The price of LP gas will increase from midnight today (26) the LITRO Gas Company announced.
Accordingly, the price of a 12.5 kg domestic gas cylinder will be Rs. 4860, revealing a sudden surge of Rs. 2185, reportedly for the first time in history.
In addition, the new price of a 5 kg cylinder will be Rs. 1945, a surge of Rs. 874.
The new price of a 2.3 kg cylinder will be Rs. 910, a surge of Rs. 407.
When the current regime came to power, the price of a 12.5 kg domestic cylinder was Rs. 1495.
Mahinda Rajapaksa reiterated he will not be resigning from his post as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.
This has been confirmed by a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, revealing that Rajapaksa made this sentiment addressing a meeting of government ministers and MPs and the collective of provincial councilors held at Temple Trees today (26).
The collective of provincial councilors of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has unanimously passed a resolution stating that Mahinda Rajapaksa should not resign from his post as the Prime Minister. In response, Rajapaksa has told the group, “No, I will not resign, no need to be afraid.”
Proposing amendments to the Constitution the government has already admitted its defeat said Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Mano Ganeshan speaking to a briefing called in by the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) today (26).
The SJB already handed over a proposal for a 21st Amendment to the Constitution to the Speaker and the change required may be expedited should such an amendment be tabled from the government within, he pointed out.
Nevertheless, the 20th Amendment to the Constitution must be abolished immediately, the MP emphasised, urging the people to back the all-island strike action scheduled for April 28.
The Attorney General has not yet approved of arresting SSP in charge of the Kegalle Division K.B. Keerthiratne who had ordered the April 19 shooting at a protest in Rambukkana killing one.
Confessing before the Kegalle Magistrate Court on April 22, Keerthiratne admitted that he had ordered the shooting. LNW disclosed that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on April 23 had uncovered that the SSP had stemmed an unnecessary conflict with the protesters and the actual events were even briefed to the higher authorities.
In our experience of trials being dragged in in the simplest explanation of the AG’s approval not being granted, cases in general are forgotten by the people as the time passes by.
Keerthiratne being a close relative of Neville Wanniarachchi, the Chief Security Officer of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, we do not know whether his trial is being delayed at the works of an invisible fist.
Nevertheless, recalling our experience with the trial of former MP Ranjan Ramanayake, the CID exceeding the expectations is capable of making an arrest in a matter of hours, should they desire to.
It has been seven days since the murder of Chaminda Lakshan, the 41-year old father of two who is the victim of the terror at Rambukkana, and no arrest has been made to date.
Sri Lanka is in the process of submitting itself to debt restructuring with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) but China disapproves of this move, said Cabinet Spokesman Nalaka Godahewa, speaking to the briefing held in announcing Cabinet decisions today (26).
“We have already informed our creditors that we are unable to repay the debts. When we talk about restructuring these debts, we are aware that there are several camps who are willing to lend to us. One is the West and the other are countries like China. So, although Western countries are more likely to support progressively towards the IMF’s approval, China’s position is that if it tries to restructure debt in one country, it will affect other countries as well. Instead, they suggest that instead of restructuring the debt they will be ready to provide another debt to settle the existing debts. Therefore, this is at the initial discussion level.”
The constructions in Sri Lanka should be stopped for the next three months to prevent the soaring of cement price as it is being handled by a trade mafia run by importers, said Susantha Liyanarachchi, Chairman of the Sri Lanka National Construction Association, speaking to media today (26).
The construction industry has already collapsed due this trade mafia and as of now all government constructions carried out by them have been ceased, he revealed, adding that the cement price is soaring without any regulation.
There is a soaring of cases related to heart diseases on a daily basis in Sri Lanka and these cases are evident in all social classes inclusive of younger people, said Dr. Gotabhaya Ranasinghe, joining a live discussion with Economist Dinesh Weerakkody on ‘Business Detective’ today (26).
As the cases are going up, heart diseases are found in a wider social group irrelevant of one’s employment or socio-economic group, but more importantly even outside the conventional risk factors such as smoking, stress, diabetes and pressure, he emphasised laying foundation to a previously unseen aspect of cardiac complications.
Accordingly, heart diseases can be found among individuals who carry neither of the aforementioned ‘conventional risk factors’, probably due to chronic stress, genetic variations or food habits they carry being overlooked, he pointed out. In the present context of Sri Lanka, there is also a sudden jump of heart diseases among people, Dr. Ranasinghe disclosed.
Shedding light on the challenges faced by the Hospital Sector amid the current economic crisis, Dr. Ranasinghe acknowledged that there are shortages of medicines in the Hospital Sector adding that there may have been a 5 – 10 per cent of essential medicines being run out. The matter, nevertheless, has been discussed with the authorities and the manufacturers in a bid to collect medicines back, he added.
Into which extent is the regaining process sustainable, however, is uncertain, he went on, revealing that some of the most essential medicines used in his area of specialisation, including Tenecteplase, a lifesaver for all cardiac patients, are slowly running out. Accordingly, the temporary application of solutions is worrisome in the context of sustainability, he pointed out.
Dr. Gotabhaya Ranasinghe is the Senior Consultant Cardiologist at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka and also Honorary Consultant Cardiologist to the Sri Lanka Navy holding the rank of Surgeon Rear admiral. A leading general and interventional Cardiologist in the country, he completed a Fellowship in Clinical and Interventional Cardiology at John Radcliff Hospital in Oxford, United Kingdom, has performed about 9,000 procedures including approximately 4,000 Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCI) in his career. In addition he has written two short books, has several peer reviewed publications and made more than 40 presentations in Cardiology conferences. He was the President of Sri Lanka Heart Association (SLHA) in 2014. Dr. Ranasinghe also co-founded ‘STEMI Sri Lanka Forum’ to optimize STEMI care in Sri Lanka. Dr Ranasinghe is a commentator and writes frequently to newspapers and journals.
