Sri Lanka

The President informed the Parliament that the discussions will continue after the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party starting October 16. "I am sure that China would help us at this critical juncture," Wickremesinghe told the Parliament, adding that Japan has agreed to intervene with regard to restructuring debts with China.

Due to the inflation, food prices spiked by 84.6 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2021, reports the BBC. In August, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said that it had expected inflation to ease, as the country's economy slowed, after peaking at about 70 per cent.

"That's why we work with India on the Colombo conclave, on the trilateral security arrangements and many other fields, especially outside the military field of piracy, of human trafficking, of drugs. All those are useful ways in which we cooperate with India and the other island states," he said, addressing the first-ever graduation ceremony of the National Defence College here.

Rajapaksa, 73, returned to Katunayake International Airport on a Singapore airlines SQ-468 flight and a number of Ministers of the present government and politicians from his party, Sri Lankan Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) welcomed him inside the airport. The former President has reportedly gone to a state bungalow prepared for him in the heart of Colombo. A house and a contingent of security are some of the privileges; a former President is entitled in Sri Lanka.

Following months of street protests over the country's worst-ever economic crisis that led to the acute shortage of basic essentials like food, fuel, medicine and cooking gas, Rajapaska, who came to power with a thumping Sinhala Buddhist majority votes in November 2019, announced his resignation two-and-a-half years before the end of his term.

Without directly referring to India, the Chinese envoy in Colombo Qi Zhenhong had stated that "External obstruction based on so-called security concerns but without any evidence from certain forces is de facto a thorough interference into Sri Lanka's sovereignty and independence."

Following the three-month long street violence over the economic crisis that led to the acute shortages of food, fuel, electricity and cooking gas, Rajapaksa announced his resignation on July 9 and fled the country on July 13. He first went to the Maldives and then to Singapore. On the request of the Sri Lankan government, Rajapaksa and his wife were allowed to enter Thailand where he currently resides.

Former Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Rajapaksa's cousin Udayanga Weeratunga, who appeared before an investigation into a procurement of MiG aircraft during the civil war against Tamil rebels, said that the former President would return to the country. Gotabaya was the powerful Defence Secretary during the last stages of war.

After the improvement of the situation Wickremesinghe sees no necessity to extend the measure, the presidential office said in a statement. The state of emergency gives broad powers to security forces to make arrests, reports dpa news agency. It has been in effect for a month and is officially due to end this Thursday.

Port workers gave an enthusiastic welcome to the Yuan Wang 5, waving Sri Lankan and Chinese flags, while the ship, which will remain docked till August 22, displayed a large banner reading, "Hello Sri Lanka", reports CNN. However, the ship's arrival appears to have aggravated tensions between New Delhi and Beijing, who have both spent billions of dollars on development and deals with Sri Lanka, an island of 22 million people that sits on a key trading route.