Apr 2 (EN) More than 300 lawyers appeared on behalf of the 53 people to ensure the rule of law, a senior lawyer said on Saturday, a day after a court granted bail for police-detained suspects following a violent protest near Prez Rajapaksa’s Mirihana private residence. Police used tear gas and water cannons late on Thursday to disperse hundreds of protesters who tried to enter Rajapaksa’s residence after a silent protest turned violent. more..

Apr 2 (DM) Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Namal Rajapaksa today said he is ready to sacrifice his portfolios for political unity if Parliament approves to appoint a caretaker govt in the coming days. When questioned on the latest decisions made by the govt amidst the ongoing crisis, Namal told Daily Mirror this was not a time to go in for an election but instead if a caretaker govt is appointed then he will step down and pave way for political unity within the political parties. more..

Apr 2 (NR) Legal experts say although security forces are authorized to make arrests under a State of Emergency, there are no provisions for torture under any circumstances. Senior Attorney Prof. Prathiba Mahanamahewa said fundamental rights of detainees cannot be violated while in custody. He said under usual circumstances, Police has the authority to make arrests adding the authority was vested with Police as the officer of peace according to Code of Criminal Procedure Act No.15 more..

Apr 2 (Island) The State Minister of Regional Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tharaka Balasuriya, and State Minister of Foreign Employment and Market Diversification, Priyankara Jayarathna, and Delegation undertook an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to promote economic and commercial activity and to attract foreign direct investments to Sri Lanka as well as to boost and enhance employment for Sri Lanka nationals in Saudi Arabia, amongst others. more..

Apr 2 (EN) India’s High Commission in Colombo says there is not truth in report that troops would be sent to Sri Lanka. High Commission said it “strongly denies blatantly false and completely baseless reports in a section of media that India is dispatching its soldiers to SL.” “High Commission also condemns such irresponsible reporting and expects the concerned to desist from spreading rumours.” India has been funding SL’s imports through credit lines after money printing created forex more..

Apr 2 (EN) SL’s power regulator has recommended early closure of schools for April holidays amid extended power cuts, while diesel shortages were also hitting transport. “PUCSL recommends Ministry of Education to declare early holidays from Monday (4) for school children as they face many inconveniences due to lengthy power cuts,” PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said. The request comes as private bus owners more..

Apr 2 (AD) The first crescent of the new moon that will herald the start of Ramadan has been sighted today (2), stated Colombo Grand Mosque. Accordingly, Muslims in Sri Lanka are scheduled to commence fasting for Ramadan tomorrow (3), the Colombo Grand Mosque declared. Muslims all over the world will observe a month of fasting and prayers during Ramadan to commemorate the time when the Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammed on the night of Laylat Al Qadr. more..

Apr 2 (NR) The SJB has requested all political parties to vote against a State of Emergency when it is tabled in Parliament for approval. Addressing a media briefing MP Mujibur Rahman said the President retaliated against the public by using tear gas and assault when the public raised their opposition to the Prez that they were forced to wait in queues for gas. He said the govt is attempting to suppress a public uprising for their rights by declaring a State of Emergency. more..

Apr 2 (ST) TGovt’s proposal to create 1,000 national schools has deprived funds to the existing national schools. It is learnt that handpicked schools have been refused funds for 2022 from respective provincial councils, while the line ministry which had absorbed the schools have not allocated funds. “The schools are in limbo without funds from the provinces, or the centre," the national principals union claimed. more..

Apr 2 (DM) Expressing grave concern on the statement issued by the President’s office saying Extremist Group was responsible for the protests in Mirihana, the Church of Ceylon today questioned the motive in rushing to identify parties alleged to be responsible within such a short period of time without stating any credible basis for such conclusion. Church of Ceylon said in a statement that the Prez and the Govt must listen to the cries of the people of this country and fulfill more..

Apr 2 (NF) Founder of Siddhalepa, Victor Hettigoda, fondly known as the Siddhalepa Vedamahattaya has passed away. He was 84-years-old at the of his passing. Chairman of the Hettigoda Group of Industries, better known as the Siddhalepa Group was initially trained by his father Hendrick Hettigoda in Ayurveda and enriched his knowledge by studying Ola Leaf manuscripts and ancient Ayurveda. He has received many national and international awards including a listing among the 50 greatest more..

Apr 3 (SO) SL is facing an acute fuel crisis, which can potentially get worse due to the fallout from the war in Ukraine, which has pushed oil prices well past US$ 100 per barrel. As we argued in these spaces earlier, we simply cannot afford to splurge on fossil fuels any longer. The time has come to make drastic adjustments in the ways that we use fuel. In other words, we must simply use less fuel. In our case, this also serves the purpose of saving valuable foreign exchange – as it is, more..