NEW YORK, April 25 (Reuters) – Elon Musk clinched a deal to buy Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) for $44 billion cash on Monday in a transaction that will shift control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to the world’s richest person.
It is a seminal moment for the 16-year-old company, which emerged as one of the world’s most influential public squares and now faces a string of challenges.
Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, has criticized Twitter’s moderation. He wants Twitter’s algorithm for prioritizing tweets to be public and objects to giving too much power on the service to corporations that advertise.
Political activists expect that a Musk regime will mean less moderation and reinstatement of banned individuals including former President Donald Trump. read more Conservatives cheered the prospect of fewer controls while some human rights activists voiced fears of a rise in hate speech. read more
Musk has also advocated user-friendly tweaks to the service, such as an edit button and defeating “spam bots” that send overwhelming amounts of unwanted tweets.
Discussions over the deal, which last week appeared uncertain, accelerated over the weekend after Musk wooed Twitter shareholders with financing details of his offer.
Under pressure, Twitter started negotiating with Musk to buy the company at his proposed $54.20 per share price. read more
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk said in a statement.
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey weighed in on the deal late on Monday with a series of tweets that thanked both Musk and current Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal for “getting the company out of an impossible situation.”
“Twitter as a company has always been my sole issue and my biggest regret. It has been owned by Wall Street and the ad model. Taking it back from Wall Street is the correct first step,” he said.
Twitter shares rose 5.7% on Monday to finish at $51.70. The deal represents a near 40% premium to the closing price the day before Musk disclosed he had bought a more than 9% stake.
Twitter’s stock market value has lagged rivals
Even so, the offer is well below the $70 range where Twitter was trading last year.
“I think if the company were given enough time to transform, we would have made substantially more than what Musk is currently offering,” said Jonathan Boyar, managing director at Boyar Value Group, which holds a stake in Twitter.
However, he added, “If the public markets do not properly value a company, an acquirer eventually will.”
Musk’s move continues a tradition of billionaires’ buying control of influential media platforms, including Jeff Bezos’ 2013 acquisition of the Washington Post.
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Elon Musk’s twitter account is seen through the Twitter logo in this illustration taken, April 25, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Twitter said Musk secured $25.5 billion of debt and margin loan financing and is providing a $21 billion equity commitment.
Musk, who is worth $268 billion according to Forbes, has said he is not primarily concerned with the economics of Twitter.
“Having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization. I don’t care about the economics at all,” he said in a recent public talk.
Musk is chief executive of both electric car maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and aerospace company SpaceX, and it is not clear how much time he will devote to Twitter or what he will do.
“Once the deal closes, we don’t know which direction the platform will go,” Agrawal told employees on Monday. read more
Edward Moya, an analyst at currency broker OANDA, said in an email to clients the deal was “great news for Twitter shareholders as it doesn’t seem like the company was going to get things right anytime soon.”
But he also said: “Tesla shareholders can’t be happy that Musk will have to divert even more attention away from winning the EV (electric vehicle) race.”
Still, Musk’s 84 million-strong Twitter account is seen as an important, free public relations and marketing tool for Tesla.
The Twitter transaction was approved by the company’s board and is now subject to a shareholder vote. No regulatory hurdles are expected, analysts said.
Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, said the company’s board of directors had its back “against the wall” once Musk detailed his financing package and no other bidders emerged.
Although it is only about a 10th of the size of far larger social media platforms like Meta Platforms Inc’s (FB.O) Facebook, Twitter has been credited with helping spawn the Arab Spring uprising and accused of playing a role in the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol.
After Twitter banned Trump over concerns around incitement of violence following the U.S. Capitol attack by his supporters, Musk tweeted: “A lot of people are going to be super unhappy with West Coast high tech as the de facto arbiter of free speech.”
Trump, whose company is building a rival to Twitter called Truth Social, said in a Fox News interview on Monday that he will not return to Twitter.
The White House declined on Monday to comment on Musk’s deal, but said President Joe Biden has long been concerned about the power of social media platforms.
“Our concerns are not new,” said White House spokesperson Jen Psaki, adding that the platforms need to be held accountable. “The president has long talked about his concerns about the power of social media platforms, including Twitter and others, to spread misinformation.”
Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Additional reporting by Krystal Hu, Lewis Krauskopf and Megan Davies in New York, Noel Randewich in San Francisco, Sheila Dang in Dallas, Andrea Shalal and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington and Shivam Patel in Bengaluru; Writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Anna Driver, Kenneth Li, Matthew Lewis and Edwina Gibbs
Standard & Poor’s, one of the world’s leading international credit rating agencies, has downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign credit rating to SD (Selective Default).
Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera says that the Ceylon Electricity Board has made a request to increase electricity bills with the approval of the Public Utilities Commission.
The Minister said that the CEB is currently incurring losses of around Rs. 500 million per day and that it is necessary to introduce a price formula that is commensurate with the cost of generation.
However, the Minister said that the price hike would be done in a proper manner and that it would be wrong for anyone to say that it would take place from tomorrow morning.
Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera has stated this while participating in a conversation held on Derana TV yesterday (25).
