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Millions of workers staged a crippling strike in Sri Lanka yesterday, adding to pressure on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his ruling family to quit over the country’s worst-ever economic crisis. The island nation of 22mn people has been hit by months of acute shortages of food, fuel and medicines, prompting widespread protests. But yesterday’s nationwide strike was the first time the entire country had been brought to a standstill since the demonstrations began, with both state and private sector employees taking part. Public transport was stopped, teachers quit school while shops and offices closed, police and regional officials said. Rajapaksa has invited leaders of his party to discuss the crisis today, but former coalition partner the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) said they will not attend and instead told him to step down. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya’s elder brother and a former two-term president, has said he is confident he will not be fired over the crisis. In Colombo’s main commercial area of Pettah, wholesale trading shops were shut and workers joined a march chanting: “Go home Gota. Go home Gota,” referring to the president. More than 100 trade unions, some even affiliated with the Rajapaksas’ ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party, joined the general strike, demanding the president, prime minister and other senior officials resign. “It is like a public holiday in the country,” a police official monitoring the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. “Hospitals are treating only emergency cases.” Across the nation, vegetable markets were closed, while tea plantations, a main export earner, were also shut, residents and local media said. Tens of thousands of workers in the country’s free trade zones came out of their factories and staged protests demanding the powerful Rajapaksa family step down. Most banks were closed while a few provided reduced hours of service. On the brighter side, a daily power cut that has become a feature of the crisis was not implemented yesterday as electricity employees took part in the work stoppage. The main international airport operated without interruption, officials said. Trade union leaders said they ensured the airport functioned normally as an essential service. By afternoon, shops across the country had closed in solidarity with the trade unions, local television reported.

Sri Lanka’s beleaguered prime minister came under increased pressure to step down yesterday, as staunch allies broke ranks and backed street protests calling for resignations over a worsening economic crisis. Media minister Nalaka Godahewa announced his support for the thousands outside President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office who are demanding he and other members of his family relinquish power. Sri Lanka is suffering its most painful economic downturn since independence in 1948, with months of blackouts and acute shortages of food, fuel and other essentials. The crisis has sparked nationwide protests, with angry demonstrators camped outside Rajapaksa’s office for more than two weeks. Under pressure, the president dropped two of his brothers — Chamal and Basil —  and nephew Namal from the cabinet this month, but protesters rejected the changes as cosmetic. Godahewa, previously a staunch Rajapaksa loyalist, said the president should sack his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa — the political head of the family — and allow an all-party interim government to take over. He said the government had lost its credibility after the police killing of a protester on Tuesday. Godahewa said he had offered his resignation but President Rajapaksa had not accepted it. “We need to restore political stability to successfully meet the economic crisis,” Godahewa said in a statement on his Facebook page. “The entire cabinet, including the prime minister, should resign and (there should be) an interim cabinet that can win the confidence of all.” Several other senior ruling party members, including Dullas Alahapperuma, a former media minister and cabinet spokesman, have asked the premier to step down. “I urge the president to appoint a smaller cabinet with a genuine consensus representing all parties in parliament for one year maximum,” Alahapperuma said yesterday. But the prime minister rejected their demands, insisting a majority of ruling party lawmakers still supported him. “A majority of MPs want me, there may be a few who want me to go,” Mahinda told Neth FM radio. “People must be patient to overcome this crisis,” the 76-year-old added, rejecting calls for a unity cabinet. “There cannot be any interim government without me as its prime minister.” Police and the military stepped up security in the central town of Rambukkana yesterday for the funeral of 42-year-old Chaminda Lakshan, who was shot dead when police broke up a protest against spiralling fuel prices. Saffron-robed Buddhist monks chanted teachings ahead of the sunset burial at Lakshan’s family home. Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa visited to offer his condolences to his widow and two children, while a large number of villagers attended. Police said they had arrested a 28-year-old man who allegedly attempted to torch a fuel tanker before officers opened fire on the crowd, killing Lakshan. Hundreds of people had been protesting a 64% increase in the price of diesel, commonly used for public transport. Food, oil and electricity have been rationed for months and the country is facing record inflation.   Hospitals are short of vital medicines and the government has appealed to Sri Lankans abroad for donations. Finance minister Ali Sabry, who is in Washington to negotiate a bailout from the International Monetary Fund, warned on Friday that the economic situation in the South Asian nation will likely deteriorate even further. “It is going to get worse before it gets better,” Sabry told reporters. “It is going to be a painful few years ahead.”

