Apr 21 (TM) The report of a special committee comprising Ministry Secretaries and advisors to look into the conduct of the Police in the Rambukkana area – which left one protestor dead and over 30 others injured following the Police opening fire on protestors – will be presented to Parliament expeditiously, said Minister Prasanna Ranatunga in Parliament yesterday. He noted that this special committee would include an Additional Secretary to the Public Security Ministry and more..

Apr 21 (FT) The SJB and the independent group of over 40 MPs in Parliament yesterday stepped-up calls for Prez Rajapaksa and the Govt to step-down first for an-all party interim arrangement to be set up to resolve economic and political crises. Lawmakers of the two groups intensified their attacks on both the Prez and the Govt amidst reports that several more ruling party MPs have decided to sit in opposition more..

Apr 21 (FT) When there are many non-lethal means of crowd control available, there is no justification whatsoever to carry, let alone use, lethal weaponry such as T56 assault rifles in a situation in which protesting citizens are unarmed. The appointment of Prasanna Ranatunga as Public Security Minister following his blood-curdling evocation and implicit justification of the Rathupaswela massacre, cast a large shadow of violent repression over the future. That future arrived swiftly, more..

Apr 21 (FT) A few days after the tsunami, I was called to an expert meeting at Temple Trees by the then PM, Mahinda Rajapaksa. I was seated next to Arisen Ahubudu, the famous giver of names. He stated that we had lost too much territory, including Madagascar, and that we could not afford to lose more. He proposed building a wall around the country, using the traditional techniques used in protecting tank bunds, the ralepanawa. I was stunned that such a nice and well-meaning more..

Apr 21 (HRW) SL authorities should promptly and impartially investigate the apparent use of excessive force by police, who fired on protesters demonstrating against rising fuel prices in Rambukkana, a town near Kandy in central SL on April 19. One person was killed and at least 14 wounded. Those responsible for abuses should be disciplined or prosecuted as appropriate. SL has a long history of failing to provide justice and redress to victims of human rights violations. more..

Apr 21 (ENS) As many as nine fishermen from Arukatuthurai in the district were allegedly assaulted and robbed of their equipment at mid-sea by SL assailants, in three separate incidents on Tuesday night. According to sources, several fishers set out to sea from the village in motorised fibreglass boats on Tuesday afternoon. Some of them were fishing at a distance of ten nautical miles from Arukatuthurai when they came under attack. Around 9 pm, a group of five men in a motorised boat confronted more..

Apr 21 (EN) Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) made recommendations to the Excise Department on Thursday (21) to expedite a proposed computer database system to streamline the calculation of excise revenue by linking Excise Dept, Customs Dept and Inland Revenue Dept. The State Information Dept said this recommendation was made to the Excise Dept during a COPA meeting chaired by more..

Apr 21 (CI) Chennai Super Kings have signed up the SL fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana as a replacement for the NZ quick Adam Milne, who has been ruled out of the remainder of IPL 2022 with a hamstring injury. Milne suffered the injury during Super Kings' first match of the season, against Kolkata Knight Riders on March 26, and has not featured in the tournament since. The 19-year-old Pathirana was part of the SL squad at this year's Under-19 World Cup in the West Indies, more..

Apr 21 (EN) SL will deploy the military from today to the area where the funeral of a protestor shot dead by the policy will be held on April 22, a govt statement said. K B Chaminda Lakshan, a father of two was shot dead by police during a protest over fuel shortages and a price hike, in Ramukkana. Under powers vested in Prez Rajapaksa under the Public Security Ordinance, the tri-forces have been called into maintain order in the Kegalle district from April 21 to April 23, statement said. more..

Apr 21 (EN) An overnight hike in fuel prices after two days of patiently waiting in long queues for petrol and diesel led protestors in the centraltown of Rambukkana to turn violent and burn tyres before police shot one of them dead, eyewitnesses said. A protester was shot and killed in a clash with police on Tuesday, while another 24 were injured with two of them reported to be in critical condition. more..

Apr 21 (FT) Granbell Hotel Colombo the first 4-star hotel in Colombo uniting the Sri Lankan and Japanese design philosophies will open on 27 April. The sister property of Le Grand Galle and proudly situated on the Western coast, Granbell Hotel Colombo welcomes all to an eventful experience in the heart of the capital city of Colombo located next to the Colpetty railway station. The property is managed by BELLUNA Co. Ltd., a leading Japanese company listed on the Tokyo stock exchange. more..

Apr 21 (DM) Minister Prasanna Ranatunge said yesterday that investgation into the Easter Sunday attacks had confirmed that no one had seen Sarah Jasmine alias Pulasthini Rajendran, and the witness who claimed to have seen her was missing. He told Parliament that the witnesses suspected to have fled the country. Minister said 735 suspects have been arrested in connection with the mayhem so far and 196 of them are in prison. "There are 19 suspects under detention order. more..

