Apr 18 (DM) While the moribund patient called SL, narrowly escaped a mass slaughtering by govt executioners and is presently being cared for by a large group of non-political leaderless youth, they have now become a target of several vultures hovering over Galle Face skies, hoping for the dead body of the first victim to scavenge on. They are being motivated by sections of clergy and artistes too. The city�s business community and foreign donors� generous financing, keeps the spirits more..

Apr 18 (SO) As a professional agribusiness organisation representing approximately 30% of the country�s population, the SL Agripreneurs� Forum (SLAF) is concerned about the challenges stemming from the foreign exchange shortages, fuel crisis and subsequent electricity shortages, it said in a media communiqu�. It said agribusinesses have come to a grinding halt due to the inability to import agri-inputs resulting more..

Apr 18 (TM) Protests against the Govt and President Gotabaya Rajapaska, being staged in the Galle Face area, completed their ninth day yesterday (17), and the protesters have vowed to continue the protests indefinitely till their demands are met. Except for a few isolated incidents, such as the tense situation that broke out near the President�s private residence in the Mirihana area, these protests, especially the one in the Galle Face area, have been extremely peaceful. more..

Apr 18 (CT) Today is World Heritage Day, also known as International Day for Monuments and Sites. Sri Lanka, as we all know, is rich in both biodiversity and cultural heritage. Thousands of years old and having survived many calamities, both man-made and natural, SL�s cultural heritage is renowned the world over. There are many ancient and archaeologically significant sites dotted across the country, ranging from ancient monasteries and temples to reservoirs, palaces, rock carvings. more..

Apr 18 (Island) Neither the Occupy-Galle-Face protesters nor the members of the Rajapaksa family are going home! Having dug their heels in, they are engaged in a game of chicken at the expense of much-needed political stability, upon which hinges the country�s economic recovery. A new Cabinet is to be appointed shortly in view of the govt�s negotiations with the IMF in Washington, we are told. Who will be the members of the next Cabinet? It is the moment of truth for beleaguered govt. more..

Apr 18 (DM) SL lacks an established govt-sponsored mechanism to address the needs of senior citizens. Earlier we had an impressive life expectancy at birth rate, one of the highest for a South Asian country. Nowadays, the level of competition for vital items is astounding. When resources are scarce, the old and feeble are deprived of the bare essential commodities and services for survival. In the long run, declining health in the elderly will place an increased stress on the extended family more..

Apr 18 (AD) A delegation led by the Minister of Finance has left the island for discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The delegation includes Finance Minister Ali Sabry, Governor of the Central Bank of SL, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe and Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwardena. Accordingly, they are scheduled to visit the headquarters of the IMF at Washington D.C., USA. more..

Apr 18 (ST) As ominous lines of shrouded police trucks lined up near Colombo�s Galle Face Green on Saturday (16) are removed amidst Sri Lankans calling for an end to catastrophic political leadership resulting in a slide to bankruptcy, this is perhaps the most critical moment of this nation in post-independence history. On the one hand, we have demands of the protestors at the imaginatively named Gota Go Gama at the Galle Face Green, mini Gamas in Galle, Mawanella and more..

Apr 18 (Island) With every passing day, the demand for the resignation of the Prez is gathering momentum, becoming more strident, and more widespread, and echoing even beyond the borders of this country. The Prez�s response has been to secure the resignation of his Cabinet while retaining his brother as PM, and then filling three key portfolios and, bizarrely, one of dubious value. He has chosen to retain for himself the others, including the currently critical functions relating to more..

Apr 18 (EN) Lanka IOC, the Indian Oil Corporation unit in Sri Lanka raised petrol prices by 35 rupees a litre and diesel by 75 rupees from the mid night of Sunday amid sharp depreciation of the currency and high global oil prices. Since the Central Bank on March 7 announced a flexible exchange rate, the rupee has fallen over 65% to around 335 rupees. Lanka IOC already raised priced on March 11 and March 26. more..

Apr 18 (AD) SL Army says it has been brought to notice that certain interested parties giving misleading and concocted interpretations and propagating baseless, unfounded and provocative allegations are attempting to discredit and tarnish the Army as well as its dedicated members serving across the Island. As evident in the past few days, different interested elements and groups with vested interests are poised to insult the troops and speculate alleging that the troops are more..

Apr 18 (FT) CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe last week faulted the 13 April Daily FT headline SL declares bankruptcy, saying the country is not bankrupt but opted for a pre-emptive negotiated default. �The country is not bankrupt but the Govt took a conscious decision to opt for a pre-emptive negotiated default in the largest interest of the country and its people,� he emphasised. Minister Ali Sabry also denied SL was bankrupt and it was only a case of the country being unable to more..

