JM Exclusive

Colombo, March 19, 2026 —Opposition MP and President’s Counsel Faiszer Musthapha on Thursday urged the government to act swiftly to attract global capital relocating from conflict-affected regions, warning that Sri Lanka risks missing a rare strategic opening if it remains slow, rigid, and overly constrained by policy orthodoxy. Speaking during a parliamentary debate, Faiszer Musthapha said rising instability in parts of the Middle East was already prompting investors to seek safer destinations

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

COLOMBO — March 15 — The government on Sunday reinstated the National Fuel Pass (QR code) system, requiring motorists to present a registered QR code in order to obtain fuel at filling stations, as authorities move to regulate distribution and maintain supply stability. The Ministry of Power and Energy said the measure came into effect at 6:00 a.m. on March 15, and that fuel will not be issued at any station without a valid QR code linked to a registered vehicle. The system, first introduced d

JAFFNA — A resolution passed by a local government council in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province endorsing what it described as the United States’ efforts to “maintain world peace” has triggered political controversy, exposing what critics describe as a stark contradiction within the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) — a party that has long framed its politics around civilian protection and human rights. According to documents reviewed by Jaffna Monitor, the Pachchilaipalli Pradeshiya Sabha adopted

COLOMBO — March 11, 2026 Russia’s ambassador to Sri Lanka has defended Moscow’s objections to photographs depicting the war in Ukraine that are currently displayed at an international photojournalism exhibition in Colombo, telling Jaffna Monitor that the images present a “biased and anti-Russian narrative.” In written comments to Jaffna Monitor, the ambassador said the photographs featured in the World Press Photo Exhibition 2025 ignore atrocities, which he says were committed by Ukrainian for