Apr 29 (DM) In the face of an unprecedented massive economic and political crisis and a mounting public outcry demanding the ouster of Prez Rajapaksa and his govt, PM Rajapaksa has firmly stated that he would not step down. Neither his younger brother, Prez seems to be prepared to heed to the countrywide agitations for his ouster. PM, to justify his stance and that of his brother had stated that he does not need to heed to the call by the protesters as he came to power more..

Apr 29 (DM) SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva who is vocal about economic issues takes questions in an interview on the present crisis. Q: You have advocated that the Govt should reach out to the IMF for an arrangement to escape from the current crisis. How hopeful are you of economic recovery? A: I am not very hopeful because this is a day late and a dollar short. It was in the 3rd quarter of 2020 when I urged them to go to IMF. more..

Apr 29 (DM) Since terrorism is an int'l blight that needs to be rooted out, Colombo�s Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith is right in his efforts to internationalise the process to obtain justice for the victims of the April 21, 2019 Easter Sunday massacres after he and a majority of Sri Lankans were convinced that there was more to it than meets the eye. This week, the cardinal led a 60-member delegation that included the survivors of the attack for a holy mass at St. Peter�s Basilica and more..

Apr 29 (DM) Lawmakers are now airing their views about punishing wrongdoers if and when they come to power. The last person to make a statement in this regard is former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka in an interview he did with the Daily Mirror. Fonseka said that he will surely punish thieves and the corrupt individuals and develop the country within two years. But individuals who have achieved career goals and established themselves in society have vouched time and again more..

Apr 29 (DM) Direction Sri Lanka - Independent Professional for the Nation- a collective of professionals consisting largely of legal and medical practitioners held a press conference on April 20. At the press conference, they put forth their statement consisting of proposals for the parliament to look into. �We spoke to those protesting, looked at their demands and translated their demands to an action place that is within the legal framework more..

Apr 29 (Island) The govt is playing a waiting game apparently in the hope that the ongoing protests will fizzle out with the passage of time, and it will be able to retain its hold on power; the Opposition is busy using the present crises to recover lost ground on the political front. Irate people are also protesting without direction. Prez is talking, PM waiting and Opposition Leader walking. This is the fate that awaits a nation which is not blessed with patriotic leaders who are ready to put SL before self. more..

Apr 29 (ST) Following speculation that a fuel bowser would be arriving the next day to the fuel station, lorries, buses, vans and other vehicles lined up along the road to spend the night in the diesel queue. In some of the places, even the tourist buses with foreign tourists on board were seen parked in the queue for hours for fuel. There are similar queues of motor cars, tuk-tuks and motorcycles for petrol as well. There were also lines of people with big plastic cans to purchase diesel. more..

Apr 29 (GV) Had the decision been thought out and strategic like that of Mahathir Mohamad in Malaysia during the Asian financial crisis, I would have backed the SL govt�s lack of interest in going to the IMF for bridging finance. After all, the Fund�s reputation has not always been positive when it comes to helping govts protect the economic and social rights of citizens and achieving environmental justice or addressing climate change. Many would agree that staying away from the IMF�s conditionalities more..

Apr 29 (Island) I was prompted to write this post after I read the article in The Island newspaper titled The MPH Formula of Singapore on 25th April 2022, by an anonymous author. For the past few decades, especially since 1977, when JRJ said that he would make Sri Lanka a Singapore, this comparison between SL and Singapore had been bandied about, ad nauseum. So many have been eulogising Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) and the Singapore miracle that he created from next to nothing. more..

Apr 29 (FT) Largely due to the current economic and social unrest, tourist arrivals have plunged by 50% in April so far in comparison to March shattering industry hopes for a post-pandemic upturn. Arrivals fell by 48% to 55,590 in the first 26 days of April. In contrast March attracted a record 106,500. Industry experts pointed out that the plunge was due to the Govt declaring a State of emergency following the protest in Mirihana, more..

Apr 29 (FT) Magistrate Court has issued a travel ban on Indola Group directors Paul Dwyer, Ajith Wijesinghe and Thushara Pieris following a litigation filed by Complainant Sathyajith Nilkamal. Indola Group (Indola) under the brand name Dusit Thani Group of companies (DTC) were undertaking the construction of a mixed-use complex in Balapitiya, Southern Province. Marketed as SL�s One and Only luxury high-rise, fully integrated, 5-star beachfront development, the project includes more..

Apr 29 (DN) A 18-member SL Hockey team including five new players have been selected to take part in the Asian Games qualifying Hockey tournament which will be held from May 5-15 in Bangkok, Thailand. Ten players from Matale District, five players from Chilaw District and one player each from Colombo, Galle, and Matara have been included in the 18- member team which is approved by the Sports Ministry. The promising strikers Bodhika Rajapaksa (former Nalanda), more..

