Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: Anger at Sri Lanka's dire economic crisis has sparked huge protests - and for thousands of people out on the streets, the blame for their woes lies ...

His son Sashindra was involved in a disastrous ban on chemical fertiliser imports. The community is barred from commemorating their war dead and remain largely marginalised. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement

Sri Lanka's former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is facing calls for his arrest from Opposition politicians for inciting violence against peaceful anti- ...

For the first time middle-class Sri Lankans also took to the streets in large numbers, marking a dramatic revolt by many former Rajapaksa supporters, some of whom have spent weeks protesting outside the president’s office. Video footage circulating on social media showed the entire house up in flames as the protesters hooted away. Hours after the Sri Lankan Prime Minister resigned from his post, the ancestral home of the Rajapaksas at Medamulana in Hambantota was set on fire by a group of protesters.

A few hundred protesters are defying a countrywide curfew Tuesday in Sri Lanka, a day after widespread clashes that led to the prime minister's resignation.

Doctors have warned of crippling shortages of life-saving drugs in hospitals, and the government has suspended payments on $7 billion in foreign debt due this year alone. But unable to escape the public anger, both he and his brother have since admitted to mistakes that exacerbated the crisis, including conceding they should have sought an International Monetary Fund bailout sooner. The South Asian island nation has been seething for more than a month, as protests have spread from the capital to the countryside. Authorities swiftly deployed armed troops in many parts of the country and imposed a curfew until Wednesday. One of the protesters, software engineer Chamath Bogahawatta, said that the government "did something very despicable by bringing in people to provoke us. The site outside Rajapaksa’s office has seen sustained crowds of thousands for weeks, but had dropped to hundreds on Tuesday due to a strict curfew, following clashes yesterday that left four dead.

WB Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka Faris H. Hadad-Zervos on Monday tweeted, "We are deeply concerned with the perpetration of violence ...

More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. The economic situation has led to huge protests with demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. The protestors also set on fire Former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella's house in Kandy.

Troops are on the streets across Sri Lanka after a night of anti-government unrest fuelled by an economic crisis.

You can also get in touch in the following ways: Following Mahinda Rajapaksa's resignation, protesters attempted to breach the inner compound of Temple Trees where he was staying along with several loyalists, and set fire to a bus outside the home. Elsewhere in Colombo, tensions remained high. Many protesters are still calling for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, brother of Mahinda, to leave office. Men armed with sticks and rods had established road blocks on the routes leading to and from the airport, and police and security forces - usually a common sight in the area - were nowhere to be seen, reports the BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan. As the night went on, mobs of protesters across the country torched houses belonging to the Rajapaksas, various ministers and MPs. This included a house turned into a controversial museum by the Rajapaksas in the family's ancestral village in Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka.

Monday saw fierce clashes between government loyalists and protesters, resulting in seven deaths and forcing PM to quit.

The outgoing premier was evacuated by the military before dawn on Tuesday. In the suburb of Maharagama, a crowd forced a leader of a pro-government group out of a bus and threw him into a rubbish cart before ramming the vehicle with a bulldozer. The lawmaker’s bodyguard was also killed, but it was not clear how. A political office of the Rajapaksas in the northwestern town of Kurunegala was also destroyed in an arson attack. “We are sorry we couldn’t burn it sooner.” Mobs attacked a museum about the Rajapaksas in the ruling family’s ancestral village of Meda Mulana in the deep south of the island and razed it to the ground, police said.

Colombo, Sri Lanka – With the resignation of Sri Lanka's prime minister and former two-time executive president Mahinda Rajapksa in Colombo on Monday, ...

The public however, has risen sharply against this approach and intensified their calls for the resignation of both the president and prime minister. On May 3, a no-trust motion was submitted in parliament against the Rajapaksa administration. He was defeated in 1977 when the United National Party recorded a landslide victory and returned to parliament in 1989. Large-scale corruption allegations were also leveled against the regime in military purchases during the years of civil war that ended in 2009. Mounting criticism against the government had intensified calls for the collective resignations of all Rajapaksas. But violence erupted in Colombo on Monday when a group of Rajapaksa loyalists attacked protesters camped outside his official residence, Temple Trees, in Colombo. At least three people were killed as violence erupted across the Indian Ocean island.

