Apr 29 (AD) Prez Rajapaksa has agreed to form an interim govt representing all political parties in the parliament, says former Prez Maithripala Sirisena. The SLFP chairman made these remarks addressing a media briefing following an audience with the Prez and the 11 independent political parties. The appointment of a new PK and the Cabinet of Minister of this interim govt will be assigned to a national assembly consisting more..

Apr 29 (SLN) A special operation conducted by the Navy in coordination with the SL Coast Guard, State Intelligence Service (SIS) and Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) in seas off Dodanduwa, Galle on the evening of 12th April 2022, led to the seizure of a local multi-day fishing vessel smuggling about 300kg of substance suspected to be heroin and about 25kg of drugs suspected to be crystal methamphetamine (ICE). The coordinated operation also made way to the apprehension of 11 suspects along more..

Apr 29 (NR) Minister Prasanna Ranatunga claims the prevalent economic crisis cannot be solved with continuous protests or creating unrest. Minister said public protests will only worsen the already declining economic situation of the country. Therefore, the Minister requested the youth to support the govt in rebuilding SL’s economy. Minister Ranatunga commented that the youth have a responsibility to hand over the country to the next generation, by making sacrifices to resolve prevalent issues. more..

Apr 29 (EN) A protestor at SL’s newly-christened Mynagogama protest site outside PM Rajapaksa’s official residence Temple Trees was assaulted by a police officer Friday morning, eyewitnesses claimed. Lawyers and other protestors gathered outside Temple Trees said that a police officer with no badges on his uniform and assaulted one of the protestors, injuring him. The injured protestor has been admitted to accident ward more..

Apr 29 (AD) The discussion called by Prez Rajapaksa this morning will see the participation of the 11 political parties which withdrew from the govt and now function independently. Earlier today, it was reported that a meeting is scheduled for this morning with the leaders of the ruling faction’s constituent political parties, with regard to the formation of an all-party govt. The focus of the meeting is likely to fall on the establishment of an interim all-party govt. Accordingly, suggestions of more..

Apr 29 (DM) Former President Maithripala Sirisena today said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had agreed to form an interim govt under a new PM for a short period, but this was denied by senior officials in the President's office who attended the meeting. The senior official told Daily Mirror that when the matter of an interim govt was discussed with the Prez, Gotabaya Rajapaksa had requested the SLFPers to submit their proposals for one and show their numbers in Parliament. more..

Apr 29 (PTI) The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution urging the Centre to positively consider the state govt's request to immediately dispatch food and life-saving medicines to the economic-crisis hit Sri Lanka as Chief Minister M K Stalin stressed on the need for the state to extend humanitarian aid to the island republic on time. The resolution, piloted by Stalin, was unanimously passed by the House, including the opposition AIADMK and the BJP. more..

Apr 29 (EN) Sri Lanka has no food shortages at the moment except milk which are imported by a few large companies, but drugs and medical items are facing deadly shortages after the central bank created dollar shortages with money printing. SL is estimated to import around 200 million US dollars of foods a month including onions, potatoes, sprats, lentils and cereals and some types of rice from time to time. Sri Lanka’s drug shortages are primarily created by the NMRA, more..

Apr 29 (TM) In a context where the leaders of the Govt, Prez Rajapaksa and PM Rajapaksa, have directly rejected the people’s demands for their resignation, Galle Face protests entered their 20th day yesterday. While the Prez earlier stated that he would not resign even though he is willing to hand over the Govt to a party that can garner the support of 113 MPs, PM recently stated that he will not resign even though he can be removed, more..

Apr 29 (EN) SJB will establish an interim all-party govt only if Prez Rajapaksa steps down, SJB legislator Harsha de Silva said. MP tweeted Thursday night that the Prez and the govt has lost its legitimacy as a result of the wave of protests that have erupted around the country over SL’s worsening economic crisis. “Let’s find a way out,” he said. The opposition MP was responding to a remark by former minister Namal Rajapaksa who had said all parties must come together to form more..

Apr 29 (TM) Gnana Akka’s fortune telling doesn’t matter anymore, the message of the citizens is load and clear and they want Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa out, says Former PM and FUTA President Wasantha Samarasinghe. He made this statement during a media brief held today (29). “The people of this nation showed the Govt what they can do. Busses and trains stopped operating, the port came to a standstill, roads were filled with citizens demanding that Prez Rajapaksa must leave. more..

Apr 29 (DM) Telecom Regulatory Commission of SL (TRCSL) had granted its permission to the Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd (Airtel) to shut down their 3G mobile network by June 24, 2022. A public notice in this regard was published on the TRCSL official website. After shutting down of 3G network, 3G connectivity of Airtel subscribers who use only 2G and 3G enabled mobile phones would be disconnected automatically after more..

