Sri Lanka

Bengaluru, Feb 9; PTI/GANASHAKTI: Sri Lanka's opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa Saturday said here there was a "major breakdown" in bilateral relationship between India and his country after a new government was formed in New Delhi in 2014, but the opposition coalition he is heading now has a "good understanding" with India's ruling party.

He emphasised that the rule of thumb with regard to India-Sri Lanka relations should be that if an outgoing government has an adequate working relationship with his country, the incoming one should give due recognition to this.

Colombo, Feb 4 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday said he is opposed to forming a national government only to expand the Cabinet of ministers, indicating that his rift with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was far from over.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe-led government on Friday sought the consent of the Speaker of Sri Lanka's Parliament to form a 'national government', a move seen as a step to get a majority in the 225-member House.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka is negotiating a $1 billion loan from China to construct a highway linking the capital Colombo to the hilly resort city of Kandy, even as the heavily-indebted South Asian island nation makes arrangements to pay down $5.9 billion in foreign loans this year.

Finance Ministry spokesman M.R. Hasan said Saturday that he’s waiting to hear whether terms of the loan for the highway project have been approved.

Colombo, Jan 17 (AP) Sri Lanka is considering a USD 300 million loan offer from the Bank of China as it prepares to repay foreign debts this year, a Finance Ministry official said.

The government has appointed a three-member committee to negotiate the deal, according to Finance Ministry spokesman M R Hasan.

The loan is repayable in three years, he said Wednesday.

Sri Lanka must repay USD 5.9 billion in foreign loans this year, of which 40 per cent needs to be serviced during the first three months.

It paid back USD 1 billion this week.

10 Jan 2019; AFP: Sri Lanka's prime minister said Thursday the country was struggling to pay back its ballooning foreign debt, blaming a recent political crisis for dealing a "death blow" to the economy.

Ranil Wickremesinghe said his government was scrambling to raise $1.9 billion to help service a first debt payment of $2.6 billion, that is due on Monday.

Sri Lanka faces $5.9 billion in foreign debt repayments in 2019, a record for the cash-strapped island.

Colombo, Dec 20 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Thursday named a 30-member Cabinet while rejecting some of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's nominees and retained control over the security forces and police, indicating that the power tussle between them is far from over.

The new Cabinet was appointed after an unexpected delay of three days since Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Prime Minister on December 16 following weeks of political crisis that led to government dysfunction.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president has reappointed Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister, nearly two months after firing him and setting off weeks of political stalemate.

Wickremesinghe’s United National Party says on its official Twitter account that Wickremesinghe took oath before President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday.

The move promises to ease 50 days of political crisis, but could also be the beginning of a difficult cohabitation between the two leaders now in rival camps. A new Cabinet is expected to be sworn in soon.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s disputed prime minister announced Saturday that he would step aside, paving the way for his sacked predecessor to regain the position and apparently ending a political impasse that has paralyzed the government for nearly two months.

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s resignation signals the end of a crisis that began in October when President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed Rajapaksa as his replacement.

COLOMBO, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against President Maithripala Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament and conduct a snap Parliamentary election in early January.

COLOMBO, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Parliament on Wednesday passed a vote of confidence on ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with 117 lawmakers from the 225-member Parliament voting in favor.

The vote comes as incumbent Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and parliamentarians loyal to him boycotted sessions for the third consecutive week, alleging that Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya was acting in favor of Wickremesinghe and his United National Party (UNP).