In the wake of a Sri Lankan family killed in Canada and a 19-year-old Sri Lankan national being charged for it, the Canadian authorities will put more attention to safeguards already in place on the mental health of students, according to a diplomatic source.

Febrio De-Zoysa, who is believed to be in Canada as a student, was charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, Ottawa police said in a post on X. Six Sri Lankans were stabbed to death in the home they lived in together, including a 2 1/2-month-old girl and three other young children.

The incident has triggered fears in the minds of Sri Lankans whether Canada will toughen visa regulations for them in the future following this incident. A diplomatic source, however, confirmed that Canada would not do so because this was just a one-off incident.

“Canada looks at it as a tragic incident. They are supportive to an unbelievable level to the community. This is not even a topic. But they will put more attention to safeguards already in place on the mental health of students. We as a community will also focus and have mechanisms to ensure our students have a support system. It’s not easy for students to survive in these countries,” the source said.

Meanwhile, Canadian immigration and constitutional law lawyer Viresh Fernando said the murder of six Sri Lankan family members in Ottawa, Canada is a very unusual tragedy.

He said Canada is a stable, rule of law based society where laws, policies and procedures are based on normal, everyday existence. While Canadian people from all walks of life have expressed shock and sadness at what happened in Ottawa, as a society will not react in knee jerk fashion by resorting to drastic measures such as tightening visa requirements.

The fact that the victims of this horrific tragedy are newcomers to Canada will not impact on how we as a society respond to what is at essence a real human tragedy.

Canada is a rules based country. As long as a Sri Lankan applies for a visa to Canada in good faith, either as an immigrant, student or a visitor, he or she will not face any issues. If visa applicants are attempting to abuse the Canadian visa system by trying to claim refugee status or work illegally our system will deal with them very strictly deporting them after a full and fair hearing,” Fernando who is of Sri Lankan origin said.

A man in Mullaitivu District claimed to be the tallest person in Sri Lanka. According to BBC Sinhala Service, Gunasingham Kasenthiran, a former cadre of the proscribed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who lives in Kaiveli, Puthukudiruppu is seven feet two inches tall.

In an effort to nip any discord with India in the bud, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) faction led by Nimal Siripala de Silva as acting chairman called on Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha and disassociated itself from remarks by its former Chairman Maithripala Sirisena implicating alleged Indian involvement in orchestrating the Easter Sunday attacks, an informed source said.

The Sri Lankan Rupee has depreciated slightly against the US Dollar at commercial banks in Sri Lanka today (Apr 29) compared to last week. According to Seylan Bank, the buying and selling rates of the US Dollar are unchanged at Rs. 290.50 and Rs. 301, respectively.

An attempt to send a 17-year-old boy abroad on forged travel documents was foiled and two women suspected of their involvement in the racket were arrested by the Border Surveillance Unit of the Department of Immigration and Emigration at the Bandaranaike International Airport.

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has expressed serious concern over recent remarks made by Minister Tiran Alles, and urging President Ranil Wickremesinghe to remove him from the portfolio of Public Security.

Political tremors are expected on May Day (Wednesday) as members of a few political parties are expected to appear at the UNP May Day rally, UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene said over the weekend.

The Anuradhapura High Court on Friday passed a death sentence on five police officers who were found guilty of killing eight Tamil civilians at the Bharathipuram village in Kantale 26 years ago. The sentence was passed by High Court Judge Manoj Thalgodapitiya.

Former Army commander Sarath Fonseka told Parliament today (April 26) that the person who had groomed the main Easter Sunday suicide bomber – Zahran Hashim, is the current head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) Maj Gen (Rtd.) Suresh Salley.

Sri Lankan-born Rt Rev Anashuya Fletcher was recently ordained and installed as Assistant Bishop of Wellington, New Zealand. The event was held at the Wellington Cathedral of St. Paul and was attended by over 600 well-wishers.

Australia has decided to donate an aircraft to support maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) including Sri Lanka.

More than 7,000 soldiers who deserted the Sri Lanka Army have received legal discharge during an amnesty period declared by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence.

The Sri Lankan Government has rejected a request for an American research ship to enter Sri Lankan waters. This decision is in line with the Government’s policy of not allowing any research vessel to enter Sri Lankan waters.

Alexis Taylor, Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), together with U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung, met with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and other senior government officials to discuss USDA support for Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector, a statement from the US Embassy said.

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

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam on Thursday accused the infamous Tripoli platoon, a paramilitary intelligence unit, of involvement in the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019.

The ruling alliance, led by the Podu Jana Peramuna, popularly known as the Buds Party, has endorsed Ranil Wickremasinghe as its candidate for the upcoming Presidential Elections, set to take place in the third week of October, according to a reliable inside source.

ormer Minister Basil Rajapaksa met Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha yesterday (27) and discussed. The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka conveyed a X message regarding the meeting, highlighting discussions on matters of mutual interest, including the political situation.

A 30-year-old man was arrested by the Biyagama Police in Kaduwela for possession of a substantial haul of narcotics. Police said the suspect was carrying 15 kilograms of ICE, 14 kilograms of hash and 941 grams of heroin at the time of the arrest.

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.