Apr 29 (EN) A restraining order issued against TNA MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam preventing him from taking part in anti-govt protests for two weeks was not vacated fully on Friday (29) and the party will therefore file an application in a higher court, TNA MP and lawyer M A Sumanthiran said. Local police in the Eastern district of Batticaloa obtained the court order preventing Rasamanickam and his associates taking part of any protest within the district for 14 days. more..

Apr 29 (BN) SL is hurtling toward a default of its international debt and needs to restructure. Its govt may be surprised to find that a group of its creditors have more than money on their mind. One of its lenders, Nordea Bank’s asset management unit, wants to tie any agreement to climate goals, according to a letter from the asset manager to SL authorities last month that was seen by Bloomberg. In the letter, the Helsinki-based manager outlined targets set under the Paris agreement more..

Apr 29 (DM) Steps will be taken to look into the request made to admit students and employ teachers in the nearest school to ease their transport issues, Education Ministry secretary Prof. Kapila Perera said. He said a request was made by several teachers and principals' unions to give them the opportunity to get them appointed in the nearest schools considering the increasing transport costs and other hindrances. He said he would submit a systematic plan in the future. more..

Apr 29 (DM) Deputy Speaker Ranjith Siyambalapitiya today said he will resign from the post tomorrow. Mr. Siyambalapitiya told Daily Mirror that he will resign from the post tomorrow as per the statement he made in Parliament recently. “I said that I informed Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa that I will remain in the Deputy Speaker's post only till the end of this month. Therefore, I will resign tomorrow (30). “Parliament will have to appoint or elect a new Deputy Speaker next week,” he added. more..

Apr 29 (AD) While external debt restructuring remains a top priority for the SL govt, domestic debt in the form of govt securities and SL Development Bonds will not be restructured, CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe announced Thursday. Dr. Weerasinghe made these comments while addressing a meeting of the Committee of the CCC at which he was the Guest Speaker. During the meeting, he also provided an update more..

Apr 29 (CT) Payment was made yesterday for a coal shipment for electricity generation. Coal will be available until next Sept, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara said. He was speaking during the meeting of the Committee on Parliamentary Business. Wijesekara, Minister Shehan Semasinghe, Ministry Secretaries and other officials attended the committee meeting yesterday to discuss the current crisis regarding the energy, electricity and gas supply in the country. more..

Apr 29 (CT) The SJB, confirmed that they have not held any discussions with any Govt-affiliated parties. SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa refuted the statement of NFF MP Nimal Piyathissa, claiming that a group of SJB MPs will join the Interim Govt. “The Opposition is against any plan or any group that works to prop up Prez Rajapaksa, who has been rejected by the whole country,” he said. Meanwhile, the Samagi Bala Pagamana against the Got continued for the third day, yesterday more..

Apr 29 (EN) If strikes continue in SL, it could severely impact the already battered and shrinking economy of the country, top economists said after over a thousand unions took part in a one-day token strike around the island on Thursday. EconomyNext spoke to a number of experts on the effect of Sri Lanka’s ongoing wave of protests and Thursday’s massive trade union campaign. Though they were unable to put a number on more..

Apr 29 (TM) Further to an incident where a protester was allegedly assaulted by a police officer while protesting in front of Temple Trees this morning (29), Police Spokesperson SSP Nihal Thalduwa said that police officers did not assault the protester in front of Temple Trees, but instead were acting in self defence as the protester was not allowing the Police officer to remove flyers stuck on police vehicles. He made this statement while speaking to The Morning today (29). more..

Apr 29 (EN) A senior police officer and three constables arrested in connection with a police shooting in Sri Lanka that killed a protestor were produced in court on Friday. Former Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) K B Keerthiratne who was accused of giving the order to shoot was arrested. Police claimed he was receiving treatment at a hospital in Narahenpita, Colombo. The three constables were arrested while also receiving treatment at the Kundasali police hospital. more..

Apr 29 (DM) In a meeting held with Prez Rajapaksa, PM Rajapaksa and the govt MPs last evening, 117 MPs said Mahinda Rajapaksa should continue as the Prime Minister and further informed the Prez and PM both should continue. 109 MPs were physically present while 8 MPs could not attend due to other appointments. After many heated arguments, the MPs were of the view that the Prez and PM should continue and discussed more..

Apr 29 (CT) MP Kumara Welgama said, he will not sign any proposal that is tabled in Parliament to either for man Interim Govt or a No-Confidence Motion against the present regime. He conveyed this while submitting a letter to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena. MP, who contested the previous General Election on the SJB ticket, before breaking ranks with them, said he will not use his vote in favour or against anyone. Welgama further conveyed to Speaker that he will not support more..

