May 29 (ST) My dear brand new Cabinet ministers, I thought of writing to you because you are the latest lot of ministers entrusted with saving our nation from what is being called the worst ever disaster it has faced since Independence from the suddas nearly 75 years ago. You must be a really special group of people with very special talents. Please pardon me if I miss out on mentioning some of you by name. That is because it has been difficult to keep track of who is in charge of what, lately. more..

May 29 (ST) The panel of officials overseeing SL’s probabilities and possibilities of the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2022, to be held in Birmingham, England from July 28 to Aug 8, will meet again tomorrow to take a final count about the SL contingent. Originally slated to fly out a contingent of over 200, according to the previous cutoff date of Dec 31, 2021, SL is now in the process of pruning down further in bulk numbers more..

May 29 (ST) The Asia Cup is to be shifted to UAE owing to the ongoing crisis that has led to long queues, regular power cuts and widespread shortages in SL. Although India was the host for this year’s edition of the six-team tournament, rights were granted to SL on a request made by the local cricket association, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). But as the current situation could escalate by August, according to the Gov ernment, SLC prefers to play it in UAE to avoid logistical challenges at home. more..

May 29 (ST) The national men’s basketball team has suffered in silence after their slot at this month’s 2022 FIBA Asia Cup Pre-Qualifiers went in vain due to the inability of SL Basketball Federation (SLBF) to find funds and sponsors. Despite qualified and grouped well in advance, only this Thursday, the team through the federation and captain had got the heartbreaking news that they’re yet to come to terms with it. A top player said in explosive remarks, there are so many of us who want to give up now. more..

May 29 (CI) It did come down to the final delivery, but the result was the same as in the two previous fixtures. Instead of cruising to victory, Pakistan earned it right at the death, sweeping the T20I series 3-0 over Sri Lanka. In a low-scoring match, SL found their innings derailed by an astonishing middle-order collapse where they lost seven wickets for 14 runs, with five of wickets in the innings falling to run outs. Pakistan, in the chase, let the game drift, and as SL picked up regular wickets, more..

May 29 (EN) India has gifted 15,000 liters of kerosene to fishermen in several islets in the North of the island as the currency collapsed after two years of money printing by the central bank creating forex and fuel shortages. “15000 liters of kerosene gifted to 700 fishermen of Delft, Nainativu, Eluvaitivu & Analitivu,” India’s High Commission in Colombo said in a twitter.com message. India’s High Commissioner in Colombo Raakesh Natraj and Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda more..

May 29 (SO) Sri Lanka is going through a dire economic crisis because of the shortage of foreign reserves to pay for basic essentials but the country’s football governing body FSL (Football Sri Lanka) does not seem to be undergoing a dollar crisis. On the other hand they have been liberally withdrawing funds received from the world governing body for the sport FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) from FSL’s more..

May 29 (ANI) China seems to be trapped in its own web that it had spun around countries to catch them in a debt trap through its inherently exploitative Belt and Road Initiative. People in countries like Pakistan and SL which are indebted to China have now started hitting back against Chinese nationals. Last month in April, three Chinese nationals were killed in Pakistan in an alleged suicide attack. In SL, after the resignation of pro-China PM Mahendra Rajapaksa, Beijing has asked its citizens working in more..

May 29 (ST) SL Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) is to recommend a special commission to investigate and punish officials who were responsible for the action taken by the Central Bank to defend the rupee at the rate of Rs. 200 -203 to the US$, spending much needed foreign exchange. This was stated by COPE Chairman Prof. Charitha Herath at a meeting attended by high officials of the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank and held at parliamentary complex recently. more..

May 29 (ST) Sri Lanka’s city dwellers are likely to be the worst hit by the impending food shortage for which the govt is currently making plans to address by prioritising rice imports and expecting its citizens to have a change in their current consumption pattern. PM Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday, chairing a meeting on the future food crisis in SL, had asserted that it will be the city dwellers that will be mainly affected by more..

May 29 (SO) Ven. Dr. Omalpe Sobhitha Thera appealed to political party leaders and Members of Parliament to work together to resolve the country’s deepening economic crisis. He said that making the proposed 21st Amendment law could alleviate social unrest in the country and melt down Go-home protests at the Galle Face to a great extent. Ven. Dr. Omalpe Sobhitha Thera said on Friday that the only way to overcome the economic crisis by all MPs pulling in the same direction. more..

May 29 (SO) SL football star Waseem Razeek has hit back at claims that he is only interested in money and not loyal to his country after making himself unavailable for next month’s final round of AFC Cup qualifiers in Uzbekistan over a pay dispute with the governing body for the sport Football Sri Lanka (FSL). “I won’t participate in the upcoming AFC qualifying matches for SL due to some shortcomings of the management. I wish my team all the best,” Waseem posted on his Instagram account. more..

