Sri Lanka's ministry of defence on Tuesday ordered the army, air force and navy personnel to open fire on anyone looting public property or causing harm to others amidst violent protests in the island nation over the unprecedented economic crisis.
Sri Lanka on Wednesday declared a state of emergency after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on a military jet in the face of a public revolt against his government for mishandling the country's economy.
'The Rajapaksas have been in active politics for decades and survived many challenges, but they seem to have misread this one.'
China will not be allowed to use the southern port of Hambantota for military purposes, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said, apparently attempting to allay fears in India and the United States about China's increasing maritime presence in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
MEA xpokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India continues to closely follow the developments in Sri Lanka and that it is aware of the many challenges that the country and its people have been facing.
'The worry among many international actors is whether there will be stability to provide assistance to the government because the political developments in the last few months are a real concern.'
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka has decided to temporarily shut its embassies in Norway and Iraq, as well as the country's consulate general in Sydney, the ministry of foreign affairs said on Tuesday.
A Sri Lankan parliamentarian of the ruling party of the Rajapaksas and his personal security officer were killed on Monday in clashes between anti- and pro-government protesters in the country.
Says his rise to the top is similar to that of Malinga.
A delegation from former president Maithripala Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party met him in the morning to press for their demand on the formation of the interim government.
On Sunday evening, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, both in India for the respective assignments in the Indian Premier League, posted messages about the crisis in their native Sri Lanka on social media and invited criticism for playing it safe.
The 24-year-old made an impression, especially with the ball, when India went to Sri Lanka for a limited-overs series last July, with a three-for in the second ODI and seven wickets -- including a 4 for 9 -- to top the bowling charts in the three T20Is.
The decision was taken during a crucial all-party leaders meeting held earlier in the day.
A video is being shared on social media showing the protesters counting the currency notes that were unearthed. The recovered money was said to be handed over to the security units, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.
Thousands of irate anti-government protesters in Sri Lanka on Saturday stormed into embattled President Rajapaksa's official residence in central Colombo's high-security Fort area after breaking the barricades, as they demanded his resignation over the island nation's worst economic crisis in recent memory.
Sri Lanka's state-owned petroleum corporation announced fuel rationing for vehicles with effect from Friday, as an unprecedented economic crisis roils the country.
Earlier it was claimed that the MP committed suicide by shooting himself after he opened fire at two members of the group which had surrounded his vehicle on Monday.
A protest has begun in front of the Trincomalee Naval Base after reports Mahinda Rajapaksa and some of his family members are there after leaving Temple Trees, the official residence of prime minister.
Fast bowler Deepak Chahar and young wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan have been added to India 'A' squad, that will travel to South Africa for three four-day Test matches.
Shikhar Dhawan became the 10th Indian cricketer to complete the landmark of 6000 runs in One-Day Internationals, during the first match against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Sunday.
A spokesman of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) said a video released by Ajith Dharmapala, a former police officer, claimed that President Rajapaksa was staying at the house belonging to Pathirana.
"President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa is still in the country, I made a mistake in the (BBC) interview," Speaker Abeywardena told ANI in a telephone call.
On May 9, violence erupted in Sri Lanka after supporters of the 76-year-old former premier attacked peaceful anti-government protesters demanding his ouster over the country's worst economic crisis that led to acute shortages of staple food, fuel and power.
A pregnant Sri Lankan woman, who had been in a queue for two days to obtain a passport to leave the crisis-hit country for employment overseas, went into labour while waiting for her turn on Thursday and delivered a baby girl.
'We don't have a plan for the crisis at all. The uncertainty will continue.'
A statement from the finance ministry said, 'it shall be the policy of the Sri Lankan government to suspend normal debt servicing...shall apply to amounts of affected debts outstanding on April 12, 2022'.
Kishan was also a prominent member for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
All essentials are in short supply due to import restrictions forced by the forex crisis.
Priyantha Kumara, the Sri Lankan national, who was lynched by a mob in Pakistan's Punjab province on December 3 over allegations of blasphemy, was buried according to Buddhist and Catholic rites at Ganemulla, a suburb north of Colombo, on Wednesday, December 8.
At least 10 persons were admitted to the National Hospital after the confrontation between protesters who have currently been staying inside the prime minister's official residence, the Colombo Post news portal reported.
Sri Lanka's embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would resign on Wednesday, Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced late on Saturday night, hours after thousands of protesters stormed the former's official residence, blaming his government for an unprecedented economic crisis that has brought the country to its knees.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday thanked India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving Sri Lanka 'a breath of life' by providing timely economic assistance to his country as it faced the worst economic crisis in decades.
There have been growing calls for President Rajapaksa's resignation over the past few weeks over his government's mishandling of Sri Lanka's worsening economic crisis.
'The High Commission would like to categorically deny speculative reports in sections of media and social media about #India sending her troops to Sri Lanka. These reports and such views are also not in keeping with the position of the Government of #India,' the Indian mission said on Twitter.
Anti-government protesters in Sri Lanka on Tuesday set up a checkpoint on the road leading to the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo to prevent the Rajapaksa family loyalists from fleeing the country, as violence and widespread protest continued against the regime over the country's worst economic crisis in decades.
Glimpses of the protests in Colombo against the worsening economic crisis
During a meeting of parties convened on Sunday ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Tamil Nadu-based Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam demanded India intervene in the neighbouring country which is facing a debilitating economic crisis.
The emergency was imposed because of the mass scale protests planned for April 3 against the current economic hardships faced by the people.
Sri Lanka's main opposition party Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) on Monday said it is ready to lead the next government to bring stability to the bankrupt island nation as it grapples with political and economic crises and any resistance to the move in Parliament will be seen as a 'treacherous act'.
The Sri Lankan government on Sunday lifted the ban it had imposed on social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram after declaring a nationwide public emergency and effecting a 36-hour curfew ahead of a planned anti-government rally over the worst economic crisis in the island nation.
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