Sri Lanka's shorter-dated sovereign dollar bonds slipped as much as 1 cent on Tuesday, a day after protests over the government's handling of the economic ...

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday condemned the escalating violence in Sri Lanka amid the severe economic and political crisis and urged.

“I condemn all violence and call on the authorities to independently, thoroughly and transparently investigate all attacks that have occurred. Colombo calm after Sri Lanka’s president declares state of emergencyStreets in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital Colombo were calm on Saturday after the president declared a state of emergency following escalating ... World News Sri Lanka prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns, curfew imposed after clashesSri Lanka’s prime minister resigned on Monday, hours after clashes with pro- and anti-government demonstrators in the commercial capital Colombo amid ... World News “I am deeply troubled by the escalation of violence in Sri Lanka after supporters of the prime minister attacked peaceful protesters in Colombo yesterday May 9 and the subsequent mob violence against members of the ruling party,” Bachelet said in a statement. She urged restraint and meaningful dialogue to address the grievances of the population, after deadly clashes in the worst violence in weeks of protests. UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday condemned the escalating violence in Sri Lanka amid the severe economic and political crisis and urged the authorities to prevent further unrest.

As per the itinerary, the Australian cricketers will spend 16 days of their month-long tour in Colombo, where the violence has unfolded. A report in cricket.com ...

More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. A report in cricket.com.au said that, "CA officials had until this point been certain the tour would go ahead, and remain confident."

Cricket Australia is monitoring the unrest in Sri Lanka but is confident the national team's seven-week tour of the island will go ahead as scheduled in ...

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Five people were killed and more than 225 wounded in a wave of violence in Sri Lanka where the prime minister resigned after weeks of protests over the ...

The outgoing premier was evacuated by the military before dawn on Tuesday. "This is something we should have done earlier," an unidentified man in front of a burning home of a minister told a local media network. In the suburb of Maharagama, a crowd forced a leader of a pro-government group out of a bus and threw him into a garbage cart, before ramming the vehicle with a bulldozer. The lawmaker's bodyguard was also killed, but it was not clear how. A political office of the Rajapaksas in the northwestern town of Kurunegala was also destroyed in an arson attack. Mobs attacked a museum about the Rajapaksas in the ruling family's ancestral village of Meda Mulana in the deep south of the island and razed it to the ground, police said.

Sri Lanka's outgoing Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was rescued in a pre-dawn military operation Tuesday, hours after his resignation, as violent clashes ...

The government was recently thrown into disarray when ministers stepped down en masse. "(I) strongly condemn the violent acts taking place by those inciting and participating, irrespective of political allegiances," he wrote. Following the chaotic scenes, the government brought in an island-wide curfew, and soon afterwards the Prime Minister, 76, resigned. Dozens of homes were torched across the country amid the violence, according to witnesses CNN spoke to. Some people have died waiting. "It is vitally important for the security forces to fully respect the right to peaceful assembly, and for those responsible for violence to be held to account," Ganguly said.

COLOMBO -- An eerie calm descended on Sri Lanka's capital on Tuesday, the day after the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, with citizens.

South Asia News: An airport without planes, a revolving restaurant with no diners, a debt-laden seaport -- Sri Lanka's economic crisis has been exacerbated ...

The tower's colourful glass facade dominates the capital's skyline but its interior — and a planned revolving restaurant with panoramic views of the city — has never been opened to the public. "China has done its best to help Sri Lanka not to default but sadly they went to the IMF and decided to default," Chinese ambassador Qi Zhenhong - 'China has done its best' - Unable to service its growing debt burden, and with credit rating downgrades drying up sources of fresh loans on the international money market, Sri Lanka's government last month announced a default on its foreign loan obligations. The Hambantota port was unable to service the $1.4 billion in Chinese loans rung up to finance its construction, losing $300 million in six years. clan, which used its political clout and billions in Chinese loans in a failed effort to turn the rural outpost into a major economic hub. It is now in the grip of its worst financial crisis since independence from Britain in 1948, with months of blackouts and acute shortages of food and fuel plaguing its 22 million people.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — As hundreds of supporters of Sri Lanka's powerful Rajapaksa family stormed through the capital Monday, beating anti-government ...

