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Indian Navy ship INS Jalashwa will sail from Colombo Port today to bring back 700 stranded Indians under the second phase of Operation ''Samudra Setu'' as a part of the "Vande Bharat" mission.

The vessel reached Colombo Port this morning and will depart with passengers to Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu. It will subsequently repatriate another 700 personnel from Male in the Maldives to Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, according to the Indian Navy.

Catering to the present requirements of maintaining social distancing and health protocols the ship is divided specifically into three zones-- red, orange and green.

Commander Gaurav Durgapal, Executive Officer on INS Jalashwa told ANI: "The guidelines for safety against COVID-19 and the protocols for the same are being promulgated by the naval headquarters and the commands respectively."

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has requested India to provide a special USD 1.1 billion currency swap facility to boost the country''s draining foreign exchange reserves in view of the economic slowdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The President's Office said that the new request is in addition to the USD 400 million amount Sri Lanka has sought from the Indian government under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) framework.

The Sri Lankan President made the request during his telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, it said.

Modi discussed the situation arising out of the COVID-19 crisis with Rajapaksa and said that India will continue to support “our close maritime neighbour†in dealing with the pandemic and its economic impact.

The two leaders agreed to accelerate Indian-assisted development projects in the country and also strengthen investment links.

Rajapaksa''s office said: “If the government of India could provide USD 1.1 billion special SWAP facility to top up USD 400 million under the SAARC facility, it would enormously help Sri Lanka in dealing with our foreign exchange issues.

Sri Lanka had previously asked India for a USD 400 million foreign exchange swap under the SAARC arrangements.

Rajapaksa also asked the prime minister to expedite investments in Colombo port's east terminal.

According to President's media division, Rajapaksa asked Modi to "direct those responsible from India''s side to expedite construction of the east terminal of the Colombo port as soon as possible."

Facing issues in its foreign exchange during the coronavirus pandemic, Sri Lanka has taken drastic measures to keep its foreign reserves and currency stability. Import restrictions announced are meant to stop the flow of foreign reserves.

The Opposition has accused the government of printing money to create liquidity in markets.

India has sent four consignments of essential life-saving medicines and medical supplies weighing over 25 tonnes to Sri Lanka in the last few weeks as a goodwill gesture. PTI

Sri Lanka plans to reopen its tourism sector on August 1 by allowing only small groups of visitors to begin with, a tourism official said on Sunday.

Kimali Fernando, chairperson of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), a government body, denied a report in the local Sunday Times that said the sector would reopen in mid-June.

A limited number of small groups from around the world would be allowed to visit from August and stay in approved five-star hotels that have put strict safety measures in place, Fernando said.

He confirmed that tourists will be required to carry a COVID-19-free certificate issued either by their governments or a reputed agency, as reported by the Sunday Times which quoted Sri Lanka's Tourism Ministry Secretary S. Hettiaarachchi. Tourists would also need to wait on arrival at the airport for coronavirus testing, while individual travelers will still not be allowed to enter the country.

The country attracted around 2 million tourists last year and the sector contributes around 11 percent to the nation's gross domestic product.

President Rajapaksa discussed the proposals at a meeting with representatives of the tourism industry this month, Fernando said. The main tourist season typically begins in around November.

If the government approves the plan, Bandaranaike International Airport and Mattala International Airport, which have been closed under coronavirus restrictions, would partially reopen. Testing facilities would be set up at the airports and private hospitals are expected to provide assistance to tourists as part of the plans, Fernando said.

Popular sites such as the Yala national park, Udawalawe, Arugam Bay, Trincomalee and some beach areas would be among those open for tourists, whose temperatures would be monitored daily, he added.

As of Sunday, Sri Lanka has so far reported 1,633 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths.

The vocational training program targeting 5,000 prison inmates that was launched in February at the Welikada Prison will be carried out even amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the Avant Garde Group said.

The "project on prison inmate rehabilitation through technical skills development for better social integration and employability", the brainchild of Avant Garde Chairman Nissanka Senadhipathi, was proposed to the government early this year with the intention of combating the drug menace and minimizing the number of crimes being committed in the country.

"The main aim of the project was to rehabilitate inmates through technical skills development and the assurance of gainful employment locally and overseas. The endeavour was aimed at minimizing crime in the country and to prevent individuals from ruining their lives due to impulsive acts. In turn, their contributions could be used for the greater prosperity and development of the country," the Avant Garde Group said.