Generations of Sri Lankan leaders have sought guidance from seers and astrologers, and now one has dared tell the ruling Rajapaksa family that their time in office is up. As politicians find their homes besieged by large and resentful crowds, incensed over months of fuel shortages and lengthy blackouts, spiritual advisers have also found themselves under pressure.  Images of soothsayers standing alongside top administration figures have been shared on social media by activists calling on them to urge President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to stand down. One of the most prominent among them has already broken ranks with the government.  The long-time personal astrologer of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa -- the president's older brother -- this week said the economic crisis signalled the downfall of a clan that has dominated Sri Lanka's affairs for much of the past two decades. "This is the end of the entire Rajapaksa family," Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena told AFP. The fortune-teller's reputation took a hit in 2015 after he suggested Mahinda call an early election that the leader lost -- but his latest prediction is more emphatic. "Even a grade two child knows today that the Rajapaksas are doomed," he said.  President Gotabaya Rajapaksa -- Mahinda's younger brother -- and Sri Lanka's army chief are also known to have had a long association with a fortune-teller in the historic Buddhist centre of Anuradhapura. Local media have reported the president makes regular pilgrimages to meet with Gnana Akka, and claimed she had a considerable role in shaping the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic. A group of activists clashed with police this month as they attempted to storm a shrine belonging to the seer, who fled after officers tipped her off to the crowd's impending arrival. Gnana Akka's influence also extended to several other top politicians, said newspaper columnist Kusal Perera, who quipped that the prophet's powers had apparently not granted her advance warning of the protest. "How can Gnana Akka protect the president when she is unable to protect herself?" he said.   - Magic ritual -   Astrology is widely practised in Sri Lanka, and people commonly consult seers before building new homes, entering into contracts or scheduling weddings.  Political addresses to the nation and the inauguration of new parliament sessions are also usually held at auspicious times.  Former military commanders have even reported that timings of military actions in Sri Lanka's long civil war were decided by astrologers, who were also consulted to coin codenames for operations.  The Rajapaksa brothers are only the latest in a long tradition of Sri Lankan leaders balancing otherworldly advice with that of technocrats and civil servants.  Former president Ranasinghe Premadasa used a magic ritual to ward off his impending impeachment in 1991, according to a tell-all book by Vijaya Palliyaguruge, who at the time was the parliament's serjeant-at-arms, the officer maintaining order. A sorcerer was tasked with juicing limes and spreading the liquids on the seats of lawmakers to ensure their support of the leader.  Premadasa survived the attempt to topple him but his reliance on the occult did not protect him from his assassination two years later in a suicide bomb attack by a member of the Tamil Tigers separatist movement.    - 'Way of redemption' -   The political elite's consultation of shamans and seers is not a phenomenon unique to Sri Lanka.  The diminutive mystic "ET" -- a moniker apparently inspired by her resemblance to the eponymous Steven Spielberg character -- advised members of Myanmar's military, who were rumoured to have relocated the country's capital in 2005 based on astrological guidance. Former US First Lady Nancy Reagan was also known to consult an astrologer to plan her husband's schedule while he served in the White House. But even with Sri Lanka seething over mismanagement of the economic crisis and allegations of graft, human rights activist and former newspaper editor Victor Ivan said the government was unlikely to abandon its faith in supernatural guidance. "The leaders know that they have done a lot of wrong," he told AFP.  "Shamans and sorcerers provide them a way of redemption -- that is why these people are held in such veneration by our politicians."

At least 24 people have been killed in landslides and flooding across central and southern Philippines, authorities said yesterday, after tropical storm Megi dumped heavy rain and disrupted travel. More than 13,000 people fled to emergency shelters as the storm pounded the region on Sunday, the national disaster agency said, flooding houses, inundating fields, cutting off roads and knocking out power. The central province of Leyte was among the hardest hit, with landslides leaving 21 people dead in four villages, Baybay City disaster officer Rhyse Austero said. Leyte’s death toll adds to another three people killed on the main southern island of Mindanao, the national disaster agency said. Photos posted on Facebook and verified by AFP show several houses buried in mud up to the rooftops in Bunga, one of the affected villages in Leyte. “The rain was so hard, it was non-stop for more than 24 hours,” resident Hannah Cala Vitangcol said. The 26-year-old teacher fled with her family to a hotel yesterday after waking to find nearby homes had been covered in an avalanche of mud. “I was crying because I know the people buried there and I was also scared because there were mountains behind our house,” she said. Baybay City council member Mark Unlu-cay posted photos on Facebook showing survivors from another village, Kantagnos, being treated in hospital. “It seems like the entire community...was badly hit by the landslide and the riverflow,” he said. Unlu-cay said he feared the death toll could rise after receiving reports that other villages had also been inundated by the waves of earth and mud. Philippine Coast Guard and police personnel rescued people from their homes in the flooded town of Abuyog, carrying residents onto orange stretchers laid on floating boats.

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa pleaded for “patience” yesterday as thousands continued to take to the streets to protest his family’s rule, with public anger at a fever pitch over the country’s crippling economic crisis. Sri Lanka’s 22mn residents have seen weeks of power blackouts and severe shortages of food, fuel and even life-saving medicine in the country’s worst downturn since independence in 1948. Protesters have rallied daily since Saturday against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa — Mahinda’s younger brother — in Colombo and across the island nation, chanting “Gota go home” and calling for his government’s removal. In his first address since the crisis, Mahinda — the patriarch of the powerful Rajapaksa family omnipresent in Sri Lanka’s politics for two decades — said he needed more time to pull the nation out of the deep end. “Even if we can’t stop this crisis in two or three days, we will solve it as soon as possible,” Rajapaksa said in his televised address. “Every minute you protest on the streets, we lose an opportunity to earn dollars for the country,” he said. “Please remember that the country needs your patience at this critical moment.” Pressure on the powerful Rajapaksa family has intensified in recent days, with the country’s vital business community also withdrawing support for them over the weekend. Mahinda did not directly address the growing calls for him and Gotabaya to step down, but he defended his administration by saying that opposition parties had rejected their offer to form a unity government. “We invited all other parties to come forward and take up the challenge, but they did not, so we will do it on our own,” he said, also blaming Sri Lanka’s ballooning foreign debt on the pandemic.