“This is not going to end until Gota goes home,” he said, using a nickname for the president. “Protesters have put everyone in the same category because they’re seen as part of the problem that allowed this economic situation to brew month after month,” he said. Roger Warnakula, a disc jockey who has been at the encampment for weeks, said he and other protesters were outnumbered 10 to 1 when government supporters flooded the area, indiscriminately beating people with steel rods and wooden sticks. “People became so furious with the assault on protesters that things went out of hand,” Perera said, recalling how he tried to stop the fighting in downtown Colombo on Monday, only for it to sweep across the country as news of the clashes spread on social media. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Center for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, said the upheaval was compounding the country’s economic challenges. Outraged by Mahinda Rajapaksa’s attempt to crush the protest movement, his political opponents called Tuesday for him to face criminal liability. It is unclear whom he could name as prime minister who would be able to effectively unite the country’s divided factions. By the end of the day, Rajapaksa had resigned and the country was in turmoil. By Tuesday morning, the former prime minister had reportedly fled to a military base in the country’s northeast, which was soon surrounded by angry citizens. Peaceful demonstrators had gathered nightly in Colombo for the past month amid a spiraling economic crisis, calling on the ruling political family to step down. But political leaders and analysts voiced worries about one of Asia’s oldest democracies falling under military control if the situation deteriorated further. The circumstances of his death remained unclear.

Sri Lanka's ex Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family have taken shelter at a naval base as lethal protests continue amid the country's worst ever ...

May 9: Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as the Prime Minister, just days after the President in a special meeting requested him to step down. May 6: Public Emergency was imposed for the second time in less than six weeks. On the same day, his ruling coalition lost its majority in parliament after over 40 MPs walked out of the alliance. April 1: President Rajapaksa declared Public Emergency after violent anti-government protests. April 3: The cabinet resigned en masse from their positions. The 'food emergency' came at a time when banks ran out of foreign exchange reserves to finance imports.

Violence erupted in Sri Lanka on Monday evening after the brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned as prime minister, with local reports saying ...

Welcome to today's Morning Brief, looking at Sri Lanka's protests, U.S. President Joe Biden's meeting with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, ...

Joice Figueiró said she went into labor while the band still had three songs to play, and she delivered with the help of emergency medical personnel during the band’s rendition of “ Enter Sandman.” Despite joking about naming her son after members of the band, Figueiró has settled on a more traditional name: Luan. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the Philippines’ late dictator, will be the country’s next president according to unofficial results. Since Thursday, the cartel has launched an “ armed strike” by confining inhabitants on its traditional territory to their homes and threatening businesses. Unlike the U.S. government, Italy’s governing coalition is showing signs of unease with the prospect of sending more arms to Ukraine. Heavy metal band Metallica may find its way into more maternity wards after a fan in Brazil delivered her baby boy at the band’s concert in Curitiba moments before the show was about to end. Throughout, the Rajapaksas have leaned on the Sinhalese Buddhist majority to prop up their government while demonizing the minority Tamil and Muslim populations. “This is the first time they have come together to organize, mobilize, and make demands as per their democratic rights at this scale.” Colombian authorities reported that eight people have been killed in gang violence that erupted following the extradition of powerful Clan del Golfo cartel leader Dairo Antonio Úsuga, known as “Otoniel,” to the United States on drug trafficking charges last week. For Senanayake, the protests could yet lead to period of broad-based—rather than elite-dominated—national renewal. As Senanayake wrote last week in Foreign Policy those demands for change have begun to crystallize over the past few weeks as disparate ethnic and social groups have joined the protests. As Amita Arudpragasam wrote in FP last week, both Rajapaksa brothers have played their part in destabilizing the economy by tolerating corruption and saddling the country with unpayable debts. MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala took his own life, according to police, after he shot two protesters and was soon encircled by a mob.

Sri Lanka's economic crisis has turned into deadly violence. Eight people died and over 200 were injured on Monday, the country's powerful prime minister ...