Apr 29 (CT) SL Test cap Roshen Silva has had an unfortunate career for the past two years, where he was unable to make it to the Test team on several occasions despite a promising start four years ago, and when the call finally came, he was already in England playing in the Lancashire League, resulting in SLC dropping him from the squad for the forthcoming Test tour to Bangladesh. Silva was not really happy about how things more..

Apr 29 (FT) Sri Lanka�s COVID-19 case count rose to 663,301 following the detection of 29 COVID-19 patients yesterday. The previous day, 33 COVID-19 patients were detected. 1,259 PCR tests and 740 rapid antigen tests were conducted on Wednesday. Sri Lanka�s total COVID-19 detections include 483,090 persons from the New Year cluster, 82,785 persons from the Peliyagoda cluster, 9,154 persons from the Prisons cluster and 3,059 persons from the Divulapitiya cluster. more..

Apr 29 (Island) Fadna Tea, a pioneer in the SL herbal tea industry, is making waves with the launch of their new product, Diabe Tea-Sabaragamuwa. Fadna introduced the concept of sharing the natural goodness of conventional beverages with the world and now brings its own functional herbal tea products by preserving their natural goodness, while conforming to international standards. This product uses 100% natural ingredients to maximise its benefits for patients suffering with more..

Apr 29 (TM) SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa stated that the task of prosecuting those who led the country to bankruptcy by stealing public property will be handed over to SJB MP Sarath Fonseka under a future govt led by the SJB. He said: �During the last Presidential Election campaign, I said that national security and the task of prosecuting thieves will be handed over to Field Marshal Fonseka. There is no change in that statement. Under a govt led by us, he will be tasked with bringing to justice more..

Apr 29 (DM) The loans and leases under payment holidays fell below 10 percent in most banks and below 15% in a couple of others by 2021, when the broad-based moratoria scheme came to an end, except for the tourism sector, which prevails through June 30, 2022. There was some anxiety building among the banks and in the financial sector as to the extent of the fallout in asset quality, due to the soaring interest rates and worsening macroeconomic conditions, when a section of more..

Apr 29 (FT) Leaders of the SLPP dissident group of MPs will meet with Prez Rajapaksa this morning to discuss the all-party Govt proposal. The group decided to attend the meeting on condition that neither PM Rajapaksa nor any Cabinet Ministers would be present at the meeting. The dissident group met at the official residence of former Prez Maithripala Sirisena yesterday, following which they decided to attend the meeting more..

Apr 29 (FT) Prez Rajapaksa and PM Rajapaksa met last night at the Govt group meeting, where the PM had reiterated that he has the support of the majority of SLPP MPs in Parliament. The meeting was attended by MP Dulles Allahaperuma who is tipped to be the Premier if, and when, Mahinda steps down and several others who have called on the PM to step down. There had been heated exchange of words between some of the MPs who are staunchly in favour of Mahinda Rajapaksa and those more..

Apr 29 (FT) SJB said there are no plans of establishing an interim Govt with Prez Rajapaksa at the helm. �We are prepared to form an interim Govt without the current Head of State and PM,� SJB MP Rajitha Senarathne told journalists. MP said the era of forming govts with the Rajapaksa�s has ended, affirming that an administration will only be formed after ousting the Rajapaksa-led Govt. MP Eran Wickramaratne said in the event the Prez doesn�t step down, there are two options that more..

Apr 29 (EN) SL�s newly appointed cabinet is likely to be dissolved when majority at an all-party meeting with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa agrees on Friday, Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Nalaka Godahewa said. President Rajapaksa, who is under heavy criticism for the current economic crisis, has called for an all-party conference and has pledged to go for an all-party cabinet once the consensus is reached at the meeting which is scheduled to be held Friday morning. more..

Apr 29 (FT) Expolanka Holdings PLC yesterday raised the bar yet again announcing stellar results amidst global and local shocks, reinforcing its resilience and fruition of its recent strategies. The Group posted a revenue of Rs. 242 billion (YoY + 220%), a Gross Profit of Rs. 46.0 billion (YoY + 287%) and a Profit after tax of Rs. 31.03 billion (YoY + 680%) for the quarter ending 31 March 2022. The depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee resulted in an exchange gain of Rs. 11.6 billion whilst more..

Apr 29 (Island) Yesterday�s strike launched by over 1,000 trade unions demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Cabinet of Ministers brought the country to a standstill. Unionists also gathered in several locations in Colombo and marched to Gota Go Gama (GGG). They said Prez Rajapaksa and the Cabinet must resign within one week. If they did not comply, the warring unions would launch more..

