- President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed his firm conviction in his ability to shape the Sri Lanka that the nation’s youth envision. Embracing the daunting task of revitalizing Sri Lanka’s faltering economy, which many deemed challenging, the President underscored his success in stabilizing the nation’s economic trajectory within a mere two years.
- Opposition Leader MP Sajith Premadasa has questioned the government’s decision to suddenly increase the visa fee of foreign tourists at a time when the country’s tourism industry was blooming with an influx of tourists. He revealed that service and additional charges for SAARC countries have been increased from US$ 20 to US$ 30 resulting in the total fee surpassing US$ 58.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stands ready to support Sri Lanka’s discussions with international bondholders and will provide a formal assessment after the parties reach a tentative agreement-in-principle, an IMF spokesperson said .
- Sri Lanka Police says the general public can provide any information regarding environmental destruction via the hotline numbers ‘1997’ and ‘1981’.
- Sri Lankan telecom operators Dialog Axiata and Bharti Airtel have signed a definitive agreement to merge telecom operations in the island nation, the companies said on Thursday, nearly a year after the merger was announced.
- The Sri Lanka Army, on the directions of the Ministry of Defence, has declared a General Amnesty for all Army absentees, enabling them to receive an official discharge from their service. General amnesty will be in force for a period of one month starting from 20 April to 20 May 2024, it said.
- The State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring Unit (SRU) of the Finance Ministry has officially released the names of the local and foreign firms that have submitted responses to the respective requests for quote and the shortlisted bidders for the divestiture of shares held by the Government of Sri Lanka in several key state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
- The Colombo District Court ordered the interim injunction issued preventing former President Maithripala Sirisena from functioning as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to be extended until May 09.
- Two police officers including a Sub-Inspector (SI) and a Sergeant have been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for allegedly maintaining dealings with drug traffickers. Accordingly, a Sub-Inspector attached to Mawathagama Police Station and a Sergeant of the Doretiyawa Police Station have been arrested by the CID and are being questioned under detention.
- NASA has selected a new crew of four volunteers to participate in a simulated mission to Mars within a habitat at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. And among them is Sri Lanka’s Piyumi Wijesekara, who is joined by Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, and Shareef Al Romaithi.