Despite the global setback suffered due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the difficulties in continuing with a programme of this magnitude, Avant Garde reiterated that they were "prepared to overcome any challenge to move forward with the project for the development and prosperity of our motherland."

5000 loaves of bread!

During the last 45 days when the people in the country were badly affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, Avant Garde together with the Prisons Department launched a pilot project at the Welikada Prison where the inmates participated in a programme to bake 5,000 loaves of bread each day to be distributed free of charge among the poor and destitute.

"The success of the pilot project has further strengthened our “Project to eliminate the drug menace and other social ills through the rehabilitation of prison inmates by developing technical skills,” the Avant Garde Group said.

Sri Lanka reported its 11th COVID-19 death on Monday (June 1) morning.

Through Diplomatic Notes on 11 and 14 May 2020, prior to their eventual departure from Kuwait on two Kuwait Airways flights on 19 May, the Sri Lanka embassy in Kuwait had requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait to conduct PCR tests on those being repatriated.

However, the embassy was informed that this would not be possible but assured that no passenger with coronavirus symptoms would be allowed to board the aircraft. It had also been stated that PCR tests had not been done on any of the returnees from other countries leaving Kuwait, Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry revealed.

Taking stock of the developments concerning those repatriated from Kuwait, it was noted that of the 466 returnees, 379 were those benefiting from the amnesty who had surrendered to the camps between 21-25 April and had been awaiting repatriation. 87 were those from Kuwaiti detention centres and prisons.

Sri Lanka’s attorney general’s department should bear the responsibility of actively seeking help from Facebook to identify those who incited anti Muslim hatred through social media two years ago, says a former parliamentarian.

Following an investigation, Facebook.Inc apologized for its role in the deadly 2018 anti-Muslim riots that rocked the highlands.

The report on Sri Lanka details Facebook’s failure to respond to almost a decade of warnings about misuse of its platform from groups within the country.

In response to the social media giant, former government MP Mujiber Rahuman says that the attorney general is duty bound to take legal action against those who broadcast hate speech to incite racist violence.

He says that many who were physically involved in the riots have already been arrested and charged.

“Now is the time for the attorney general’s department to find those who spread racist ideology that fueled the violence,” said Mujiber Rahuman.

He further added that some in the present government were also accused of inciting the violence and hoped that the AGs department will continue with bringing the perpetrators to book.

Sri Lanka will reimpose selective lockdown restrictions from Sunday to restrict large gatherings after recording its biggest daily surge in coronavirus infections — most found in citizens repatriated last week from Kuwait. The island nation on Tuesday lifted a shutdown on the capital and a neighboring district, two weeks after easing it in other parts of the nation. But after more than 250 returnees from Kuwait were found to be infected with coronavirus, authorities decided to impose lockdowns on days when crowds were likely to form — including the planned funeral of a popular minister. The health ministry said that out of 460 Sri Lankans who returned from Kuwait this week, some 252 had tested positive for coronavirus. All the returnees were being held in quarantine.

Officials said the lockdown will apply on Sunday (31), the day of the funeral of tea plantation trade union leader and government minister Arumugam Thondaman, who died Tuesday. Tens of thousands of mourners from his Ceylon Workers Congress party had been expected to attend.

It will then be lifted until Thursday, when it will be imposed again for two days to coincide with a Buddhist holiday. Under lockdown restrictions, no-one is allowed to leave home unless they are involved in essential services. Officials said new cases of coronavirus were also found at a navy camp outside Colombo. Some 771 sailors and their immediate family members have so far tested positive from the facility, out of a nationwide total of 1,469 cases.

Ten people have died from the virus, including a woman who returned from Kuwait last week. Officials said they were scaling back repatriations in order not to overwhelm facilities. “It is not easy to increase quarantine capacity overnight,” government spokesman Bandula Gunawardana told reporters.

“We are also building hospital capacity to bring back more Sri Lankans who are stranded abroad,” he said.

Some 41,000 of around 1.5 million Sri Lankans employed abroad have registered with authorities asking to return home. (AFP)

(AP) Sri Lanka's independent elections commission said Wednesday it cannot hold parliamentary elections on June 20 as planned because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Saliya Peiris, a lawyer representing the commission, told the Supreme Court that the elections can only be held 10 weeks after health authorities declare conditions are safe.

