Politics
PHOTOS – Sri Lanka: Rioters Burn Down Prime Minister’s House, 150+ Hospitalized, Lawmaker Killed
Local media outlets reported on Monday night local time that over 150 people had been hospitalized and several found dead, including a member of Parliament, in Sri Lanka following a violent mob attack on a protester encampment in the capital, Colombo.
Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror has published multiple shocking videos of the homes of ministers, members of parliament, former government officials, and the most powerful person in the country, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, completely engulfed in flames. Rajapaksa announced his resignation before his house was set on first on Monday.
Sri Lanka has been experiencing months of protests – most of them peaceful prior to Monday – in response to the worst economic crisis in its history. The country, a democratic socialist republic, is facing all-consuming shortages of gasoline, good, medicine, and nearly every basic good. Government policies under Rajapaksa, who was president from 2005 to 2015, and his brother, current President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, resulted in a major debt default that handed over its key Hambantota port to China and over-reliance on importing food and that caused major shortages triggered in part by the war between Russia and Ukraine. Gotabaya Rajapaksa exacerbated shortages by banning chemical fertilizers for farmers, limiting the domestic food supply.
The Rajapaksa family is the country’s most powerful, seizing dozens of government posts after Mahinda helped end the 26-year-old civil war during his tenure as president. At their peak, the Rajapaksas controlled about 40 public offices.
In response to the crisis, protesters had established an encampment in Colombo known as “Occupy Galle Face,” after the government office neighborhood where it was located. Protesters there had convened for largely peaceful events since Occupy Galle Face was established on April 8. On Monday, however, supporters of Mahinda Rajapaksa and his political party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), attacked the camp, beating protesters with sticks and burning down tents and other makeshift establishments.
Pro-government protesters destroy anti-government protester camps outside the prime minister’s residence during a clash on May 09, 2022, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)
Police officer tries to escape pro-government protester while anti-government protesters beaten during a clash on May 09, 2022 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)
“An unruly group of SLPP supporters today (May 09) attacked the GotaGoGama anti-government protest site set up at the Galle Face Green. They caused havoc, assaulting the peaceful protesters at the site while destroying their tents and other properties in the area,” the Sri Lankan news site Ada Derana narrated. “The SLPP supporters had staged a demonstration near the Temple Trees this morning urging Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa not to resign from his position. Following an audience with the prime minister, they also assaulted the anti-government protesters engaged in a peaceful protest near Temple Trees.”
Demonstrators and government supporters clash outside the official residence of Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, in Colombo on May 9, 2022. (ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images)
Demonstrators and government supporters clash outside the official residence of Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, in Colombo on May 9, 2022. (ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images)
Demonstrators and government supporters clash outside the President’s office in Colombo on May 9, 2022. (AFP via Getty Images)
Anti-government protesters’ camp burns during a clash on May 09, 2022 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)
Dramatic scenes erupted of police attempting to hold back mobs armed with sticks while bloodied anti-government protesters attempted to protect themselves. Some protesters attempted to collect the injured and transfer them to hospitals. By Monday evening local time, the Daily Mirror reported that 157 people had been admitted into Colombo National Hospitals with injuries resulting from the attack.
Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned shortly thereafter.
Effective immediately I have tendered my resignation as Prime Minister to the President.
අගමැති ධූරයෙන් ඉල්ලා අස්වීමේ ලිපිය ජනාධිපතිතුමා වෙත යොමු කළෙමි.
— Mahinda Rajapaksa (@PresRajapaksa) May 9, 2022
The move appeared to do little to calm the country, however, as protesters began retaliating for the violence by SLPP supporters by burning down the homes of lawmakers and others. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s mansion appeared to be completely engulfed in flames on Monday night.
Update: PM Mahinda Rajapaksa’s residence in Kurunagala set on fire. pic.twitter.com/LaHOKztt27
— DailyMirror (@Dailymirror_SL) May 9, 2022
The Daily Mirror published other videos of fires at the homes of various lawmakers and the destruction of both the Rajapaksa family home and a monument to D.A. Rajapaksa, the president and now-former prime minister’s father.
