Freedom Pride Parade held in Colombo

Freedom Pride Parade The LGBTQ community of Sri Lanka paraded the streets of Colombo today and took part in a cultural ceremony to voice their rights and concerns, themed the ‘Freedom Pride Parade’. A group of participants clad in various colourful attires took part in the parade from Nelum Pokuna round-about and proceeded through Green Path to Kollupitiya. 

Virus spreading among pigs detected in the Western Province

The Western Provincial Department of Animal Production and Health said the viral disease spreading among pigs has been detected in four farms in the Western Province. Provincial Director KK Sarath said taking pigs out of farms where the disease is present is prohibited. He said this viral disease has been reported in Sri Lanka before, and there is no risk of it spreading rapidly. He added that there is no risk of the virus spreading to humans.

Sri Lankans living abroad can apply for passport online

Officials of the Immigration and Emigration Department who participated at the Sectoral Oversight Committee on International Relations chaired by Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa stated that Sri Lankans living abroad will be able to apply for a new passport or renew their passport online with effect from June 1st.

Higher fuel quotas from Wednesday

The weekly fuel quotas will be increased from midnight on Tuesday (30), Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera announced yesterday. The weekly quota for three-wheelers (registered) increased from 10 to 15 litres, other three wheelers from 8 to 14 litres, motorcycles from 7 to 14 litres, buses from 60 to 125 litres, cars from 30 to 40 litres, land vehicles from 25 to 45 litres, lorries from 75 to 125 litres, quadric cycles from 6 to 14 litres, special purpose vehicles from 30 to 45 litres and vans from 30 to 40 litres.

Millions Allocated for Former Presidents in 2023

-Millions continue to be allocated for past heads of state in 2023 with a bulk of it going towards the maintenance of their state homes and vehicles

-The state has to allocate for 4 past Presidents, namely Chandrika Kumaratunga, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Maithripala Sirisena and Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Hema Premadasa, wife of the late Ranasinghe Premadasa also gets a budget allocation under this category

Over 150,000 child porn materials uploaded from Sri Lankan IP addresses

While a special Police unit was established at the Children and Women Bureau in order to monitor pornographic video footage and photographs related to children in 2021, according to the latest reports, it has been found that a total of 152,811 child sexual abuse related materials have been uploaded from Sri Lankan internet protocol (IP) addresses in the same year.