Due to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MPs being divided in their loyalty towards current leader and President Maithripala Sirisena and former leader and Kurunegala District MP Mahinda Rajapaksa, it is most likely that the party could face a serious split in the coming months, SLFP sources told this newspaper. The source added that the long-simmering crisis in the party has now come to a head, after 36 MPs attended the protest rally organized by the Joint Opposition (JO) at Hyde Park last Thursday (17 March).

The 36 SLFP MPs, who are loyal to former President Rajapaksa, attended the rally in defiance against warnings from SLFP Secretary and Minister Duminda Dissanayake who threatened strict disciplinary action against any SLFP MP violating orders ratified by the SLFP Central Committee. However, SLFP sources said the party's top brass had already discussed the prospect of expelling some of those SLFP MPs who had reportedly attended the JO rally last week besides removing others from their positions as Party Organizers. These SLFP sources said that those loyal to President Sirisena have called for the party leadership to appoint new organizers before May Day, 2016.

Meanwhile, SLFP Kandy District MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage stated that the JO rally last Thursday had no intention of subverting or splitting the Party. The MP affirmed that the objective in holding the rally was to express their opposition to the UNP. He added that SLFP Secretary Duminda Dissanayake and UPFA Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera will be invited, in a show of solidarity, for the next JO rally, to send the UNP regime home.

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe paid his last respects to former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi today. He also met Indian Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi at Singh's residence.

A Sri Lankan woman with health issues caused a plane to make an emergency landing at the Erbil International Airport on Wednesday. She died in the Kurdish capital hours later, according to Sri Lanka’s honorary consul.

Sri Lankan President Anura Dissanayake expressed interest in joining BRICS in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the republic's ambassador to Moscow Pakir Amza told RIA Novosti.

While the Government has pledged to initiate a fresh investigation into the murder of rugby player Wasim Thajudeen, it has yet to reach out to the Thajudeen family or their lawyer regarding the ongoing cases and the promised new probe, The Daily Morning learnt.

The Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board revealed that floods in November damaged approximately 80,000 acres of farmland. According to the Board, crop damage assessments were completed in Polonnaruwa, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, and Mannar, with compensation pending final reports.

Sri Lanka has welcomed its 2 millionth tourist who arrived from Bangkok this year, at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), after a five-year gap. This marks the fourth time in history that annual tourist arrivals have surpassed 2 million, with previous instances occurring in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

The Cabinet of Ministers approved drafting a new bill to combat illegal and unregulated poaching in Sri Lankan waters, replacing the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act No. 2 of 1996.

Sri Lanka Police has suspended its annual transfer orders for 2025 for six months. The suspension was based on a directive from Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Priyantha Weerasooriya on 24 December.

The National People's Power (NPP) is to contest the upcoming Local Government (LG) and Provincial Council (PC) Elections under its current structure, with the groups currently aligned with them.

The government is yet to assign vehicles to the MPs of the new Parliament though it has taken a policy decision to do so. Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Daily Mirror yesterday that the government is currently in the process of auctioning luxury vehicles. He said most of the MPs were using their own vehicles at the moment.