Apr 18 (IT) Sri Lanka have been given time until July 27 to confirm whether they would be able to host Asia Cup 2022 in the island nation amid the economic crisis that has led to widespread protests across the country. SL have the hosting rights for Asia Cup 2022, which is scheduled to be played from Aug 27. SL is battling rising inflation and a severe shortage of essential commodities and fuel due to decreasing foreign currency reserves. Protests have erupted against the govt with more..

Apr 18 (FT) The reserves-strapped Govt can free up State-owned commercial assets worth over $ 11 billion to tide with the current and future cash flow crisis, experts said. �We have $ 52 billion of debt and assets of $ 520 billion so our country�s loan to value ratio is 10%. To bring our solvency back we need to re-capitalise our country and we can do so by freeing up some capital tied up in state-owned assets,� experts pointed out, stressing that the country is not bankrupt but only insolvent. more..

Apr 18 (EN) The CEB will be forced to shut down one of three 300MegaWatt coal plants, worsening a power crisis, unless payment is made for two ships anchored off the coast for days, power sector sources said. Without coal the CEB would be forced to shut one of three 300Mega Watt coal plants adding to an economic crisis. Two coal ships are anchored off the coast of SL from April 8 awaiting payment and are likely to sail away more..

Apr 18 (FT) Weekend COVID-19 detections totalled 70, with daily detections dropping below 40 on Saturday and yesterday. Yesterday, 37 persons tested positive for COVID-19. Previous day, 33 COVID-19 patients were detected. 1,005 PCR tests and 622 rapid antigen tests were conducted on Saturday. A total of 662,864 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 to date. This includes 75,203 detections since 1 Jan, in addition to 483,090 persons from the New Year cluster, more..

Apr 18 (EN) SL has experienced 7 year of stagnation triggering three currency crises under flexible inflation targeting, a failed attempt at operating a domestic anchor driven monetary policy despite having a reserve collecting peg. Per capita GDP recovered to US$ 3815 in 2021, according to data from the state statistics office, after a Coronavirus pandemic depressed output to US$ 3,695 per person in 2020. Per person GDP in 2021 is lower than US$ 3,821 recorded in 2014. more..

Apr 18 (TM) A group of police officers removed some temporary structures that had been set up in front of the Galle Bus Stand, which was labelled the GotaGoGama Galle Branch, set up by a group of protestors who were engaged in a protest demanding the resignation of Prez Rajapaksa, PM Rajapaksa, and the SLPP-led Govt. Nearly 50 police officers arrived at the location last morning, and there were around 100 protestors at the time more..

Apr 18 (Island) Having displayed discipline, consistency and commitment, over the past nine days and nights, the historically unprecedented, surprisingly undaunted and notably non- violent People�s Struggle at Colombo�s Galle Face Green by the hitherto unknown youths of bankrupt SL, rallying in their teeming thousands has reverberated worldwide with a clear public outcry calling upon the Rajapaksa govt to quit, without sitting over the destiny of 22 million Sri Lankans any longer, more..

Apr 18 (AD) Two school children have been reported dead while another two are in critical condition the motorcycle they were riding on which fell down a precipice and into the sluice canal of the Wemedilla Reservoir in Dambulla. The incident had occurred at around 9pm last night (16) and that the two teenagers who were critically injured in the accident have been admitted to the Dambulla Hospital. Preliminary inquiries have revealed that four boys, who are all 16 years of age, were traveling more..

Apr 18 (AD) Minister Dinesh Gunawardena says that the decision to extend school hours by one hour has been temporarily suspended. Schools under the purview of the govt had previously been instructed to extend the daily school hours by one hour for the academic term commencing from April 18. However, the minister said that a decision has now been taken to temporarily suspend that move. Meanwhile the Minister said that first school term for the year 2022 of all govt schools will resume tomorrow (18). more..

Apr 18 (AD) Former Minister Dullas Alahapperuma says he will not accept a position in the new Cabinet of Ministers. In a twitter message posted today, the SLPP MP said he believes that a govt consisting of all the political parties represented in Parliament will be the best option at this critical juncture. Alahapperuma also extended his best wishes to the soon to be appointed youth-heavy new cabinet. �I stand by my decision (made on 3rd April) not to accept a cabinet position. more..

Apr 18 (AD) Defence Secretary Gen. (Retd.) Kamal Gunaratne says that there are no plans to abuse military power by unleashing it on peaceful protester. He stated this in a statement issued by Ministry of Defence, in response to a Facebook post made by Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka addressing the Secretary of Defence and the Commander of the Army. Further, Ministry of Defence noted that the military forces will not more..

Apr 18 (AD) The protest march organized by the NPP against the present govt under the theme Let�s oust the oppressive govt commenced in Beruwala this morning (17). Dubbed the People�s March, the protest which worked off from the Beruwala town is scheduled to end on April 19th (Tuesday) near the Town Hall area in Colombo. A large number of people had joined the protest march. Leader of the JVP Anura Kumara Dissanayake and other MPs and members of the party also participated more..