May 29 (Island) National Movement for Social Justice on Friday called on the Govt to incorporate the democratic principles enshrined in the 19th Amendment and pass the 21st Amendment immediately. NMSJ Chairman and former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said: “Today the whole country is discussing the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. Yesterday, we were confident that by repealing the 20th Amendment and re-enacting the 19th Amendment, SL would earn the respect more..

May 29 (Island) The Private Plaint filed by Mr. Keerthi Tennekoon (complainant) against Mr. Ajith Nivard Cabraal (respondent) was scheduled to be taken up on May 2, 2022 before Magistrate Harshana Kekunuwela at the Colombo Magistrate’s Court No. 4. However, that day was declared a public holiday by the Govt, and hence certain cases, including the private plaint under reference fixed for that day were postponed by the Court authorities to July 25, 2022. more..

May 29 (ST) Finance Ministry has decided to suspend the proposal made by former Minister Basil Rajapaksa in Budget 2022 to allocate Rs. 4 million to each of the 4,917 local govt divisions amounting to Rs. 19.67 billion in total. The former minister’s move to allocate Rs. 85 billion for rural community development will also be suspended. This is in line with a review of possible expenditure cuts across country’s blown-up more..

May 29 (ST) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe is to appoint a high-powered Economic Stabilisation Committee headed by former Treasury Secretary Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga to advise him on stabilising the economy. The committee will include Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardene, Dr. Sharmini Cooray former Capacity Development director of the IMF Institute, former CB Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy and Shantha Daniel. more..

May 29 (ST) The WHO and the Health Ministry are implementing a mechanism to establish a joint bank account that will accept assistance from foreign nations to solve the current forex crisis and ensure better transparency. Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the move was to expedite the process of securing drugs and medical equipment which were in short supply as pharmaceutical importers were finding it difficult to find dollars locally amidst the depreciation of the rupee. more..

May 29 (AD) The govt is of the view that electricity tariffs need to be revised after nine long years, Minister Kanchana Wijesekara says. According to the CEB, the last tariff revision was made in 2014, when electricity tariffs were slashed by 25%. Hesaid the CEB has made regular requests in this regard. Public Utilities Commission has also tabled several proposals pertaining to the matter, however, none of these requests and more..

May 29 (ST) SL’s tourism industry has made a clarion call for travellers from Europe to holiday in the island nation to save it from its present crisis. The tourism industry met this week, along with the newly appointed Tourism Minister Harin Fernando, ambassadors of key European markets to consider relaxing or removing the travel advisories issued by their respective govt against travel to SL. The industry had pointed out that sending their people to SL is one of the main ways of generating more..

May 29 (TM) Govt’s proposed 21st Amendment to the Constitution will not be taken up for a decision at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow (30) and will instead be taken up for final approval by the Cabinet of Ministers on 6 June. The initial decision to discuss the draft Amendment Bill at the parliamentary party leaders’ meeting last Friday (27) and take it up for Cabinet approval on Monday (30) was delayed by a week following PM Wickremesinghe’s decision to hold another party leaders’ meeting more..

May 29 (ST) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe is delivering a chilling message to visitors to his office this week – the country’s economic situation is much worse than he expected it to be. In other words, he is warning that the worst horrifying phase is yet to come. As he gets a grip of the causes for the unprecedented economic catastrophe, he has been forced to delay the proposed presentation of a fresh budget by six weeks. more..

May 30 (CT) The 50th day of the ongoing protest site in Galle Face was rung in with much fanfare and jubilation on Saturday. It was like New Year’s Eve; GotaGoGama residents counted down to midnight and fireworks lit up the dark skies above the Fort amid chanting for the ouster of corrupt leaders that are plaguing the country. Various protest marches converged on Galle Face on Saturday (28) to mark the occasion and a musical concert featuring some of SL’s most celebrated artistes entertained more..

May 30 (DM) Foreign loans built highways, airports, cricket stadiums and convention halls. Unfortunately these investments have not brought in expected returns in foreign currency. So the country is straddled with large foreign debts and insufficient foreign currency to pay back the debts. SL’s foreign reserves stood at a paltry US$1.93bn by end of March, with foreign debt payments of about US$4bn due this year. This included a US$1bn international sovereign bond, taken to repay loan interests more..

May 30 (DM) The FSP is a party that, along with others, spearheads the public struggle against the Govt. Its General Secretary Kumar Gunaratnam takes questions from Daily Mirror regarding the future of the protest campaign and his plans. Q: After the appointment of a new PM, the struggle appears to have blunted a bit. What is your next step? A: As a result of the struggle carried out so far, Rajapaksa rule had to take a step back. more..

May 30 (DM) Just a few weeks ago, it looked like the regime of Prez Rajapaksa was on the ropes. On May 9, the supporters of his brother and the then PM Rajapaksa, attacked protestors, especially at the famous Galle Face occupy site in Colombo. The wave of reprisals that night included the torching of several ruling party politicians’ houses and vehicles. As the PM resigned, the country seemed to be on the brink of open revolt. These developments were quickly followed by a deft manoeuvre by Prez more..

