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More cunning than the ‘old fox’: Sri Lanka’s acting president

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by Amal JAYASINGHE

A lifetime’s ambition was fulfilled Friday when Sri Lanka’s six-times prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was finally sworn in as president.

He is only head of state in an acting capacity after Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned in disgrace after fleeing to Singapore, but the position is one Wickremesinghe has sought for decades.A few families have long dominated politics in the Indian Ocean island nation, and Wickremesinghe is the nephew of one its longest-serving leaders, Junius Jayewardene, who was in power for 12 years until stepping down in 1989.

Dubbed the “old fox”, Jayewardene was renowned for his cunning, but his nephew is regarded as an even shrewder navigator of the country’s internecine power networks.It was Jayewardene who brought him into politics by making him a deputy foreign affairs minister in 1977. Wags said the initials of their United National Party actually stood for Uncle and Nephew.

Family members say that Jayewardene, who died in 1996, had wanted to ensure that Wickremesinghe becomes president “even for one day”.

Now he will hold the position for at least six days, with parliament due to elect Rajapaksa’s long-term successor on Wednesday — although Friday’s swearing-in means Wickremesinghe maintains his record of never having fulfilled a full term as prime minister. He ran for the presidency twice — in 1999 and 2005 — losing both elections, and the UNP was annihilated in a parliamentary election in 2020, leaving Wickremesinghe as its only MP.

But his political manoeuvring enabled him to outfox opponents and secure his sixth appointment to the premiership earlier this year after Rajapaksa’s brother Mahinda resigned.Wickremesinghe is married to Maithree, an English lecturer. They have no children, and have bequeathed their assets to his old school and their universities.

But their impressive library of more than 2,500 books — which he called his “biggest treasure” — was among the losses when their house was torched last week by demonstrators who also drove Rajapaksa from his official residence.

Born into a wealthy as well as politically connected family rooted in publishing and plantations, Wickremesinghe started work as a rookie reporter at one of the family newspapers.But he turned to a legal career after the family firm was nationalised in 1973 by Sirima Bandaranaike, the world’s first woman prime minister.

“If Lake House had not been taken over, I would have become a journalist. So actually, Mrs Bandaranaike sent me to politics,” Wickremesinghe once told AFP.

His first appointment as prime minister was as a result of the May 1993 assassination of president Ranasinghe Premadasa by a suicide bomber. The then premier Dingiri Banda Wijetunga was elevated to the presidency, and picked Wickremesinghe — then Industry, Science and Technology minister — to replace him.A similar attack arguably denied him the presidency six years later: his main election rival Chandrika Kumaratunga was wounded by a suicide bomber just three days before the polls.

She brought the nation to tears in a television appearance with a patch over the right eye she had lost and received a significant sympathy vote, with Wickremesinghe losing an election many thought he would win.Now the political wheel may turn once more: the demonstrators who ousted Rajapaksa are also demanding Wickremesinghe’s departure, and Premadasa’s son Sajith is one of the leading contenders to be elected president next week.

Wickremesinghe long had a “Mr Clean” image, but it was muddied during his last-but-one prime ministerial term in 2015-19 when his administration was rocked by an insider trading scam involving central bank bonds.

His schoolmate and choice as central bank chief was a key accused, raising allegations of cronyism.

Wickremesinghe was also accused of protecting members of the Rajapaksa clan who have been accused of graft, kickbacks, siphoning off public finances and even murder.He takes charge of a bankrupt nation that has default on its $51-billion foreign debt and without money to import essential goods.

His status as a pro-West, free-market reformist could smooth bailout negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and foreign creditors, but he has already warned there will be no quick fix to the nation’s unprecedented economic woes.

“The worst is yet to come. We have very high inflation now and hyperinflation is on its way,” Wickremesinghe told parliament last week. “We are bankrupt.”



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Heat Index at Caution Level in  the  Northern, North-central, North-western and Eastern provinces and in Hambantota and Monaragala districts during the day time

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Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 04 May 2026, valid for 05 May 2026.

The Heat index, the temperature felt on the human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in  the  Northern, North-central, North-western and Eastern provinces and in Hambantota and Monaragala districts during the day time.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.


Effect of the heat index on the human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

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Maldivian President plants a sapling to mark 60 years of Sri Lanka–Maldives Diplomatic Relations

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President of the Maldives, Dr Mohamed Muizzu, who is on a State Visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, planted a sapling this afternoon (04) at Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo to commemorate 60 years of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Upon arrival at the Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu was warmly received by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Children lined both sides of the pathway holding the national flags of the two countries and paid tribute to the visiting Maldivian President.

Among those present at the occasion were Deputy Speaker Rizvi Salih, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath and the Mayor of Colombo, Vraie Cally Balthazaar, along with several other dignitaries.

[President’s Media Division (PMD)]

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Sri Lanka and Maldives strengthen ties with productive bilateral talks

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Following the bilateral meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives, who is currently on a State visit to Sri Lanka, official-level bilateral discussions between the delegations of the two countries were held this morning (04) at the Presidential Secretariat.

The discussions commenced after the formal welcome ceremony accorded to President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu earlier this morning within the Presidential Secretariat premises.

Extending a warm welcome to the Maldivian President, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressed his appreciation for accepting the invitation to visit Sri Lanka.

President Dissanayake noted that President Muizzu’s visit, taking place as the two nations mark 61 years of diplomatic relations, reflects the strong partnership, mutual trust and longstanding friendship between Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The President further expressed confidence that the visit would mark a new phase in bilateral relations.

The two leaders engaged in extensive discussions on ways to further expand and diversify multifaceted cooperation, including economic, cultural and social ties, in a manner that delivers mutual benefits to the people of both countries.

Key areas of focus included tourism promotion, educational cooperation, youth and sports development, challenges faced by both nations in the fisheries sector within the Indian Ocean region, education and vocational training, as well as defence training and broader security cooperation.

Representing the Government of Sri Lanka were Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Anil Jayantha Fernando, Minister of Science and Technology, Krishantha Abeysena; Deputy Speaker Rizvie Salih, Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retired), Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (covering Europe, North America, East Asia and Oceania, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Legal Affairs) M. R. K. Lenagala, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the Maldives, Mohamed Rizvi Hassan and Director (South Asia and SAARC) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Mahesha Jayawardena.

The Maldivian delegation included Minister of Foreign Affairs Iruthisham Adam, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed, Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources, Ahmed Shiyam, Minister of Homeland Security and Technology, Ali Ihusaan, Chief of Staff to the President, Abdulla Fayaz, Principal Secretary to the President on Foreign Relations, Mohamed Naseer; Chief Government Spokesperson, Mohamed Hussain Shareef, High Commissioner of the Maldives to Sri Lanka,Masood Imad; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Chief of Protocol , Mohamed Shahudy, Deputy Minister at the President’s Office, Mr Mohamed Hassaan and Minister Counsellor at the Maldives High Commission in Sri Lanka, Mr. Ismail Mamdhooh.

[President’s Media Division (PMD)]

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