Apr 29 (EN) SL is hopeful of reaching a staff-level or initial agreement with the IMF within two weeks, CCC quoted CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe as saying. Governor had addressed the committee of the Chamber on April 28. �Noting that encouraging progress had been made towards establishing a macro-fiscal policy framework and initiating structural reforms, he expressed confidence that a staff-level agreement with the IMF is likely to be reached within the next two months,� more..

Apr 29 (FT) PM Rajapaksa has said that he will never allow the country to become anarchic and is ready to work with decisions taken to maintain political stability in the country. PM made these remarks when he met a group of Maha Sangha led by Ven. Omalpe Sobhitha Thero at Temple Trees earlier this week. Omalpe Sobhitha Thero briefed PM Rajapaksa on the letter issued by the Chief Prelates. Maha Sangha expressed their views on formation of an interim Govt at the meeting, more..

Apr 29 (TM) The main Parliamentary Opposition, SJB, hopes to engage in productive discussions with other Party Leaders on bringing in the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, SJB said. �We understand that the Cabinet of Ministers has also approved the drafting of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution Bill to be presented by PM Mahinda Rajapaksa. We have not started discussions yet, but this is a need of the hour, as the public is expecting this Constitutional Amendment. more..

Apr 29 (CT) Ten SLPP backbenchers who became independent recently, have submitted a letter to JJB Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake expecting the latter�s backing for a Caretaker Govt to tide over the country�s pressing problems. The MPs had stated that decisions taken by the present regime had been rejected by the masses and hence they said they were forwarding the letter to seek his support to form an All-Party interim Govt. The SLPP MPs had further stated that the need of the hour was for more..

Apr 29 (TM) Following queries made by SLPP MPs, Prez Rajapaksa has stated yesterday that he has not asked PM Rajapaksa to resign, and neither does he have any intention of doing so. This had been communicated by the Prez to the SLPP MPs during a meeting held yesterday in the presence of the PM, sources within the Govt told The Morning. At the meeting, several SLPP backbenchers, along with some senior MPs, more..

Apr 29 (BS) What was good for Sri Lanka under British colonial rule 75 years ago may be worth a try again. Or at least that�s what Mark Mobius, the former emerging markets guru at Franklin Templeton Investments, seems to be suggesting. To regain the confidence of investors, the bankrupt Indian Ocean island could consider swapping its central bank with a currency board, he says. Mobius has a point. A central bank with discretionary power over domestic interest rates wields enormous power, but more..

Apr 29 (FT) SL Parliament marks the 40th anniversary of its move to Sri J'pura, Kotte today. It comes at a particularly tumultuous and trying time for parliamentary democracy in the country with the public focused on their elected representatives more than ever before. When the country�s first executive presz J.R. Jayewardene declared open the new Parliament building on 29 April 1982, it was the culmination of a process which began as far back as 1967 to construct new building for more..

Apr 29 (TM) Backing down from its earlier stance, SLFP agreed to attend today�s meeting convened by Prez Rajapaksa, along with 10 other parties that became independent in Parliament recently, so long as the meeting would not include PM Rajapaksa and the Cabinet of Ministers. This was despite the SLFP Central Committee having decided to not take part in any discussions with the Prez until SLFP Members and SLFP MPs more..

Apr 29 (FT) The crisis in SL is now at an extremely critical juncture. The country�s worst downturn since independence in 1948 has brought widespread hardships to its 22 million people, with months of regular blackouts and acute shortages of food and fuel. Under the circumstances, failure to reach a prudent and practical solution without further delay will inevitably plunge the entire country including the ruling party, the opposition and the public uprising to a state of anarchy which will not be easy more..

Apr 29 (FT) It is a matter for solace that the Govt has prudently taken a decision to appoint an experienced and competent Governor with a sound track record for the Central Bank (CB). He is none other than Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe who relinquished duties from the CB as a senior deputy governor after an extensive service of over three decades. The appointment of this senior official undoubtedly has created a sense of confidence and trust among the people and more..

Apr 29 (EN) A 63-year-old male resident of Kalutara, Sri Lanka, who collapsed waiting in line for kerosene died en route to hospital Thursday afternoon, bringing the death toll at the country�s growing fuel queues to eight. The man�s body is currently at the Nagoda General Hospital in Kalutara, police said. Abdul Kapoor Mohomad Sadiq, was a resident of Kalutara South. This is the fifth senior citizen to have died while queuing for fuel as SL faces its worst economic crisis in history, more..

Apr 29 (SLN) INS Gharial � a Landing Ship Tank of the Indian Navy arrived at the port of Colombo today. Upon her arrival, SL Navy welcomed the visiting ship in compliance with naval traditions. The 124.8m long Landing Ship Tank is commanded by Commander Sunil S Patil and the ship is manned by 170 as the ship�s complement. Meanwhile the Commanding Officer of INS Gharial is expected to call on Deputy Chief of Staff and Commander Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral Upul De Silva at more..