Sri Lanka

The double whammy of government and economic instability is further complicating recovery, and the country is hurtling toward bankruptcy.

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President has fled the country but protesters say they will not stop fighting until there is 'freedom from corrupt leaders'

“This is a huge moment in the history of Sri Lanka and it feels significant to get a chance to visit this historical place when we get the chance,” said sister Kathleen. “This wasn’t just the home of Gotabaya, but so many leaders. But inside the presidential palace, where Rajapaksa had lived until he fled to a military base on Saturday morning, the mood was calm. Some noted the irony that after months of public demands to abolish the executive presidency, instead on Wednesday the country now appeared to have two presidents, both lacking legitimacy and support. I voted for him but now I see that he is nothing but a thief who has brought this country to the darkest depths.” There is barely a citizen who has not been left suffering; desperate tuk-tuk drivers speak of spending five days in the queue for petrol and NGOs have issued warnings that the country could soon be facing a famine-like situation, so concerning are the problems of food shortages and inflation. But in the end Sri Lanka’s strongman president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was reduced to making a meek, humiliating escape under the cover of darkness, refusing to even address his own people before he fled.

Sri Lankans have suffered months of hardship in a country which is now effectively bankrupt, low on fuel, and short of medicines. | ITV National News.

It was an attempt by the military to force the crowd to go home. We went in with the victorious protesters, but there was no sign of the prime minister. It came from all sides and there was no way to avoid it - attacking the lungs, and burning the eyes and skin. When the unarmed crowd tried to march into the PM’s office, heavily armed military and police stood in their way. Our team in Colombo - Andy Rex, Sanjay Jha, and Prashanthan - were all caught in the spreading clouds of smoke while reporting. According to the constitution, the PM becomes acting president in Rajapaksa’s absence.

Analysis: Gotabaya Rajapaksa's authoritarianism and incompetence ended the family's political reign.

This may not be a revolution – Sri Lanka has a long and established tradition of democracy, albeit one that has been strained in recent years – but it is an immense upheaval. Optimists see the possibility of a new national vision and spirit taking root. Another was the sense of empowerment that moved the Rajapaksas to spend enormous, borrowed sums on huge infrastructure projects of dubious value. The ruler of Sri Lanka has been a high-profile casualty of the global cost of living crisis, analysts have said. The Rajapaksas sought to channel and intensify the resultant wave of support among Sri Lanka’s Sinhala majority. For weeks protesters in Sri Lanka have chanted “Go home Gota.” Now Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the president, appears to be looking for one.

Plus, the euro falls to parity with US dollar and US employs 'tuna politics' in the Pacific.

Corruption, mismanagement and financial pressure from China all contributed to Sri Lanka's economic turmoil.

Wickremesinghe had already announced a package of reforms designed to stabilise the economy and planned to present a debt restructuring plan to the IMF by August. If an army general were to take power now, Sri Lanka will become a pariah – and would find it almost impossible to raise the foreign investment it so desperately needs. The main problems facing Sri Lanka are a result of economic mismanagement and corruption. Yet, despite the oversized role played by the country’s military establishment, years of hardship, war and human rights abuses, Sri Lankans have steadfastly held on to their democratic civilian government. But many are asking whether the army will step in to run the government, at least until order can be restored and a new government formed. In this situation, the role of the army will come into sharp focus.

Rajapaksa and his wife flew to Malé, in the Maldives, on an AN32 troop transport plane from the Sri Lanka Air Force, the official said. Local air traffic ...

Some of the protesters then broke into the property and splashed around in his swimming pool But immigration officers declined to process the passports given to them by presidential aides, as Rajapaksa and his family were not physically present for cross checks. CNN has reached out to Nasheed for comment.

There was a pressing silence from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who escaped to the Maldives early on Wednesday morning. According to local media, he was still ...

UN Secretary General António Guterres urged Sri Lankan leaders to oversee a peaceful transition of power. However, it was unclear if Wickremesinghe had full control of the armed forces. There was a pressing silence from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who escaped to the Maldives early on Wednesday morning.

Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa missed a deadline announced by the Parliament Speaker to submit his resignation after he fled the country for the ...

