The Kegalle Magistrate today ordered the IGP to arrest and produce the police personnel who gave orders to open fire in which an unarmed protestor was killed in Rambukkana.
Kegalle Magistrate Wasana Nawaratne gave the order when the magesterial inquiry over the incident was taken up before the court today.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has agreed to form an all-party government in principle.
In a letter to leaders of political parties representing Parliament, the Head of State has invited all factions to take up post in the new government.
President Rajapaksa is scheduled to hold discussions on Friday (29) regarding the matter with political parties representing Parliament.
A group of Sri Lankans have set up camp outside Temple Trees in Colombo, not far from the Occupy Galle Face protest site. They are demanding that the Prime Minister and his government resign with immediate effect.
News 1st correspondents said that the group spent the entire night at the protest site, while Sri Lanka Police deployed additional security to the existing security detail around Temple Trees.
The Colombo Additional Magistrate rejected a request on Monday (25) made by the Colpetty Police to order the evacuation of protestors in front of Temple Trees.
In addition, Sri Lanka Police decided park a number of their buses and trucks on the pavement in an attempt to prevent the protestors from continuing their campaign.
COLOMBO (News The World Bank is to provide US $ 600 Million in financial aid as a solution to the current economic crisis, assuring continued support, said the President’s Media Division.
Chiyo Kanda, the World Bank’s Country Manager for the Maldives and Sri Lanka, stated that $400 Mn will be provided in the first phase.
She gave the assurance during a meeting between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the World Bank representative in Sri Lanka on Tuesday (26) at the President’s office.
Litro Gas Lanka Limited, the primary liquefied petroleum gas supplier in Sri Lanka, has increased the price of liquefied petroleum (LP) gas cylinders.
The price hike will come into effect from midnight today (April 26).
Accordingly, the revised price of a 12.5kg LP gas cylinder now stands at Rs. 4,860. The price of a 12.5kg cylinder went up by Rs. 2,185, from its previous rate of Rs. 2,675.
Meanwhile, the price of a 5kg cylinder has been increased by Rs. 874 to Rs. 1,945.
The 2.3kg cylinder saw a price hike of Rs. 404. The revised rate now sits at Rs. 910.
Litro had announced a price hike in its 12.5kg cylinder last Friday (April 22), but reversed the move hours later. It was reported that the price revision had not received approval.
The company later said the increases in LP gas prices would be made only after receiving the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers.
වතිකානයේ පැවැත්වෙන දිව්ය පූජාව හා දේව මෙහෙය | පාස්කු ප්රහාරයේ තෙවර්ෂ පූර්ණය
Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith presided over Holy Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica to show solidarity to all those who suffered as a result of the Easter Sunday Bombings of 2019.
The Catholic Bishops Conference in Sri Lanka has decided to join His Holiness the Pope in commemoration the people who died and were injured.
Families of the victims and those who were injured had accompanied His Eminence to the Vatican..
A tense situation has been reported near the Prime Minister’s residence at Wijerama Mawatha in Colombo as the protest march by university students headed towards the PM’s residence.
Hundreds of university students marched towards the PM’s official residence and are protesting in front of the residence while police officers have placed barricades to block them from entering the premises.
The protest march organized by the Inter University Students’ Federation (IUSF), calling for the resignation of the President and the government, had commenced from near the Fort Railway Station this morning.
The protesters had marched towards the Presidential Secretariat initially, however due to the roads leading towards the secretariat building being barricaded and closed off by the police, they had proceeded towards the PM’s residence at Wijerama Mawatha.
It is reported that several other roads leading towards the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo including the Lotus Road had been completely closed off and barricaded by the police since this morning (24).
Meanwhile a court order obtained by Fort Police Station with regard to the protest march had also been hand over to IUSF members.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has said if an interim government is formed, it should be under his leadership.
In an interview with a private radio channel, the Premier said it was not practical to form an interim government without common agreement with all political parties.
Q: Some MPs ask you to step down from being the Prime Minister?
A. I don't think the majority is saying so. Some MPs may say so. People who don't have any knowledge of the past maybe saying it. No one has asked me to step down. I don't think anyone would do either," he said.
Q. We learnt that former Minister Dullas Alahapperuma has sent a letter to the President saying that the Cabinet headed by the the Prime Minister should resign and an interim government be formed?
A. What interim government? How can we form an interim government without a common agreement? If an interim government is formed, it should be under my leadership. I don't think others would agree to it, even with Ranil Wickremesinghe or anyone else.
The Prime Minister has also reiterated that he is willing to discuss with the Galle Face protestors even now.
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has arrested a 28-year old suspect who allegedly attempted to set fire to the fuel bowser during the protest in Rambukkana on April 19.
Police said a video was being circulated in the media showing that the suspect, wearing a green T-shirt, was seen crossing the railway tracks, throwing away something parked in front of a fuel bowser and leaving the scene during the Rambukkana protest.
The suspect from Pinnawala was arrested in Rambukkana. He will be produced before the Kegalle Magistrate Court today.
A protester was killed when police opened fire on a group of individuals who were protesting due to shortage of fuel and a fuel price hike in Rambukkana.
Meanwhile , the final rites of the victim who died during the shooting will be held today.
