Apr 25 (DM) Over the past six months Lanka has been buffeted by the winds of political-economic turmoil and a breakdown in governance. In the capital city crowds of protesters have occupied the Galle Face Green. In parliament, members of the ruling clique have begun jumping off what they see as the sinking ship. Media reports suggest serious disagreements between the president and premier and in homes across the country people hunt for basics amid soaring costs. more..

Apr 25 (GV) SL is at a crossroad, facing multiple crises, as well as the present impasse of an unwanted Executive with all powers and an inadequate Legislature with little powers. The call of citizens, united in their diversity, is for real change. This requires clear priorities and a framework for a sustainable development plan for SL which assigns responsibility to its Executive, Legislature and Public Service to implement that plan. This analysis tries to provide a structured way for country to do so, more..

Apr 25 (SO) Minister of Transport and Industries Dilum Amunugama said the ongoing protests are not against any particular party but are against all 225 MPs. First of all, 225 lawmakers should start acting in a more responsible manner and try to win the trust of the public and the youth. The Minister said at present people has lost their trust in the whole parliamentary system which is another big issue. more..

Apr 25 (DM) Integrity, intelligence, capability, conscientiousness, and experience should take precedence over party loyalty in appointing an interim administration. President has confessed/apologized that it was a blunder to impose organic only instead of agrochemicals and not seeking IMF assistance earlier. The two mistakes or grave errors are sufficed for a Head of State, irrespective of the degree of his involvement in the decisions, to tender his resignation. more..

Apr 25 (DM) In a letter to SL’s Armed Forces on April 21, Direction Sri Lanka, a group of independent professions requested the Armed Forces to act with care, understanding and exercise utmost restraint when dealing with protesters. The letter is published in full below. We write to you at a time our Nation is facing a watershed moment in its history. There are widespread protests throughout our country which have arisen spontaneously due to the extreme hardships faced by its people. more..

Apr 25 (CT) Common Starlings (kalu maina) are a bird species that known for forming flocks—especially gather in the evening, known as murmuration and perform amazing aerobatic displays before dropping into their favoured sites. Being symbolic of communication and unity; and according to scientists, Starling murmurations generally come into existence when a predator is in close proximity. more..

Apr 25 (CT) Today is World Malaria Day. SL was declared malaria-free by the WHO in 2016. But, the country’s journey towards achieving this target had been long and arduous. Organised malaria control activities commenced in SL over a century ago in 1911, with the establishment of the Anti-Malaria Campaign, when SL was still a British colony. A major achievement of the Campaign was the dramatic reduction in the countrywide malaria incidence after introduction of DDT in 1946. more..

Apr 25 (TM) Over the past few months, SL has found a guardian angel. And with it, the time has come to contend with the issue of geopolitically toxic generosity. The country, floundering as it is in the lower depths of political, economic, and now, legal crises, has found an Asiatic guardian angel, risen from the subtropics of the East, in the form of motherly and big-brotherly India. Across the Atlantic, SL is negotiating – perhaps, penitent surrender would be a more appropriate description more..

Apr 25 (ST) From the young girl who handed out a red flower to a policeman at a barricade at Galle Face Green to the actor who walked with a cross on his back from Katuwapitiya, one of the sites of the infamous attacks by homegrown jihadists on Easter Sunday in 2019, to the protest site in Colombo, change is in the air. Resistance and non-violent disobedience to the dictates of a Govt that has stopped listening to the people are the most important tools that peaceful protestors have more..

Apr 25 (ST) If the Prez thought a new look cabinet would dim the din of the people asking him to go, he was wrong. Youthful faces cannot hide the same old Rajapaksa ideology they have been conditioned to bear in their narrow heads for political advancement. And it cut no ice with the masses. In his indirect address to the nation, in the guise of a motivational speech to his new cabinet, sworn in this auspicious Monday, the Prez announced it was a system change cabinet and expressed the hope more..

Apr 25 (CT) The country’s economic crisis, which is one of the worst of its kind, has exposed many white-collar officials’ and blue-collar individuals’ corruption and fraudulent activities. This has been the practice for many years, perhaps more so, during the height of the pandemic, when the country was paralysed. Many members of the public have complained about banks and Police Officers enlisting the help of thugs to go after more..

Apr 25 (Island) Colombo is fast becoming a city of barricades, again. In the past, roads were blocked to prevent terrorists from carrying out attacks. But, this time around barricades are being put up to protect a bunch of self-serving rulers from the irate public on the warpath! The current rulers must have been elated when the educated, intelligent, talented youth started leaving the country; they may have thought that they and their intellectually-challenged progeny would be free to do as they pleased. more..