•    Opposition threatens no-confidence motion in parliament •    Demands action on crisis, improved governance •     Industry demands seeking urgent help from IMF, ADB, World Bank Sri Lanka’s main opposition party yesterday asked the government to resolve an economic crisis or face a no-confidence motion, as leaders of businesses from garments to tea and other industries warned that exports could fall up to 30% this year. The heavily indebted country has little money left to pay for imports, which has led to crippling shortages of fuel, power, food, and increasingly, medicine. Street protests have gone on nearly non-stop for more than a month, despite a five-day state of emergency and a two-day curfew. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is running his administration with only a handful of ministers after his entire cabinet resigned this week, while the opposition and even some coalition partners rejected calls for a unity government to deal with the worst crisis in decades. At least 41 lawmakers have walked out of the ruling coalition to become independents, though the government says it still has a majority in parliament. “The government needs to address the financial crisis and work to improve governance, or we will move a no-confidence motion,” Sajith Premadasa, leader of Samagi Jana Balawegaya opposition group, said in parliament. “It is imperative that Sri Lanka must avoid a disorderly debt default. The government must work to suspend debt and appoint financial advisers to start off the process of restructuring debt.” Parliament proceedings were suspended twice in the morning as rivals heckled each other, with two members temporarily removed from the chamber on the orders of the speaker. Nearly two dozen associations, representing industries that collectively employ a fifth of the country’s 22mn people, together urged the government to quickly seek financial help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). “We need a solution within weeks or the country will fall off the precipice,” Rohan Masakorala, director-general of the Sri Lanka Association of Manufacturers And Exporters of Rubber Products, told a news conference. “Our estimate is that both merchandise and service exports could drop 20-30% this year due to a dollar shortage, higher freight costs and power cuts.” Rajapaksa is struggling to find a new finance minister to hold talks this month with the IMF for emergency loans, after Ali Sabry submitted his resignation on Tuesday having spent just a day in office. A ruling party lawmaker said Rajapaksa had yet to accept Sabry’s resignation. “We are pushing the government and opposition to establish political stability as soon as possible and give us a way forward,” Masakorala said.”IMF should have happened yesterday.” Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange reserves have plunged some 70% in the past two years, hitting $1.93bn at the end of March. It has a debt of $1bn due for payment in July, and more later in the year. Inflation, meanwhile, has rocketed to its highest level in more than a decade, and yesterday evening, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka is expected to raise key interest rates by as much as 400 basis points (bps) following a 100 bps rise in early March. The government has secured credit lines and currency swaps of billions of dollars from India and China but industry leaders say it needs to do more, urging the central bank governor to start negotiations urgently. “The Indian credit lines will only last until end-April,” said Russell Juriansz, chairman of the Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council. “We appeal to the president to take the right decision or it will haunt him for the rest of his life.”

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will not resign, a minister said yesterday, despite demonstrations against his handling of the country’s worst economic crisis in decades and as doctors held street protests over a shortage of medicine. Rajapaksa, governing the nation since 2019 with other family members in top positions, revoked a state of emergency late on Tuesday after five days as dozens of lawmakers walked out of the ruling coalition, leaving his government in a minority. Debt-laden Sri Lanka has been struggling to pay for imports due to a shortage of foreign exchange, and is due to start talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) later this month for a loan programme. Late yesterday, Rajapaksa announced a three-member advisory group to help the government in the negotiations with the IMF. The group includes a former central bank governor, a former World Bank and a former IMF official. “Among the responsibilities that the presidential advisory group will undertake are to engage in discussions with relevant Sri Lankan institutions and officials engaging with the IMF,” the president’s media division said in a statement. Sri Lankans have been suffering from shortages of fuel, power, food, drugs and other items for weeks, and doctors say the entire health system could collapse. Street protests began a month ago and have intensified in recent days, with people openly defying the emergency and a weekend curfew to demand the ouster of Rajapaksa. “May I remind you that 6.9mn people voted for the president,” Highways Minister Johnston Fernando said in parliament in response to criticism from the opposition and cries of “Go home Gota”. “As a government, we are clearly saying the president will not resign under any circumstances. We will face this.” After Fernando’s speech, nearly 200 doctors, some in their blue scrubs, marched down a road by a national hospital in the commercial capital Colombo, chanting slogans against the government. Some held a banner saying: “Strengthen people’s right to live. Declare a health emergency.” Malaka Samararathna, who works at the state-run Apeksha Hospital that treats tens of thousands of cancer patients from across the country every year, said cancer drugs such as Filgrastim and Cytarabine, as well as some antibiotics, were in short supply. Vasan Ratnasingam, a doctor at Colombo’s Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, the largest such free-of-charge facility in Sri Lanka with some 2,000 beds, said they had run out of at least one vital drug, Digoxin, given for heart conditions. “And other than that, 102 essential drugs are in shortage. Some of those drugs are frequently used, such as for respiratory tract infections,” he said, warning doctors would have to stop routine treatments and surgeries if immediate action was not taken.

