March 2026

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s state-run petroleum corporation said it had distributed 370,000 liters of petrol across the Jaffna Peninsula over the past two days, responding to what officials described as a surge in purchasing driven by public anxiety over escalating tensions in the Middle East. The distribution covered 43 fuel stations across the peninsula, according to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. Under normal circumstances, Jaffna District consumes approximately 100,000 liters of pet

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — M.A. Sumanthiran, the acting general secretary of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), said that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had asked him to accept the post of Minister of Justice after assuming office — an offer he said he declined, citing his party’s political position and principles. Mr. Sumanthiran made the disclosure on Sunday at a memorial event in Colombo marking the first death anniversary of the Tamil journalist Rajanayagam Bharathi. He was responding to