Apr 18 (AD) Former Minister of Public Security, Sarath Weerasekara today stated that he has decided not to take up any position in the new Cabinet of Ministers, due to the current crisis in the country. SLPP MP stated this issuing a brief statement regarding his decision. Mr. Weerasekera has further stated that he will always stand for the unity of the country, the Buddha Sasana and the people and also that he will continue to do his duty for the country and the people. more..

Apr 18 (FT) Advocates of Occupy Galle Face (OGF) are issuing a call to action to the private sector to intensify the pressure for the Rajapaksa regime to step down. A group of good governance activists over the weekend issued a formal notice to the private sector which is also the engine of growth. The specificactions sought from the private sector includes CEOs or Chairpersons of respective entities issuing a statement of more..

Apr 18 (TM) Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) sent its officers to monitor the ongoing Go Home Gota protests underway at Galle Face Green over the weekend to ensure that peace is maintained in the area. �Our officers were at Galle Face Green on both Saturday and Sunday. We want to continuously monitor it to ensure that the protests are conducted peacefully,� a senior HRCSL official said. The Occupy Galle Face movement reached its ninth consecutive day yesterday (17). more..

Apr 18 (NR) Three-hours-and-20-minute power cuts will be imposed across several areas in the country today. Two-hour power cuts will be imposed between 9am and 5pm and one-hour-and-20-minute power cuts will be imposed between 5pm and 9pm to areas A to L and P to W, today. Although the PUCSL announced four-hours-and-20-minute power cuts for today initially, the duration of power cuts has been reduced after the CPC released stocks of furnace oil for power generation. more..

Apr 18 (TM) Several former Ministers and State Ministers, including Sarath Weerasekara, Johnston Fernando, Dullas Alahapperuma, Bandula Gunawardena, Gamini Lokuge, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, and Jeevan Thondaman would not be part of the new Cabinet of Ministers, which political sources indicate would be youth-heavy and sworn in today. In addition, our sources said that more..

Apr 18 (EN) SL�s rupee was quoted at 330/340 for telegraphic transfers at most banks on April 18, up around 10 rupees from April 12, and the internbank spot market is still dysfunctional, market participants said. There is however forward trading among exporters and importers on a negotiated basis. In the kerb market the US dollar was at 370/385 rupee down from 410 levels earlier in the month. The CB has hiked policy rates, which will reduce private credit, curbing imports and T-bill yield more..

Apr 18 (DM) Colombo Chief Magistrate's court today further extended its order preventing former CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal from leaving the country until May 2. On April 7, the Court had issued notices directing Cabraal to appear in court today. However, Cabraal was not present in Court but he was represented by senior counsel Jeewantha Jayatillake. He submitted to court that previous court order does not require his client to be present in court since he is appearing for respondent. more..

Apr 18 (FT) When Nanda Malini and Professor Sunil Ariyaratne appeared in the protest site, I decided that it is a real literate revolution. They tried to awaken the intelligentsia in the late eighties. They did not quite succeed. I am fortunate to have lived to watch them inspire the young four decades later. Ironies of history must be recorded. Mahinda Rajapaksa is on the wrong side of the barricade. Vasudeva has tripped while in somersault. The intelligentsia of the land have woken up. more..

Apr 18 (FT) SL�s youth are in rebellion once again. This is the fourth rebellion they have launched against the existing administration at the time in the past five decades. There is a difference in the present rebellion because, unlike the previous three which were violent and had been organised by certain individuals, it is unarmed and spontaneous. But there is a chain of events that are linked to each other that had led to the current event. First, it was farmers who took to the street more..

Apr 18 (AD) The new Cabinet Ministers have sworn in before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Prez�s House in Colombo this morning. Accordingly, President has appointed 17 new cabinet ministers. However, the President�s Media Division stated there were no changes in the portfolios held by the President, PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris and Finance Minister Ali Sabry. more..

Apr 18 (EN) A decision to close the Colombo Stock Exchange for five days by the regulator has the support of their members, Colombo Stock Brokers Association said. The closure is a �warranted measure, considering the prevalent economic crisis in the country as well as the disruptions faced by traders in conducting day to day trading activities,� due to power cuts as well as communications difficulties, the CSBA said. As a result the market cannot operated in a free, orderly and more..

Apr 18 (NR) Minister Prasanna Ranatunga has been appointed as the Chief Govt Whip in Parliament. Ranatunga was sworn in as Minister of Public Security and Tourism before the Prez this morning, along with 16 other cabinet ministers. Speaker�s Media Unit informed that the decision was made known at the party leaders meeting held today. Former Minister Johnston Fernando previously served as the Chief Govt Whip. However, MP Fernando was not awarded a Cabinet more..