Submit your Article

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has tendered his resignation in a letter sent by email to parliamentary speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardenena, according to an announcement from the speaker's office Thursday, CNN reported.

Rajapaksa landed in Singapore on a flight from Maldives earlier after fleeing his country in the wake of anti-government protests.

Abeywardenena has received an email with Rajapaksa's resignation, the speaker's office confirmed to CNN Thursday, but added that "we cannot accept such an email at face value."

"The legality of it needs to be ascertained. It has been shared with the relevant authorities for the verification of the same," the office said. "Once we have official confirmation and it is legally verified, we hope to make a statement regarding it tomorrow [Friday] morning."

Abeywardenena's office added that it is expecting to receive a paper copy of the letter, but that would take longer as it would be sent from Singapore. 

According to a high-ranking government source the letter was emailed after ​Rajapaksa arrived in Singapore​. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that have not been shared publicly by officials.

Singapore said Rajapaska had been allowed to enter the country on a "private visit" but had not asked for or been granted asylum.

"It is confirmed that Mr. Rajapaksa has been allowed entry into Singapore on a private visit. He has not asked for asylum and neither has he been granted any asylum. Singapore generally does not grant requests for asylum," the Singapore Foreign Ministry statement read.

Rajapaksa pledged to quit over the weekend after angry demonstrators broke into his official residence, swam in his pool and demanded the end of his family's ruling dynasty. He left the Maldivian capital Malé on board a "Saudi flight," a high-ranking security source in Colombo told CNN. 

CNN believes the source was referring to Saudia flight 788, which left Malé at 11:30 a.m., according to the source. The flight landed in Singapore at 7:17 p.m. local time Thursday, according to the Changi Airport website. CNN has reached out to Saudia, Saudi Arabia's flag carrier, but has not heard back.

Rajapaksa had been in Maldives for one day after fleeing Sri Lanka in the early hours of Wednesday -- the same day he had said he would resign, according to CNN.

But the absence of a formal resignation letter raised questions about the intentions of an apparently self-exiled leader who appointed the prime minister as acting president after leaving his island nation.

Shortly after Rajapaksa left the country, protesters stormed Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe's office to demand his removal. Wickremesinghe responded by calling a nationwide curfew overnight.

On Thursday, Wickremesinghe granted Sri Lanka's armed forces special powers of arrest, and instructed them to "exercise force" if necessary to dispel protests across the nation, army spokesman Brigadier Nilantha Premaratne said in a televised address.

"In view of the escalation of violent acts, protesters intent on harming the armed forces or public property are earnestly urged to desist from all forms of violence immediately or be prepared to face consequences as members of the armed forces are legitimately empowered to exercise force," Premaratne said.

Rajapaksa formally submits his resignation letter, Speaker Abeywardena said Thursday. 

Previously, parliament had been expected to start the process of selecting a new president on Saturday, with the goal of voting in a new leader by July 20. 

That timeline is now on hold until Rajapaksa officially leaves his post. 

Many protesters have vowed to continue to demonstrate until both men step down.

By Thursday morning, as questions swirled over Sri Lanka's future, a calm had descended on the streets of the commercial capital Colombo.

A lawyer representing the People's Protest Movement said Thursday all occupied buildings, except the Presidential Secretariat, will be handed back to authorities. 

"We want to affirm that this is a peaceful protest and have no intention to resort to any form of violence," Swasthika Arulingam told reporters. 

"This has always been and will continue to be a peaceful movement."

But everywhere there are signs that the country remains on a knife edge, CNN reported.

Amid crippling shortages of fuel, abandoned vehicles line the streets near gas stations. People are no longer able to drive to work, so they cycle instead. Some have taken to sleeping in their cars. 

The Sri Lankan police force said one police officer had been seriously injured during the protests and was receiving treatment in hospital. An army sergeant had also been injured, it added. 

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres on Thursday said he was following the events in Sri Lanka "very closely" and called for a "peaceful and democratic transition."

"It is important that the root causes of the conflict and protesters' grievances are addressed," he wrote on Twitter. "I urge all party leaders to embrace the spirit of compromise for a peaceful and democratic transition."

Pizza rarely has any haters. But sometimes it is hard to find a good pizzeria that serves good pizzas that are also fairly priced. In such a case, look no further than Pizzahood in Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur. 

The place is simple with a fairly small indoor and outdoor sitting areas and an open kitchen, where customers can see their orders being prepared. What Pizzahood does not have in looks, it makes up in its delicious pizzas. No wonder the place is always packed.   

Their special:

• Pizzahood special

• Half + Half

• Meat lover

Opening hours: 12:30 pm to 8:30 pm 

Location: Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur

Meal and drinks for two: Rs 1,000

Online Payment: Yes

Contact: 9841704566

The Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) has decided to take action against federal council Chairman Baburam Bhattarai among nine leaders.

The Central Committee meeting of the Chairman Upendra Yadav faction which started on Wednesday and ended on Thursday decided to take action against federal council Chairman Bhattarai, central executive members Mahendra Raya Yadav, Hisila Yami, Durga Sherpa, Prashant Singh, Ganga Shrestha, Ramesh Yadav, Dan Bahadur Chaudhary and Bhakta Bahadur Shahi.

A central member said that the party has decided to take action against nine executive members of the Bhattarai faction and relieve them of their duties.

The JSP, however, has not made public the decisions.

Minister for Forest and Environment Pradeep Yadav, who is also a central member of the party, said that the decisions made by the Yadav faction would be made public by organizing a press conference in Birgunj tomorrow.

"The two-day meeting has made very tough and important decisions," he said, adding, "The decisions will be made public by organizing a press conference on Friday."

Nepal reported 260 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 027 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 214 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 817 people underwent antigen tests, of which 46 were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 48 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 1, 171 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 14. 71 points to close at 2,001.53 points on Thursday.

Similarly, the sensitive index plunged by 1. 78 points to close at 381. 14 points.

Meanwhile, a total of 6,210,908 unit shares of 220 companies were traded for Rs 2. 41 billion.

In today’s market, all sub-indices saw green. Micro Finance topped the chart with 55. 52 points.

Meanwhile, NIBL Pragati Fund was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 9. 98 percent. Prudential Insurance Co. Ltd was the top loser as its price fell by 5. 01 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 85 trillion.

The CPN-UML has clarified that M Adhikari of the Finance and Planning Department is not Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari of Rastra Bank.

In a letter sent to Governor Adhikari, UML Office Secretary Bhisma Adhikari said that the person mentioned in the department as M Adhikari, Khotang is not the Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Maha Prasad Adhikari.

Earlier on Wednesday, Government Adhikari wrote a letter to the Central Office of UML saying that he was not affiliated to any political party.

Saying that the formation of the department has created confusion, he urged the UML leadership to clarify the issue.

As per his request, the UML wrote a letter and made it clear that M Adhikari of the department is not Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari.

The CPN-UML has fielded Bidhya Bhattarai for the post of Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

She reached the Parliament building in New Baneshwor this afternoon and filed her candidacy.

Earlier this afternoon, Nepali Congress lawmaker Pushpa Bhusal had filed her candidacy for the post of Deputy Speaker from the ruling coalition.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Pushpa Bhusal filed her candidacy for the post of Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives from the ruling coalition.

She reached the Parliament building in New Baneshwor this afternoon and filed her candidacy.

CPN (Maoist Centre) Chief Whip Dev Gurung proposed Bhusal’s nomination while Laxmi Kumari Chaudhary of the CPN (Unified Socialist) seconded the candidacy.

The list of the candidates will be published at 1 pm today.

Voting for the election of Deputy Speaker will be held at 3 pm tomorrow.