Sri Lanka’s president yesterday lost his parliamentary majority as former allies urged his resignation following days of street protests over the island nation’s crippling economic crisis. Unprecedented shortages of food and fuel along with record inflation and blackouts have inflicted widespread misery in the country’s most painful downturn since independence from Britain in 1948. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s once-powerful ruling coalition is in turmoil after a string of defections, capped yesterday by the new finance minister’s resignation just one day after taking office. And as anti-Rajapaksa demonstrations continued for a fifth straight day, the government warned of retaliation if rallies turned violent. “Security forces will not hesitate to enforce the law against those involved in violence,” defence ministry secretary Kamal Gunaratne said in a statement. More than 60 people had been arrested in connection with unrest since Friday and many have said they were tortured in police custody. The UN Human Rights Council said it was closely watching the deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka, which is already facing international censure over its human rights record. “The drift towards militarisation and the weakening of institutional checks and balances in Sri Lanka have affected the state’s ability to effectively tackle the economic crisis,” the UNHRC said. Public anger is at a fever pitch in Sri Lanka, where crowds have since the weekend attempted to storm the homes of several senior government officials. “If we don’t act now, there will be a river of blood in the country,” said Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, a newly independent lawmaker who broke ranks with the president’s party and joined calls for the leader to step down. “We have to forget party politics and ensure an interim government.” Yesterday’s parliamentary session was the first since dozens of MPs withdrew their support for Rajapaksa’s government, including 16 lawmakers from his own Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP). The government is now at least five short of a majority in the 225-member house, but there has been no clear signal that legislators will attempt a no-confidence motion to topple it. Opposition parties have already rebuffed Rajapaksa’s call to join a unity administration led by him and his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Their government imposed a state of emergency last week in an effort to contain street protests, but the ordinance is set to expire next week unless ratified by parliament. Rejecting calls for a vote on the emergency decree, the government cut short yesterday’s proceedings by two hours, but promised a debate today. Nimal Lanza, a former minister who has also abandoned Rajapaksa’s administration, conceded that the ruling party no longer had a mandate to govern. “I beg and appeal to you to take the side of the protesters,” he told parliament, addressing the prime minister, who attended the session but remained silent. Every member of Sri Lanka’s cabinet except the president and prime minister resigned late Sunday. Former justice minister Ali Sabry was appointed as finance minister on Monday, replacing the president’s brother Basil Rajapaksa, but abruptly resigned after just one day in office. The finance ministry’s top civil servant also resigned yesterday, a day after the central bank governor quit. Boisterous demonstrations have spread across the country of 22mn, despite emergency laws allowing troops to detain participants. A weekend curfew lapsed on Monday morning. Most demonstrations have been peaceful. A critical lack of foreign currency has left Sri Lanka struggling to service its ballooning $51bn foreign debt, with the pandemic torpedoing vital revenue from tourism and remittances. The result has seen unprecedented shortages with no sign of an end to the economic woes.

Sri Lanka's president lost his parliamentary majority Tuesday as former allies urged his resignation, following days of street protests over the island nation's crippling economic crisis. Severe shortages of food, fuel and other essentials -- along with record inflation and crippling power cuts -- have inflicted widespread misery in the country's most painful downturn since independence from Britain in 1948. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's once-powerful ruling coalition is in turmoil after a string of defections, capped Tuesday by the new finance minister's resignation just one day after taking office. Public anger is at a fever pitch, with crowds attempting to storm the homes of several government figures since the weekend and large demonstrations elsewhere. "If we don't act now, there will be a river of blood in the country," said Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, a newly independent lawmaker who broke ranks with the president's party and joined calls for the leader to step down. "We have to forget party politics and ensure an interim government." Tuesday's parliamentary session was the first since dozens of MPs withdrew their support for Rajapaksa's government, including 16 lawmakers from the president's own Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP). The government is now five short of a majority in the 225-member house, but there has been no clear signal that legislators will attempt a no-confidence motion that would compel it to resign. Opposition parties have already rebuffed Rajapaksa's call to join a unity administration helmed by him and his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Their government imposed a state of emergency last week in an effort to quell rising street protests, but the ordinance is set to expire next week unless ratified by parliament.  Rejecting calls for a vote on the emergency decree, the government cut short Tuesday's parliamentary session more than two hours before its scheduled finish.  Nimal Lanza, a former minister who has also abandoned Rajapaksa's administration, conceded that the ruling party no longer had a mandate to govern and threw his support behind the crowds calling for the president's resignation. "I beg and appeal to you to take the side of the protesters," he told parliament, addressing the prime minister, who attended the session but remained silent.  Every member of Sri Lanka's cabinet except the president and prime minister resigned late Sunday. Former justice minister Ali Sabry was appointed to helm the finance ministry on Monday, replacing the president's brother Basil Rajapaksa, but abruptly resigned after just one day in office. "Whilst I regret the inconvenience caused, I believe I have always acted in the best interests of the country," Sabry said in a statement. The ministry's top civil servant also resigned Tuesday, a day after the central bank governor quit.    - 'Cry of the people' -   Boisterous demonstrations have spread across the country of 22 million despite the emergency laws allowing troops to detain participants and a weekend curfew that lapsed on Monday morning.  Crowds have attempted to storm the homes of more than a dozen government figures, including the president's house in Colombo. Protesters there torched the vehicles of security forces, who responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas. Most demonstrations have been peaceful, with Catholic clergy and nuns led by Sri Lanka's Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith leading a procession in the capital. "This is a valuable country with intelligent people. But our intelligence, the people's intelligence, has been insulted by corruption," Ranjith said.  "Therefore now we call out... please now listen to the cry of the people and step down." A critical lack of foreign currency has left Sri Lanka struggling to service its ballooning $51 billion foreign debt, with the pandemic torpedoing vital revenue from tourism and remittances. The result has seen unprecedented shortages with no sign of an end to the economic woes. Economists say Sri Lanka's crisis has been exacerbated by government mismanagement, years of accumulated borrowing and ill-advised tax cuts.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa dropped his brother as finance minister and sought a new central bank governor yesterday, as crowds angry over the country’s deepening economic crisis surrounded the homes of several lawmakers. The debt-laden country, run by Rajapaksa and members of his family since 2019, is struggling to pay for imports of fuel and other goods due to a scarcity of foreign exchange, leading to hours-long power cuts and a shortage of essentials. Police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who gathered outside Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s private residence in Tangalle, in southern Sri Lanka. Mahinda, the president’s elder brother, was away at the time in Colombo, the country’s commercial capital, where peaceful protests continued into the night. “Protesters broke through two barricades that had been placed near the residence and police had to use tear gas to move the protesters away,” police spokesperson Nihal Thalduwa said. Crowds also gathered outside the homes of six lawmakers and the party office of a former state minister spread across the country, he said. “Police continue to provide security to the houses of parliamentarians,” Thalduwa said.  After many protesters demanded the total ouster of the Rajapaksas, the president’s media office said in a statement that four new ministers had been appointed “to ensure parliament and other tasks can be conducted in a lawful manner until a full Cabinet can be sworn in.” The president’s nephew resigned as sports minister in the government that was disbanded while the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) governor offered to quit. The CBSL delayed its monetary policy announcement scheduled for today. Former CBSL official P Nandalal Weerasinghe said yesterday he had accepted an offer from Rajapaksa to become the central bank’s next governor. “The president called me and made the offer, and I have accepted,” Weerasinghe said. The president’s media office said Justice Minister Ali Sabry was named finance minister, replacing Basil Rajapaksa, the president’s younger brother, who was due to visit Washington this month for talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a loan programme. Ministers of foreign affairs, education and highways will keep their positions. “The president invites all political parties representing in the parliament to come together to accept ministerial portfolios in order to find solutions to this national crisis,” the media office said. Udaya Gammanpila, chief of one of the 11 political parties comprising the ruling coalition, dismissed the new Cabinet plan. “Our demand is for an all-party interim government to restore essential services and to hold a parliamentary election,” Gammanpila, of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya party, wrote on Twitter.”People should decide their next leaders, not anybody else.” Sajith Premadasa, leader of Sri Lanka’s main opposition, rejected Rajapaksa’s offer to form a unity government. “This is a crooked and corrupt government that has brought the people to their knees. The demand of the people is a government like this must go home immediately,” he said.

