Apr 12 (EN) Treasury will issue a new circular to curb govt spending to tighten fiscal policies, the finance ministry secretary said to face the financial crisis ahead of a discussion with the IMF next week. The move comes after the island nation officially announced it cannot pay its foreign debts and interest payments – amounting to a sovereign debt default – because the govt had run out of foreign reserves. more..

Apr 12 (AD) The UNP today called for a Parliamentary Select Committee to investigate into the decision to devalue the currency and to delay the debt restructuring which led to defaulting. In a statement issued today, the UNP expressed its dismay at the govt’s announcement of defaulting on all external debt repayment. “SL has had an unblemished record since independence of honouring our debt repayment. Even at difficult times we as a nation have tightened our belts and more..

Apr 12 (AD) The group of MPs who became left the ruling party and became independent has decided to refrain from attending second round of discussions with Prez Rajapaksa today. SLFP MP Duminda Dissanayake said the decision was taken in protest of two independent MPs of the party still serving in state ministerial portfolios in the govt. MP Bandara accepted a state ministerial portfolio despite the SLFP’s parliamentary group’s departure from the ruling party and decision to sit independently more..

Apr 12 (AD) Defence Secretary Kamal Gunaratne says that a total of 735 persons have been taken into custody so far over the Easter Sunday attacks. He said 27 cases have been filed against 79 of them under 25,653 charges. The Defence Secretary stated that various individuals are making various statements regarding the Easter Sunday attacks and that as responsible public officials it is their responsibility to inform the public on the true facts. He rejected the claims tha more..

Apr 12 (EN) Sri Lanka’s is slashing a surrender rule requiring banks to sell export remittances to the monetary authority newly created money to 25 percent from 50%, Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said. “The surrender rule is reduced to 25%, from 50%,” Governor Weerasinghe said. “But please use this money for essential imports.” Commercial banks are required to sell to the central bank 50 percent of dollars they receive from exporters and remittances. more..

Apr 12 (AD) World Bank has agreed to provide an emergency funding of USD 10 million to SL for the purchase of essential pharmaceuticals by next week. Finance Minister Ali Sabry said SL has additionally sought an aid of USD 500 million from the World Bank, for the provision of chemical fertilizer and paddy seeds to the farmers with the aim of alleviating the issues they are facing. Minister Sabry noted that the govt is also looking to more..

Apr 12 (AD) Three youths who were bathing in the Ramboda Ella in Kotmale are reported missing. A group of employees of an apparel factory in Vavuniya, who were vacationing in Nuwara-Eliya, had gone to bathe in the Ramboda Ella at around 3.30 p.m. today. Seven youths had been bathing in the waterfall when they were swept away by strong currents. The lifeguards who were on duty there have managed to rescue four of the distressed youths. more..

Apr 12 (AD) Asia Rugby Executive Committee (EXCO) has decided to impose a temporary membership suspension on Sri Lanka Rugby with immediate effect, upon receiving contrary letters from SL’s Ministry of Sports and the National Olympic Committee of SL casting serious doubt over the legitimate body to administer the sport. At its meeting held on the 9th of April 2022 in Phuket, Thailand, the Asia Rugby EXCO has discussed at length the contrary positions of more..

Apr 12 (BN) SL’s top diplomat in Beijing said he’s very confident that China will come through on $2.5 billion in financial support as the island nation’s inflation-driven crisis becomes more dire. Ambassador Palitha Kohona said that he’d received reassurances as recently as last week from authorities in China that arrangements for loans and credit lines were progressing. SL is looking to borrow $1 billion from Beijing so that more..

Apr 12 (NR) The SJB says the public is hopeful of a solution to the prevailing political crisis and not laying blame on various parties. SJB General Secretary MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara said the SJB has no intention of joining hands with the present administration and forming an interim govt. MP Madduma Bandara questioned the Premier whether he was unaware that scheduled power cuts are imposed due to the lack of dollars to import fuel. MP said the PM acknowledged that more..

Apr 12 (CT) Millaniya Police said, an unidentified armed group had stormed into a private firm in Paragasthota, Millaniya at midnight on 10 April, tied up its security officers before breaking into an armoury ahead of making off with a stock of explosives. The armed group had stolen 250 kg of ammonia nitrate, 250 detonators, 21 water gels, four mobile phones belonging to the security officers and a motorcycle. Police stated that the three men had broken into the firm to steal explosives. more..

Apr 12 (FT) AmCham Sri Lanka launched its inaugural edition of the AmCham SL Founder Showcase on 30 March in Colombo. The AmCham SL Founder Showcase 2022 is conducted in collaboration with Good Market Sri Lanka and is aimed at empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs to launch and/or grow their people and planet-friendly businesses through seed funding, B2B connect, and investment opportunities. AmCham Sri Lanka intends to conduct more..

