Speaking to the media, Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith claimed he was tricked by ousted former President, and accused war criminal, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, into extending support for his candidacy in 2019 under the promise that he would investigate the Easter Sunday Bombings, which claimed the lives of over 250 individuals.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is set to arrive in Sri Lanka on a one-day official visit to inaugurate an Iranian-funded Uma Oya multipurpose development project with 120MW hydropower generation capacity.

On 5 April, the UK has updated its travel advisory for Sri Lanka to no longer include mention of shortages of food, fuel and medicine.

Five Eelam Tamil children stranded on the remote island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean since October 2021 have won a case in the British Supreme Court to be protected from harm in the same way as British children.

Sri Lanka police arrested a 31-year-old man this week, accusing him of “distorting” a Sinhala song on TikTok.

The individual, a 31-year-old man from Wariyapola, posted a TikTok video singing along to a version of the song usually played as part of New Year festivities, with his own lyrics.

After weeks of conflicting statements and rumours of infighting among members of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena told reporters that any discussion or decision over the party’s nominee will only be undertaken by former president and accused war criminal Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The Sri Lankan army has announced a general amnesty for one month for all deserters in an attempt to formally discharge the officers from duty and recover any weaponry provided, after reports that Sri Lankan soldiers had fled the island to serve for Russia in its war in Ukraine.

Storekeepers of clothing outlets and vendors selling firecrackers across the North-East said there was a noticeable decline in sales this year as Tamils celebrated the New Year, amidst the high cost of living and ongoing economic turmoil.

Tamil residents of Nagathalvu village in the Mannar District have complained about Sri Lanka’s continued occupation of a public cemetery in the region and have appealed for at least another site that could be used, as locals are forced to find vacant plots of land to bury their dead. 

The All Ceylon Shasanarakshaka Bala Mandalaya presented a set of proposals last week, calling on the Sri Lankan government to ‘secure temple lands and safeguarding Theravada Buddhism nationally and internationally’.

The Buddhist monks presented the proposals to Secretary to the President, Saman Ekanayake, at the Presidential Secretariat and claimed there was a “nexus between diminishing religious education and the surge in societal crime”. The Sri Lankan President’s Media Division touted the proposals as an attempt to “foster a virtuous society”.