Sri Lanka Crisis Live: Demonstrators hold Sri Lankan national flags and shout slogans during a protest against Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, near the Presidential Secretariat, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo. (Reuters)Sri Lanka Highlights: One person has died and over 10 people injured after police and protesters clashed in Rambukkana Tuesday afternoon. According to the Daily Mirror, the protesters we seen hurling stones at the police station following the incident.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund will consider providing quick financial assistance to debt-burdened Sri Lanka following representations by India, Sri Lanka’s finance ministry said. Shamir Zavahir, an aide to Sabry, said on Twitter that Sri Lanka asked for a loan under the rapid financial instrument (RFI) window, meant for countries needing urgent balance-of-payment support.
Sri Lanka’s embattled Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has proposed to amend the Constitution to create an accountable administration that met the people’s aspirations, amid large scale protests against the government over its handling of the economy. Sri Lanka’s president acknowledged Monday that he made mistakes that led to the country’s worst economic crisis in decades and pledged to correct them.
The US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, while expressing his condolensces about the clashes that led to the death of a person, said: "I am deeply saddened by the horrible news coming out of Rambukkana. I condemn any violence - whether against protesters or police - and call for restraint & calm from all sides. A full, transparent investigation is essential & the people's right to peaceful protest must be upheld"
One person has died and 24 people were injured from gunshot injuries after protestors and police clashed in Rambukkana this afternoon. Eight policemen are also injured, the cops said. (Reuters)
India and Sri Lanka have resumed talks on linking their electricity grids, officials told Reuters on Tuesday, a step that could aid New Delhi's goal of reducing China's influence on the island nation, now grappling with a severe economic crisis.
There was no immediate prospect that power cuts brought by the crisis could be eased by the talks, which are a preliminary effort on a multi-year project both sides have explored before. India has extended assistance running into billions of dollars to its southern neighbour to fight the crisis, brought on by a steep drop in foreign exchange reserves that stalled imports of essentials such as fuel, so disrupting power supply. 'It is at very initial stages of discussion,' Wasantha Perera, secretary of Sri Lanka's power ministry, told Reuters, but gave no further details.
Protests and political turmoil brought on by rocketing inflation, a currency devaluation and shortages have spurred the nation of 22 million to begin talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan programme, also backed by India. Now officials of both countries are turning to a project that has made little progress since it was first proposed more than a decade ago, aiming to link the neighbours with a miles-long transmission line running under the Indian Ocean. The grid connection project came up in talks with India's power ministry in March, when Basil Rajapaksa, then Sri Lanka's finance minister, visited New Delhi to seek assistance, said a source with knowledge of the matter. 'It will be mutually beneficial,' added the source, who sought anonymity, as the talks were private. (Reuters)
Police Spokesperson SSP Nihal Thalduwa has confirmed that they had opened fire in Rambukkana after a group of protestors and the cops clashed, according to a report by Daily Mirror. The report quoted SSP Nihal as saying that the protestors had attempted to set a three-wheeler on fire when the cops fired tear gas cannisters. However, they started pelting stones after which the police were forced to open fire, the spokesperson said according to the report.
One person has died and over 10 people injured after police and protesters clashed in Rambukkana Tuesday afternoon. According to the Daily Mirror, the protesters we seen hurling stones at the police station following the incident.
In case you’ve missed, here is a list of the ministers who were sworn in:
After three weeks at sea, Anton Fernando tallies his sales of tuna and other fish on a dock in Negombo, a fishing town in Sri Lanka, 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 Sri Lankan rupees ($130) from their gruelling expedition. “This will not be enough to cover their household expenses,” Fernando, 44, told Reuters, holding up a notebook scribbled with numbers. “Even before we go home, we know this isn't enough to cover electricity and water bills, tuition fees and food.” The island nation of 22 million people off the southern tip of India is battling its worst financial crisis since independence in 1948, as COVID-19, mismanaged government finances and ill-timed tax cuts sap dwindling foreign reserves.