DR Rajapaksa monument in Hambanthota has been destroyed by protestors. pic.twitter.com/PKMpDpzd3q
— DailyMirror (@Dailymirror_SL) May 9, 2022
Update: The Rajapaksa ancestral home in Medamulluna has been set on fire. pic.twitter.com/qO4L4fEypN
— DailyMirror (@Dailymirror_SL) May 9, 2022
Update: MP Mahipala Herath’s residence in Kegalle set on fire. pic.twitter.com/VRIvQtNErL
— DailyMirror (@Dailymirror_SL) May 9, 2022
Update: MP Arundika Fernando’s house in Kochchikade has been set on fire. pic.twitter.com/CYzXcFHFNr
— DailyMirror (@Dailymirror_SL) May 9, 2022
Update: Minister Kanchana Wijesekera’s house in Matara has been destroyed by protesters. pic.twitter.com/SRw3FtId0Z
— DailyMirror (@Dailymirror_SL) May 9, 2022
At least one member of the Sri Lankan Parliament died on Monday, SLPP lawmaker Amarakeerthi Athukorala. The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear at press time.
“Following the attacks on the two main protest sites, SLPP Polonnaruwa District MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala’s vehicle was mobbed by a group when it reached Nittambuwa on Monday (9) afternoon. Following an altercation, shots were fired, and the MP died,” Sri Lanka’s News First reported. “Moreover, a 27-year-old male also died in the shooting, said the Director of the Wathupitiwala Hospital.”
Some reports indicated that Athukorala committed suicide after opening fire on protesters after being surrounded by thousands of people, though officials have not verified this version of events.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been largely absent from leadership during the ongoing violence on Monday, posting a message on Twitter urging citizens to end the violence.
“I strongly condemn the violent acts taking place … irrespective of political allegiances,” the president’s account posted on Twitter.
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The World Economic Forum has announced a list of public figure attendees for its upcoming Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Taking place May 22nd through 26th, the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting will count 50 heads of government and thousands of corporate, philanthropic, and scientific leaders in attendance.
Twenty-five American officials, including two White House representatives, are going to the meeting. An additional 12 Democrat and 10 Republican politicians, listed below, will accompany them.
U.S. and Ukrainian attendees outnumber those coming from other leading nations, which includes just three from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany respectively.
The names of U.S. delegates appear below, with a full list of public figure attendees in the embedded spreadsheet following.
American Attendees of the World Economic Forum 2022:
- Gina Raimondo Secretary of Commerce of USA
- John F. Kerry Special Presidential Envoy for Climate of the United States of America
- Bill Keating Congressman from Massachusetts (D)
- Daniel Meuser Congressman from Pennsylvania (R)
- Madeleine Dean Congresswoman from Pennsylvania (D)
- Ted Lieu Congressman from California (D)
- Ann Wagner Congresswoman from Missouri (R)
- Christopher A. Coons Senator from Delaware (D)
- Darrell Issa Congressman from California (R)
- Dean Phillips Congressman from Minnesota (D)
- Debra Fischer Senator from Nebraska (R)
- Eric Holcomb Governor of Indiana (R)
- Gregory W. Meeks Congressman from New York (D)
- John W. Hickenlooper Senator from Colorado (D)
- Larry Hogan Governor of Maryland (R)
- Michael McCaul Congressman from Texas (R)
- Pat Toomey Senator from Pennsylvania (R)
- Patrick J. Leahy Senator from Vermont (D)
- Robert Menendez Senator from New Jersey (D)
- Roger F. Wicker Senator from Mississippi (R)
- Seth Moulton Congressman from Massachusetts (D)
- Sheldon Whitehouse Senator from Rhode Island (D)
- Ted Deutch Congressman from Florida (D)
- Francis Suarez Mayor of Miami (R)
- Al Gore Vice-President of the United States (1993-2001) (D)
“The Annual Meeting 2022 will embody the World Economic Forum’s philosophy of collaborative, multistakeholder impact, providing a unique collaborative environment in which to reconnect, share insights, gain fresh perspectives, and build problem-solving communities and initiatives,” explains the group, whose efforts to exploit COVID-19 for its “Great Reset” has come under intense scrutiny.