Apr 12 (DM) While stating that SL’s foreign reserves would dry up further after the Sinhala New Year, former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said what SL needs today is not a change of government but a change of systems including vast economic reforms to avoid a revolution. Wickremesinghe said SL's foreign reserves would dry up in a few days after the New Year. “Our foreign reserves will dry up in a few days’ time after the New Year. Economy could be run with the use of Indian credit more..

Apr 12 (TM) Shortage of drugs has increased to 25% of national demand, claimed All-Island Private Pharmacy Owners’ Association. Association President Chandika Gankanda further claimed that most of the brands are unavailable in the market. “Drug importers are unable to import drugs, as they cannot open letters of credit due to the US dollar (USD) crisis. There are no envelopes to place the medicines in when selling to more..

Apr 12 (CT) Chief Inspector of Police, who was tasked with the collection, inspection and compilation of intelligence information pertaining to the Western Province, has been transferred on the orders of the IGP. Chief Police Inspector K.S. Premathileka, who was in charge of the Western Province Intelligence Unit, has been assigned to do normal duty in the Nugegoda Police Division. It is said the former Western Province Police Intelligence Chief had functioned in his post since 2019 more..

Apr 12 (DM) Former Prez Chandrika Kumaratunga who played a key role cobbling together an alliance to install the previous Yahapalana govt came to the forefront yesterday by calling for a meeting with the political parties and groups opposed to the govt to discuss the way out of the current political crisis. The meeting was attended by MPs Kumara Welgama, Champika Ranawaka and Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Opposition Leader MP Sajith Premadasa, SLMC Leader Rauff Hakeem, TNA MP more..

Apr 12 (TM) There has been increasing concern in SL over food getting spoiled due to power cuts affecting food storage temperatures and food getting contaminated due to common storage-related exposure, Public Health Inspectors’ (PHI) Union of SL claimed. Union Secretary S.I. Bopitiya said that especially meat and dairy products could be contaminated during storing in refrigerators. He advised the public to more..

Apr 12 (TM) NBRO has issued landslide warnings for a total of eight districts, and advised the public to be watchful of possible slope failures, rock falls, cutting failures, and ground subsidence, given nearly a full day of rain in many areas islandwide. Accordingly, the NBRO has issued level one (yellow) landslide warnings to a total of six Divisional Secretariat (DS) Divisions in the Badulla District, namely, Badulla, Bandarawela, Ella, Haldummulla, Hali Ela, and Welimada, more..

Apr 12 (DM) Weighing in on the recent rupee float, which has caused severe hardships to people, as prices rose by many multiples within a matter of weeks, the newly-appointed CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said how it was done raises questions at so many levels. Former CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, whose tenure came to an abrupt end last week, devalued the rupee on March 7 by about 5% and announced that the CB would allow greater flexibility in the exchange rate more..

Apr 13 (DM) Sri Lanka is facing its worst crisis since independence. Our people’s lives are fast becoming unprotected, with hospitals running out of medicines for heart disease, rabies, diabetes and anti-venom serum. World Bank statistics show that around 70% of the workforce in our country in 2019 comprised informal workers. They comprise workers in the tea, rubber and coconut plantations as well as those workers involved in construction industry in the cities of this country. more..

Apr 13 (DM) For the first time, the populace of SL are not ready to wait till the next election to make the representatives they elect, go home. To a citizenry never been able to hold to account their leaders who, under the constitution, are merely their agents holding the sovereignty of the people only as a trust, this was quite remarkable. Yet the mass movement as we have seen at Galle face and other protests, demonstrations and gatherings elsewhere, does not guarantee that this corrupt, imbecile and more..

Apr 13 (DM) SLFP MP Dayasiri Jayasekara responds to questions by the Daily Mirror about the ongoing political unrest and economic crisis. He also responds to queries about his party’s position. Q: Your party has decided to act independent of the govt. What is the next step? A: Basically, 41 of us function in Parliament independent of the govt. We are hopeful of an interim govt. more..

Apr 13 (CT) After artificially fixing the exchange rate in Sri Lanka for so many years (since 2001), whether the sudden floating of the rupee rate to dollar is a wise decision is altogether a different matter. However, because of this decision the dollar rate has jumped from Rs. 197/203 to 321/328 since this decision was taken on 9 March, just a month ago. Has SL become a low income country because of this decision, and other circumstances, is the first question that this short article raises? more..