Apr 3 (TM) For a nation which thought it had seen it all in the last 74 years – be it civil commotion, riots, insurrections, political coups, wars, natural disasters, etc. – what is unravelling before it now is a whole new chapter. As of Thursday, 31 March 2022, Sri Lanka is heading into unfamiliar, uncharted territory where ordinary people devoid of political colour, race, or religion are lining up to take on the political establishment for the first time in its history. Last Thursday was also more..

Apr 3 (CT) Lord Michael Naseby, who is in Colombo, launched his book Sri Lanka: Paradise Lost Paradise Regained, which was released in the UK two years ago. During a conversation with Ceylon Today, he traced back his years spent in Sri Lanka and how he became part of the Govt’s voice, on the alleged war crimes charges, in the international arena. He is currently the Co-Chair of All-Party Parliamentary Groups on SL. more..

Apr 3 (TM) Ask yourself, in the midst of this economic crisis, with fuel, gas, food and medicines increasing in price and reducing in supply, when some 700,000 Sri Lankans are estimated to have slipped below the poverty line: have you ever caught yourself considering former PM, MP Ranil Wickremesinghe, as the man to save the country? What percentage of the national electorate would you estimate yearns for the return of the UNP Leader to a position of power? more..

Apr 3 (CT) The present crisis of public financing and food could have been avoided had we implemented the two Cabinet decisions of the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Govt in 2014. It has been reported that the 52 State-owned enterprises (SOEs) monitored by the Finance Ministry, an aggregate profit of Rs 103 billion was generated during the seven months of 2021, but was eroded by loss making entities, with a total loss of Rs 96 billion. 94% of this loss was contributed by 3 entities, more..

Apr 3 (ST) Bureaucrats at the Foreign Ministry were surprised at a TPN (third person note) they received. Noting that SL had made known its decision to seek a seat in UN Security Council in 2040, they were seeking reciprocal support for the country, which also planned to make a bid in another year. Officials made inquiries and found that Mohan Peiris, SL’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, had made the application after more..

Apr 3 (ST) The visit of the Indian External Affairs Minister this week to Sri Lanka almost had that viceregal air to it. Unlike in the bad old days of not so long ago when black flag demonstrations heralded India’s ham-handed intervention in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs, the intercession this time was more subtle though no less insistent in pursuing its own national interest at the expense of Sri Lanka’s. Outwardly, there was a show of a helping hand to a neighbour in distress. more..

Apr 3 (ST) My dear Citizens of what used to be a Paradise, I am writing to you now with profound sadness and at a time of great crisis, the type of which we have probably never seen before, even though we have had two insurgencies, a 30-year war, a tsunami that killed thousands and a pandemic that brought us to a standstill. It is ironic that it is the same people who saved us from the scourge of terrorism who are responsible for the plight we are in today, with power cuts, shortages of goods more..

Apr 3 (Island) There is no escaping the reality that the Thursday night Pangiriwatte Mawatha protests near Prez Rajapaksa’s Mirihana home was an outpouring of mass anger at the hardships the people are bearing at present. The poor, as always, are the worst hit but others too are at the end of their tether coping with gas queues, fuel queues, unavailable essentials and prices of everyday needs rising to hitherto unknown levels. Businesses without export cushions are in deep distress. more..

Apr 3 (Island) Online media registered the above timeline as Thursday night and Friday morning as protests unfolded near the private residence of Prez Rajapaksa in Mirihana. Sri Lankans at home and abroad, from Colombo to California, saw live reporting of the events. Over 30 people, including journalists, have been admitted to hospitals with injuries. Over 40 have been arrested. PMD has called Thursday’s events unrest and riot and blamed them on an unnamed extremist group. more..

Apr 3 (TM) The desperation of the Govt led by Prez Rajapaksa and PM Rajapaksa in the face of the ongoing economic crisis and increasing public dissent was witnessed when the Prez declared a state of public emergency in the country last Friday (1) night in response to angry people taking to the streets from all parts of the island demanding solutions from their Govt. It was further compounded when an island-wide curfew was declared more..

Apr 3 (TM) Yoshitha Kanishka Rajapaksa, 33, will end his over 15-year rugby career tomorrow, Saturday, 2 April when his team Navy Sports Club meets CR&FC at Longdon Place, Colombo in a Plate encounter of the ongoing Nippon Rugby League, organised by Sri Lanka Rugby. “I have been playing the game since 2004. I felt it is time I should step down. Now our youngsters need to come in and carry the game forward,” said Rajapaksa in an interview with The Morning Sports. more..

Apr 3 (CT) Director-General of the Dept of Sports Development Amal Edirisooriya, in a letter to Football Sri Lanka (FSL), has instructed FSL to conduct their AGM on or before 31 May 2022 to elect new office bearers for 2022-2023. This was confirmed by the DG. “Yes, we have instructed the Football Federation of SL to hold their AGM on or before 31 May 2022 and if they failed to do so we will have to take the Federation under us and conduct the election,” said Amal Edirisuriya more..

