed and left unused. The services started under a court order signed by a High Court judge who was removed from Jaffna three days after he issued it. Northern Province Governor N. Vethanayahan, Member of Parliament K. Ilankumaran and Local Government Commissioner Sutharsan inaugurated the services at the

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The leader of one of Sri Lanka’s main Muslim political parties has accused the country’s opposition leader, Sajith Premadasa, of breaking promises to his coalition partners and moving away from the inclusive politics he championed in the 2024 presidential election, exposing strains in an opposition already heavily outnumbered in Parliament. “We are not slaves of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya,” Rishad Bathiudeen, the leader of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress, said on Monday at a