Sri Lanka’s stock market suffered a sharp sell-off following the United States’ imposition of a 44% tariff on Sri Lankan exports, as panic gripped investors and major export-oriented firms saw double-digit losses.

Sri Lanka’s president has appointed a committee to “conduct an in-depth study” on the impact of newly announced tariffs by United States President Donald Trump, which sent global shockwaves on Wednesday.

A Sinhala Buddhist monk whos is the Nagadeepa Temple Chief Incumbent Navandagala Padumakiththi Tissa has announced his supportfor Tamil people in their struggle for land rights in Thaiyiddy, Jaffna, where he stated an illegal Buddhist vihara has been constructed.

His statement is a response to the recent protests by members of the public, opposing the illegal construction of the Tissa Raja Maha Vihara on the lands of people in Kankesanthurai.

US President Donald Trump has announced 'reciprocal' tariffs on countries worldwide, including a 44% tariff on all goods from Sri Lanka. 

The tariffs were imposed in response to what Trump said were 'Tariffs charged to the US including currency manipulations and Trade Barriers'.

The 44% tariff on Sri Lanka marks the fourth-highest tariff on an Asian country imposed by the United States, which is the top destination for Sri Lankan goods worldwide.

As you prepare for your upcoming visit to Sri Lanka, I write to you not just as an Eelam Tamil, but as a member of a people with deep historical, cultural, and civilisational ties to the land you lead. 

The Sri Lankan government has pledged USD 1 million in humanitarian assistance to Myanmar in the wake of a devastating earthquake, a move it says is driven by the “close ties between the two nations as two Buddhist states,” according to Cabinet spokesperson and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa.

 

A rift has emerged between the Sri Lanka Air Force and Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Bimal Ratnayake, after the minister made claims regarding the cause of a recent military aircraft crash, contradicting official Air Force statements.

Tamil Families of the Disappeared have hailed the United Kingdom’s decision to impose sanctions on senior Sri Lankan military officials accused of war crimes, stating that the move affirms the long-standing demands of Tamil families for international justice and recognition of the genocide committed against Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Three state agencies in Sri Lanka have launched investigations into the Tamil-owned UK-based Lyca Group over its acquisition of a network of 12 media companies on the island, with questions raised over the legality of the transactions and the processes by which licences were granted.

Pro-Sri Lankan government paramilitary leaders Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, also known as Karuna Amman, and Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan laso known as Pillayan, have formally reunited after 21 years, signing a memorandum of understanding in Batticaloa on 22 March 2025 to work together under a new political alliance.

The move saw the formation of the Eastern Tamil Alliance.