Sri Lanka crisis live updates | Ahead of new Cabinet’s swearing in today, troops raid Lanka’s main protest site, assault protesters and media
The Hindu
President Wickremesinghe to swear in new Cabinet today; Dinesh Gunawardena likely to be named PM
Sri Lanka’s new President Ranil Wickremesinghe is set to swear in his Cabinet on Friday comprising members of the previous government, including Dinesh Gunewardena who will likely be the next Prime Minister.
Ahead of the swearing in of the new Cabinet, a huge military contingent, along with police, raided Galle Face in Colombo early on Friday, where anti-government protesters have peacefully agitated for over three months in the wake of the island nation’s grave economic crisis. Several protesters were assaulted by soldiers, according to eyewitnesses.
Also read : ‘Occupy Galle Face’: A tent city of resistance beside Colombo’s seat of power
The military attack on the main agitation site comes less than 24 hours after Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as President, amid political tumult in the island after dramatic citizens’ protests on July 9 led to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing Sri Lanka.
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Here are the latest updates from the ongoing political and economic crisis in Sri Lanka:
Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was sworn in as President of Sri Lanka on Thursday, is expected to appoint long-time Rajapaksa loyalist and senior politician Dinesh Gunawardena as Prime Minister, a source close to the President’s office told The Hindu.
Around 440 MBBS graduates of 2021 are not required to undergo one year of compulsory rural service as per the bond signed by them while joining the medical course through government-quota seats in 2015 as the High Court of Karnataka has said the law, enacted in 2012 for mandatory rural service, remained unenforced for 10 years as it was published in the official gazette only in July 2022.