Apr 25 (DM) TNA MP MA Sumanthiran said they could not support the no confidence motion against the govt unless it is certain what would happen after winning the no-confidence motion. He said that their primary demand was the Prez to step down first as most of the people were calling for it. "It is the President who was totally responsible for the present crisis situation. He should step down first," he said. Mr. Sumanthiran said after winning the no-confidence motion, it would only be yet another cabinet reshuffle more..

Apr 25 (AD) In a letter to the Chief Prelates of the three Buddhist Chapters, Prez Rajapaksa has stated that he agrees to form an interim govt, the Registrar of the Asgiri Chapter, Ven. Medagama Dhammananda Thero said. He stated that the Prez has also assured that he will take immediate steps to resolve the economic crisis in the country. Prez, in his letter to the chief prelates, has also said that any constitutional reforms should be carried out through the Parliament. more..

Apr 25 (EN) China is sad that Sri Lanka went to the IMF and defaulted on its debt, Ambassador Qi Zhenhong said, adding that China is watching the island nation’s negotiations with the Washington-based lender. “China has done its best to help Sri Lanka not to default but sadly they went to the IMF and decided to default,” Ambassador Qi told reporters at a media briefing in Colombo. “The debt restructuring definitely will have an impact on future bilateral loans,” he said. more..

Apr 25 (NR) The Anura Kumara Dissanayake led NPP has decided to support the No-Confidence Motion that is being tabled against the govt by the SJB. MP Dr. Harini Amarasuriya when contacted by NewsRadio said the party is of the view that an interim govt should be established with a short term programme to fulfil certain specific requirements, which they will support. However, MP Amarasuriya said the NPP has certain conditions in order to extend their support to the formation of an interim govt. more..

Apr 25 (EN) A collective of SL’s govt school teacher and principal unions declared sick leave on Monday (25) in a one-day token strike protesting a sharp increase in fuel prices which they said has affected student attendance. The unions said on Monday that all teachers and students have been affected and are unable to bear the increase in transports costs brought about by the fuel price hike, which has led to countless protests islandwide on top of other ongoing protests demanding more..

Apr 25 (EN) SL’s commercial banks quoted the rupee at 330/345 for telegraphic transfers on April 25, rising from the previous week, while the interbank spot was mostly inactive, market participants said. The central bank’s indicative spot was quoted at 334.8 rupees against the US dollar on Monday. At the time of filing, central bank had not issued the telegraphic transfer rates for Monday. On Friday, the telegraphic transfer rate was 327.5/339.99 against the US dollar, remaining the same as Thursday. more..

Apr 25 (Island) UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on Saturday said that the country would face bigger problems starting in the coming weeks if the govt did not re-streamline its financial strategies immediately. Speaking at a seminar organised by bankers in Colombo, the UNP leader said that the govt would have to rethink its strategies to revive the economy as Sri Lanka was not qualified for the IMF Rapid Financial Initiative and the Indian credit line was coming to an end next month. more..

Apr 25 (AD) The Fort Magistrate’s Court has issued another foreign travel ban on former Governor of the Central Bank of SL (CBSL) Ajith Nivard Cabraal. Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage had issued the order today after taking into consideration a personal complaint filed by Ven. Thiniyawala Palitha Thero, accusing Mr. Cabraal of misappropriating state funds while serving as the central bank governor. The court also issued summons on Ajith Nivard Cabraal to appear before the court on June 07, 2022. more..

Apr 25 (DM) The Kandy Tourist Police have arrested three individuals for allegedly sexually harassing a popular German female Youtuber. A popular Germen couple Glen and Mado were reportedly harassed in the streets of Kandy by the individuals on April 21 night. The German vlogger Mado recorded the entire incident and uploaded it on their YouTube channel which went viral on social media. The suspects were arrested following a special investigation launched into the incident. more..

Apr 25 (EN) China is hopeful of resumption of stalled free trade agreement (FTA) with SL in the near future with the island nation has appointed a chief negotiator for Colombo, Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong said. China has signaled the desire to re-start a stalled Free Trade Agreement talks with Sri Lanka to boost exports and come out of an economic crisis, during a visit of Foreign Minister Wang Yi in January. However, SL has yet to give a strong signal, more..

Apr 25 (EN) SL owes around 390 million US dollars to China for 12 fuel consignment the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) had imported in the six months through January from Beijing-based Petro China, Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong said. The fuel shipments were supplied with letters of credit from Bank of Ceylon and People’s Bank, he said. “PetroChina has supplied 19 shipments of diesel and petrol at competitive prices in the six months from July last year to January to CPC. more..

Apr 25 (EN) Private Bus Owners’ Association Prez Gemunu Wijeratne on Monday (25) invited Uvindu Wijeweera, the son of late Marxist revolutionary Rohana Wijeweera, to take charge of the country’s youth in bringing about change. Wijeratne said the late founder-leader of the Marxist-Leninist JVP has been vindicated in his allegations of Indian expansionism destroying Sri Lanka. “It’s not just Indian imperialism; by now even Chinese imperialism has destroyed this country,” said Wijeratne more..