Apr 21 (DM) SL Army today urged the general public, engaged in protests, to assist unhindered passage of transport movements without blocking roads and causing inconvenience to the public. Commander of Army General Shavendra Silva said that the SL Army at the request of the IGP has deployed Army troops and other forces to assist unhindered passage of transport movements since April 20. “In the face of present economic constraints, people of SL in various areas more..

Apr 21 (AD) IGP has directed the CID to conduct an impartial, comprehensive probe into the death of an individual after police opened fire at protesters in Rambukkana on Tuesday (19) to disperse them. The directives were given to the DIG in charge of the CID, W. Thilakaratne, the Govt said in a statement issued today. CID will thereby take over the investigations pursuant to Article 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act. IGP has also instructed CID to submit an interim report within 3 days. more..

Apr 21 (DM) A tug of war seems to have broken out between Prez Rajapaksa and PM Rajapaksa with the latter now preparing to push for the 19th amendment which will take away the powers of the executive and empower more powers back to the Parliament. Daily Mirror learns that for weeks now, there has been severe political instability among the govt parties and its coalition members, many of who are now seated more..

Apr 21 (AD) A new chairperson has been appointed to Litro Gas Lanka Limited, the primary liquefied petroleum gas supplier in Sri Lanka. It is reported that the chairperson of Sri Lanka Insurance, Vijitha Herath, who is an engineering professional, has taken up the post. Mr. Herath has previously served as the chairman of CEB from 2019 to 2021. In the meantime, sources from Litro Gas Lanka said that the company has suspended its distribution process until the 25th of April. more..

Apr 21 (DM) Police Sergeant who joined at the public protest at Galle Face Green, has been interdicted. Police sergeant attached to the Kuttigala Police Station had joined the public protest at Galle Face on April 14 while being assigned for special duties. He was later arrested by the police and granted bail by the Fort Magistrate's Court. The cop was interdicted from the service with effect from April 14. Earlier, Police said that disciplinary action would be taken against him following an inquiry. more..

Apr 21 (AD) A unanimous decision has been taken at the parliamentary group meeting of the ruling party to strengthen and continue with the govt under PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, PM’s Office said. The parliamentary group of the ruling party had convened a meeting at the parliament complex today and unanimously approved the proposal to strengthen and continue with the govt under the leadership of PM Rajapaksa, statement said. more..

Apr 21 (DM) Claiming that the opposition MPs had once again started accusing Rajapaksas of being involved in fraud and corruption, Former Minister Namal Rajapaksa said that they were ready to face any investigation and challenged them to file cases in any court even overseas. He told Parliament that the opposition made various allegations that the Rajapaksas defrauded public money and was having ill-gotten wealth in other countries and added that the opposition could not prove any of more..

Apr 21 (Island) National Shoora Council (NSC), in a statement issued on the eve of the 3rd anniversary of the Easter Sunday carnage reiterated its often made call for justice to the victims. Also referring to injustices caused to the Muslim community, NSC emphasized the responsibility of all concerned to ensure justice. The following is the text of the statement issued by President of the National Shoora Council T.K. Azoor Attorney at Law: National Shoora Council (NSC) the umbrella body of more..

Apr 21 (DM) SL High Commissioner to Kenya, Veluppillai Kananathan has sent a letter of demand (LoD) to Hirunika Premachandra contesting her recent statement against him in a press conference on April, 15, 2022. Hirunika Premachandra at the said press conference stated that Kananathan was the owner of the jet bearing number T7JSH on which PM Rajapaksa visited Tirupathy last year. Further she said that Kananthan was a member of LTTE and he was the owner of Ceylon Cafe in Uganda, more..

Apr 21 (Island) Sampath Bank announced that its connection to UnionPay International (UPI) is now complete and that the Sampath Bank Payment Gateway powered by UnionPay 3DS 2.0 is open for business. Having thus strengthened its strategic commercial partnership with Paycorp International (Pte) Ltd (Paycorp International), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bancstac (Bancstac), this latest development provides Sampath Bank customers with an unprecedented level of security more..

Apr 21 (AD) Sri Lanka may take nearly three weeks to appoint advisers to guide an overhaul of its debt, according to the country’s finance chief, a move seen as key to unlock emergency funds needed to ease its worsening economic crisis. The country is aiming to choose financial and legal advisers in 15 to 20 days, Finance Minister Ali Sabry said in a Bloomberg TV interview late Wednesday in Washington. more..