Armed troops in Sri Lanka blocked a Sunday opposition march that defied a weekend curfew to protest the island nation's worsening economic crisis, after authorities imposed a social media blackout to contain public dissent. The South Asian nation is facing severe shortages of food, fuel and other essentials, along with record inflation and crippling power cuts, in its most painful downturn since independence from Britain in 1948. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa imposed a state of emergency on Friday, the day after a crowd attempted to storm his home in the capital Colombo, and a nationwide curfew is in effect until Monday morning. The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Sri Lanka's main opposition alliance, denounced a social media blackout aimed at quelling intensifying public demonstrations, and said it was time for the government to resign. Troops armed with automatic assault rifles moved to stop a protest by opposition lawmakers and hundreds of their supporters attempting to march to the capital's Independence Square. The road was barricaded a few hundred metres from the home of opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and the crowd engaged in a tense stand-off with security forces for nearly two hours before dispersing peacefully.  "President Rajapaksa better realise that the tide has already turned on his autocratic rule," SJB lawmaker Harsha de Silva told AFP at the rally. Fellow SJB legislator Eran Wickramaratne condemned the state of emergency declaration and the presence of troops on city streets. "We can't allow a military takeover," he said. "They should know we are still a democracy." Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp were among the platforms shut down Sunday on the orders of defence authorities, internet service providers told their subscribers. Private media outlets reported that the chief of Sri Lanka's internet regulator resigned after the order went into effect.  The streets of the capital stayed largely empty on Sunday, apart from the opposition protest and long lines of vehicles queued for fuel at service stations.  Mass protests had been called on social media before the ban went into effect, and organisers have since postponed the rallies until after the curfew is lifted on Monday. Small crowds defied the curfew on Saturday night to hold peaceful demonstrations in various neighbourhoods around Colombo which broke up without incident.    - 'Completely useless' -   Cracks in the government have emerged, with the president's nephew Namal Rajapaksa announcing he had urged the government to reconsider the partial internet blackout.  "I will never condone the blocking of social media," said Namal, also the country's sports minister.  "The availability of VPN, just like I'm using now, makes such bans completely useless." The anti-government hashtags "#GoHomeRajapaksas" and "#GotaGoHome" have been trending locally for days on Twitter and Facebook.  A social media activist was arrested Friday for posting material that could allegedly cause public unrest. He has since been bailed. Hundreds of lawyers have volunteered to represent anti-government protesters arrested by the authorities. Sri Lanka's influential Bar Association has also urged the government to rescind the state of emergency. Western diplomats in Colombo expressed concern over the use of emergency laws to stifle democratic dissent and said they were closely monitoring developments. Solidarity protests were staged elsewhere in the world over the weekend including in the Australian city of Melbourne, home to a large Sri Lankan diaspora. A critical lack of foreign currency has left Sri Lanka struggling to service its ballooning $51 billion foreign debt, with the pandemic torpedoing vital revenue from tourism and remittances. The crisis has also left the import-dependent country unable to pay even for essentials. Diesel shortages have sparked outrage across Sri Lanka in recent days, causing protests at empty pumps, and electricity utilities have imposed 13-hour blackouts to conserve fuel. Many economists also say the crisis has been exacerbated by government mismanagement, years of accumulated borrowing, and ill-advised tax cuts. Sri Lanka is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.

