Kegalle sri lanka

Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in his first address to the nation on Monday said the country has run out of petrol, adding the economy is extremely precarious. “We have run out of petrol… At the moment, we only have petrol stocks for a single day,” the 73-year-old United National Party (UNP) leader said, explaining the island nation is unable to find dollars to finance essential imports. A diesel shipment using an Indian credit line arrived in the country on Sunday, but is yet to be distributed across the island. “Due to the diesel shipment that arrived yesterday, the lack of diesel will be resolved to some extent. Under the Indian credit line, two more diesel shipments are due to arrive on the 18th May and 1st June. In addition, two petrol shipments are expected on 18th and 29th May,” PM Wickremesinghe said. “For over 40 days 3 ships with crude oil and furnace oil have been anchored within the maritime zone of Sri Lanka. We are working to obtain dollars in the … [Read more...] about Sri Lanka PM Says Country Has Run Out of Petrol, Economy ‘Extremely Precarious’

Many Sri Lankans thronged buses in the main city Colombo on Thursday to return to their hometowns during a brief relaxation in curfew, imposed after the prime minister quit and went into hiding and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa warned of anarchy. The island nation off India's southern tip, which overlooks shipping routes between Europe and Asia, is battling its worst economic crisis since independence. Violence erupted on Monday after supporters of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president's elder brother, attacked an anti-government protest camp in Colombo. Days of violent reprisals against government figures aligned to the powerful Rajapaksa clan followed. The army was called out to patrol the streets and police said 9 people were killed and more than 300 injured in the clashes. Security forces have been ordered to shoot to prevent violence and looting. Hundreds of people thronged the main bus station in Colombo after authorities lifted an indefinite curfew at 7 … [Read more...] about Sri Lanka: Hundreds Flee Colombo as Crisis Persists

Sri Lanka's new prime minister will address the crisis-hit nation later on Monday, as the country's power minister told citizens not to join the lengthy fuel queues that have galvanized weeks of anti-government protests. Ranil Wickremesinghe, appointed prime minister on Thursday, said he would give a "full explanation" of the financial crisis that has devastated the strategic Indian Ocean island nation, where China and India are battling for influence. "There is a lot to be done and undone. We are prioritising matters, rest assured they shall be addressed as early as possible," he said in a series of tweets on Sunday. The crisis led to widespread protests against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family, culminating in the resignation of his elder brother Mahinda as prime minister last week after fighting between government supporters and protesters killed 9 people and wounded 300. The president then replaced him with Wickremesinghe, an opposition parliamentarian who has … [Read more...] about Sri Lanka PM to Address Crisis-hit Nation as Fuel Runs Short

E verything that can go wrong with a country is in full play in Sri Lanka. Anger and violence at food and fuel shortages, power cuts, collapsing purchase power, and above all a demand for the ruling Rajapakse clan to quit the island nation’s politics is growing. President Gotabaya Rajapakse has sacrificed his brother, Mahinda, to cling onto power as the Go, Gota Go, cries in the streets of Sri Lanka continue to be heard. In desperation, the United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed Prime Minister in place of Mahinda Rajapakse. Can this six-time Prime Minister get Sri Lanka out of its current economic and political mess? Can the President continue in office? Is Mr. Wickremesinghe serious about abolishing the executive presidency in Sri Lanka, which many believe lies at the root of the country’s problems. Guest: Dr. Paikiasothy Sarvanamuttu, Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives. Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, and former … [Read more...] about Can Sri Lanka emerge from its current economic and political crisis? | In Focus podcast

The adage ‘every crisis contains the seeds of an opportunity’ could not have been truer for anyone than for Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe . The severe economic crisis, which set off indefinite protests against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, (now former) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, has pitchforked Mr. Wickremesinghe to an office that he had no chance of occupying until last week. Given the turmoil, Sri Lanka needed a government that would work towards stability and economic recovery. With Mahinda Rajapaksa resigning in the face of determined protests, and the Opposition leader unwilling to work under President Gotabaya, a rare opportunity opened up for Mr. Wickremesinghe. The former premier’s political prospects had almost ended with the 2020 parliamentary election, when his United National Party won no seats, and he himself made it as its lone member in Parliament on the principle of representation in proportion to the total votes it had … [Read more...] about Crisis and opportunity: On Sri Lanka political crisis

Sri Lanka is going through one of the worst crises of its history. Food has become scarce, prices have shot through the roof, and long power cuts have turned the lives of ordinary Sri Lankans upside down. The economic meltdown has also catapulted the country into a political crisis as the people demand answers and accountability from the government. After the recent attacks on protestors in the nation’s capital by supporters of the ruling party, the President has imposed a new state of emergency, giving security forces sweeping powers. The ferocity of the protests has already forced Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign, and protestors are demanding that his brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, step down as well. Also Read: Time’s Up For the Rajapaksas: Will the Family Fiefdom Outlast Sri Lanka’s Economic Mayhem? The present economic crisis can be traced back to a series of bad government policies. When the Rajapaksas came to power in 2019, they made a series of tax cuts … [Read more...] about Inside Sri Lankan People’s Protest, a Political Awakening is Underway

Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that the 21st Amendment to the Constitution to curb the presidential powers will be discussed with the Attorney General’s Department on Monday so that it can be submitted to the Cabinet for approval. The 21st Amendment is expected to annul the 20A which gave unfettered powers to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after abolishing the 19th Amendment which had made Parliament powerful over the president. The first Cabinet meeting was held on Sunday. Special attention was paid to fuel imports at the meeting. ”21st Amendment: This will be taken up for discussion with the Attorney General’s Department tomorrow (Monday) and then be presented to Cabinet for approval,” Wickremesinghe tweeted. The powerful Rajapaksa family tightened their grip on power after their massive victory in the general elections in August 2020, which allowed them to amend the Constitution to restore presidential powers and install close family members in key … [Read more...] about Sri Lankan PM to Discuss with Attorney General’s Office Constitutional Amendment to Curb Presidential Powers

Officials of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday arrested a Madhya Pradesh-based inter-Sate drug dealer involved in numerous cases of drug smuggling across India and neighbouring countries and was on the run since 2014. The accused, Mohammed Yunus, 43, was nabbed at the Kempegowda International Airport by the sleuths of the NCB soon after he landed from Indore. According to the officials, Yunus was into rug trading for over a decade and amassed huge movable and immovable properties through substance smuggling and was wanted by anti-narcotics agencies and police forces across the country. While probing a 15-kg opium case, the NCB unit Bengaluru, headed by Amith Ghawate, Zonal Director, formed a special team to track the accused . A native of Bolia village in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, Yunus was under the radar of drug enforcement agencies in May 2013 when a team seized over 15 kg of opium during an attempt to smuggle it to the Gulf. A probe began that soon … [Read more...] about Inter-State drug dealer arrested at KIA