Page 29 - Sri Lanka

Overseas travel ban lifted on Lanka's ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa

A Sri Lankan court here on Wednesday ordered the lifting of the overseas travel ban on former president and prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Fort Magistrate's Court imposed a ban on overseas travel on Rajapaksa, 77, and over a dozen other politicians in May last year in view of investigations against them for their alleged involvement in the deadly attack on peaceful anti-government protesters in Colombo. At least nine people were killed and over 300 others injured in the violence in May. The overseas travel ban on former president Rajapaksa, MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, and ex-Provincial Council member Kanchana Jayaratne was completely lifted by the Fort Magistrate's Court on Wednesday, newsfirst.lk website reported. Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage ordered the court registrar to immediately convey the order to the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration. The impounded passports were ordered to be released to the four politician

India to be Sri Lanka's key partner as Colombo looks at economic growth

India was Sri Lanka's main partner in helping it deal with the economic crisis last year and the country will remain a key ally as Colombo looks at a growth path, island nation's envoy Milinda Moragoda said on Tuesday. On China's attempts to expand influence over Colombo, Moragoda said India-Sri Lanka relationship is too important to be measured in the context of a third country. "We have to get back to the growth path. Growth is the key aspect. For that, India becomes a key partner. India was our main partner last year in helping stabilisation of our economy with different instruments," he said. "For the revival of the economy too, India will be an important partner. We have to diversify our sources of income when it comes to exports and foreign exchange earnings," the envoy said. Moragoda made the remarks during a media interaction at the Foreign Correspondents' Club Of South Asia here. India extended financial assistance worth around USD 4 billion to Sri Lanka, including lines

Cyclone Mocha: Nearly 2,000 people affected in southern Sri Lanka

One is reportedly missing and nearly 2,000 people have been affected in Southern Sri Lanka due to the indirect influence of extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Mocha' in the Bay of Bengal

India extends $1 billion credit line to crisis-hit Sri Lanka by a year

The credit line, part of about $4 billion in emergency assistance extended by India during the peak of Sri Lanka's financial crisis early last year, was scheduled to end in March

Lanka court puts restraining order on celebration of Gotabaya's fall

A Sri Lankan court on Tuesday accepted a request by the police to curb the commemoration of the events which led to the resignation of the bankrupt government of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa a year ago. On May 9 last year, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned, hours after his supporters attacked anti-government protesters outside embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office. Last year, thousands of demonstrators protested across Sri Lanka seeking the resignation of President Gotabaya and Prime Minister Mahinda, as the Sri Lankan government ran out of money for vital imports; prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed and there are acute shortages in fuel, medicines, and electricity supply. Police on Tuesday said the Colombo Fort magistrate has issued a restraining order on commemoration of the protest preventing them from entering key installations such as the president's house, presidential secretariat, finance ministry, and the prime minister's official ..

India regains top spot in Sri Lanka's inbound tourism market

India regained the top inbound market for Sri Lanka's tourism market after six months as about 20,000 Indian tourists arrived in the island nation in April this year. Tourism Authority figures showed that 19,915 Indians had visited the island in April over 14,656 Russian tourist arrivals. Russians remained the top inbound market from October last year to March this year. India enjoyed a 19 per cent market share in April followed by 14 per cent from Russia and 8 per cent from the UK. In April, the arrivals topped 100,000 for the fourth consecutive time since 2019. Tourist arrivals to the island had slumped since the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that left 270 persons, including 11 Indians, dead and over 500 injured.

Sri Lanka expects to attract 20 lakh visitors from India this year

Sri Lanka, which is emerging from an economic crisis, is expecting to attract 20 lakh visitors from India this year, Sri Lanka Tourism Minister said on Friday. "Sri Lanka is experiencing a significant rise in tourist arrivals, particularly from India, which has now secured the top spot. "In the first three months of 2023, we welcomed 46,432 Indian tourists. With an ambitious promotional campaign underway, we are aiming to attract 2 million Indian tourists this year," Sri Lanka Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said in a statement. This increase in visitors has had a positive impact on tourism earnings, with Sri Lanka earning around USD 530 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to USD 482.3 million in the same period last year, he said. "We expect to generate a total of USD 3 billion in tourism revenue this year," the minister added. Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Chalaka Gajabahu said that the country is an ideal destination for families and is suitable for tra

Pakistan's inflation outpaces Sri Lanka as Asia's fastest amid food crisis

Consumer prices rose 36.4% in April from a year earlier, the highest since 1964, according to data released by the statistics department Tuesday

Eight people injured in shooting by a security guard in Sri Lanka's Colombo

According to the latest development in the investigation, a security guard at the site opened fire on the mob when they attempted to grab a firearm from another security guard