Apr 21 (Island) Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) expressed grave concern about the shortage of drugs, vaccines, and essential equipment required, that are more than likely to contribute to increasing morbidity and mortality here. President, SLMA Prof. Samath Dharmaratne and Honorary Secretary, SLMA Prof. Ishan de Zoysa said that SL was currently facing the worst economic and political crisis experienced since independence, which has brought the country into a state of more..

Apr 21 (EN) SL’s commercial banks quoted the rupee at 330/340 for telegraphic transfers on April 21, flat over four days, while the interbank spot was mostly inactive, market participants said. The central bank’s indicative spot was quoted at 335 rupees against the US dollar on Thursday. On Thursday, the central bank’s telegraphic transfer rate was 327.5/339.99 against the US dollar, remaining the same as Wednesday. Exporters and importers were matching deals at higher than small volume more..

Apr 21 (Island) Retired Senior DIG Merril Gunaratne says the police should quickly adopt a contingency plan to meet large scale, often violent and simultaneous protests as the current turmoil is unlikely to end soon. “Law enforcement authorities are facing quite a challenge. Those at the helm of public security operations must take into consideration there is a political background to the rapidly developing situation, the author of Cop in Crossfire and Perils of a Profession more..

Apr 21 (EN) Sri Lanka’s request for a second 500 million US dollar credit line to import fuel is in discussion and yet to be finalized, two sources familiar with the talks said on Thursday. India has given Sri Lanka a 500 million credit line to buy fuel after the island nation’s foreign currency reserves dwindled to near zero and was unable to import fuel for both transport and power generation. Sri Lanka has used most of this credit line and the chairman of state-run fuel retailer CPC told last week more..

Apr 21 (EN) SJB on Thursday (21) presented to the secretary general of parliament a draft 21st constitutional amendment bill with proposals including the abolition of the current executive presidential system. According to a Twitter thread by lawyer Suren Fernando, who was a national list nominee for the SJB in 2020, the proposals are as follows: 1) Abolish current executive presidential system: Parliament to elect president; more..

Apr 21 (FT) The Embassy of SL in Iran organised a tourism promotion partnership event-2022 at its Chancery premises in Tehran on 6 April with the support of the SL Tourism Promotion Bureau and Associations of Air Transport and Tourist Agencies of Iran. Around 75 guests, mainly travel agents and tour operators, airline representatives, journalists, academics, travel consultants and industry specialists and bloggers were present. The purpose of the event was to enhance partnerships more..

Apr 21 (DM) Litro Gas Lanka Ltd stated that they would not be able to distribute domestic gas cylinders to the market until April 25 due to dearth of stocks in hand, company official said. He said the company is in a critical situation of streamlining the distribution network as ships freighting gas haven't yet reached the shores. "We have an issue with the supply chain that shuttles gas. Nevertheless, the current gas scarcity in the country would return to normal within a couple of months," more..

Apr 21 (EN) Health ministry on Thursday (21) reversed a recent relaxation of the country’s COVID-19 face mask mandate, making it once again compulsory to wear a mask outdoors in view of ongoing public protests. Health Services Director General Dr Asela Gunawardena said the relaxation, previously announced by Health Minister Channa Jayasumna on Monday, has been temporarily suspended. more..

Apr 21 (DM) GMOA said that they vehemently condemn the brutal attack by police at Rambukkana and called the govt to conduct an independent and impartial inquiry immediately. GMOA Secretary Dr. Shenal Fernando said that 15 people were admitted to the Kegalle hospital surgical wards with injuries sustained by live ammunition, while three patients were under treatment at the ICU. He said their branch office at the Kegalle hospital informed them that those patients were wounded by more..

Apr 21 (EN) SL’s opposition leader Sajith Premadasa urged a fresh probe into Easter Sunday attack involving Catholic leaders who have raised concerns over the previous investigations. A presidential commission had found lapses in govt intelligence allowing local Islamist extremist stage suicide attack without any resistance three years back. However, the govt has failed to implement the recommendations by the Presidential panel and leader of Catholic church Cardinal Malcom more..

Apr 22 (DM) “I can’t even share my pain with my children and husband, because they start scolding me,” shared Rajani*, who lost her son in the bomb blast at Zion Church, Batticaloa. As a mother, Rajani cannot still come to terms with the loss of her son, but she cannot express her grief openly. Hers was a story similar to many mothers- who lost their children in the fateful bomb blasts- who are unable to express their grief in order to keep the peace in the family. “My family tells me not to talk about more..

Apr 22 (DM) Although #GoHomeGota and #GoHomeRajapaksas are trending Twitter hashtags today, the mood in the country was totally opposite around this time of the year in 2009 ,with days to go for the Sri Lankan military’s final and decisive war victory against the separatist rebels in the north. In the south of the country, the people hailed the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa as saviours of the nation and held them in awe. more..