Speaking before his new cabinet members, Sri Lanka’s President was forced to admit that his ban on chemical fertilisers and refusal to turn to the International Monetary Fund were mistakes but refused to abdicate his position.

A court in Sri Lanka has banned commemoration events that were planned to be held later this month to mark the death of Annai Poopathy, a Tamil woman who fasted unto death in protest against the atrocities committed by Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF).

The Tamil National People’s Front received notice from the Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court  informing the party that all commemorative events that it planned on hosting were to be banned.

The notice cites coronavirus regulations as the reason for barring the remembrance events.

As Sri Lanka’s embattled president looks to reshuffle his cabinet in a bid to quell ongoing anti-government protests, one position remains entirely unchanged from before the demonstrations began – the appointment of Douglas Devavanda as Sri Lanka’s fisheries minister.

Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed a new cabinet of 17 members today in an attempt to quell ongoing anti-government protests, with some familiar figures back in power.

Though the new cabinet currently contains no-one from the Rajapaksa family, Gotabaya Rajapaksa remains president and his older brother Mahinda Rajapaksa remains prime minister.

And amongst the 17 new members, some notable posts remain empty such as the Minister of Justice.

As the anti-government protest continues at Sri Lanka’s Galle Face Green, a host of Sinhala celebrities, from cricketers to musicians and politicians have joined the demonstration.

However, social media users have quickly spotted a few familiar faces, from those who have previously been staunch supporters of the Rajapaksas, to racists and homophobes.

We look briefly at a few of them who have been seen at the Galle Face protest over the last week.

Dozens of protestors in Jaffna gathered with placards denouncing the Sri Lankan government and red and yellow flags this evening, as they demanded justice for genocide, the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the right to self-determination.

The doctrine of Sinhala Buddhist nationalism, which has been instrumental in the Sri Lankan nation-building project, is the driving force behind the current economic crisis, writes Madura Rasaratnam, an associate professor at the University of London, in The Indian Express this week.

Sri Lanka has sent a delegation to Washington DC to hold discussions with the IMF, as the country announced last week that they would default on debt repayments. 

A delegation including Finance Minister Ali Sabry, Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe and Finance Ministry Secretary Mahinda Siriwardene left Sri Lanka this morning to participate in discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The talks are scheduled to take place between April 19 to 24.

The Sri Lankan Department of Government Information has stated that "there are no shortages of drugs and surgical equipment", despite widespread reports of shortages across hospitals around the island. 

Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary, and accused war criminal, Kamal Gunaratne, has refuted the claim that Sri Lanka’s military will be used to suppress peaceful demonstrations but maintained that they will assist Sri Lankan police in the event of a violent uprising.

In his statement, he lashed out against those with ulterior motives and lavished praise on Sri Lanka’s war crimes accused military, describing it as a “morally upright force”. He further denied rumours that the military would send in intelligence services to dispel peaceful protests.