Last week the central bank said it was suspending repayment on some of its foreign debt pending a restructure. In the commercial capital Colombo, protesters crowd the streets demanding the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as people deal with skyrocketing prices, prolonged power cuts and shortages of medicine, fuel and other items. In Negombo, the fisherman struggle to stay afloat. Fishing makes up just 1.3% of the Southeast Asian nation's economy, but it employs one-tenth of its people and helps feed far more. (Reuters)
As Sri Lanka begins talks with the International Monetary Fund this week, there is much that Delhi can do to assist its island neighbour as it struggles to overcome a grave and unprecedented economic crisis.
India has already extended assistance worth $2.4 billion since January. Two elements of this package are credit lines, one for fuel worth $500 m, and the other for food and other essential items worth $1 bn. Delhi has swung these high value credit lines in a record time of four months, between December 2021 and March this year.
However, these will run out by the end of May. Read more
It is here, on this island off the Jaffna peninsula in the Northern Province, where India has displaced China to sign a pact with the Sri Lankan government for a joint renewable energy project.
Its 5,000 inhabitants, all fisherfolk, are unaware of the intense geopolitical jostling over their island and two others nearby, Nainatheevu and Analatheevu, that went on most of last year as Delhi successfully persuaded Colombo to cancel a project awarded to a Chinese company, and offered its own instead. Read more
The International Monetary Fund will consider providing quick financial assistance to debt-burdened Sri Lanka following representations by India, Sri Lanka's finance ministry said.
A delegation headed by Sri Lanka's Finance Minister Ali Sabry kicked off formal talks with the IMF in Washington on Monday for a programme the government hopes will help top up its reserves and attract bridge financing to pay for essential imports of fuel, food and medicines.
Shamir Zavahir, an aide to Sabry, said on Twitter that Sri Lanka asked for a loan under the rapid financial instrument (RFI) window, meant for countries needing urgent balance-of-payment support. But the global lender was initially not inclined to grant the request, he said. (Reuters)
Sri Lanka's embattled Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has proposed to amend the Constitution to create an accountable administration that met the people's aspirations, amid large scale protests against the government over its handling of the economy.
A statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office on Monday said that Mahinda Rajapaksa intends to propose a new Constitutional Amendment to the Cabinet in order to fulfil the people's aspirations.
The Prime Minister is expected to propose to the Cabinet a Constitutional Amendment that would include the Executive, Judiciary and the Legislature, the state-run Daily News newspaper reported.
Sri Lanka's state oil entity has raised its retail price from Monday midnight, a day after the Indian Oil Company's local operation raised its prices, adding to the woes of the people who are impacted by the island nation's worst economic crisis.
The state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation's (CPC) new price of 92 octane petrol Rs 338 per litre is an increase of Rs 84 and now matches the per litre price of Lankan Indian oil company (LIOC). This was the second price hike by CPC within a month whereas the LIOC's yesterday hike was the fifth in six months.
The CPC officials said the high global prices and the depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee against the dollar after the government decision on March 7 to have a free float was the main cause. (PTI)
India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met her Sri Lankan counterpart Ali Sabry on the sidelines of IMF-WB Spring Meetings and discussed the current economic situation and its approach towards addressing the prevailing challenges in Sri Lanka.
The finance minister assured Sabry that as a close friend and good neighbour, India will try to extend all possible cooperation and assistance.
Sri Lanka's president acknowledged Monday that he made mistakes that led to the country's worst economic crisis in decades and pledged to correct them.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made the admission while speaking to 17 new Cabinet ministers he appointed Monday as he and his powerful family seek to resolve a political crisis resulting from the country's dire economic state.
Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy, with nearly USD 7 billion of its total USD 25 billion in foreign debt due for repayment this year. A severe shortage of foreign exchange means the country lacks money to buy imported goods. (AP)