Sri Lanka declared a 36-hour nationwide curfew Saturday and deployed troops backed with sweeping new powers under a state of emergency to quell protests against the president, his relatives and even his most trusted shaman. The lockdown will go into effect at dusk Saturday and be lifted on Monday morning, police said -- a period that covers planned mass anti-government protests against worsening shortages of fuel, food and medicines. The order came a day after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa invoked a state of emergency following a violent attempt to storm his house, saying it was for the "protection of public order". The ire of a mob in the near-bankrupt country was directed on Saturday at a woman identified as a soothsayer frequently consulted by Rajapaksa in the northern town of Anuradhapura. Rights activist and former opposition legislator Hirunika Premachandra led dozens of women to storm seer Gnana Akka's shrine and residence, but armed police stopped them. "Why are police protecting a shaman?" she asked a senior officer who physically blocked her march, as seen on a Facebook live video, verified by AFP as authentic.  "Thief, thief, Gota thief," the crowds chanted after armed security personnel stopped them.  "Think of the country and let us pass," another woman activist pleaded.    "#GoHomeRajapaksas" and "#GotaGoHome" have been trending for days on Twitter and Facebook in the country, which is battling severe shortages of essentials, sharp price rises and crippling power cuts in its most painful downturn since independence from Britain in 1948. The coronavirus pandemic has torpedoed tourism and remittances, both vital to the economy, and authorities have imposed a broad import ban in an attempt to save foreign currency. Many economists also say the crisis has been exacerbated by government mismanagement, years of accumulated borrowing, and ill-advised tax cuts. The curfew and state of emergency in the country of 22 million came as social media posts called for protests on Sunday.  "Do not be deterred by tear gas, very soon they will run out of dollars to re-stock," said one post encouraging people to demonstrate even if police attempt to break up gatherings. In normal times, Sri Lanka's military can only play a supporting role to police, but the state of emergency gives them authority to act alone, including to detain civilians. US ambassador Julie Chung warned: "Sri Lankans have a right to protest peacefully -- essential for democratic expression." "I am watching the situation closely, and hope the coming days bring restraint from all sides, as well as much needed economic stability and relief for those suffering," she tweeted. Former colonial power Britain's envoy expressed similar concerns, while the European Union mission said it "strongly urges Sri Lankan authorities to safeguard democratic rights of all citizens, including right to free assembly and dissent, which has to be peaceful". - 'Lunatic, go home' - Travel trade specialists say the state of emergency could be a new blow to hopes of a tourism revival as insurance rates usually rise when a country declares a security emergency. "There are reports of sporadic attacks on the homes of government politicians," a security official told AFP, adding that a ruling party legislator was hit with eggs at a public event in the central district of Badulla on Friday. In the nearby hill resort of Nuwara Eliya, protesters shouted anti-Rajapaksa slogans and blocked Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's wife Shiranthi from opening an annual flower exhibition. Thursday night's unrest outside the president's private home saw hundreds of people demand he step down. Protesters chanted "lunatic, lunatic, go home", before police fired tear gas and used water cannon. The crowd turned violent, setting ablaze two military buses, a police jeep and other vehicles, and threw bricks at officers. Police arrested 53 protesters, before 21 of them were released on bail Friday night, court officials said. Others were still being detained but had yet to be charged.

Sri Lanka cancelled exams for millions of school students as the country ran out of printing paper with Colombo short on dollars to finance imports, officials said Saturday. Education authorities said the term tests, scheduled a week from Monday, were postponed indefinitely due to an acute paper shortage as Sri Lanka contends with its worst financial crisis since independence in 1948. "School principals cannot hold the tests as printers are unable to secure foreign exchange to import necessary paper and ink," the department of Education of the Western Province said. Official sources said the move could effectively hold up tests for around two thirds of the country's 4.5 million students. Term tests are part of a continuous assessment process to decide if students are promoted to the next grade at the end of the year. A debilitating economic crisis brought on by a shortage of foreign exchange reserves to finance essential imports, has seen the country run low on food, fuel and pharmaceuticals. The cash-strapped South Asian nation of 22 million announced this week that it will seek an IMF bailout to resolve its worsening foreign debt crisis and shore up external reserves. The International Monetary Fund on Friday confirmed it was considering President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's surprise Wednesday request to discuss a bailout. Around $6.9 billion of Colombo's debt needs to be serviced this year but its foreign currency reserves stood at about $2.3 billion at the end of February. Long queues have formed across the country for groceries and oil with the government instituting rolling electricity blackouts and rationing of milk powder, sugar, lentils and rice. Sri Lanka earlier this year asked China, one of its main creditors, to help put off debt payments but there has been no official response yet from Beijing.