Apr 29 (CT) National Chamber of Exporters (NCE) of SL has called for the Govt to mandate the fiscal policy of the country. In a press release, they stated that a severe shortage of foreign exchange has created a vacuum in fuel, domestic gas, medicine and raw materials which has also led to a social unrest. It is worsened due to the emergence of grey market and many imports are now taking place external to the country’s banking system. Anticipating a further devaluation of rupee, more..

Apr 29 (TM) The main Parliamentary Opposition, the SJB, will decide next week if it votes in favour of a no-confidence motion (NCM) against Prez Rajapaksa, prepared by TNA Spokesman and ITAK MP President’s Counsel (PC) M.A. Sumanthiran. SJB MP Tissa Attanayake said that the SJB’s decision on the vote about the no-confidence motion against the Prez will be taken following Parliamentary group meeting on 2 May. more..

Apr 29 (AD) A fundamental rights (FR) petition has been filed with the Supreme Court seeking compensation for the farmers who suffered crop damages and the detriment caused to the country’s agriculture sector as a result of the ban on the import of chemical fertilizers without a proper study. Attorneys-at-Law Eranda Weliange and Tharaka Nanayakkara, along with the secretary of Kodagoda agricultural association Thilak Amaradiwakara had put forward the said FR petition. more..

Apr 29 (EN) SL will shortly ban open account imports in a bid to stop the demand of unofficial transfers made through Undiyal/Hawala gross settlement systems, CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said. “We see that there is a large volume of money going through the Hawala/Undiyal systems,” he said. “Sometime it is for imports that are not essential.” Weerasinghe said the Finance Ministry will shortly issue a gazette notice through the Import and Export Control Law. more..

Apr 30 (DM) Famous American newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst has said that news is something that someone wants suppressed. The rest is advertising. Going on that high standard, media conferences, political rallies and most other events arranged are meant to give publicity to the organisers and sell them for the benefit of the readers or viewers. On May 3, we mark World Media Freedom Day and the UNESCO says the event acts as a reminder to govts of the need to respect more..

Apr 30 (DM) Sri Lanka is negotiating with the IMF for help to overcome the present forex crisis. But the IMF’s prescriptions could be challenging. It has already made it clear that SL has to begin setting its house in order before aid can flow. IMF has also said that SL is not eligible for the emergency Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), though India has urged it to make the SL case an exception. The IMF’s representative in SL, Masahiro Nozaki, told Reuters that since SL’s external debt is unsustainable, more..

Apr 30 (DM) Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) which represents minority Tamils of Indian origin recently decided to vote against the govt in the event of a no-confidence motion. CWC Leader Senthil Thondaman spoke of issues with the alliance, longstanding problems faced by his constituents and possible outcomes of the current political crisis. Q: What led to your party’s recent decision to withdraw your support of govt? more..

Apr 30 (DM) The present uprising against the govt brings to memory an incident which sent shivers through the colonial rulers ninety three years ago; the aftermath of the tramway strike in 1929. Fighting against colonial police forces and British colonial rule was no piece of cake. There were no human rights organizations constantly calling for accountability and the British had no respect towards locals. They were treated like dirt in Sri Lanka, India and all other colonies. more..

Apr 30 (DM) It is with great pride that I pen this article on the on the 29th death anniversary of former Prez R Premadasa who was the father of the 200 garment factories programme. The programme led to major industrial development spread throughout the country creating employment and exports which brought in the valuable foreign exchange to the country. I was the First Chairman of Board of Investment (BOI)- which was earlier the Greater Colombo Economic Commission more..

Apr 30 (CT) A 24-hour general strike and massive public protests were held islandwide on Thursday, demanding that Prez Rajapaksa and the Govt resign immediately. Over 1,000 trade unions participated in the strike. Schools and businesses were closed, public and private transportation, postal services were interrupted and banks were partially shut, in support of the strike. Railway employees too joined the strike by applying for sick leave. more..

Apr 30 (CT) It’s May Day again, but it’s not like May Days past. The conditions are unprecedented, the people are calling for a system change. Since 28 April, trade unions have been protesting islandwide and converging on the Galle Face occupation site to demand the resignation of Sri Lanka’s leadership, as the country falls into an economic and social abyss due to the misrule and decades of politics that paved the path to this situation. It’s a people’s coup and the public consciousness more..

Apr 30 (CT) The formula of an all-parties govt at this moment of the crisis is ridiculous. With a single exceptional scenario which does not apply here, the formula refers to a reshuffled govt under Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa with all the powers he enjoys. If anyone agrees to participate in any interim/all-parties govt under him, they must know that Gotabaya can tear up the arrangement and throw out that Govt any day of the week. That alone should expose the idea as a ridiculous farce. more..