Apr 19 (TM) Association of Medical Specialists (AMS) today questioned the newly appointed Minister of Health, Prof. Channa Jayasumana�s decision to relax laws pertaining to use of face masks. �We feel that this is a retrograde step. While walking alone without a mask may be justified, there is a substantial risk of contracting Covid in mass outdoor gatherings too,� the AMS said. The Association pointed out that even though Covid numbers are down, there are new strains more..

Apr 19 (AD) The number of people injured during the Rambukkana protest has risen to 24, including eight policemen, the police media spokesperson says. One person died this evening following a clash between the protesters and the police during a demonstration staged in Rambukkana against the recent fuel price hike. The injured individual, who was rushed to the Kegalle Teaching Hospital, was pronounced dead more..

Apr 19 (DM) Managing Director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva, in her meeting with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, praised India for extending financial support to SL, a statement from the Indian govt said. The Indian Minister indicated that the IMF would continue to assist Sri Lanka. Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Ms. Sitharaman had a bilateral meeting with Ms Georgieva. Both, the Finance Minister and the Managing Director, were accompanied by more..

Apr 19 (DM) All Island School Van Operators' Association (AISVOA) said that they are compelled to increase the school van fares by Rs.1,000 as the CPC has increased its prices from last night. They said they face numerous difficulties in continuing their service due to the absence of diesel. We have to stay in the queues for a longer period of time to refuel, which is a waste of valuable time. "With the previous fuel price increase by the CPC, we have decided not to increase school van fare, more..

Apr 19 (TM) SL rupee has hit a historic low as it experiences a tremendous economic and political crisis. At the same time, Bitcoin trading volume in the country has been going up. SL rupee has dropped to an all-time low as a result of the economic emergency the country is facing. Against the US dollar, SL rupee is down more than 30%, and is lagging behind even the Russian ruble. The country�s economy has collapsed due to debt payments, protests, and general economic more..

Apr 19 (DM) Ever since Sri Lanka got into an unprecedented economic bind, and calls for the resignation of Prez Rajapaksa mounted, there has been a tendency to see a SL type of situation emerging in other countries of South Asia as well. Like SL, other South Asian countries are facing a steep rise in prices, a foreign exchange crunch, wastage of resources due to irrational and politically-driven populism, and misuse of resources and tax concessions/subsidies for private gain. more..

Apr 19 (EN) As protests intensified islandwide amid a fast deteriorating economic situation and a worsening political crisis, PM Rajapaksa proposed that parliament restore the 19th amendmentsubject to timely amendments� as a short term solution. �I believe that, as a first step, the 19th amendment to the constitution with essential and timely amendments should be democratically implemented as a short term solution,� more..

Apr 19 (TM) Several parties have made both positive and negative comments regarding the new Cabinet of Ministers appointed by Prez Rajapaksa yesterday. SLFP General Secretary MP Dayasiri Jayasekara � who was elected to Parliament under the SLPP alliance, but whose party recently decided to sit independently in Parliament � claimed that the people would not accept the newly appointed Cabinet, adding that the Prez should instead form an interim Govt in which all political parties more..

Apr 19 (DM) The Chinese govt has decided to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka to help the country cope with the current difficulties, news agencies reported. The spokesperson for China International Development Cooperation Agency, Xu Wei, on Tuesday, said China had noticed SL�s economic difficulties and was ready to help. Wei said, �We believe that the SL govt and people will overcome the temporary difficulties and maintain economic and more..

Apr 19 (Reuters) After three weeks at sea, Anton Fernando tallies his sales of tuna and other fish on a dock in Negombo, where the country's financial crisis darkens already murky waters. The math does not look good for Fernando and his crew of four among the dozen gently bobbing trawlers. Each takes home 40,000 SL rupees ($130) from their gruelling expedition. "This will not be enough to cover their more..

Apr 19 (CT) Former Minister Sarath Weerasekara said appointing a new Cabinet will not solve the current financial crisis, which must be addressed first. He said that he did not want to take up another Cabinet post, citing that he initially stepped down until a solution is found how to restructure the debts and the financial derailments and find new ways to address the current situation. �I did not quit to take up a new Cabinet post, and that�s why I refrained from taking another post,� more..

Apr 19 (DM) A group of lawyers has requested Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya not to list any action instituted by police against the peaceful protesters at the Galle Face Green being heard before Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage. A petition that received 100 signatures from lawyers was today handed over to the Secretary of Judicial Service Commission requesting the Chief Justice that any action instituted by police against the protest at Galle Face Green not be listed before more..