Apr 25 (EN) Stock trading was closed for the day after the index of liquid stocks fell over 10% on Monday and opening after a 7% rate hike, a two-week holiday in which period the central bank announced a soft-default and began IMF discussions. ASPI was 500 points down at 7,593.39 as soon as the market opened. Most liquid index S&P SL20 also fell over 7.06% within minutes after market started trading. Trading was halted and the Colombo Stock Exchange said trading will resume at 11.01 am. more..

Apr 25 (AD) The first meeting of the newly-appointed Cabinet of Ministers will be held today, under the patronage of Prez Rajapaksa. Cabinet meeting is scheduled to be held at 5 pm at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo. Although the new Cabinet was sworn in on the 18th of April, no cabinet meeting has been held so far. However, the gazette notification regarding the scopes, priorities, affiliated institutions, and legal frameworks of each ministry of the new cabinet is expected to be issued today. more..

Apr 25 (EN) SL’s official worker remittances fell 47.9% in March 2022 to US$ 318.4 million as a broken soft-pegged exchange rate regime, discouraged transfers through official channels. March remittances are slightly up from February. In March the numbers go up every year due to money sent to family members for the April New Year season. Official remittances started to fall from around May 2021 as the economy recovered from Coronavirus pandemic, money printing picked up and a non-credible peg was rigidly enforced. more..

Apr 25 (CT) The national blood transfusion service has been severely hampered due to a serious lack of a number of essential equipment including bags to store blood donated by the public, Ceylon Today learns. Director of the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) Lakshman Edirisinghe said the crisis was caused by the lack of funds to import blood transfusion equipment. He said blood transfusion was a complicated process, and all equipment related to it, except blood, is imported. more..

Apr 25 (EN) Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC), which largely represents minority Tamils of Indian origin — many of whom work in the plantation sector — have decided to vote against the incumbent govt in the event of a no confidence motion, CWC general secretary Jeevan Thondaman said. “CWC, after extensive discussions, has collectively taken a decision to vote against the present govt. The decision has been communicated to the party leaders of the ruling party, the opposition and the independents,” more..

Apr 25 (DM) Fears are mounting that the crisis in SL will get worse over the coming days after Prez Rajapaksa and PM Rajapaksa decided not to step down despite the mass protests. Daily Mirror learns the opposition and some members of the ruling SLPP have been holding back-door talks to consider the next move. SLPP is split on calls for the Prez and the PM to resign. While some have demanded the resignation of the Prez, a majority want the PM and his cabinet to resign. more..

Apr 25 (DM) A 33-year old woman was killed and her sister and a friend were critically injured when they were mercilessly hacked with a sharp weapon by the woman's husband last night at Webada in Weliweriya. The Weliweriya Police have initiated an inquiry into the incident following a tip off that the suspect had attempted to commit suicide by jumping into a well near the house after the assaulting his wife who had recently returned from overseas, to death. The woman died instantaneously, more..

Apr 25 (DM) Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Rajitha Senaratne yesterday claimed that his party had managed to secure more than 113 signatures for the no confidence motion against the govt. “We have the necessary numbers for the motion as those who have left the govt have pledged their support for us. The SJB earlier decided not to take up positions in an interim govt which will be formed in the event the no confidence motion is approved and the present govt is defeated. more..

Apr 25 (NR) The SJB says spiked barricades used by the Fort Police to block the entrance to the Galle Face Green were used with the intention of endangering the lives of protesters. The SJB said the govt and the Police are responsible for any injuries sustained by protesters. MP Mujibur Rahuman said Police had obtained several court orders in order to barricade roads. He questioned the actions of the Police in attempting to disrupt public protests adding such actions are illegal. more..

Apr 25 (FT) The South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), a regional network of Human Rights Defenders, in a statement yesterday said it vehemently condemns the use of excessive force by the Police on unarmed civilians’ protest occurred in Rambukkana, SL on 19 April. On behalf of the members of the South Asians for Human Rights, Chairperson Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy and Co-Chairperson Dr. Roshmi Goswami said in the statement at this incident the Police had fired live bullets at the civilians protesting over more..

Apr 25 (AD) The Colombo Magistrate’s Court has rejected a request made by the police to issue an order preventing protesters from demonstrating opposite the Temple Trees in Kollupitiya. The order was delivered by Colombo Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunawala following a request made by the Kollupitiya Police. Denying the request the magistrate, however said that the police had the power to take action against the protesters if they acted in a manner that caused a hindrance to the public. more..

Apr 26 (DM) Remember the countrywide protests by the farmers after their crops were destroyed due to lack of chemical fertilizer and the other agrochemicals? As if the allegation by the then Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage that the farmers were agitating after being incited by the Opposition politicians are proven true, no such protests are now being reported. He was wrong and his allegation was politically motivated and malicious. more..

