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  • ‘They Simply Did Not Care…’: S Jaishankar Blasts Congress, DMK Over Katchatheevu |

    New Delhi: An island located in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka has emerged as a contentious topic in Indian political discourse. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addressed the issue on Monday and criticized the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for their stance, suggesting they are treating the matter irresponsibly.  

    “Now, every political party in Tamil Nadu has taken a position on this. Two parties, the Congress and the DMK, have approached this matter as though they have no responsibility for it. As though the situation is for today’s central government to resolve, there is no history to this, this has just happened, they are the people who are taking up the cause; that is the way they would like to project it,” stated the External Affairs Minister during a press briefing.  

    The EAM said that over the past two decades, Sri Lanka has detained 6184 Indian fishermen and seized, detained, or apprehended 1175 Indian fishing vessels…Over the last five years, the matters concerning Katchatheevu and the Fisherman’s issue have been consistently brought up in Parliament through questions, debates, and discussions within the consultative committee, he added.  

    “The then CM of Tamil Nadu has written to me numerous times. And my record shows that to the current CM, I have replied 21 times on this issue…It is an issue which has been very much debated in parliament and in the Tamil Nadu circles. It has been the subject of correspondence between the union government and the state government,” said Jaishankar indicating that this issue is not new. It has been ongoing and actively discussed both in Parliament and among Tamil Nadu circles, he said.  

    Jaishankar further slammed the then government of not caring much about the issue. He said, ” We are talking about 1958 and 1960… The main people in the case wanted to make sure that at least we should get the fishing rights… The island was given away in 1974 and the fishing rights were given away in 1976… One, the most basic recurring (aspect) is the indifference shown by the then central government and the PMs about the territory of India…” he added.  

    Historically, the island situated between Rameswaram (India) and Sri Lanka has been utilised by fishermen from both countries. In 1974, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi recognized Katchatheevu as Sri Lankan territory through the “Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime Agreement.” The 1974 Agreement concerning historic waters in the Palk Strait and the Palk Bay between Sri Lanka and India officially affirmed Sri Lanka’s sovereignty over the island. 

  • Sri Lanka PM says he’s open to Russian oil

    Sri Lanka is also pressured to shop for extra oil from Russia because the island country hunts desperately for gas amid an remarkable financial disaster, the newly appointed high minister stated.

    Top Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stated he would first glance to different assets, however can be open to shopping for extra crude from Moscow.
    Western international locations in large part have bring to a halt power imports from Russia in step with sanctions over its conflict on Ukraine.

    In a wide-ranging interview with The Related Press on Saturday, Wickremesinghe additionally indicated he can be keen to just accept extra monetary assist from China, regardless of his nation’s mounting debt.

    And whilst he stated that Sri Lanka’s present dilemma is of “its personal making”, he stated the conflict in Ukraine is making it even worse — and that dire meals shortages may just proceed till 2024. He stated Russia had additionally presented wheat to Sri Lanka.

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    Wickremesinghe, who could also be Sri Lanka’s finance minister, spoke to the AP in his place of business within the capital, Colombo, someday shy of a month after he took over for a 6th time as high minister.

    Appointed by means of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to unravel an financial disaster that has just about emptied the rustic’s foreign currency reserves, Wickremesinghe used to be sworn in after days of violent protests final month pressured his predecessor, Rajapaksa’s brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, to step down and search protection from indignant crowds at a naval base.

    Sri Lanka has accumulated USD 51 billion in overseas debt, however has suspended compensation of just about USD 7 billion due this 12 months.

    The crushing debt has left the rustic with out a cash for elementary imports, this means that electorate are suffering to get right of entry to elementary prerequisites akin to meals, gas, drugs — even bathroom paper and fits.

    The shortages have spawned rolling energy outages, and folks had been pressured to attend days for cooking fuel and fuel in strains that reach for kilometers.

    Two weeks in the past, the rustic purchased a 90,000-metric-ton cargo of Russian crude to restart its handiest refinery, the power minister informed journalists.

    Wickremesinghe didn’t remark at once on the ones experiences, and stated he didn’t know whether or not extra orders have been within the pipeline. However he stated Sri Lanka desperately wishes gas, and is lately looking to get oil and coal from the rustic’s conventional providers within the Heart East.

    “If we will get from some other assets, we will be able to get from there. In a different way (we) will have to visit Russia once more,” he stated.

    Officers are negotiating with personal providers, however Wickremesinghe stated one factor they face is that “there’s a large number of oil going round which will also be sourced again informally to Iran or to Russia”.

    “On occasion we would possibly not know what oil we’re purchasing,” he stated. “Indubitably we’re having a look on the Gulf as our primary provide.” Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in overdue February, international oil costs have skyrocketed.

    Whilst Washington and its allies are looking to minimize monetary flows supporting Moscow’s conflict effort, Russia is providing its crude at a steep bargain, making it extraordinarily engaging to numerous international locations.

    Like another South Asian international locations, Sri Lanka has remained impartial at the conflict in Europe.

    Sri Lanka has gained and continues to achieve out to a large number of international locations for assist — together with probably the most debatable, China, lately the rustic’s third-largest creditor.

    Opposition figures have accused the president and the previous high minister of taking up a slew of Chinese language loans for splashy infrastructure tasks that experience since didn’t generate benefit, as a substitute including to the rustic’s debt.

    Critics have additionally pointed to a beleaguered port within the place of birth of then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Hambantota, constructed at the side of a close-by airport as a part of China’s Belt and Highway Initiative tasks, pronouncing they price an excessive amount of and do too little for the financial system.