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Late-night clashes near Sri Lanka's Parliament between protesters and security forces following President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's flight ...

“You can’t just tear up the constitution like that.” Later, protesters and security clashed near Parliament, and opposition leaders called on Wickremesinghe to resign as prime minister. The appointment of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president further incensed demonstrators, who stormed his office after a confrontation with security forces.

When embattled Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa attempted to flee his country in the face of economic and political crisis this week, ...

The mass demonstrations culminated in hundreds of protesters occupying the palaces of the president and prime minister on Saturday, partying at the estates and setting the latter on fire in recent days. In the meantime, she has traveled to Dubai at least once, Sri Lankan newspapers reported. In March, the world’s main anti-money laundering watchdog placed the UAE on its “gray list” of countries that need extra monitoring. But the probe stalled, according to Sri Lankan media which cited banks’ delay in providing information about Nadesan and Nirupama Rajapaksa’s accounts. They have denied the allegations. Rajapaksa and some of his relatives, including a former finance minister, were stopped from boarding flights to Dubai, the UAE’s commercial center, on Tuesday as protesters surrounded the airport, CNN reported.

Confused and angry, Sri Lankans are still waiting for their embattled president to resign after he fled the country amid an economic meltdown and political ...

He complained that Sri Lankan politics have been dominated for years by “old politicians” who all need to go. Similar comments have rankled opposition lawmakers, who insisted that civilian leaders would be the ones to find a solution. That person could potentially appoint a new prime minister, who would then have to be approved by Parliament. But assuming that Rajapaksa resigns as planned, Sri Lankan lawmakers have agreed to elect a new president on July 20 who will serve the remainder of Rajapaksa’s term, which ends in 2024. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his wife fled to the Maldives on Wednesday aboard an air force jet. Many believe that his appointment in May alleviated pressure on Rajapaksa to resign.

Sri Lanka's embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has left Maldives after fleeing his own country amid an economic collapse.

But assuming that Rajapaksa resigns as promised, Sri Lankan lawmakers have agreed to elect a new president on July 20 who will serve the remainder of Rajapaksa’s term, which ends in 2024. The family has denied the corruption allegations, but Rajapaksa acknowledged some of his policies contributed to the meltdown. Amid the mounting chaos, Wickremesinghe’s office imposed a state of emergency giving broader powers to the military and police. Wickremesinghe also has said he will resign, but not until a new government is in place. Rajapaksa and his wife fled Sri Lanka early Wednesday aboard an air force jet as protesters were taking over government buildings to demand he resign. Some were seen unrolling a red carpet in the palace as they left.

Blast fishing is widely practised in the seas around Sri Lanka, with even marine parks and historical shipwrecks not immune to this illegal practice.

Blast fishing is especially rampant in Mannar, in Sri Lanka’s northern region, according to S.S.M. Peramunagama from the Sri Lankan Department of Agriculture, who has researched destructive fishing activities there. The problem of blast fishing has gone from being a conservation issue and is now of national concern, he said. A 2021 review of the existing scientific literature on blast fishing shows it’s a worldwide problem that’s driven by more than just poverty. Access to credit and the prospect of increased catches were also identified as bigger drivers than poverty, she added. The Navy, meanwhile, is focused on another pressing problem: stopping the flow of desperate Sri Lankans trying to migrate to India. The Sri Lankan Navy has apprehended several fishermen involved in blast fishing in recent years, seizing explosives that include TNT, C4, and gelignite. The eastern coast, where Pigeon Island is located, has the highest cover of live corals, but blast fishing poses a serious threat to them, Rajasuriya told Mongabay. In 2017, the Navy seized 52 kilograms (115 pounds) of water gel. The shockwaves from the underwater blast can kill a fish or rupture its swim bladder, resulting in the fish losing its buoyancy. DWC director-general Chandana Sooriyabandara said the department’s officers on the ground work hard to tackle blast fishing whenever possible. Shipwreck sites, which attract large numbers of fish, have also become targets of blast fishing, according to Dharshana Jayawardena of Dive Sri Lanka, a diving tour operator. He estimated that the recent blast occurred only about 400 metres, or a quarter-mile, from his tour group.