May 30 (CT) Finance Ministers Change – some accept the offered portfolio unwillingly and protesting. Central Bank Governor resigns. New Governor appointed. Cabinet reshuffles take place one after the other within short intervals reminding us of recurring weekly tele-shows. Each time the curtain goes up a new face appears on stage making us forget that the same wine is coming in new bottles. But the desperate and helpless people become somewhat hopeful believing that more..

May 30 (DM) May 9, year 2022, when mobs loyal to outgoing PM Rajapaksa made the biggest political blunder of recent times by attacking the peaceful protest site of GotaGoGama, Galle Face, should go down in history as the day bona fide home-grown democracy began in SL. The plan to extinguish the month long protest to oust the Rajapaksa family including Prez Rajapaksa from power by a sudden, violent attack (including demolishing more..

May 30 (ST) In Haldummulla, amidst Sri Lanka’s verdant tea-green landscapes of extraordinary beauty, an infant died this week as her desperate parents were not able to obtain sufficient petrol to run their three-wheeler long enough to take her to the nearby hospital. The distraught Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) at the Diyatalawa hospital went on record, stating that if she had been brought for urgent medical attention just an hour prior, her life would have been saved. more..

May 30 (TM) Last Friday, Prez Rajapaksa stated that the outcome of educational reforms should be to create good citizens who are productive to the economy. He made this statement during a discussion regarding matters pertaining to the education sector that need to be prioritised, where the newly drafted National Education Policy was also discussed. Education sector reforms have been the subject of a long-drawn discussion in SL, and the recent decline in the education sector, more..

May 30 (Island) There seems to be no end to ominous warnings in these troubled times. The govt has warned that electricity tariffs may increase 300% for industrial consumers, who are struggling to stay afloat. It is also feared that electricity tariffs will double for average users. If electricity prices increase, water tariffs will also go up besides a huge increase in the overall cost of production, and inflation. The export sector will also be badly affected, and some foreign investors might more..

May 30 (ST) As the gathering clouds further darken not allowing a single streak of light to fall on this godforsaken island, where an economic crisis rages unstoppable in the backdrop of swirling mass unrest, it is increasingly self-evident that neither will a fair wind blow to chase away the clouds nor will the storm abate as long as the biggest impediment to restoring public confidence in the entire gamut of govt remains unbudged. Despite mass protest throughout the country, more..

May 30 (ST) Total losses from the violence unleashed by SLPP mobs on those who were protesting peacefully opposite Temple Trees and at the Galle Face Green against the rule of Prez Rajapaksa and the resulting backlash, will likely exceed Rs 1 billion, and the state-owned National Insurance Trust Fund Board’s Strike, Riot, Civil Commotion and Terrorism Fund will bear the brunt of it, a report suggests. Fitch Ratings says more..

May 30 (DM) Gotagogama, at the Galle Face green crossed its 50th day on Saturday May 29, since it began on April 9 by apolitical youth and people from all walks who gathered at the site demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the whole cabinet of ministers should resign and democracy restored. A Statement drafted by the Artists of the People’s Movement or Jana Aragalaye Kalakaruwo reiterating their demands on the occasion of the 50th consecutive day of protests in Sri Lanka. more..

May 30 (FT) Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya has been appointed as Joint Acting Group CEO of Axiata Group, Malaysian multinational telecom conglomerate with extensive operations in Asia, along with Vivek Sood from 1 June. Dr.Hans is Axiata’s Telecommunications Business CEO and Group Executive Vice President at present whilst Sood is the Group Chief Financial Officer. The interim appointment comes as Axiata Group President and CEO Izzaddin Idris quitting on more..

May 30 (ST) Going into the Test series in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka’s biggest worry was its inexperienced fast bowling unit. After Suranga Lakmal retired and Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara were rested owing to injuries, there was little hope its five-man seam bowling unit would put on match-winning performances. Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Asitha Fernando, Chamika Karunaratne, Shehan Madushanka more..

May 30 (FT) Business leader Dhammika Perera has unveiled 12 strategies that can boost much-needed dollar earnings & help SL come out of prolonged foreign exchange shortage which has triggered an economic crisis leading to political instability and social unrest. As per his action plan, if the 12 strategies are implemented the country could garner an additional $ 8 billion inflow per annum. He says implementation of these 12 strategies does not incur additional capital investment from the Govt. more..

May 30 (FT) People’s Bank today announced the results for the quarter ended 31 March 2022 with consolidated total operating income growing by 51.9% to reach Rs. 42.6 billion, whilst total operating expenses increased by only 0.3% to Rs. 13.1 billion despite inflationary pressures; reflecting sound cost control and efficiency improvements being undertaken on an ongoing basis. Consolidated pre-tax profit amounted to Rs. 11.0 billion; representing a growth of 9.8% over the same period of 2021. more..