The United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Thursday urged all countries including Sri Lanka that provide troops for U.N. peacekeeping missions to hold soldiers accountable for sexual abuse and exploitation of women and children in Haiti. The U.S. Envoy's appeal came after an Associated Press investigation into a child sex ring in Haiti found that UN peacekeepers including over 100 Sri Lankan troops allegedly sexually exploited vulnerable women and children in Haiti.

Speaking after the Security Council voted unanimously to end the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti in mid-October, Haley warned that "countries that refuse to hold their soldiers accountable must recognize that this either stops or their troops will go home and their financial compensation will end," according to an AP report. Among the cases investigated in Haiti, at least 134 Sri Lankan peacekeepers exploited nine children in a sex ring from 2004 to 2007, according to an internal U.N. report obtained by the AP.

"What do we say to these kids? Did these peacekeepers keep them safe?" Haley asked, citing the AP's investigation detailing how at least 134 Sri Lankan peacekeepers sexually abused and exploited nine Haitian children between 2004 and 2007. Sri Lanka never jailed any soldiers implicated in the abuse yet the country was allowed to send troops to other U.N. missions, according to AP. Nine children in the Haiti sex ring - some as young as 12 - told U.N. investigators how Sri Lankan peacekeepers offered them snacks or money for sex. One boy said he slept with as many as 100 soldiers, averaging about four per day.

The details of the sex ring were part of a larger AP investigation of U.N. missions during the past 12 years that found an estimated 2,000 allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers and U.N. personnel around the world. The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) will end in October and the 2,370 military personnel will gradually leave over the next six months as the impoverished Caribbean nation is stabilizing after successful elections.

"We will, however, continue to push for accountability of those troops in Haiti as well as all troop contributing countries involved in peacekeeping efforts," she said. Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended that peacekeepers accused of sexual abuse and exploitation be court martialed in the countries where the alleged incidents take place and said the U.N. would withhold payments to peacekeepers facing credible allegations.

Ahead of the presidential election scheduled for October this year, the foreign powers have ramped up their efforts in the assessment of ground political developments as was in the case of vital elections in the past.

Refuting reports that Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa avoided meeting visiting Iranian President Dr. Ebrahim Raisi, SJB MP Nalin Bandara said today that Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa did not get an appointment from the Iranian Embassy to meet the Iranian President.

A soldier was killed and nine others injured when a lorry collided with an army cab at Vasanthanagar in Mankulam early this morning. Police said the lorry travelling from Mankulam to Kilinochchi, crashed onto the cab ahead of it. The injured soldiers were rushed to Kilinochchi Hospital, where one of them succumbed to injuries upon admission.

While condemning the media reports, the Milk Powder Importers’ Association said today that they had not taken any decision to reduce the retail prices of the milk powder packets in the local market. The association media spokesman, Asoka Bandara, said the statement circulated on media platforms is incorrect.

Management of Sri Lanka’s southern Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport has been awarded to a Russia and India joint venture, cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said.

Public Security Minister Tiran Alles told the police today that eliminating criminals from the country is not a sin and not to be afraid to use weapons. He made these remarks while participating in the passing out parade at Katukurunda STF Training camp.

The Election Commission (EC) stated that several recognised political parties have had to be set aside from the relevant list due to internal crises within the said parties. According to the official website of the EC, there are 84 recognised political parties in Sri Lanka.

In a scathing rebuttal of allegations by Malcom Cardinal Ranjith regarding the Easter Sunday attacks, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said Cardinal Ranjith either glosses over the responsibility of, or expressly absolves the two parties actually involved in the terrorist strikes.

In its first move for the formation of a broad political alliance, President Ranil Wickremesinghe had a meeting with Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) stalwart Basil Rajapaksa and representatives of other parties and groups, and decided to accelerate political work in view of the presidential election after May Day.

The rice distributed among schools said to be unsuitable for children's co consumption was provided by the World Food Programme (WFP) and not by the government, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha assured today.

Opposition Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara has raised concerns about a growing trend where Sri Lankan retired military personnel are allegedly being exploited in a scheme to send them to serve in the Russian and Ukrainian Armies.

The main Parliamentary Opposition Party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), queried about the actions taken against certain officers in the State Intelligence Service (SIS), who, in certain instances, allegedly blocked the investigations conducted by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) into the Easter Sunday attacks that took place in 2019.

Sri Lanka took minimal steps to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses, the 2023 report issued by the US State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour on Sri Lanka's Human Rights Practices has alleged.

A top delegation of the Chinese Communist Party headed by Vice Minister of the International Department, Sun Haiyan met National People's Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the JVP head office today. The delegation included head of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party Liu Jianchao and Political Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka Chen Xiang Yuan.

The head of one of Canada’s largest police forces met with a Sri Lankan inspector general of police who two weeks earlier had been found by the South Asian country’s highest court to have “participated in the torture” of an arrested man.

The Colombo District Court issued an interim injunction preventing former President Maithripala Sirisena from functioning as the chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Ebrahim Raisi and President Ranil Wickremesinghe jointly inaugurated the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project (UOMDP) a short while ago. This project is one of the largest irrigation projects in Sri Lanka following the Mahaweli Development Project

The three-day adournment debate on the Easter Sunday attacks commenced in Parliament today. The adournment debate was moved by SJB MP Niroshan Perera and seconded by SJB MP Kavinda Jayawardane. The debate will be held for three days.

The Sri Lanka Army has decided to appoint a special investigation committee consisting of 07 senior officers chaired by a Major General to probe the accident that occurred during the Diyatalawa Fox Hill Supercross.

Vice Minister of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party, Sun Haiyan, is set to arrive in Sri Lanka today for a two-day official visit, as reported by The Thinakaran Newspaper.