Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena reiterating his stance that foreign judges should not be involved in the country's internal affairs, said the country's judiciary must be trusted to carry out justice as the background required to make decisions independently and issue verdicts without any political influence has been set up. The President made these remarks while addressing the Annual Conference for Judicial Officers started at Galadari Hotel in Colombo today.

The two-day conference was organized by the Sri Lanka Judges Institute on the request of the Judicial Service Association of Sri Lanka. Speaking at the occasion, the President said he believes that background required for judges to make their decisions independently and issue verdicts without any political influence has been set up. President Sirisena said he was of the strict view that the foreign judges should not be brought to the country at any time. On every such occasion, he said that he has mentioned that there should be trust in the judiciary.

The President said he explained to the international community that under this government it will be permitted to implement a judiciary that can be trusted and is the supremacy of law. He has also explained that there are enough intellectuals with good knowledge in the field to carry out legal tasks without consulting foreign judges. As a result of that, the problem has been removed, he said. Some members of the LTTE diaspora living in countries abroad and members of some organizations as well as some NGOs affiliated to LTTE are the ones still making various statements and had not given up the cause.

However, neither the UN organizations nor the Human Rights Council nor the government of any other countries in the world have presented their opinion at any time regarding the foreign judges. "I consider it a victory Sri Lanka received as an independent sovereign country," he said. Speaking of promotions granted to judges, the President said he has informed the Chief Justice and the Judicial Services Commission to prepare a formal system which everyone can accept to solve the problems that have risen when granting promotions to judges. The President emphasized that judges approaching anyone to submit facts about promotions is not suitable.

The commemorative volume which had been published on behalf of the Annual Conference of the Judicial Services Commission was presented to the President at the event. The group of people including Minister of Justice Thalatha Atukorala, Chief Justice Priyasath Dep and the President of the Judicial Services Association Ranga Dissanayake, and the Chairman of the Judicial Services Commission Pradeep Jayatilleka were present at the occasion.

Sri Lanka remains on high alert as Canadian leaders may make genocide allegations next month when the country marks the war victory, according to a diplomatic source.

The respondent parties in the first application filed before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court under the newly enacted Online Safety Act, raised objections challenging the maintainability of the application.

The Court of Appeal has issued notice on former Member of Parliament Hirunika Premachandra, requiring her to appear before court on May 8 in connection with a contempt of court application.

The Catholic Church has received the remaining parts of the report submitted by the presidential commission which probed the Easter Sunday attacks, Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said today. Cardinal Ranjith said the church had received it three weeks ago. “A team of lawyers are studying the report and we will come up with a statement on it once the study is completed,” he told a briefing.

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) arrested two suspects, including a retired Major of the Sri Lanka Army for fraudulently obtaining money from individuals promising employment in the Russian army.

The Colombo District Court today further extended its enjoining order preventing former President Maithripala Sirisena from functioning as the chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). This order will be effective till May 9. The Colombo District Court made this order following a lawsuit filed by former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.

Sri Lanka is considering providing free visas to over 50 countries, it was reported. According to Tourism Ministry sources, a proposal in this regard is to be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers next week.

According to the family members, the funeral service for former Deputy Minister Palitha Thewarapperuma is scheduled to take place this Friday (10).

Admissions for the GCE Ordinary Level (O/L) examinations will be issued by next week, the Examinations Department said. Accordingly, admissions will be issued to school applicants through the respective principals and to private applicants by post. The examination is scheduled to be held on May 6.

Preparations are underway to bid farewell to late Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne, the founder and President Emeritus of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, with full state honours.

The Sri Lankan Rupee has depreciated further against the US Dollar today (Apr 17), compared to Tuesday, according to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the buying rate of the US Dollar has increased from Rs. 294.20 to Rs. 295.28, while the selling rate has also increased from Rs. 303.54 to Rs. 305.19. The Rupee has also depreciated against several foreign currencies, including Gulf currencies.

The United States (US) Government recently held preliminary talks with the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) in Colombo regarding the planned transfer of a fourth US Coast Guard cutter to the SLN, as part of the ongoing security partnership between both the countries.

Amidst reports that some ex-military men from Sri Lanka have joined the Russian military operations against Ukraine, Sri Lankan Ambassador in Moscow Prof. Janita Liyanage said she asked for details about them from the Russian military if any. She said this in response to a query about media reports to that effect. “I sought such details from the Russian military if there is anyone there,” she said.

Sri Lanka cannot be pushed and bumped into a global conflict and therefore it should be diligent in its dealings with various nations, a Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP said today.

Stressing that it is time to forget party politics, the United National Party (UNP) today invited all political parties to join hands to create a stable nation.

The official vehicle of Primary Industries State Minister Chamara Sampath Dassanayake caught fire this morning in the Halpe area, as reported by the Ella police. They said the vehicle caught fire due to a technical failure.

The Central Bank has purchased the most amount of dollars for a single month in March, a sign that the country is currently in a very comfortable position in its foreign currency liquidity, after two years into the worst currency crisis in the country.

At least ten people were killed in eight road accidents within the past 24 hours in differenet parts of the country, Police said.

A 62-year-old woman who was receiving treatment at the Jaffna Hospital died of Covid-19, hospital sources said. The woman, a resident of Jaffna had arrived from France last week and was admitted to the Jaffna Hospital due to fever.

Sri Lanka’s state-owned enterprises incurred 744.6 billion rupees in losses in 2022, the SOE restructuring unit has said. “52 State-Owned Enterprises in Sri Lanka incurred losses of LKR 744.6 billion in 2022,” SOERU said in a social media post. “When divided by the total number of Citizen, each citizen needs bare LKR 33,949.”