    “We wish to determine what are the tasks that we want for financial restoration and take loans for the ones tasks, whether or not or not it’s from China or from others,” Wickremesinghe stated.

    “It’s a query of the place can we deploy the sources?” The high minister stated his executive has been speaking with China about restructuring its money owed.
    Beijing had previous presented to lend the rustic more cash however balked at slicing the debt, perhaps out of outrage that different debtors would call for the similar aid.

    “China has agreed to return in with the opposite international locations to offer aid to Sri Lanka, which is a primary step,” Wickremesinghe stated. “This implies all of them must agree (on) how the cuts are to happen and in what means they must happen.” Sri Lanka could also be in the hunt for monetary the aid of the International Meals Programme, which would possibly ship a group to the rustic quickly, and Wickremesinghe is banking on a bailout bundle from the World Financial Fund. However even though licensed, he doesn’t be expecting to look cash from the bundle till October onwards.

    Wickremesinghe stated that the disaster in Sri Lanka has been of its “personal making.” Many have blamed executive mismanagement, deep tax cuts in 2019, coverage blunders that devastated vegetation and a pointy plunge in tourism because of the coronavirus pandemic. However he additionally wired that the conflict in Ukraine, which has thrown international provide chains right into a tailspin and driven gas and meals costs to unaffordable ranges, has made issues a lot worse.

    “The Ukraine disaster has impacted our … financial contraction,” he stated, including that he thinks the financial system will shrink even additional prior to the rustic can start to recoup and rebuild subsequent 12 months.

    “I believe by means of the top of the 12 months, it’s good to see the affect in different international locations” as smartly, he stated. “There’s a international scarcity of meals. International locations aren’t exporting meals.” In Sri Lanka, the cost of greens has jumped threefold whilst the rustic’s rice cultivation is down by means of a couple of 1/3, the high minister stated.

    The shortages have affected each the deficient and the center categories, triggering months of protests. Moms are suffering to get milk to feed their young children, as fears of a looming starvation disaster develop.

    Wickremesinghe stated he felt horrible observing his country undergo, “each as a citizen and a primary minister.” He stated he hasn’t ever noticed anything else like this in Sri Lanka — and didn’t suppose he ever would.

    “I’ve normally been in governments the place I ensured folks had 3 foods and their source of revenue larger,” he stated. “We’ve had tricky occasions. … However no longer like this. I’ve no longer noticed … folks with out gas, with out meals.”

  • Poverty in Sri Lanka to spike this 12 months, warns International Financial institution

    Extra Sri Lankans will slip into poverty this 12 months, the International Financial institution has warned, because it suggested the debt-ridden island country to adopt pressing coverage measures to deal with the prime ranges of debt, trim the fiscal deficit, and mitigate the hostile affects at the deficient and prone.

    Sri Lanka is recently within the throes of an remarkable financial turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948.

    The disaster is led to partially via a loss of foreign exchange, which has supposed that the rustic can’t come up with the money for to pay for imports of staple meals and gasoline, resulting in acute shortages and really prime costs.

    “Round 11.7 consistent with cent of other people in Sri Lanka earn not up to $3.20 consistent with day, the global poverty line for lower-middle-income nations, up from 9.2 consistent with cent in 2019,” the Financial institution mentioned in its Spring Replace at the South Asian area.

    The opposite explanation why for the rise in poverty charges within the nation was once since the executive’s Samurdhi programme, which covers round 1.2 million deficient households within the nation, remained insufficient.

    “Lower than part of the deficient have been beneficiaries of the Samurdhi,” Sri Lanka’s social protection web programme, “and receive advantages quantities stay in large part insufficient,” it mentioned.

    Because of the pandemic, the Sri Lankan financial system has shrunk via 3.6 consistent with cent in 2020, it said.

    The International Financial institution’s April 2022 replace of Macro Poverty Outlook for Sri Lanka asserted that the heightened fiscal and exterior dangers, in addition to the difficult political scenario, pose vital uncertainty to the commercial outlook and the rustic faces an exterior financing hole in 2022 and past.

    “Sri Lanka’s financial outlook is extremely unsure because of the fiscal and exterior imbalances. Pressing coverage measures are had to deal with the prime ranges of debt and debt carrier, cut back the fiscal deficit, repair exterior steadiness, and mitigate the hostile affects at the deficient and prone,” the global building lender mentioned in its twice-a-year regional replace.

    Sri Lankans dangle up their cell phone torches all through a vigil condemning police taking pictures at protesters in Rambukkana at a protest outdoor the president’s place of job in Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 19, 2022. (AP)

    The important changes might adversely impact expansion and have an effect on poverty to start with, however it is going to proper the numerous imbalances, due to this fact offering the root for more potent and sustainable expansion and get entry to to global monetary markets, it added.

    Closing week, the International Financial institution readied a $10 million bundle to Sri Lanka for the acquisition of medications and different necessities.

    Sri Lanka wishes no less than $4 billion to tide over its mounting financial woes, and talks with global establishments such because the International Financial institution in addition to nations like China and Japan for monetary help had been happening.

    Sri Lankan officers led via Finance Minister Ali Sabry have been in Washington ultimate week to barter with the World Financial Fund for a bailout.

    India has agreed to increase an extra $500 million credit score line to lend a hand Sri Lanka import gasoline.

    India has already agreed to defer $1.5 billion in import bills that Sri Lanka must make to the Asian Clearing Union.

    Closing week, the Sri Lankan executive mentioned it will quickly default on $35.5 billion in international debt because the pandemic and the warfare in Ukraine made it not possible to make bills to in another country collectors.

    Hundreds of demonstrators have hit the streets since April 9, clamouring for the removing of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, blaming him for the gross mismanagement of the financial system.