Apr 13 (Island) When it comes to the current crisis in SL we have heard all the superlatives – it is unprecedented, it is the worst since independence, the country is at the brink of collapse, a crisis of epic proportions, on and on. Given the nature of what has happened and is happening, these characterisations seem justified. But what is absent in the current political discourse is a faintest sign of an endgame. How is this going to end? When and where would the country come to an equilibrium point more..

Apr 13 (CT) Everything Midas touched, so the story goes, turned into gold. Almost everything this Govt has done has backfired, spectacularly. I’m not just talking about the rolling power cuts, the fertiliser imbroglio, or the tax cuts of 2019. I’m talking about the ideals that brought Gotabaya Rajapaksa to power. Those who voted against his Govt chose not to embrace those ideals, but those who did are now convinced that more..

Apr 13 (CT) Three Easters ago, nearly 300 innocent lives were taken in the most horrendous terror attack since the end of Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war. It was a flashpoint for our nation; turning brother against brother and paving the way for malevolent opportunists to make the best out of the chaos. The country was gripped in the days that followed 21 April 2019 as the authorities slowly unravelled a radical jihadi network which was sensationalised by certain media outlets for the ratings. more..

Apr 13 (TM) Last year, the people thought that having to celebrate the Sinhala and Hindu New Year – SL’s biggest cultural event – amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, was a tragedy. This year, the citizens are left with no option but to celebrate the New Year amidst a bigger tragedy, i.e. the ongoing economic crisis, which shows strong signs of exacerbating. Not too many people are in a position to actually celebrate the New Year. That is why the people need to be prudent, selfless, and sparing, when more..

Apr 13 (GV) In Dec 2021 we published an extended essay in Focaal on the worsening state crisis in Sri Lanka and Thailand. In this earlier piece we argued that the religio-politics of national (civic) Buddhism and state relations in both countries could be best theorised as a genealogical problem which anticipates the inexorable logic of the future foretold: namely, new right/ultra-nationalist forms of governance; influenced by the encompassing political and economic hegemony of China more..

Apr 13 (Island) SL has had to suspend foreign debt payments for the first time. It is a sad day for every Sri Lankan. This measure has become unavoidable for two reasons. Country has to prevent a hard default; foreign debt payment due this year is reportedly about USD 4 billion including a USD 1 billion int'l sovereign bond maturing in July. It badly needs dollars for essential imports which are in short supply much to the consternation of the people, who have taken to the streets demanding relief more..

Apr 13 (Island) It is said that the New Year, among other things, enables vast numbers of people to engage in the same activities simultaneously. There is said to be something particularly awesome in this simultaneity. However, nonagathaya (inauspicious phase), which is considered a vital feature of the annual event, in a negative sense though, enforces inactivity. It is doubtful whether this grand ritual which more..

Apr 13 (Island) The track and field fraternity was shocked to learn the sudden demise of senior technical official Trevor Nugegoda, just two days after the veteran was seen officiating at the centenary National Athletics Championship at Diyagama. The senior technical official who commanded the respect of his peers and the athletes alike was the National Technical Delegate at the historic National Athletics Championship. He was 88. more..

Apr 13 (CT) SL spinner Maheesh Theekshana has heaped praise on MS Dhoni after making his debut for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday. He believes that the Indian wicketkeeper-batter can do anything. Theekshana made his debut for the Chennai club during their eight-wicket loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2022. In a video shared by the Chennai-based franchise on social media, the crafty spinner spoke about sharing the dressing room with MS Dhoni. more..

Apr 13 (CI) It's not often that a team appoints a head coach to as little fanfare among supporters as SL have just done, but such is the precarious state of the nation at the moment that Chris Silverwood's appointment has flown almost entirely under the radar. But, in many ways, that's probably to Silverwood's advantage; both he and the team are coming off some poor results. SL suffered heavy back-to-back defeats in the Test and more..

Apr 13 (CT) Hansadie Akuratiya of Ferguson High School, Ratnapura won the SL National Youth Chess Championships 2022 Under-10 Girls’ event scoring 6 ˝ points out of 7 games and remaining unbeaten throughout, while Haritha Hansana of Rahula College, Matara proved his superiority in the Under-12 Open category by scoring 7 points out of 8 games. Though he tied with Disal Weerasekara he won the title with a better tie breaker. In the Girls’ event, Sasmi Sithumsa (Lyceum Int'l School), more..

Apr 13 (DN) The 32 member cricket pool has been named for the SL Emerging teams tour of England which will commence in the first week of May. The players who performed well at the National Super League cricket tournament and major club Emerging three-day cricket tourney have been selected for this 32 member pool which will be pruned down to 18 for the England tour. Emerging cricket series against England includes three four-day games and three T-20 games and this is going to be more..