Passengers arriving in Sri Lanka, who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus (Covid-19), are not required to take a pre-departure RT-PCR or Rapid Antigen test, with effect from tomorrow (March 1). The Sri Lankan embassy in Doha posted a circular informing this – issued by Sri Lanka’s ministry of health – on its Facebook page yesterday. “Fully vaccinated travellers do not need to take Covid-19 tests (PCR or Rapid Antigen) before travelling to Sri Lanka,” the circular read. “As different countries have different phases of vaccination, for inbound travellers, if the ‘recommended doses’ of Covid-19 vaccination are completed and they depart from abroad two weeks after the completion of vaccination, they will be considered as ‘fully vaccinated’.” Recommended doses to be considered a fully vaccinated traveller are: m If the traveller is vaccinated with a two-dose vaccine, or a recommended combination of them, the traveller must have had both doses to be considered as fully vaccinated for travel to Sri Lanka. m If the traveller had an approved one-dose vaccine (for e.g., Janssen), the traveller is considered as fully vaccinated. The circular also states that children aged 18 and below, who have obtained at least a single dose of a recognised vaccine, will be considered as “fully vaccinated” if their departure from abroad is two weeks after the completion of vaccination. Travellers with a past history of Covid-19, wherein the infection was detected between seven days and six months before the date of departure with at least a single dose of a two-dose vaccine, will be exempted from a pre-departure Covid-19 test. They should carry a diagnosis card or verifiable evidence of previously positive Covid-19 test report (PCR or Rapid Antigen test) as a proof of past history of illness (in English). They should depart two weeks after vaccination and also seven days after the infection, according to the circular. Travellers with a history of Covid-19 infection more than six months before the date of departure, and with a single dose of a two-dose vaccine, should carry a negative pre-departure Covid-19 test report. They should depart two weeks after vaccination. All other travellers aged 12 and above, arriving in Sri Lanka and who are not fully vaccinated, must carry a negative Covid-19 PCR test report in English, with the test done within 72 hours prior to embarkation; or a Rapid Antigen Test report (self-swabs are not allowed) in English, with the test done within 48 hours prior to embarkation. All travellers who have received Covid-19 vaccines should carry a proof of vaccination in English throughout their travel. “All travellers who have a past history of Covid-19 infection should depart after seven days of the onset of infection,” the circular added.

Sri Lanka's president banned strikes in the health and electricity sectors on Saturday as trade union action that has crippled state-run hospitals entered its sixth day. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa invoked a 1979 law prohibiting stoppages in the two sectors, declaring all related work "essential public services", his office said. The tough regulations allow courts to hand down five-year jail terms and confiscate the assets of those refusing work. The move followed health unions ignoring a court order Thursday instructing them to suspend their strike pending a hearing of a petition against their action. Sri Lanka is in the grip of a foreign exchange crisis that has crippled the economy, and the unions are demanding better promotional prospects, restructuring of their pay scales and higher allowances. The government has refused, saying the current economic situation did not allow it to increase the salaries budget. Thousands of health workers have been taking part in the strike action, leaving only emergency services functioning at state hospitals and many routine services put off. Electricity sector workers are not on strike, but they too have threatened trade union action if the government goes ahead with plans to sell a thermal power plant to a US company.

A Sri Lankan tourist guide who taunted a wild elephant and posted the video on TikTok has been fined for animal cruelty, officials said Friday, in a case that triggered a public outcry. Wildlife authorities identified Shashika Gimhan Dhananjaya Rajasinghe through social media posts and a court issued him a fine of 200,000 rupees ($1,000), a sum about 20 times the monthly minimum wage in Sri Lanka. His social media accounts have since been taken down but the video showing him tormenting the elephant is still being shared on several platforms. In the 20-second clip the man cannot be seen but a blue vehicle with flashing lights aggressively pursues the animal off-road in the north-central city of Habarana. Walking backwards, the dazzled elephant tries to shelter behind a tree. Outraged social media users called for tough action against the tour guide. "The fine alone is not enough to deter this type of cruelty," Asian elephant expert Jayantha Jayewardene told AFP. "They should have locked up his vehicle and banned him from wildlife parks." There have been recent reports of tour guides driving very close to wild animals in national parks and using firecrackers to scare them off when they turn aggressive. Sri Lanka tightened wildlife protection laws last year and brought in regulations to protect elephants, which are considered sacred and a national treasure. Capturing wild elephants in Sri Lanka is a criminal offence punishable by death, but prosecutions are rare. Animal rights activists and elephant experts say more than 40 baby elephants have been stolen from national wildlife parks over the last 15 years.

Sri Lanka marked its independence day yesterday with an appeal to its diaspora to send money home to overcome the island’s worsening economic crisis and a pledge to protect foreign investments. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa urged millions of Sri Lankans abroad to invest their savings in their home country, which is facing its worst debt crisis since independence from Britain 74 years ago. “Expatriate Sri Lankans who provide foreign exchange to the country are a major resource to us,” Rajapaksa said. “I invite all expatriate Sri Lankans to invest in their homeland.” Colombo’s foreign reserves, which stood at $7.5bn when Rajapaksa took office in November 2019, have fallen by more than half, to $3.1 billion. Worker remittances, Sri Lanka’s number one foreign currency source, fell nearly 60% in December. For 2021 as a whole, the figure dropped a record 22.7%, to $5.49bn. Tourism, another key source of income, has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic. The government imposed a broad import ban in March 2020 in a bid to save foreign currency, leading to shortages of food and fuel as well as raw materials needed for manufacturing and export-oriented industries. Rajapaksa, who came to power two years ago pledging to “retake” all state enterprises either leased or partly sold to foreign companies by the previous administration, called for greater foreign involvement in Sri Lanka’s economy. “Foreign investment is especially important for large-scale projects, industries requiring modern technological know-how and new ventures that open up global market opportunities for us,” he said. He criticised “those who attempt to propagate incorrect public opinion against foreign investments, based on political motives”. His coalition cabinet is divided on a move to sell a stake in a state electricity utility to a US company. Faced with record inflation, falling reserves and warnings from international rating agencies about Sri Lanka’s ability to service its $35bn external debt, Rajapaksa’s finance minister brother Basil announced Wednesday that he had sought technical advice from the International Monetary Fund. The IMF responded by saying it was ready to discuss “options” if the government asked for financial support. “While the IMF has not received a request for financial support from Sri Lanka, the staff stands ready to discuss options if requested,” mission chief Masahiro Nozaki said in a written statement to AFP in Washington. In an address to the nation ahead of a military parade, Rajapaksa made no reference to seeking IMF help, but said he was focused on finding both short- and long-term solutions and called for an “optimistic approach”. The country’s main opposition boycotted the military parade, which involved aircraft, gunboats and thousands of troops, saying yesterday’s elaborate celebrations were a waste of money when people did not have enough to eat and prices were soaring. The Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, who leads the country’s Roman Catholic minority, also stayed away to protest against the government’s alleged failure to investigate the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks that killed 279 people, most of them at churches. “Independence turns out to be a meaningless word,” the cardinal said, because of “galloping corruption” and manipulation of the rule of law by political leaders past and present “to suit their own interests”.