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Months later, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com In a statement on Tuesday, the Joint Apparel Association Forum, which represents Sri Lanka's vital apparel industry, said it was "critical" for a new government to take charge. For months, opposition leaders and some financial experts urged the government to act, but it held its ground, hoping for tourism to bounce back and remittances to recover.

A supporter of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa waves a flag as he walks past a 02:01. A supporter of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya ...

But analysts familiar with Sri Lanka’s culture of dynastic patronage are not yet willing to write off the Rajapaksas as a political force. The Rajapaksa brothers instead oversaw a military operation that would defeat the Tamil Tigers, earning the support of Sri Lankans eager to end the civil war. But in the real world, there was no doubt that life was getting increasingly difficult for Sri Lankan citizens. It wasn’t long before Mahinda was ready to unleash a war that would “end” the Tamil Tigers, as he promised his electorate. But the Rajapaksas were not part of the urban political elites in the decades following independence. On Monday night, crowds stormed the prime minister’s official Temple Trees residence in Colombo, forcing the army to conduct a predawn operation to rescue Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family. Horrified by the gross human rights violations in Sri Lanka, Western governments began dropping Sri Lanka from aid disbursement lists. The Rajapaksa brothers have repeatedly denied responsibility for the disappearances. Over the past few years, as the family’s political fortunes enlarged, the investiture entourage of officials, diplomats and media teams dutifully trekked to sacred temples on historic sites, where yet another Rajapaksa was granted yet another portfolio. The current president’s father, D. A. Rajapaksa, was a parliamentarian representing Hambantota district. The president then swore in his eldest brother, Chamal Rajapaksa, as minister for irrigation, internal security, home affairs and disaster management. For several years, human rights defenders condemned the reprisals, massacres, crackdowns, corruption and cronyism of South Asia’s most powerful political dynasty.

The EU condemns the recent vicious attack against peaceful protestors in Colombo, which triggered further violence after a month of peaceful demonstrations had ...

The EU urges all parties to refrain from violence and to show restraint. The European Union (EU) and its 27 Member States are monitoring closely developments in Sri Lanka. The EU condemns the recent vicious attack against peaceful protestors in Colombo, which triggered further violence after a month of peaceful demonstrations had shown, despite some isolated incidents, that Sri Lankans are able to exercise peacefully their right to freedom of expression. The EU deplores the loss of life, including of a Member of Parliament, and the high number of injured people.

Military, police authorised to arrest people without warrants a day after deadly violence and PM's resignation.

Shortages of fuel, food and medicine brought thousands onto the streets in more than a month of protests that had been mostly peaceful until this week. Reporting from Colombo on Tuesday, Al Jazeera’s Minelle Fernandez said: “There is a heavy military presence. The violence on Monday that led to Mahinda Rajapaksa’s resignation had happened in spite of the state of emergency

The pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have made things worse, but warnings of a potential economic disaster began long before.

The president, despite his extensive powers, still needs a prime minister and cabinet to carry out executive functions. In the 45 years that Sri Lanka has been ruled by an executive presidential system, there has been one failed attempt to oust a president. His choice will need the support of a majority of the 225-member legislature. Critics have accused the Rajapaksas of relying heavily on the military to enforce policy, passing laws to weaken independent institutions and maintaining a near-monopoly on decision-making. A powerful land-owning family from a rural southern district, the Rajapaksas dominated local elections for years before ascending to national politics in 2005, when Mahinda was elected president. Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaska were cheered as heroes by the island’s Buddhist-Sinhalese majority for ending a 30-year civil war against ethnic Tamil rebels in 2009.

Tensions continue to escalate in Sri Lanka, with the ministry of defence authorising troops to shoot at people committing theft or causing property damage.

Following the prime minister's resignation, the cabinet has also been dissolved, creating an administrative vacuum. But any long-term plan is expected to take at least six months to get underway. The President called for an end to the violence and his government outlined broad powers for the military and police to detain and question people without arrest warrants. Protesters tried to tear down the gates of Temple Trees, his residence in the centre of Colombo, where broken glass and discarded footwear littered the surrounding streets on Tuesday, after some of the night's worst clashes. Despite the curfew, hundreds of protesters swarmed the entrance to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office in the capital, Colombo, on Tuesday to demand that he follow in his brother's footsteps and quit. In response to that earlier violence and protests, the ministry of defence issued its edict via a text message.