Apr 20 (CT) What history is witnessing today in SL today via an aragalaya or struggle by a flood of unarmed citizens is a reminder of the truth behind that quote, which is also attributed sometimes to Charles de Gaulle. For over seventy years Sri Lankans showed interest in politics only during election times, after choosing their representatives went to sleep until the next leaving politics in between to the care of politicians. This may be the case even in matured democracies. more..

Apr 20 (DM) A public image years in the making has crumbled in a matter of months. Gotabaya Rajapaksa was not known to many until he assumed the role of defence secretary in his brother�s govt in 2005. Since then, his has been an image that has been moulded to fit the demands of the prevalent circumstances. Between 2005 and 2015, he was the tough talking defence secretary, a lynchpin in the successful military campaign that defeated LTTE. He then set his sights on cleaning up Colombo. more..

Apr 20 (FT) Both a political activist and a corporate and media personality, Krishantha Prasad Cooray is not known to mince words and is quite forthright. He was former Chairman of Hotel Developers (Lanka) Plc, which owns Hilton Colombo, Lake House and Independent Non-Executive Director at DFCC Bank as well as a Working Committee member of the ruling coalition party UNP. The Daily FT spoke to Krishantha to get more..

Apr 20 (DM) At the President�s House, a beleagured President Rajapaksa has dug in his heels and is preparing for a long-drawn battle with those who once voted him into power. At the Galle Face Green, we, the people, (who once sang hossanahs to him - the president), are occupying the space, not willing to leave, until the president and his govt give up office. In parliament, the Opposition parties are at loggerheads with no common plan to move beyond the current round of protests. more..

Apr 20 (CT) The country has been slowly pushed towards anarchy over the past several weeks, with the people having had enough of fuel and gas queues, extended power cuts, shortage of essential food and medicine. Incensed by poor governance of the incumbent regime, the people took to the streets in protest, occupying the public spaces for well over a week, demanding the resignation of the Prez and the Govt. However, the response shown by the authorities to the largely middle-class, more..

Apr 20 (CT) The economic crisis facing the country has forced people to demonstrate and protest against the Govt for its poor financial management leading to the present fuel crisis and increasing cost of living. Another calamity resulting from the insufficient foreign reserves in the Central Bank is the country�s inability to import essential drugs, surgical consumables, and medical equipment, which is the cornerstone of more..

Apr 20 (GV) Since late March, spontaneous street protests have been held across Sri Lanka calling for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his brother and PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, and several others from the Rajapaksa family who held ministerial positions before resigning in the wake of protests. Triggered by massive price hikes and shortages of gas, fuel, electricity, food, medicine and fertilizer, social media has also been an important battle ground for protestors. more..

Apr 20 (TM) The entire country is waiting to see how the Govt, especially Prez Rajapaksa, would respond to the worsening economic crisis and public protests, which took a fatal turn in Rambukkana yesterday. The first official attempt by the Prez to deal with islandwide protests against them and to acquiesce to a Governmental and Opposition request, was trying to form an interim Govt with the involvement of the Opposition. However, when that attempt failed as Opposition Parties more..

Apr 20 (Island) Some of those activists at the round-the-clock Go Gota Home protest, outside the Presidential Secretariat, at Galle Face, carried placards querying the delay on the part of the govt to compensate the communities affected by the sinking of the Singapore registered cargo vessel MV X-Press Pearl, off the Western coast, last year. Express Feeders� owned fire stricken cargo ship, sank on June 2, 2021, during an attempt to tow it away to deep seas. more..

Apr 20 (Island) The youth protesting in Colombo have shown what they are capable of. They have taken the bull by the horns. Instead of taking up arms, they gathered in large numbers peacefully and raised a great shout, and the Walls of Jericho, as it were, protecting the ruling family collapsed. The Rajapaksas who roared, refused to listen to anyone else, and bulldozed their way through, are now cooing; they are even willing to do away with the 20th Amendment, which was intended to more..

Apr 20 (CT) Following the overnight massive fuel price increase on Monday night, fares of both private and SLTB buses were increased by 35% from midnight yesterday. Private Bus Owners' Association said, the minimum bus fare was increased to Rs 27 from Rs 20. Following discussions between Transport Minister, Dilum Amunugama, and several private bus owners, Lanka Private Bus Owners Association (LPBOA) more..

Apr 20 (FT) SL�s COVID-19 case count rose to 662,945 following the detection of 33 COVID-19 patients yesterday. Previous day, 48 persons tested positive for COVID-19. 1,001 PCR tests and 417 rapid antigen tests were conducted on Monday. Total of 75,340 COVID-19 patients have been detected since 1 Jan. In addition to this, 483,090 patients from the New Year cluster, 82,785 patients from the Peliyagoda cluster, 9,154 patients from the Prisons cluster, and 3,059 patients from more..

