Author: Buzzer Editorial

Residents of Colombo witnessed a rare astronomical event at exactly 12.12 p.m. today (April 07) as their shadows vanished momentarily under the midday sun. The phenomenon, known as a ‘Zero Shadow Day’, occurs when the sun is positioned directly overhead, causing vertical objects to cast no shadow. This striking event is part of the sun’s apparent northward journey across the Earth’s surface, known as the subsolar point. As the sun reaches the zenith over different locations, its rays fall perpendicularly on those areas, causing shadows to temporarily disappear. The phenomenon began in Sri Lanka at Dondra Head on April 4 and will continue…

Saudi authorities have announced a temporary visa ban affecting 14 countries ahead of the Hajj season.The suspension applies to Umrah, business, and family visas, with restrictions expected to end by mid-June, according to diplomatic sources.Officials confirm that individuals holding Umrah visas can still enter Saudi Arabia until April 13.The affected countries include Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, Jordan, Algeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Tunisia, and Yemen.Saudi officials have identified several factors behind the decision of the temporary visa ban. The primary concern is unauthorized Hajj participation.In the past, many visitors entered the country on multiple-entry visas but during Hajj season…

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka today (07) presented its flagship publication, the Annual Economic Review for 2024 (AER 2024), to the President and Minister of Finance, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, highlighting the steady progress of Sri Lanka’s economic recovery following the country’s most severe downturn in recent history.The report was officially handed over by Governor of the Central Bank Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, during a ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat, according to the President’s Media Division (PMD). AER 2024 comprises four main chapters: Macroeconomic Developments, Conditions of the Financial System, Review of Central Bank’s Policies and Macroeconomic Outlook.According to the…

Asian markets plunged on Monday, deepening a global stocks rout triggered by US President Donald Trump’s trade war.Japan’s benchmark Nikkei fell by more than 8% shortly after opening. The share average, which tracks 225 of the country’s most valuable companies, has fallen below the 33,000 level for the first time since August 2024, according to Reuters. The broader Topix index last traded more than 7.5% lower, recovering from its steepest losses.Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday the government will continue to ask President Trump to lower tariffs against Japan, but acknowledged results “won’t come overnight,” according to Reuters.“As…

In a significant gesture, Sri Lanka today released 14 Indian fishermen, to coincide with the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the island. The release followed detailed discussions between Prime Minister Modi and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday (5), during which the long-standing issue of fishermen’s arrests was reportedly taken up. Prime Minister Modi, during his remarks at a joint media briefing, said, “We discussed the fishermen’s issues. We agreed that we should move forward in this matter with a humane approach. We stressed the immediate release of the fishermen and the return of their boats.” Sri Lanka Navy continues to…

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa has arrived at the Criminal Investigation Department to record a statement, Ada Derana reporter said. MP Namal Rajapaksa said he was summoned to the CID to record a statement pertaining to his grandmother Daisy Forest, who was recently arrested and produced in court.The Parliamentarian added that appearing before the CID has become a regular occurrence for him.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that the agreement reached to build a multi-product pipeline and to develop Trincomalee as an energy hub will benefit the people of Sri Lanka.While addressing a joint press statement alongside Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, PM Modi said that the grid inter-connectivity agreement between India and Sri Lanka will create opportunities for Sri Lanka to export electricity.PM Modi said, “The Sampur Solar Power Plant will help Sri Lanka achieve energy security. The agreement reached to build a multi-product pipeline and to develop Trincomalee as an energy hub will benefit all Sri…

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met a delegation of Tamil political party representatives in Colombo, during his ongoing visit to Sri Lanka. The Head of State has conveyed his condolences on the passing of former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leaders R. Smapanthan and Mavai Senathirajah.Modi said he reiterated India’s unwavering commitment to a life of equality, dignity and justice for the Tamil community within a united Sri Lanka, and assured that many projects and initiatives launched during his visit will contribute to their social, economic and cultural progress.“It is always a pleasure to meet the leaders of the Tamil community of…

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has expressed grave concern over the death of a youth while in the custody of the Welikada Police in the early hours of April 02, 2025. The youth reportedly sustained fatal injuries while in custody, which are said to have been self-inflicted. It has also been reported that the youth was not in a proper mental state at the time. He was subsequently transferred to Mulleriyawa Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.Attorney-at-Law Rajeev Amarasuriya, President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, issued a statement expressing the Association’s serious concerns regarding the incident,…

ඉන්දියානු නාවික හමුදාවට අයත් ‘INS SAHYADRI’ යුද නෞකාවනිල සංචාරයක් සඳහා 2025 අප්‍රේල් මස 04 වැනි දින දිවයිනට පැමිණි අතර, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නාවික හමුදාව විසින් එම නෞකාව නාවික හමුදා සම්ප්‍රදායානුකුලව පිළිගැනීම කොළඹ වරායේදී සිදු කෙරිණි.මෙලෙස දිවයිනට පැමිණි ෆ්‍රිගේට් වර්ගයේ යුද නෞකාවක් වන ‘INS SAHYADRI’, දිගින් මීටර් 143 ක් හා නැව්මුළුව 320 ක ගෙන් සමත්විත වන අතර, එහි අණදෙන නිලධාරී ලෙස කපිතාන් රාජත් කුමාර්(Captain Rajat Kumar) කටයුතු කරනු ලබයි.‘INS SAHYADRI’ නෞකාව දිවයිනේ රැඳී සිටින කාලසීමාව තුළ එහි නැව්මුළුව, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නාවික හමුදාව විසින් දෙරටේ නාවික හමුදාවන්ගේ සුහදත්වය වර්ධනය කිරීම වෙනුවෙන් සංවිධානය කරනු ලබන විවිධවැඩසටහන් සඳහා සහ දිවයිනේ ආකර්ෂණිය සංචාරක ස්ථාන නැරඹීම සඳහා සහභාගි වීමට නියමිතව ඇත.තවද, නිල සංචාරය අවසන් කරමින් ‘INS SAHYADRI’ නෞකාව 2025 අප්‍රේල් මස 07 වැනි දින දිවයිනෙන් පිටත්ව යාමට නියමිතව ඇත.