Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court suspended a presidential pardon for a murderer associated with the ruling Rajapaksa family on Tuesday, ordering his immediate return to prison, In a landmark decision, A three-judge bench ordered the arrest of Duminda Silva, who was sentenced to death for a 2011 murder but was released in June after President Gotabaya … Read more
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, was given the extra job of directing the finance ministry on Wednesday, as the island nation grappled with its worst-ever economic crisis. Wickremesinghe was sworn in by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office, two weeks after he was invited to form a unity government following his predecessor’s departure. The selection on … Read more
COLOMBO: Eight more cabinet members were sworn in before Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday as a new administration being created in the wake of weeks of political unrest and economic catastrophe. The eight ministers took their oaths at the President’s House in Colombo, according to the President’s Media Division, and then went on … Read more
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka appointed nine new ministers on Friday to an “all-party government” tasked with guiding the country out of its economic crisis, but the critical finance portfolio remains vacant. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe took over earlier this month after the president’s elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, resigned amid escalating protests accusing his administration of driving … Read more
Debt-ridden Sri Lanka named nine new cabinet members on Friday in an effort to maintain stability until the island nation’s greatest economic crisis since independence is resolved. Former minister Nimal Siripala de Silva of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), as well as independent MPs Susil Premajayantha, Wijayadasa Rajapaksha, and Tiran Alles, were among the … Read more
Sri Lankan police detained two governing party MPs on Wednesday for allegedly inciting mob violence that shook the country for days and killed nine people last week, authorities said. Criminal investigators questioned the members of parliament, both from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s party, on Tuesday evening and held them overnight, a police officer said on condition … Read more
Sri Lanka’s beleaguered president avoided a censure motion On Tuesday after his fractured coalition rallied to postpone a resolution blaming him for the country’s worst economic crisis. The shaky coalition of Gotabaya Rajapaksa voted against taking up the unprecedented “displeasure of parliament” motion. The main opposition Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance, proposed the non-binding … Read more
The new prime minister of Sri Lanka won crucial support from the island’s two main opposition parties on Monday, relieving pressure on the ruling Rajapaksa clan in the face of the island’s worsening economic crisis. The main opposition SJB party appeared to abandon its demand that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigns before joining a coalition to … Read more
Sri Lanka named the first ministers of a “unity” government tasked with rescuing the country from a crippling economic crisis, but which has so far failed to gain opposition support. Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was appointed Prime Minister on Thursday, has attempted to form a cross-party coalition to begin repairing the island nation’s shattered finances. However, … Read more
Sri Lankans have slammed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s speech on Wednesday night, in which he defied calls to quit and promised to restore order. He offered to cede some of the presidency’s power to parliament in his first national address since the protests began last month, but gave no timetable. Sri Lankans who had been asking … Read more
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana today requested that embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa convene the House as soon as possible to discuss the current situation, which includes unprecedented violence and widespread protest against the government over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, a media report said. According to Serjeant-at-Arms Narenda Fernando of … Read more
Sri Lanka’s major attorneys’ group urged the president on Saturday to lift the state of emergency imposed after a countrywide strike brought the already bankrupt country to a halt. Months of blackouts and acute food, fuel, and medicine shortages have caused widespread hardship across the South Asian island nation, which is experiencing its worst economic … Read more
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa proclaimed a state of emergency for the second time in five weeks on Friday, giving security forces broad powers in the face of a statewide walkout calling for his resignation. After unions blamed the president for the extraordinary economic crisis that has sparked weeks of turmoil, the president invoked the severe rules … Read more
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s bus and train networks were shut down, and businesses and industries were shuttered as part of a statewide strike calling for the government’s resignation as the island’s economic situation worsened. Months of outages and severe shortages of food, gasoline, and medications have caused extensive devastation across the South Asian island country. The … Read more
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka aims to revise its current “unrealistic” budget and is in negotiations with the World Bank to increase its assistance from $300 million to $700 million, according to the country’s finance minister on Wednesday. The island country is dangerously short of foreign exchange, having been struck hard by COVID-19 and short of income … Read more
A top Sri Lankan police officer turned into arrested Wednesday after ordering his subordinates to fire on anti-government protesters, in clashes that left one man lifeless and almost 30 others wounded. Last week’s demonstration inside the city of Rambukkana turned into one among many around the country protesting an upward push in fuel expenses inside the … Read more
Crisis-hit Sri Lanka’s inventory alternate halted once more Monday after an almost 13 percent plunge, derailing the bourse’s tentative reopening after a two-week smash aimed at forestalling a marketplace disintegrate. The island country is grappling with its worst economic downturn since independence in 1948, with months of ordinary blackouts and acute shortages of meals and … Read more
Dried streaks of blood and spent cartridges mark the floor where an unexpected crackdown by way of Sri Lankan police ended with the first fatality from weeks of anti-authorities rallies. Dozens of spontaneous demonstrations had broken out around the island nation on Tuesday, with incensed crowds blocking off roads with burning tyres in protest at but some … Read more