Apr 25 (Island) The prevailing state in the SL nation is that while one group is engaged in protests, and making demands that cannot be constitutionally realised, another group is patiently lining up in long queues to collect supplies needed to fulfil their basic needs. The two groups are from two different strata of society. While the former consists of young and educated, and from the middle strata of SL society, the latter is largely from the working class, and hence their focus is on how to survive more..

Apr 25 (Island) South Asian Games medallist Kaushalya Madushani, who won the best hurdler trophy for her outstanding performance at the centenary National Athletics Championship on Saturday has passed away under tragic circumstances. SL Army athlete won the best female hurdler award of the landmark championship on Saturday for her 58.73 seconds feat in the 400 metres hurdles. On Saturday she competed in the 400 metres flat more..

Apr 25 (Island) An all-round performance steered Tamil Union C & AC to a comfortable 44 run win over Sebastianites C & AC in the final and emerge champion of the SLC Major Club Emerging 3-Day Tournament yesterday at SSC. Earlier, Sebastianites won the toss and put Tamil Union in to bat, and they launched their title bid on scoring 254 in 71.5 overs on day one. The positive take off by Tamil Union was fronted by Ravindu Fernando who stroked a workmanlike 76 off 167 balls inclusive of more..

Apr 25 (FT) The shipping industry has always been a resilient one, no matter what obstacles challenge the industry; it has steered its way through the trials and made the most of every situation. Being part of this resilient industry, YoungShip Sri Lanka which entered its ninth year of existence this year, has been able to overcome the challenges posed by the global pandemic and continued to be active during this period and provide value to its membership. After the YoungShip’s 2021 AGM, more..

Apr 25 (DN) Nippon Paint Clifford Cup knock-out Rugby Tournament is scheduled to kick off on May 27 and will continue till June 5 with the participation of the eight teams. Soon after the completion of the remaining league tournament matches played for Nippon Paint Rugby League which is scheduled to commence on the 13 of next month, the organizers have decided to conclude the remaining matches the following week (May 20/21 and 22) before they embark on the Clifford Cup Tournament. more..

Apr 25 (ST) The decision taken by SL Society of Rugby Football Referees’ (SLSRFR) to abstain from officiating school rugby matches, has been reversed following a meeting between SLSRFR and Trinity College. The meeting had taken place on April 11, and SLSRFR President, Dinka Peiris said that his team is convinced with the outcome of the discussion and will resume officiating school rugby games. ”During the cordial discussion, the participants gave serious consideration to more..

Apr 25 (Island) Olympian Sumeda Ranasinghe stamped his class in the men’s javelin throw, sprinters Kalinga Kumarage and Aruna Dharshana clocked sub 46 seconds in the 400 metres, school girls dominated women’s 400 metres and high jump and Chamal Kumarasiri established a meet record as the centenary National Athletics Championship concluded at Diyagama on Saturday. Ranasinghe, who achieved qualifying standards for more..

Apr 25 (Island) Sri Lanka’s leading private bank HNB PLC recently joined hands with one of the country’s leading premium bookstores- M.D. Gunasena, to support the donate a book for change CSR campaign to donate books and valuable reading material to schools in rural areas. The two companies inked their partnership at the HNB Head Office in the presence of HNB Deputy General Manager- Retail & SME Banking, Sanjay Wijemanne, HNB Head of more..

Apr 25 (FT) SL’s COVID-19 detections over the weekend totalled 69, with daily detections dropping below 50 on both Saturday and yesterday. 29 COVID-19 patients were detected yesterday, while 40 COVID-19 patients were detected the previous day. 2,140 PCR tests and 736 rapid antigen tests were conducted on Saturday. Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 case count currently stands at 663,160. This includes 483,090 persons from the New Year cluster, 82,785 persons from the Peliyagoda cluster, more..

Apr 25 (FT) Three appointed members of the Council of the Uni of Colombo have resigned over what they described as irregularities in the appointment of Vice Chancellor (VC). The trio are longstanding member Thilak Karunaratne, Ajit Gunewardena and Sumith Cumaranatunga. They tendered their resignations to UGC Senior Professor Sampath Amaratunga. Recently, Senior Prof. H.D. Karunaratne was appointed as VC more..

Apr 25 (FT) La Vie Hotels & Resorts, one of Asia Pacific’s leading and fastest growing independent hotel management companies, has signed a landmark deal with Radisson Hotel Group and Sino Lanka Group to operate three hotels in SL. This major new agreement with Radisson Hotel Group, will see the company launch an upper-upscale Radisson Blu resort on the shores of the Indian Ocean near Galle, and two upscale Radisson hotels in Colombo – one in the heart of the country’s more..

Apr 25 (FT) Leading and most represented industry associations have written to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa asking for the removal of SL Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando. They are the SL Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), The Hotels Association of SL (THASL), Travel Agents Association of SL (TAASL), SL Association of Professional Conference Exhibition and Event Organisers (SLAPCEO), Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Tourism SL (ASMET) more..

