Sri Lanka Is a Small Preview of a Global Default Crisis – By Ruth Pollard The country is already wracked with shortages. The social order may shatter if the economy isn’t infused with cash soon.   Source:bloomberg.com High school teacher S. Jeeva has spent two days in the baking sun lining up for cooking gas in the north of Sri Lanka’s capital. He’s been standing with thousands of others waiting for a delivery that, so far, hasn’t come. Meanwhile, many of his students, who will sit for important national exams Monday, have joined protests against the government at the waterfront along Colombo’s iconic Galle Face Green. Both are symbols of the economic and political crisis gripping the nation — the result of decades of corruption and financial mismanagement that pushed the country to default on May 19. It is, Jeeva says, his students’ democratic right to protest and demand a better government. Daily life has become ...

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News In Sri Lanka – by Dr harold Gunatillake   Website: doctorharold.com Transcript: Bringing the most important latest news to your doorstep “If the ongoing protests diminish through fatigue and fail to monitor Wickremasinghe, Lanka’s fall into the abyss will not only be inevitable but extremely painful as well”. Sasanka Perera-Professor of Sociology and Dean of Social Sciences at South Asian University, New Delhi. In his first interview since taking office, Mr Wickremesinghe told the BBC he would ensure families get three meals a day. Appealing to the world for more financial help, he said, “there won’t be a hunger crisis; we will find food”. The new PM described the Sri Lankan economy as “broken”, but he said his message to Sri Lankans was to “be patient; I will bring things back”. Sri Lanka’s political and socio-economic disaster turned into deadly combat between the progovernment thugs with the backing of Mahinda ...

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Ranil Wickremesinghe: Sri Lanka’s new prime minister faces uphill battle – by George Wright Source:bbc.com News that Ranil Wickremesinghe is the new prime minister has been largely met with dismay and disbelief in Sri Lanka. His appointment is being viewed as yet another arrogant response by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to weeks of protests over rising prices and shortages. Mr Wickremesinghe is seen as being close to the Rajapaksa family, and many think he has been chosen because he will be likely to guarantee their security. Protests flared up in early April in the capital, Colombo, and have grown in size and spread across the country. People are furious because the cost of living has become unaffordable, and nine people have lost their lives in the unrest. Why are Sri Lankans protesting in the streets? However some say his experience and links with India and the West could help overcome the ...

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Wickremesinghe chosen Sri Lanka PM in effort to quell crisis – by Krishan Francis and Bharatha Mallawarachi Source:ctvnews.ca COLOMBO, SRI LANKA – Five-time former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was reappointed on Thursday in an effort to bring stability to the island nation, which is engulfed in a political and economic crisis. Wickremesinghe, a contentious choice by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, took his oath in a ceremony at the president’s residence. Protesters have blocked the entrance to the president’s office for more than a month. The president’s brother, Mahinda Rajakapsa, resigned as prime minister on Monday following violent attacks by supporters on peaceful anti-government protesters. His resignation automatically dissolved the Cabinet, leaving an administrative vacuum. The president’s selection of Wickremesinghe is an attempt to end the violence and restore international credibility as the government negotiates a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund. Sri Lankans for months have been forced to ...

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POWER CUT EFFECTS – by Dr. Tilak S. Fernando   The Government   needs to refrain  from obtaining short-term at high  interest rates. It will further compound Sri Lanka’s woes and reflect on the foreign debt trap. The country became paralysed  by the Covid-19 Pandemic and a global economic  crisis. Rather than  repeating the same mantra repeatedly, Sri Lanka should re-negotiate and restructure the repayment of our sovereign debt by coming  to a moratorium  agreement. Reeling under its worst economic crisis Sri Lanka’s power cuts continue for up to 13 hours a day. The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) indicated that power disruptions will be according to a zone system. Yet, invariably the power cuts and restoration times vary. It confuses the public as no one can organise anything properly.  Hungry and sweaty children have to use candlelight to attend to their schoolwork in the dark. Housewives cannot keep ...

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DOMESTIC GAS EXPLOSIONS – By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando   During the past few weeks, Sri Lankans experienced an appalling condition where wives, cooks at various hotels and restaurants and other family members became subjected to explosions of many a kind due to the use of domestic LP gas out of cylinder explosions. There have been 244 explosions from the 1st of January to the 5th of December 2021. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed an eight-member committee to investigate recent reports of liquid petroleum (LP) gas cylinder fires and make recommendations within three days. The Committee, after the initial investigations, recommended the following guidelines for the public to follow. The Committee’s recommendations were as follows: “(1) The public must ensure that the gas cylinders purchased have no leaks at the point of purchase. (2) Should there be a leak in an LP gas cylinder needs reporting to the local police and ...

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What’s happening in Sri Lanka? Country facing worst economic crisis and on the brink of bankruptcy – by Megan Baynes   Source:news.sky.com In a country where limes cost 240% more than they did last year, and with a looming economic and food crisis, protests continue to play out between those demanding the government resign and those in support of it. Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy and now facing its worst economic crisis since independence, with acute shortages of food, fuel and other essentials. Protests have been taking place on the island nation of 22 million people since the end of March between pro-government supporters and those calling for an immediate change in authority. The background Sri Lanka, which gained independence from the UK in 1948, emerged from a devastating civil war in 2009. In 2019, the country was rocked by Easter Sunday bombings – 250 people were killed ...

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Sri Lanka Today – by Dr Harold Gunatillake   Transcript: Sri Lanka was crippled by a strike by trade unions demanding the resignation of the Rajapaksa government The trade unions in Sri Lanka on Friday launched a crippling island-wide strike to demand the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government over its inability to tackle the economic meltdown which has caused unprecedented hardships to the public. Sri Lanka’s government has been facing a wave of protests around the country with an increasingly furious public demanding its resignation. All trade unions of health, postal, port and other government services have joined the .. strike. However, several pro-ruling party trade unions have declined to join. Businesses remained shut and roads appeared empty in most usually crowded areas. “Today’s one day action is to tell the president that he should step down along with the government. If our pleas are not heeded ...

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Broke, downgraded and begging: Sri Lanka pays price for missteps – by MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR South Asian nation’s economic crisis draws comparisons with Lebanon’s meltdown Source:asia.nikkei.com BANGKOK — Sri Lanka’s failure to settle interest payments on sovereign bonds and its subsequent ratings downgrade have drawn unflattering comparisons with the economic meltdown in Lebanon. The South Asian nation on April 18 failed to pay interest of $78.13 million on $1.25 billion of bonds. Standard & Poor’s followed up this week with a downgrade to a “selective default” rating — the latest knife in the back of the debt-ridden economy. Foreign investors who had bought the island’s international sovereign bonds (ISBs) were angry that they were misled by promises the debt would be paid. The principal cheerleader was Nivard Cabraal, the then central bank governor. Throughout he stood by views he had expressed to Nikkei in a February interview: “I am determined to ...

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Sri Lankan president calls second state of emergency in five weeks Police disperse students with teargas and water cannon as national strike over economic crisis takes place Source:theguardian.com Sri Lanka’s president has declared a state of emergency for the second time in five weeks, giving security forces sweeping powers as a nationwide strike demanding his resignation brought the country to standstill. A spokesperson for Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he invoked the tough laws to “ensure public order” after shops closed and public transport was halted on Friday by unions blaming him for the unprecedented economic crisis, which has ignited weeks of unrest. Earlier on Friday, police used teargas and water cannon to disperse students attempting to storm the national parliament demanding Rajapaksa resign. The state of emergency gives powers to security forces to arrest and detain suspects for long periods without judicial supervision. It also allows the deployment of troops to maintain law ...

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