Apr 3 (ST) Sri Lanka is in jeopardy of being handed off from representation of the national rugby team from the Commonwealth Games 2022, to be held in Birmingham, England, after the Ministry of Sports made a sudden interception to temporarily suspend Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR), presumably for no valid reason. Issuing a Gazette Notification on April 1, and signed by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Namal Rajapaksha, more..

Apr 3 (ST) At a time when SL is facing untold hardships, the journey of an obscure village girl from Baddegama in the south is a blessing, especially the example of triumph in the face of grave adversity! Ranithma is the only daughter of a family of three children, along with her two brothers, all still in school. Their father Anura Liyanage runs a small business producing and selling school bags in the southern province! Her mother Geetha fends the household and takes care of the family, more..

Apr 3 (TM) Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) yesterday visited arrested social media activist Anuruddha Bandara, who is currently in custody at the Crime Division of the Modara Police Station, and has begun an investigation into the controversial arrest. It is understood that Bandara’s arrest is linked to a website the suspect is connected to, which carried criticism of the Govt and the Prez. A senior HRCSL official said that the Police Dept had confirmed Bandara was being detained more..

Apr 3 (Island) One reason why Sri Lanka’s Test cricket has not deteriorated as fast as the two white ball formats is their captain Dimuth Karunaratne. With consistent performances and match winning knocks, Dimuth has rescued his team time and again. Despite playing less than a handful of Test matches in 2021, he finished the year as world’s third highest run getter and this year he has been even better having emerged as number six ranked batsman in the world. more..

Apr 3 (ST) An all-round team show from Jaffna, virtually helped them to stage an upset imminent win against Colombo, as it was only a matter of time in reaching the finals at the end of day-03, in the first semi at Hambantota, yesterday. The northerners were on the verge of a win, but despite racing against time to conclude the proceedings, they were made to wait for the win only needing another 67 and 25 for no loss. Due to the prevailing situation in SL, SLC has declared today as a rest day more..

Apr 3 (TM) The existing furnace oil shortage in the country has forced several key power plants owned by the CEB to completely halt operations in the midst of a severe power crisis, The Sunday Morning learns. The furnace oil-fired power plants generated around 200 MW, which is now unavailable, and the paying customers of the CEB remain in the dark for hours on a daily basis. Furnace oil for the power plants is generated more..

Apr 3 (ST) Hosts Hameed Al-Husseinie College clinched the HAH Oxford President’s Cup Football Championship 2020, beating Kalutara Muslim Central College by 2-0 in the final played at the Racecourse ground in Colombo. After leading 1-0 at halftime, Hameed Al-Husseinie College secured an easy 2-0 win after striker Mohamed Sarfan fired both goals for the winners. He scored the goals in the 40th and 60th minutes of the game, which was largely dominated by Hameed Al-Husseinie more..

Apr 3 (AD) Police says that 664 individuals have been arrested in the Western Province between 10 p.m. last night and 6 a.m. this morning (3) for violating the curfew currently in effect. Govt had imposed an island-wide curfew effective from 6.00 p.m. yesterday until 6 a.m. on Monday (4), in addition to a state of emergency declared by the Prez. Meanwhile in another regulation, Prez ordered on Saturday that no one should visit public places without permission during a 36-hour curfew more..

Apr 3 (EN) SL’s power cuts will be slashed to 1 hour 40 minutes as the PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said a shipment of fuel arrived in the country on money borrowed from India. Areas A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K, P,Q,R,S, T, U, V, W will have power cuts of 1 hour an 40 minutes 5.30pm to 11.00pm. PUCSL said 12,000 metric tonnes of diesel from the Indian credit line on Saturday and 6,000 tonnes from the LIOC. more..

Apr 3 (ST) There is no glyphosate, no fungicide and no fertiliser in the Sri Lankan market and buyers of Ceylon tea are now taking stock of the situation to move out as quantities at the auctions continue to drop. “Buyers will source their teas from elsewhere when their continuous supply of quality teas is not available from Sri Lanka,” Planters Association Spokesman Dr. Roshan Rajadurai said. He noted that their repeated requests from the govt have not borne fruit and in fact he pointed out that more..

Apr 3 (TM) The $ 200 million credit line sought from Pakistan is in possible jeopardy as discussions with the SL Govt have been halted at the moment due to the political crisis in Pakistan, Trade Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena said. He said that the relevant Pakistani officials who were at the discussion table for the credit line had halted discussions due to the political crisis in their country. The political crisis started in Pakistan earlier this month after the Opposition announced more..

Apr 3 (TM) Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has to pay approximately $ 200,000 in demurrage charges for a fuel shipment laying off the Colombo coast awaiting payment to unload the consignment. Ministry of Energy Secretary K.D.R. Olga said that at least $ 15,000 had to be paid per day in demurrage charges to the ship that has been waiting since 23 March. “We are hoping to make the payment for this shipment this coming week. It has been waiting for some time now, since 23 March. more..