Several former lawmakers and civil groups had complained to the court that their fundamental rights were breached by the commission''s earlier decision to hold the election on June 20.

The election was originally set for April 25 but the commission rescheduled it for June. Peiris said the commission chose that date expecting the country''s lockdown would be lifted by the end of this month.

The petitioners also asked the court to annul President Gotabaya Rajapaksa''s move on March 2 to dissolve Parliament and reinstate the old Parliament because the constitution says the country cannot run without a legislature for more than three months.

Parliament''s term was to end in September but the president has the power to dissolve it six months ahead of schedule, and also to reconvene it in an emergency. The court has not yet said whether it will hear that case.

Sri Lanka has reported 1,027 coronavirus cases including nine deaths. The court was told that candidates campaign mostly through public meetings and canvassing door-to-door, methods that are not conducive for social distancing.

More than twenty trade unions in Sri Lanka have heavily criticized the government for neglecting its duty by not bringing back tens of thousands of workers stranded in the Middle East amid the Covid-19 scare.

The trade unions have highlighted that Kuwait alone has 19,000 workers who are forced to live under worsening conditions after their visa had expired. They remind that it is the duty of the government them home.

“A formal process should be initiated to bring the workers stranded in the middle east to the country and the government avoiding taking such action by claiming lack of facilities is disgusting,” said a joint statement by the 22 trade unions.

The government has announced that about 41,000 Sri Lankans abroad have expressed their willingness to return to Sri Lanka.

“H.E the President has instructed to pay special attention to the Sri Lankans in the Middle East and the Maldives in regard to repatriation to Sri Lanka in future. However, we have to inform that, they have to be repatriated systematically,” said co cabinet spokesman Dr. Ramesh Pathirana a week ago.

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been temporarily closed after five of its staff members tested positive for Covid-19, the ministry of foreign affairs announced.

Accordingly, the embassy will be closed on 21 and 22 of May. A statement by the embassy encouraged sending emails as much as possible during the closure but added that anyone that wishes to contact them can do so via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling the Toll-Free No 800119119.

The embassy noted that they will not be able to answer any calls right away due to the large volume of calls but assured that they will call back "within 24 hours."

The Finance Ministry is now preparing another 3-month Vote on Account commencing from June 2020, the third for the year, to raise the necessary finances from the Consolidated Fund, Treasury Secretary S.R Attygalle said.

The money will be used for uninterrupted government services, COVID-19 eradication activities and holding of Parliamentary elections.

There is special provision given under existing laws to withdraw money under the warrant of the President when the budget for the new financial year is not presented or the elections are underway and when a caretaker government is in place,he disclosed.

This procedure is being followed under the present unforeseen circumstance for the second time during the current financial year; he said adding that in a similar manner two Votes on Accounts were presented in 2010 as well.

Authorisation of the President will be given for expenditure from the Consolidated Fund pending approval of the new Parliament, he disclosed.

This will be in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (3) of Article 150 of the Constitution.

Mr. Attygalle noted that income has come down in April due to the lock down of economic activity while revenue collection of relevant authorities dwindled to a very low level.

Revenue collection of Excise Department and Motor Traffic Department came to a standstill while non tax income was marginal last month.

He noted that income and expenditure estimates of the new Vote on Account have not been finalised as yet.

According to provisional estimates of the proposed, new Vote on Account, a total provision of around Rs. 1.2 to 1.4 trillion will be provided for government expenditure comprising both recurrent and capital expenditures.

The European Union (EU) has offered a grant of Euro 3.5 million to resurrect the beleaguered tourism industry during a discussion with Minister of Industrial Exports, Investment Promotion, Tourism and Aviation Prasanna Ranatunga.  

EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka Denis Chaibi requested Minister Ranatunga to submit the requisite proposals which will match up to the grant which was made at the meeting between the two.  

The EU said that the grant was a measure of goodwill of the EU to resurrect the already beleaguered Sri Lankan tourism industry

The government plans to increase tourist arrivals to seven million and to increase the foreign exchange revenue to US$ 10 Billion by 2025, Minister Ranatunga added.