- The launch of an online platform enabling the swift removal of websites, photos, and videos containing or potentially containing instances of child sexual abuse took place under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Implemented by the National Child Protection Authority in collaboration with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), renowned for its expertise in internet child safety enforcement, this program receives financial support from Save the Children and Child Fund.
- Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa stated that socialism is a force that undermines people’s lives, livelihoods, new businesses, as well as private industries. He emphasized that socialism’s an anti-entrepreneurial concept that does not foster entrepreneurship but rather hinders it.Premadasa made these remarks in Rathnapura while participating in the launch of the economic vision of Samagi Jana Balawegaya.
- General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera has been sentenced to 04 years of rigorous imprisonment over a statement made in 2016. Issuing the sentence, Colombo High Court Judge Aditya Patabendige also imposed a fine of Rs. 100,000 on the Buddhist monk.
- Sri Lanka has called for proposals from dealer managers to support its restructuring of some $12 billion of international bonds, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday, in a fresh sign that the island nation is closing in on finalizing its debt rework. The government was expected to start formal restructuring talks with bondholders this week.
- Amidst growing pressure to amend its travel advice to Sri Lanka which was deemed “overly harsh”, the United Kingdom (UK) has defended its decision and said it would continue to keep the island nation’s travel advise under close review. UK’s Minister of State for the Middle East, South Asia, Commonwealth Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon made this remark in the UK Parliament responding to a question raised on plans to update the travel advice to Sri Lanka to reflect the security situation in the country.
- The Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court has ordered former President Maithripala Sirisena to make a statement in court on 04 April on his recent comments over the Easter Sunday bomb attacks. The order was issued after the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had reported the relevant facts to the court, on the instructions of the Attorney General.
- The Development Lotteries Board (DLB) has recorded its highest-ever profit of Rs. 3.6 billion in 2023 and a significant portion of Rs. 3.6 billion goes to the President’s Fund. In 2023, the Development Lotteries Board (DLB) achieved it’s highest-ever profit in its 40-year history.
- The overall rate of inflation as measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) on year-on-year basis has recorded a significant decrease in the month of March 2024, according to the most recent figures published by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS). The CCPI-based inflation was calculated as 5.9% for the month of February.
- Sri Lanka Police have busted over 50 brothels that had been operating under the guise of Ayurvedic Spas in Negombo, leading to the discovery of two women, including a minor, testing positive for HIV. The Ayurvedic spas, which had been operated illegally, were raided over the last week based on a tip-off, after which measures were taken to shut down 53 spas.
- President Ranil Wickremesinghe has met with the Sri Lankan national football team at the Presidential Secretariat and commended the efforts in their recent triumph over Bhutan, marking the first win in a decade. The President expressed his support for the football team’s aspiration to claim the South Asian Championship (SAFF) next year, pledging his commitment to advancing football infrastructure in the near future.