Apr 26 (DM) Rathupaswala and Rambukanna are not located in far flung corners of Sri Lanka, the former is a 45 min drive from Colombo, the latter just over two hours. These two towns have been brought together in the same sentence because the poorest people in our country continue to be at the sharp end of economic scarcity, nationalist ambition and dynastic power struggle. The reporting suggests a tense situation whereby protestors had attempted to set fire a fuel bowser. more..

Apr 26 (DM) PM Rajapaksa has dismissed calls for his resignation, as has his brother, Gotabaya, the president. He pooh-poohed calls for an interim govt, and insisted that “If there is a need for an interim govt it should happen only under my leadership.” The protesting public is justifiably outraged, but they are left with little recourse to make him leave his office in peace. Uni students surrounded his residence, threatening to more..

Apr 26 (GV) SL’s economy has collapsed due to years of mismanagement. Now heading for a political showdown, the country is officially bankrupt, unable to service the debt-ridden economy. This has been further exacerbated by external factors such as the Covid outbreak and the Russian-Ukrainian war. Some were surprised by the events. People with little economic training who know how to handle a household budget or a small business would know that the writing was on the wall due to more..

Apr 26 (CT) Nothing is more ludicrous and laughable than desperate govt politicians who voted for the monstrous 20th amendment like Charitha Herath and Alahaperuma, now proposing that the PM and cabinet (but strangely not the Prez!) should resign with the formation of an all party coalition govt of some kind in order to save the country. One wonders whether these men might fancy being in such a dubious interim administration. How dare such failed politicians make such preposterous more..

Apr 26 (DM) April 19, 2022 was a day of unrest in Sri Lanka. People in major towns and cities took to the streets staging protests on the newly announced fuel price hikes during the wee hours of April 18. Subsequent price hikes in lunch packets, bus fares and other essential necessities caused panic and anger among people. The series of events that unfolded in Rambukkana make one wonder whether the state now responds to more..

Apr 26 (CT) As the Rajapaksa regime grows in unpopularity, the voices of dissent keep getting louder. The streets shake from protest marches. On Sunday, Police in Colombo erected spiked barricades to try and stop their most dreaded advisory – IUSF (Colloquially called Anthare). These days, protest marches have become a national pastime. It’s not just frantic feet stomping towards the houses of tyrants and those concerned, it is a vehicle that is carrying the beaten and more..

Apr 26 (TM) There was a time when SL was known as the great barn of the East, even though it is now awaiting rice on credit from absolutely any country that is willing to engage in such generosity. It is said that Lee Kuan Yew, the renowned PM of South East Asian economic giant Singapore, aspired to make Singapore as developed as SL was in the early 1950s, even though SL’s economy today is a guide on what not to do for many int'l govts, and a cautionary tale for many developing nations. more..

Apr 26 (DM) On April 12, 2022, Sri Lanka declared that it would suspend all external debt payments with immediate effect. Incidentally, Sri Lanka joined the dubious club of global defaulters. This event is similar to a declaration of bankruptcy. It signals the start of a debt restructuring and economic reform phase, with the likely backing of the IMF (as per April 23, 2022 IMF statement). In a series of three articles, we explore this crisis. Firstly – What accelerated the default? more..

Apr 26 (Island) Pressure is mounting on the govt to step down. Some powerful trade unions representing teachers, doctors and other state employees are also calling on the crumbling regime to resign, paving the way for an interim administration to steer the country out of the present crisis, but the SLPP leaders are holding on to power like limpets. Speculation is rife that there will be a general strike in support of the ongoing efforts to engineer a regime change. As for its survival, more..

Apr 26 (FT) There will be blood on the streets but make sure you buy (shares) before it runs dry. Do not look at how the market is behaving but focus on fundamentally sound stocks going at a bargain with a medium to long-term view. In a downturn, restructure your portfolio with accumulation and await for bullish divergence. These were among the very persuasive and valid advice from progressive stock broking firms more..

Apr 26 (Island) I can’t remember the exact words, but remember the sentiment: Nobody is happy with our education, not one person. Education should be about imagining a better world, a country, and a future. Our education does none of that, it’s simply designed to perpetuate the system, blindly and uncritically. The group, contributing to this column, the Kuppi Collective, was still forming, early into the Covid-19 lockdowns, when Anushka Kahandagama expressed thoughts such as these. more..

Apr 26 (FT) 35 COVID-19 patients were detected yesterday, raising the country’s COVID-19 case count to 663,195. The previous day, 29 persons tested positive for COVID-19. 898 PCR tests and 665 RATs were conducted on Sunday. Total of 75,588 COVID-19 patients have been detected since 1 Jan. The country’s local cases also include 483,090 persons from the New Year cluster, 82,785 persons from the Peliyagoda cluster, 9,154 persons from the Prisons cluster, more..