Protesters in Sri Lanka have burned down homes belonging to 38 politicians as the crisis-hit country plunged further into chaos, with the government ...

"The EU recalls the importance to safeguard the democratic rights of all citizens, and to focus on solutions that will address the significant challenges currently faced by the Sri Lankans." the country's outgoing Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in a pre-dawn operation on Tuesday, hours after he resigned following clashes between pro and anti-government protesters. The nation of 22 million is grappling with a devastating economic crisis, with prices of everyday goods soaring and there have been widespread electricity shortages for weeks.

Sri Lanka has been suffering its worst economic crisis in history, with a severe shortage of foreign exchange stalling essential imports like drugs and ...

"So, there will not be a power vacuum. "Now the whole island is supporting us," said Lahiru Fernando, 36, who has camped at the anti-government protest site for weeks. Price called for a full investigation, arrest and prosecution of anyone instigating and involved in acts of violence and urged the government to address the Sri Lankan people's discontent. Protesters and a key trade group in Sri Lanka called for a new government to take control of the crisis-hit country on Tuesday while the president asked for calm following clashes that claimed eight lives and prompted his brother to quit as prime minister. - Protesters and a key trade group in Sri Lanka called for a new government to take control of the crisis-hit country on Tuesday while the president asked for calm following clashes that claimed eight lives and prompted his brother to quit as prime minister. Some experts said that if the president decides to step down in the face of growing pressure, the constitution outlines provisions for parliament to vote in a new leader.

Sri Lanka extended its nationwide curfew through Thursday morning, with the army threatening to shoot anyone who damages property after weekslong protests ...

There are falls from grace and then there's what's happening to Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka.

The vehemence and endurance of the protest movement seems to suggest that gaslighting is no longer working. They touted major Chinese-funded infrastructure projects — including a port in their family’s hometown of Hambantota — that not only turned into wasteful white elephants, but made Sri Lanka into one of the world’s leading exhibits of what happens when a nation gets indebted to Beijing. The mood in the country is uneasy: Gotabaya is struggling to hold on politically, urging an interim unity government that few members of the opposition wish to now join as long as he remains in power. The country defaulted on its debts last month — a victim, to a certain extent, of the global disruptions sparked by both the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There are troubled times ahead, as the country grapples with both political dysfunction and profound economic pain. Analysts say the uncertainty around the country’s leadership is clouding any possibility of economic recovery. Following weeks of mass protests against his government, as well as deadly violence in the streets on Monday, Rajapaksa was compelled to resign his post as prime minister. Sri Lanka is in the grips of the worst economic crisis in its history as an independent country. For days across the country, the largely peaceful demonstrations have pulled in irate Sri Lankans from all walks of life. On Monday, pro-government supporters likely bused into the city by Rajapaksa and his allies violently attacked the site at Galle Place and protesters elsewhere in the capital. Vigilantes poured into the streets, chased and beat government loyalists, erected their own checkpoints on roads, and burned down homes owned by the Rajapaksas and their allies. The first part of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s years in power were defined by his ruthless defeat of the long-running Tamil Tiger insurgency; in the latter years, the populist quasi-autocrat, who seemed at times to style himself as an uncrowned warrior king, leaned heavily into majoritarian nationalist politics aimed at courting the votes of Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese Buddhist majority.

The president is appealing for calm after a night of violence that prompted his brother to quit as prime minister.

"Now the whole island is supporting us," said Lahiru Fernando, 36, who has camped at the anti-government protest site for weeks. "So, there will not be a power vacuum. Price called for a full investigation, arrest and prosecution of anyone instigating and involved in acts of violence and urged the government to address the Sri Lankan people's discontent. "It is critical that a new government be appointed urgently to fill the current political vacuum," the forum said in a statement. Some experts said that if the president decides to step down in the face of growing pressure, the constitution outlines provisions for parliament to vote in a new leader. Protesters and a key trade group in Sri Lanka called for a new government to take control of the crisis-hit country on Tuesday while the president asked for calm following clashes that claimed eight lives and prompted his brother to quit as prime minister.