Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been summoned to appear before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption on April 17, in connection with an ongoing investigation involving Member of Parliament Chamara Sampath Dassanayake.

The Commission is probing the premature withdrawal of fixed deposits held by MP Dassanayake in a state bank in 2016. Former President Wickremesinghe made a public statement regarding the matter on April 10.

It is reported that he possesses information relevant to the investigations and has therefore been summoned to provide further details regarding his involvement in the incident.

Due to lower electricity usage during the holiday season, some changes were made on how power is generated in the country, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) said.

The Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology has issued a "Warm Weather Advisory – Extreme Caution Level" for over 20 districts across the country.

Postmaster General Ruwan Sathkumara says that the official polling cards for the upcoming local government elections are scheduled to be delivered to the Department of Post today (April 16). He stated that April 20 has been designated as a special day for the distribution of official polling cards to households.

While highlighting that the US Reciprocal taxes had created a fresh economic crisis as Sri Lanka will have to find ways and means to settle its debts by 2028, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe said the government should come out with a plan to face the situation.

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) requests rooftop solar power system owners to temporarily disconnect their systems from today but only if they receive an official SMS notification from the board and also only till 3p.m on the specified day.

The National Election Commission has announced a delay in postal voting for 18 Local Government bodies, including the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC).

A total of 412 patients have been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital during the two-day New Year holiday period from April 13 and 14, due to accidents.

The Election Commission (EC) has requested secretaries and authorised representatives of political parties, as well as leaders of independent groups, to submit copies of any petitions and court judgments to the relevant District Election Offices.

Four suspects have been arrested at the Katunayake Airport for attempting to smuggle in stocks of Kush cannabis and Hashish to Sri Lanka.