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Troops and armoured vehicles have been deployed across the city of Colombo and security officials given orders to shoot on sight anyone deemed to be participating in violence as anti-government protests continued to rock Sri Lanka. The crisis turned volatile earlier this week after pro-government supporters began attacking a camp of peaceful demonstrators who had been protesting against the government and the devastating economic crisis that has engulfed the island of 22 million people. As footage emerged on Wednesday of armoured military vehicles in Colombo and military checkpoints being set up across the country , fears grew that the path...

Sri Lanka is facing agricultural collapse, which is a disaster in a nation that has only recently raised itself out of poverty...thanks to its agricultural growth. The cause is the outgoing government's decision to follow the environmentalist path and use only natural fertilizer. Meanwhile, here in America, Samantha Power, who is the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, is pleased that the War in Ukraine is stopping the flow of fertilizer from Russia, allowing the world to go organic. The news out of Sri Lanka is grim. (Hat tip: Power Line.)What turned Sri Lanka's economic situation from...

Sri Lanka's outgoing Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was rescued in a pre-dawn military operation Tuesday, hours after his resignation, as violent clashes between pro and anti-government protesters left several dead and 217 injured. The military were called to the Prime Minister's 'Temple Trees' compound after protesters tried to breach his private residence twice overnight, a senior security source told CNN. The attackers managed to "enter the outer perimeter" of the residence where they hurled petrol bombs, but their attempts to enter the building were thwarted when the military fired tear gas, according to the source. One police officer involved in...

Angry mobs in Sri Lanka have burned down several homes belonging to the ruling Rajapaksas and MP's, following clashes with government supporters. The violence capped a day of unrest that saw PM Mahinda Rajapaksa quit amid mass protests at his government's handling of the economic crisis. But it failed to assuage demonstrators, who attempted to storm his official residence while he was holed up inside. Five people have died and more than 190 have been injured since Monday. An island-wide curfew has been extended to Wednesday morning as authorities seek to quell the violence. Many are still calling for President...

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka announced a 40 per cent price hike for dozens of commonly used medicines on Saturday (Apr 30) as the island nation labours through its worst economic crisis in decades. Months of lengthy blackouts and acute shortages of food, fuel and pharmaceuticals have sparked widespread protests calling for the government's resignation. Antibiotics, non-prescription painkillers and medications for heart conditions and diabetes will all be subject to the price rise, Health Minister Channa Jayasumana said. It is the second time in six weeks that pharmaceutical prices have been raised. In mid-March, a 30 per cent increase was imposed.

The Government yesterday signaled Sri Lanka was bankrupt, announcing a temporary suspension of repayment of all external debt as of yesterday, saying the country can no longer honour its commitment owing to poorer financial position caused by external and internal shocks. The move puts an end to Sri Lanka’s outstanding track record of servicing its external debt obligations since the independence but a “negotiated or soft default” is viewed as more respectable as opposed to a disastrous “hard default”. Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena told journalists yesterday that the “orderly and consensual” restructuring of external debt obligations will be buttressed by...

<p>Update (1535ET): Bloomberg reports that Sri Lanka’s cabinet has submitted its resignation, a ruling party member said, amid rising public anger about the government’s economic policies that have led to soaring living costs and a foreign exchange crisis.</p><p>As we detailed earlier, the tiny island nation of Sri Lanka is experiencing worsening shortages of food, fuel, and medicine amid a foreign exchange crisis. A 36-hour curfew went into effect this weekend as mass anti-government protests over soaring living costs are underway.</p>

COLOMBO, April 1 (Reuters) - Police imposed an overnight curfew in several parts of Sri Lanka's main city of Colombo early on Friday after protests over the government's handling of the country's worst economic crisis in decades turned violent, an official said. Hundreds of protesters gathered near President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's private residence in a Colombo suburb late on Thursday and were broken up by police using tear gas and water cannons, a Reuters witness said. Amal Edirimanne, a senior superintendent of police, said a curfew had been imposed in four police divisions of Colombo, the country's commercial capital.

In the last 48 hours, three men died in different parts of Sri Lanka while waiting in line for fuel. Two were in their seventies, and one had long-standing health problems. The third man reached the end of the line and managed to fill three cans, only to collapse as he was carrying the third can to his vehicle. The men died before they could be taken to hospitals. The long hours of waiting proved too much for their frail bodies. Many others like them have fainted in queues for fuel and food across the island nation. The desperate lines...

Colombo has agreed to pay millions of dollars to a Chinese company that has reportedly supplied it with contaminated organic fertilizer.A Sino-Sri Lankan spat over fertilizer has ended in China’s favor. Sri Lanka has reportedly agreed to pay 70 percent of the claim made by a Chinese organic fertilizer company for a shipment that Colombo had rejected as it was found to be contaminated. According to Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Sri Lanka will pay $ 6.7 million to Qingdao Seawin Bio-tech Group for the shipment of 20,000 tons of fertilizer. In addition, Sri Lanka has agreed to buy fresh stocks...

Colombo (AFP) - The Sri Lankan government on Friday ended price controls on essential foods in a bid to end black market trading as food shortages worsen amid a foreign currency crisis. The cabinet decided to free prices for milk powder, wheat flour, sugar and liquified petroleum gas hoping it would increase supplies. "Prices could go up by as much as 37 percent across the board, but it is hoped dealers will not make unconscionable profits," a trade ministry official told AFP. A shortage of foreign currency caused by a pandemic recession has unleashed the shortages of food, medicines and...

Sri Lankan government officials on Wednesday raided private warehouses to seize thousands of tonnes of sugar, a day after a state of emergency was declared over food shortages caused by a currency crisis. A military officer put in charge of efforts to bolster food stocks said at least 13,000 tonnes of white and brown sugar were found in the raids. "The objective is to prevent hoarding," Major General Senarath Niwunhella, who was named commissioner general of essential services on Tuesday, told AFP. He denied the sugar was being confiscated. "The government will pay a reasonable price to the importers based...

Sri Lankan security forces have been ordered to shoot law-breakers on sight in a bid to quell anti-government protests on the island. Demonstrators are calling for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the island's worst economic crisis in history. On Monday his brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, stepped down as prime minister amid violent street clashes. But the resignation failed to bring calm and violence continued overnight. On Tuesday the government ordered troops to open fire on anyone looting public property or causing "harm to life". It also deployed tens of thousands of army, navy and air force personnel to patrol...

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