February 2026

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Hours after reports emerged that the United States and Israel had launched coordinated strikes on Iran, motorists across Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern Provinces began lining up at fuel stations, fearing that the distant conflict could disrupt fuel supplies to the island nation, which remains heavily dependent on imported petroleum. Long queues formed outside petrol sheds in Jaffna town by Saturday afternoon, with motorcycles, three-wheelers, and cars stretching for hundre

COLOMBO — Sri Lankan investigators have obtained legal authority to detain Suresh Sallay, the former Director of the State Intelligence Service, for up to 90 days under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), marking the most high-profile arrest in the nearly seven-year investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. Sallay, a retired Major General, was en route to his office at the Pathfinder Foundation in Colombo when officers from the Criminal Investigation Department intercepted and arre

COLOMBO, February 27, 2026 — The European Union has announced an additional €1 million in humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka, reinforcing relief efforts for communities still recovering from the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Ditwah, which struck the island in late November 2025 and triggered widespread flooding and landslides across all 25 districts. The latest allocation, equivalent to more than LKR 370 million, brings the EU’s total humanitarian contribution to Sri Lanka’s cyclone

JAFFNA, SRI LANKA — When a prominent doctor in the Northern Province set out to organise a community programme through his professional civil society network, he expected the usual obstacles: bureaucratic delays, funding constraints, and coordination challenges between departments. What he encountered instead was something entirely different. According to multiple credible sources who spoke with Jaffna Monitor on condition of anonymity, fearing professional consequences, the doctor was told tha