Sri Lanka could lose up to US$1.23 billion in export revenue if the European Union (EU) withdraws its preferential trade access under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), according to a new report by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS). 

The study warns of severe economic and labour market repercussions, particularly for Sri Lanka’s key export sectors and its vulnerable workforce.

Sri Lanka’s minister of industry and entrepreneurship development, Sunil Handunneththi has faced criticism after he made a remark at a Regional Development Bank event, where he compared debt to “certain girls,” saying “when the time comes, they forget all that you’ve done for them”.

Handunneththi then said “bank officials must not take offence” at the comparison.

Shavendra Silva, former head of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, did nothing wrong on the frontlines of the battlefield, claimed Sarath Fonseka, former army commander and himself an accused war criminal.

In response to the United Kingdom’s recent sanctions on Sri Lankan war criminals, Fonseka conveyed to the media that he is certain Silva did nothing wrong during his tenure as an army commander during the armed conflict. 

Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) intends to raise concerns over the continuing erosion of provincial council powers during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Sri Lanka, according to Acting Leader C. V. K. Sivagnanam.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) of Sri Lanka is reportedly preparing to take disciplinary action against students at the University of Jaffna after a symbolic protest on Sri Lanka’s 77th Independence Day, in which Sri Lanka’s lion flag was replaced with a black flag on campus.