Apr 20 (FT) Health Services Director General Dr. Asela Gunawardena on Monday issued multiple circulars relaxing several COVID-19 regulations and restrictions in the country. In addition to making face masks no longer mandatory in outdoor settings and removing the requirement for the submission of personal details and temperature checks when entering buildings, the circulars also lifted many COVID-19 preventive measures. As such, pre-boarding and on arrival (day 1) testing is more..

Apr 20 (Island) The fears of the pandemic that wrecked havoc for two years are gradually easing off as the govt made an announcement that wearing masks in public places isn�t mandatory. Cricket, since the pandemic broke out, has been either played behind closed doors or with restricted capacity and players on bio-secure bubbles. But all that is set to change when the members of the national cricket team gather at RPS for training today. The last two years have been tough more..

Apr 20 (DN) SL Society of Rugby Football Referees (SLSRFR), the principal of Trinity College, Kandy Rev. Fr. Araliya Jayasundara OSB and the committee met on Monday, the 11th of April. The meeting was regarding the post-match physical assault on match officials at the Canon De Saram Trophy Rugby match played between S. Thomas' College Mt. Lavinia and Trinity College Kandy, on 26th March at Havelock Park. During the cordial discussion, the participants gave serious more..

Apr 20 (FT) Health Ministry directive on Tuesday relaxing the mandatory wearing of the face masks outdoors has spurred controversy. This is more so in a setting of mass public protests across the country. The directive issued by Health Ministry spells out that wearing a face mask is mandatory when traveling on public transport and when indoors. It also removes the requirement for checking the body temperature when more..

Apr 20 (DN) The defending champions, St. Joseph's, Colombo, packed with more all-rounders will be looking to retain the title but Richmond College Galle is expected to pose a strong challenge in their U-19 Division One Tier 'A' cricket final which is scheduled to be played today at Police Park grounds Bambalapitiya. However, both teams have to fight against rain today. Josephians came to the final with an unbeaten record while their skipper Shevon Daniel, former skipper Dunith Wellalage, more..

Apr 20 (FT) Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) says it is not up for sale with reference to a Daily FT article on Monday including it under State-Owned Assets that experts opine that the Govt could consider freeing up to boost reserves. Whilst noting that State holding in SLT is only 49.5% and not 51% as stated in the article, SLT said that it is a listed company having its shares traded on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). It said that including SLT in the list of State-Owned Assets for consideration more..

Apr 20 (TM) One person was killed and more than 20 others injured when the Police opened fire on protesters engaged in a protest in the Rambukkana area yesterday evening, with Police curfew declared within the Rambukkana Police area and STF personnel deployed, as public anger grew over the shooting. The protestors were engaged in a protest over the prevailing fuel shortages and rising fuel prices, more..

Apr 20 (DM) Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) was still making a daily loss of Rs. 327 million from the sale of fuel even after the increase of the prices on Monday night, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara said today. He told Parliament that the CPC was making a daily loss of Rs. 1.6 billion by Monday night. Minister said they had to increase fuel prices to ensure continuous procurement of fuel required for power generation. "We have to procure fuel shipments regularly more..

Apr 20 (CT) The sudden increase in the price of wheat flour by Rs 40-42 and the fuel price hike has resulted in drastic price hikes for restaurant and bakery products. The All Ceylon Bakery Owners� Association (ACBOA) said, the price of a 450g loaf of bread was increased by Rs 30 from yesterday (19) midnight, and other bakery items by Rs 10. ACBOA President N.K. Jayawardene noted that the decision was taken due to the recent fuel price increase and the increase in wheat flour. more..

Apr 20 (FT) The private sector via the Joint Chambers has written to Prez Rajapaksa calling for the abolition of the 20th Amendment. The Joint Chambers in their submissions titled Current Economic and Political Situation raised concerns that the current political deadlock coupled with growing public unrest could potentially derail the actions being taken to resolve the serious economic crisis faced by the country, and that the absence of political stability could significantly disrupt more..

Apr 20 (FT) The Hotels Association of SL and Senior Hotelier M. Shanthikumar congratulated Prasanna Ranatunga for being reappointed as the Minister of Tourism at this very critical juncture. �Ranatunga has been an exceptionally supportive Minister for the industry during the past three years when the pandemic completely crippled the industry immediately after the Easter Sunday attack on hotels and churches. �He led from the front, listened to senior industry stakeholders, more..