Author: Buzzer Editorial

No decision has been made to restrict vehicle imports, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has emphasised.A senior official of the Central Bank stated that, contrary to certain media reports, there has been no exchange of letters or communication between the Central Bank and the Treasury regarding the restriction of vehicle imports.With the country’s economy, which was in a crisis, beginning to recover, the import of vehicles for private use was allowed as of the beginning of February this year, after a lapse of five years.Since then, up until the end of June, approximately 18,000 vehicles have been imported…

South Africa’s stand-in captain Wiaan Mulder on Monday (July 7) decided not to chase West Indies legend Brian Lara’s long-standing record Test score of 400 as he declared the innings with him unbeaten on 367 (334 balls, 49×4, 4×6).Mulder, the 27-year-old right-hander on captaincy debut, could have become only the second batter in Test history to score a quadruple century.But he declared the South African innings at 626/5 in 114 overs against Zimbabwe.The surprising declaration came at lunch break during the second day of the second Test against the hosts in Bulawayo.He scored his triple century in 297 balls, the…

The government will introduce an 18% Value Added Tax (VAT) on digital services provided by non-resident companies to local consumers, effective October 1, 2025.Accordingly, foreign service providers are required to register for VAT in Sri Lanka and collect the tax on their services.The VAT law was updated through the VAT (Amendment) Act No. 4 of 2025, which implemented VAT on digital services.The Inland Revenue Department has also published detailed guidelines through the Gazette Notification 2443/30, on this new digital tax.Accordingly, the new VAT rules define terms such as “electronic platform” and “non-resident person,” and impose obligations on foreign digital service…

President Donald Trump has threatened new tariffs on any nation supporting “anti-American” policies of the BRICS group of emerging economies, as he announced tariff letters would be sent out to scores of countries from Monday, ahead of a key deadline.In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said the US would impose an additional 10% tariff on “any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS” with “no exceptions,” though it was not immediately clear which policies Trump was referring to.The BRICS group, an acronym of founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has long stood as…

Attorneys representing both petitioners and the respondents in the Fundamental Rights petition filed by a group of students—seeking an interim injunction to prevent the implementation of a decision not to admit local students to study for a medical degree at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU)—informed the Supreme Court today (07) that the case could be settled amicably.The petition was heard today before a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Chief Justice Murdu Fernando, and Justices Mahinda Samayawardhena and Menaka Wijesundera.Attorney-at-law Hafil Faris, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, told the bench that there is potential for…

All e-services of the National Election Commission have been suspended until further notice.Issuing a statement, the Election Commission stated that the services have been temporarily suspended from today (07) due to essential maintenance work.Accordingly, all e-services—including voter list information checks, online registration, obtaining voter declarations, and extracting information related to other districts—have been suspended until further notice.

A total of 120 persons have been arrested on charges of various offenses during a special operation conducted in the Ratnapura, Embilipitiya, Seethawakapura and Kegalle Police Divisions in the Sabaragamuwa Province yesterday (06), police said.The raid was conducted between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.Around 900 Police, Special Task Force, Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Air Force and Sri Lanka Navy personnel were part of the joint operation.During the operation, a total of 23 persons with outstanding warrants were apprehended.Furthermore, legal action has been taken against 19 individuals for driving under the influence.Meanwhile, a total of 457 persons were arrested on…

Former senior civil servant Bradman Weerakoon has passed away at the age of 94, according to family sources.He had served as a senior staff member to nine former presidents and prime ministers.Bradman Weerakoon studied at Holy Cross College, Kalutara, and was later one of the first boarding students at S. Thomas’ College, Gurutalawa.He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree with second-class honours (upper division) in Economics and Sociology from the University of Ceylon, and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study at the University of Michigan for one year, where he completed his MA in Sociology.Weerakoon joined the Ceylon Civil…