Apr 25 (FT) Attorney-at-Law Nishan Sydney Premathiratne is of the view that the effect of the CSE collapsing would be disastrous to the banking and financial sector of Sri Lanka as most banks and financial institutions have provided margin trading facilities to investors. The security for such lending has been assessed on the particular market price of a share. It is estimated that over Rs. 20 billion is owed to margin trading providers such as banks and financial institutes. more..

Apr 25 (Island) Newly-appointed Public Security Minister Prasanna Ranatunga says he will seek an appointment with Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith soon to brief him on the progress of investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage. Alleging that members of the Opposition had made unsubstantiated claims in Parliament, during a recent debate on the Easter Sunday carnage, on the basis of various statements attributed to the Cardinal & other senior priests, Minister Ranatunga more..

Apr 25 (FT) The economic crisis which has resulted in spiralling inflation and shortages in essential goods such as fuel, gas, medicine, and electricity is the gravest SL has faced since Independence. The crisis has led to loss of public confidence in the leadership and institutions of the country and demonstrated the failures of the Executive Presidency. The lack of meaningful Parliamentary oversight over the Executive more..

Apr 25 (CT) PHU Leader Udaya Gammanpila said, No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against the Govt will be presented to Parliament this week by the 11 constituent parties and the 42 independent MPs. He was confident that 125 MPs had already pledged their support to the NCM. “As a result, if the Govt is defeated by the NCM, an SLPP MP will be appointed as PM, and an Interim Govt will be formed. The draft NCM has been sent to the SJB, JVP & SLPP, and they have already pledged more..

Apr 25 (EN) Power cuts up to 3 hours and 20 minutes have been approved for Sri Lanka for April 25, PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said as money printing by the central bank triggered forex shortages, disrupting fuel imports. SL’s power earlier requested 4 hours and 30 minutes of power cuts for April 24 with 3 hours in the daytime and 1.5 hours in the evening but may reduce the duration by 30 minutes if more fuel or water is available. SL is facing forex shortages due to money printed more..

Apr 25 (FT) Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga has mooted a proposal for the setting up of an interim Govt for a maximum six months with the PM as Head of Govt elected from among the MPs as a way to overcome the current political impasse in the country. The proposal was made public by Kumaratunga in a letter saying: “We cannot disregard our responsibility to actively join together to seek solutions and more..

Apr 25 (FT) SLPP MP and COPE Chief Charitha Herath has endorsed what former Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said about forming a national Govt collaboratively with all parties. Taking to his Twitter handle Dr. Herath said that the Govt along with PM Rajapaksa should step down immediately. He proposed six steps to manage the way forward, in which the first is for the present Govt to step down, secondly to form a national- caretaker type small Govt for a short period of six to eight months, more..

Apr 25 (AD) Pupils from the Caihe No.3 Primary School in Hangzhou, China have donated their pocket money of RMB 100,000 (LKR 5 million) to 1,000 SL students from low-income families for further studies, the Chinese Embassy in Colombo said. In a video message, the primary students have also wished SL could overcome the pandemic and the current difficulties. Another video shows the kids from the primary school lining up to offer their help to Sri Lankan friends by placing the money more..

Apr 25 (TM) Despite several barricades, including those with hidden spikes, along most roads leading to Gota Go Gama at Galle Face Green, IUSF protest march managed to reach the Green by using alternative routes yesterday, attracting national attention in the process. Even though the IUSF had originally planned to march to Galle Face from Colombo Fort, the protestors chose to take an alternative route instead of more..

Apr 25 (FT) SL team headed by Finance Minister Ali Sabry has been in negotiation with the officials of the IMF, for a credit facility to overcome SL’s acute Balance of Payments or BOP problem. Team had been jubilant over its success as revealed by a media statement issued by the Ministry of Finance. However, IMF’s SL mission chief Masahiro Nozaki has told Reuters that discussions are still at an early stage and a pre-condition for a Fund facility has been having a debt sustainability scheme in place. more..

Apr 25 (FT) Protestors around the country are demanding an urgent resolution to the crisis affecting SL society. The proposals include removal of those in power, shuffling of posts and changes to the structure of governance. Many are studying such proposals from different angles. This paper analyses the crisis from a systems perspective and derives proposals using simple principles. They ought to be applicable to any future scenarios, irrespective of who is in power or the personalities involved. more..

Apr 25 (DM) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa has not informed any groups that he will resign from the premiership as he still holds the majority seats in Parliament, senior officials from the PM's Office told Daily Mirror a short while ago. Officials said that the PM in his discussions with SLPP party members and independent and religious groups had not discussed his resignation as he still had over 100 seats in Parliament, and any other claims are false, the Prime Minister's Office said. more..