The editor of the Uthayan said his journalists “"do not feel terribly free”, and said they are not being allowed to do their jobs by the security forces.

Speaking to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) after the arrest of one of its reporters, the paper’s editor Prem Anand said he believed the journalist N. Logathayalan was charged with "defamation of the police department".

“The police and other security institutions are still not willing to give us the space we need to do our job as reporters," Mr Anand told the CPJ.

"Arresting a reporter is an inappropriate response if the police in Jaffna feel they have been harmed by a news report," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator.

The Sri Lankan army held joint exercises with the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force (APF) at a training base in China’s southern Guangzhou province at the end of March.

The drills, codenamed “Silk Road Cooperation-2015”, were aimed at “helping both sides to learn from each other […] to improve their capabilities of performing duties”, the Chinese military’s news portal said.

The exercises were mainly focused on counter-terrorism training, including “skills of shooting, capturing and climbing […] and the tactical trainings [sic] are mainly composed of operations of searching blocks, rescuing hostages as well as anti-hijacking aircraft and buses,” according to Su Haihui, deputy director of the Training Department of the APF.

The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) said President Maithripala Sirisena should pack his bags and leave and allow a leader with backbone to run Sri Lanka.

General Secretary Galagodaaththe Gnanasara told a press conference that people were confused, while Chief Executive Officer Dilantha Vithanage said the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe were giving conflicting messages, the Daily Mirror reported.

“This government has not given priority to Buddhism at ceremonies organised by the Government and we have noticed Buddhism and the Sinhala nation are under threat,” Gnanasara said.

“The country needs a leader with a backbone and leadership qualities. Mr. Sirisena is a good person. But he is unable to administer the affairs of this country and neither has he been capable of fulfilling the elections promises he made. So we kindly request him to leave,” he further said, adding that “even” Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe would be a better leader.

A 10 year old Tamil boy was hacked to death in Vavuniya, reported the Daily Mirror.

The remains of the boy, named as Chandrasekeran Sanjay, were found in the grounds of a house in Vavuniya on Thursday.

Local police are reportedly investigating the crime.

Sri Lanka and Bhutan pledged to enhance their ties based on a "special relationship as the two countries are bound by common spiritual link of Buddhism" during an official visit by the prime minister of Bhutan.

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said "his country is extremely grateful to Sri Lanka for the gift of a sapling of Sri Maha Bodhi to Bhutan", adding that "the Bodhi sapling will be a sacred symbol of the extraordinary spiritual bonds between Bhutan and Sri Lanka."

A Canadian federal judge has overruled a government decision to deport a Tamil man, who reportedly worked for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, stating that it would not be safe to send him to Sri Lanka.

Justice Sean Harrington ruled that Puvanesan Thurairaja, who reportedly gathered funds with the LTTE Records Office and Finance Department, “may well be at risk if returned” to Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan army's conducted New Year's sports festival in Batticaloa on Thursday, in advance of April 14, aimed at bringing together Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim people, the government said.

Sri Lanka is considering borrowing from the international market as the new government has enough room to raise capital through loans, said Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake.

“Our borrowing limit is at 850 billion rupees and we still have room to raise another 35 billion rupees to 50 billion rupees though treasury bills,” said Mr Karunayake.

“You will see things happening in the next week,” he added. “Absolutely no problem at all”.

His comments to reporters in Colombo come after the International Monetary Fund rejected a US$4 billion for Sri Lanka last month and instead urged the country to restrict its intervention in foreign exchange markets.

A Tamil journalist, who was arrested for reporting a ‘false news story’, was today released on bail.

Point Pedro court’s acting magistrate BSubramaniam released the freelance journalist N Logathayalan, according to the Sunday Times.

The journalist was arrested for his coverage for the Uthayan newspaper of the sexual assault of a school girl by Sri Lankan police officers at Nelliyadi station.

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the country needed the international community support it more, and claimed “far too little” help had been given to assist the government.

In an op-ed for the Japan Times, the prime minister said the assistance was needed as people in Sri Lanka may become discouraged and be “tempted” by autocratic forces, waiting to return to power at the next elections.

“We cannot fully turn the page on authoritarian rule, restore the full range of democratic freedoms and rebuild our economy in an inclusive way on our own. [...] We simply lack the resources to undertake the great task of reconstruction without assistance,” he said.