News

State intelligence had received information that Galle Face protestors had been planning to smuggle all state documents out of the Presidential Secretariat by this afternoon (22), Defence Ministry sources say.

The occupants had been told by the defence authorities to vacate the premises by 6.00 am, but they had sought time until 2.00 pm, for which agreement had been given.

However, state intelligence later reported the protestors had been planning to bring more crowds near the Presidential Secretariat and create trouble by the afternoon.

Defence authorities say the unlawful occupants were evicted in order for the protection of the building as well as the state documents being kept in it.

Furthermore, the main agitation site near Shangri-la was not taken down allowing for the peaceful protests to continue.

What happened at the Galle Face protest site at dawn?

Using force, defence authorities evicted the protestors from the Presidential Secretariat and its vicinity at dawn today.

Several journalists, including J. Samuel of the BBC Tamil Service, had come under attack by the armed forces as they had been giving the incident live coverage.

A soldier snatched Samuel’s mobile phone and deleted the visuals he had taken.

The police media spokesman has told the BBC that he was unaware of journalists being attacked, and said he would look into it.

Videos are in wide circulation online showing the armed forces members assaulting protestors, civilians and others, once again bringing international spotlight on Sri Lanka.

Ranil Wickremesinghe has been elected by Parliament as the eighth Executive President of Sri Lanka.

Parliament convened at 10am this morning (20) under the patronage of Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywarden to vote for the election of Sri Lanks’s next President.

Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Parliamentarian Dullas Alahapperuma and National People’s Power leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake were nominated for the position.

A total of 223 MPs out of the 225-member parliament cast their votes, out of which, four were declared invalid. Meanwhile, two members namely MPs Selvaraja Gajendran and G.G. Ponnambalam abstained from voting.

Wickremesinghe garnered a total of 134 votes, while MP Dullas Alahapperuma managed to collect 82 votes and MP Dissanayake secured 03 votes.

Newly appointed President Ranil Wickremesinghe has issued an Extraordinary Gazette calling on the tri-forces to maintain public order islandwide.

The Gazette was published yesterday (21) in terms of Section 12 of the Public Security Ordinance (Chapter 40).

Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage issued an order barring any faction from entering or gathering within a 50 meter radius of the Bandaranaike Statue located in Galle Face, Colombo.

Sri Lanka Police told the court that there is a possible attempt being made to cause harm to the statue.

The new Cabinet of Ministers was sworn in before President Ranil Wickremesinghe a short while ago (22).

The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Prime Minister’s Office on Flower Road, Colombo. 

Listed below are the 18 new Cabinet Ministers;

1. Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena – Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils, and Local Government
2. Douglas Devananda – Fisheries
3. Susil Premajayantha – Education
4. Bandula Gunawardena – Transport & Highways, and Media
5. Keheliya Rambukwella – Health and Water Supply
6. Mahinda Amaraweera – Agriculture, Wildlife, and Forest Conservations
7. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe – Justice, Prisons, and Constitutional Reforms
8. Harin Fernando – Tourism and Lands
9. Ramesh Pathirana – Plantations and Industries
10. Prasanna Ranatunga – Urban Development and Housing
11. Ali Sabry – External Affairs
12. Vidura Wickramanayake – Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs
13. Kanchana Wijesekera – Power and Energy
14. Naseer Ahamed – Environment
15. Roshan Ranasinghe – Sports & Youth Affairs, and Irrigation
16. Manusha Nanayakkara – Labour and Foreign Employment
17. Tiran Alles – Public Security
18. Nalin Fernando – Trade, Commerce and Food Security

The Education Ministry today decided to extend the school holidays until next Sunday (24) and the schools will open on Monday (25).

A discussion was held on this matter at the ministry with the participation of the additional secretaries, including the Ministry Secretary, National Institute of Education (NIE) Director General, directors and provincial directors of education through online.

The decision was taken based on the current fuel crisis, transportation difficulties and the views of trade unions.

Earlier, the ministry had decided to reopen the schools from on Thursday (21).

Mr. Mayantha Dissanayake has resigned as chairman of the Samagi Youth Force.

Mr. Mayantha Dissanayake stated that the resignation letter was forwarded to the Samagi Jana Balavegaya leader, Mr. Sajith Premadasa, and the Samagi Jana Balavegaye general secretary, Mr. Ranjith Madduma Bandara.

Mr. Mayantha Dissanayake also stated that there will be a discussion about future collaboration with the party.

The bus fares will be reduced by 2.23% with effect from midnight today (July 19) in line with the recent fuel price reduction, the National Transport Commission says.

Accordingly, the minimum bus fare will move down to Rs. 38.00.

On July 17, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) reduced the fuel prices and Lanka IOC also slashed its prices to mirror the Ceypetco rates.

The price of a litre of Petrol (Octane 92) went down by Rs. 20 and Petrol (Octane 95) by Rs. 10 per litre. Meanwhile, Auto Diesel prices were reduced by Rs. 20 per litre and Super Diesel by Rs. 10 per litre.

Saman Ekanayake has been appointed as the Secretary to the President.

The appointment was made by the newly-elected President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Ekanayake previously was the Secretary to the Prime Minister when Ranil Wickremesinghe was serving as the Premier until Gotabaya Rajapaksa stepped down from the presidency.

He has also served as the Secretary to Prime Minister three times before that, between 2015 and 2019 when Wickremesinghe was in office as the Premier.

Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe says that the absence of a proper investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks implies that the issue has not been fully resolved yet.

In a special statement, Acting President Wickremesinghe explained that when he took over as Prime Minister earlier this year the economy had collapsed, with power cuts lasting five hours a day.

In the two months since then, power cuts had been reduced to three hours a day, fertiliser has been provided to the farmers and the gas shortage in the country has been solved.

While the month of July would be a difficult period for the supply of fuel, Wickremesinghe revealed that stocks of diesel have been secured and will be distributed while from 21 July. Additionally, stocks of petrol will also be distributed.

He also said that steps have been taken to provide relief to those who are struggling due to the economic pressures. Loans taken by paddy farmers who have planted fields less than two acres have been cancelled, he said. Further, in view of the drop in world oil prices, fuel prices in the country have also been reduced.

While highlighting the steps taken so far, the Acting President explained that negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were nearing conclusion, and discussions for assistance with foreign countries are also progressing.

He also said that due to the incomplete nature of the investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks, he is requesting the assistance of the UK Government and their intelligence services.

He highlighted that the current political crisis in the country is due to the Executive Presidency, and said that the 19th Amendment would be re-introduced which would address many concerns of the public.

The Acting President proceeded to explain that there were elements within society that are attempting to disrupt the peace in the country. He stresses that these elements would be prohibited from disrupting the country’s progress.

Wickremesinghe further said that the government will offer solutions to peaceful protesters who had legitimate concerns.

Acting President Wickremesinghe called upon the political parties in the country to put aside their differences and urged them to come together and form an All-Party Government which would allow the country to recover from the economic crisis.

Leader of the United National Party (UNP) Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the eighth Executive President of Sri Lanka a short while ago (21).

The six-time Prime Minister was sworn in before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya at the Parliamentary Complex at 10:00 am today.

Wickremesinghe was elected the President following a secret ballot held in Parliament yesterday (20), which he won by a majority of 134 votes.

Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe has directed the security forces to investigate incidents where individuals are engaged in exerting undue pressure through social media, which would affect the election of the next President.

He pointed out that there were reports on influential social media posts shared that would hamper the legislators’ ability to vote freely during the elections to select the successor President.