Sri Lanka consumer prices shot up a record 14 percent in December, surpassing a previous high of 11.1 from a month earlier, official figures showed on Saturday as food and fuel shortages worsen. Senior ministers warned parliament earlier in the week of a growing food crisis with rice harvests due in March expected to be drastically lower after an agrochemical import ban last year saw farmers abandoning more than 30 percent of agricultural land. The island's tourism-dependent economy has been hammered by the pandemic with the government imposing broad import restrictions to avert a foreign exchange crisis, triggering a shortage of essential goods. The Census and Statistics Department said year-on-year inflation in December was the highest since the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) was established in 2015. It said food inflation also hit a record 21.5 percent, up from 16.9 percent in November and 7.5 percent a year ago. The use of substandard organic fertiliser and pesticides has sharply reduced vegetable and fruit crop yields.  After intense farmer protests, the government lifted its agrochemical import ban in October, but banks are still short of dollars to finance imports. Supermarkets have been rationing milk powder, sugar, lentils and other essentials for months with a top official warning last month of more restrictions to feed those most in need. But agriculture ministry secretary Udith Jayasinghe was sacked hours after calling for a formal rationing scheme to ensure that mothers, the elderly and the sick could be fed in the months ahead. Sri Lanka's foreign reserves have tanked since President Gotabaya Rajapaksa took office in 2019, going from $7.5 billion to $3.1 billion at the end of December. The current figure is enough to finance less than two months of imports. International rating agencies have downgraded Sri Lanka over fears of default on its $35 billion foreign debt. The government has insisted it can meet the obligations.

Sri Lanka's food prices rose by a record 22.1 percent in December, official figures showed Saturday, as the country struggles to finance urgent imports to tackle an acute shortage of essentials. The census and statistics department said food inflation hit an all-time high last month on a year-on-year basis since the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) was launched in 2013. The price increases in December compared to a figure of 17.5 percent in November, the previous record, the department said. It added that overall inflation was also at a record 12.01 percent in December, the highest since the CCPI index was launched. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his New Year message expressed hope of reviving the cash-strapped economy but did not announce measures to address the crippling foreign exchange crisis. "I am confident that the new year will provide an opportunity to further the steps taken by the government to pursue and overcome challenges and strengthen the people-centric economy," he said. International rating agencies have downgraded Sri Lanka and raised concerns about its ability to service its debt of $26 billion. The latest inflation figures were released a day after the government increased the price of milk powder by 12.5 percent following a similar rise in fuel prices last month. The island's tourism-dependent economy has been hammered by the pandemic and the government was forced to impose a broad import ban to shore up foreign exchange reserves. Supermarkets have for months been rationing milk powder, sugar, lentils and other essentials as commercial banks ran out of dollars to pay for imports. A top agricultural official warned last month of an impending famine and asked the government to implement an orderly food rationing scheme to avoid such a scenario. He was fired within hours of making the appeal. Food shortages have been worsened by the government's ban on agrochemical imports, which was lifted in November after widespread crop failures and intense farmer protests. Sri Lanka had foreign reserves of just $1.58 billion at the end of November, down from $7.5 billion when Rajapaksa took office in 2019. This week the government drew down a $1.5 billion Chinese loan and claimed reserves had nearly doubled to $3.1 billion by the end of 2021. The central bank has appealed for foreign currency -- even loose change that people may have after returning from overseas trips.

Sri Lanka's inflation hit a record 11.1 percent in November, official figures showed Wednesday, as authorities warned a worsening economic crisis could prompt further food rationing. The island's tourism-dependent economy was hammered by the pandemic and the government imposed a broad import ban to shore up foreign exchange reserves, triggering shortages of essential goods. Supermarkets have for months been rationing milk powder, sugar, lentils and other essentials as commercial banks ran out of dollars to pay for imports.  On Wednesday official data showed prices soaring at their fastest rate since the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) was launched in 2015, with food prices up 17 percent from a year ago. Authorities may have to impose further food rations and seek foreign aid to help feed the most needy, agriculture ministry secretary Udith Jayasinghe told reporters. "We may have to borrow grains such as corn from friendly countries and think of rationing food so that mothers and the sick can be fed," he said. "Others may have to make sacrifices." But within hours Jayasinghe was replaced by another official, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office announced, without saying why he was sacked. Food shortages have been worsened by the government's ban on agrochemical imports, which was lifted last month after widespread crop failures and intense farmer protests. Sri Lanka had foreign reserves of just $1.58 billion at the end of November, down from $7.5 billion when Rajapaksa took office in 2019. The central bank has appealed for foreign currency -- even loose change that people may have after returning from overseas trips. Earlier this week ratings agency Fitch downgraded Sri Lanka due to mounting fears of a sovereign default on its $26 billion foreign debt. The government insisted it can meet its obligations.