TN fishermen to meet EAM Jaishankar, seek release of boats seized by Lanka

The fishermen were arrested and jailed and their boats, fishing nets and their catch were seized

Sri Lanka to introduce new laws to achieve green economy: President

The President noted that Sri Lanka will take the lead in ensuring that the developing economies receive the resources to mitigate climate change

US bans Sri Lankan Governor's entry for 'violation of human rights'

US bans Wasantha Karannagoda and his family from entering the country due to his involvement in a gross violation of human rights during his tenure as a Naval Commander

Protests in Sri Lanka's northern, eastern provinces over anti-terror bill

Normal life was disrupted in Sri Lanka's northern and eastern provinces on Tuesday due to widespread protests by the main Tamil party Tamil National Alliance against a new controversial anti-terrorism bill drafted to replace a draconian counter-terrorism law. The new Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) will replace the much-maligned Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) of 1979. The PTA was introduced as a temporary arrangement to counter the campaign of separatist violence by the Tamil minority militant groups in 1979. On April 1, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told reporters that the new counter-terrorism law will be introduced later this month. The protests, organised by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), were against the new Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), political sources from the two provinces said. In the northern Jaffna's Tenmarachchi, Kodikamam and Chavakachcheri, life came to a standstill with all shops and business establishments shut in the three divisions, they said. The government in

Sri Lanka confirms Chinese company request for exporting 100,000 monkeys

Sri Lanka on Wednesday confirmed China's request for importing 1,00,000 endangered monkeys from the cash-strapped island nation, amidst protests from environmental groups against the deal. Gunadasa Samarasinghe, the top bureaucrat in Sri Lanka's Ministry of Agriculture said that a privately-owned Chinese company connected to Zoological Gardens which are animal breeders had made the request to his ministry. We will not send the whole 100,000 in one lot. But we considered the request due to crop damages caused by the monkeys in several parts of the country. They will not be taken from conserved areas. The focus will be only in the cultivation areas, Samarasinghe told reporters. The toque macaque monkey is endemic to Sri Lanka and classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. Last week, Sri Lanka's agriculture minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that China's request for 1,00,000 monkeys to be exhibited at over 1,000 Chinese zoos could be

Sri Lanka's ex-Attorney General summoned over Easter Sunday attack

Sri Lanka's former Attorney General (AG), who claimed that there was a 'grand conspiracy' behind the 2019 Easter Sunday attack, has been summoned

Like Lanka and Pak, Bhutan to face huge losses if it sides with China: Rpt

While owing to its hegemonic desires, China claims the entirety of the plateau, India maintains the dignity of historical treaties

India, Japan, France's common platform to aid Sri Lankan debt restructuring

India, Japan and France have announced a common platform for talks among creditors to address the debt restructuring programme of Sri Lanka which is grappling with its worst economic crisis. The representatives of the three creditor countries, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, held a press briefing on the margins of the annual spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington on Thursday. "The purpose of the event was to demonstrate the multilateral cooperation regarding the debt restructuring process among the creditors, together with Sri Lanka, said an official statement. Finance Minister Sitharaman expressed India's commitment to supporting Sri Lanka in dealing with its current economic crisis. She emphasised that collaboration among creditors was important to ensure transparency and equality in the debt restructuring discussions. Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe joined the conference virtually. Japanese Finance Min

India played key role in IMF's clearance of 48-month EFF to Sri Lanka

India played a crucial role in the International Monetary Fund (IMF's) clearance of a 48-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) worth USD 2.9 billion to crisis-hit Sri Lanka, reported True Ceylon

'Declare Bay of Bengal as Zone of Peace to keep geopolitical issues aside'

The Bay of Bengal has witnessed numerous non-traditional security threats, such as human trafficking, narcotics trade, tsunamis and cyclones. However, thus far, it was never a geopolitical hotspots

FM Sitharaman attends high-level meeting on Sri Lankan debt issues

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman attended a high-level meeting on Sri Lankan debt issues and expressed India's commitment to support Colombo in dealing with its current economic crisis. She emphasised that a collaboration among creditors is important to ensure transparency and equality in treatment of all creditors in the debt restructuring discussions. The high-level meeting took place on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)- World Bank (WB) Spring Meetings here on Thursday. Japan Finance Minister Suzuki Shunichi, Sri Lanka State Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe and Emmanuel Moulin, Director General of the Treasury, France were present in the meeting. Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe participated virtually, an official statement said. The purpose of the event was to demonstrate the multilateral cooperation regarding the debt restructuring process among the creditors, together with Sri Lanka, it said. In the event, the ministers announced the launch