“Against a backdrop of deepening global frictions and fractures, it will be the starting point for a new era of global responsibility and cooperation,” posits the WEF, which selected “history at a turning point” as its event’s primary theme.
The event focuses on eight key areas: Climate and Nature; Fairer Economies; Tech and Innovation; Jobs and Skills; Better Business; Health and Healthcare; Global Cooperation; and Society and Equity. Panel discussions include “Economic Weaponry: Uses and Effectiveness of Sanctions,” “Safeguarding Global Scientific Collaboration,” “Blue Foods for a Sustainable Future,” “The Journey towards Racial Equity”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will also be giving a special welcome address on the opening day of that event and will be followed by executives from companies such as COVID-19 vaccine maker Pfizer.
The event also counts dozens of corporate and philanthropic partners, including Alibaba Group, which is a key component of the Chinese Communist Party’s social credit score system, Google, Amazon, AstraZeneca, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, BlackRock, George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, Meta, Johnson & Johnson, Huawei Technologies, Pfizer, and the Wellcome Trust.
Read the full list of attendees:
Former disinformation czar Nina Jankowicz donated to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and the Biden Victory Fund during the 2020 election, including during the final stretch before the November election date.
Jancowicz held a three week tenure as the leader of something called the Disinformation Governance Board, a wing of the Department of Homeland Security that conservatives likened to the Ministry of Truth from George Orwell’s “1984”. She resigned this week after the disinformation project was “paused,” with officials blaming mean tweets from conservatives.
Now, Newsbusters, a project of the Media Research Center, reports that federal records show Jankowicz donated at least $380 to Biden’s presidential campaign and $280 to the Biden victory fund. The outlet reports that “The most recent donation records suggest she contributed to Biden’s election efforts on Oct. 10, 2020,” only “four days before the release of the now-verified New York Post” report about Hunter Biden’s laptop.
Jankowicz characterized the report as “a Russian influence op” without evidence, and was later proven incorrect.
More recently, previously appeared on MSNBC to claim that she is not merely “a partisan actor,” and that the characterization is “wildly out of context.”
When admitting that the disinformation project was ended, the DHS still defended its former wizard rocker employee.
“Nina Jankowicz has been subjected to unjustified and vile personal attacks and physical threats,” a DHS spokesperson told The Washington Post after the news broke. “The Board’s purpose has been grossly mischaracterized; it will not police speech,” they added. “Quite the opposite, its focus is to ensure that freedom of speech is protected.”
The White House also defended Jancowicz.
Deputy White House Press Secretary Andrew Bates said “smears” against Jankowicz were spread by “bad-faith, right-wing actors against a deeply qualified expert and against efforts to better combat human smuggling and domestic terrorism.”
Today it was noted that Jankowicz also spread the Trump-Alfa Bank hoax, which former Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook testified was personally approved by Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign which she lost to 45th President Donald Trump.
Although the legislation isn’t finalized, a rough outline for the bills has been discussed within the last week among the House, Senate and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Office.
Negotiators with the House, Senate and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Office are close to an agreement on legislation lawmakers will pass during the Special Session, which starts Monday and is aimed at stabilizing Florida’s creaky property insurance market.
According to key executive branch and legislative staffers and lobbyists familiar with the negotiations, while there isn’t a done deal, a rough outline for the bills has been discussed within the last week.
One of the main provisions is a prohibition on one-way attorney fees for lawyers representing contractors. The one-way attorney fee statute would remain in place, however, for lawyers representing homeowners.
The provision is sought by insurance companies to limit costs related to assignment of benefits, or AOB, a practice in which a homeowner signs over the benefits of a claim to a contractor or repair company, who then does the repairs and handles the claim for the homeowner. Insurers cited the practice as the source of a jump in claim costs, as some repair companies did unnecessary work. Lawmakers passed a bill to curtail the use of AOBs in 2019, but insurers complain some contractors are finding loopholes to the measure.
Another provision aimed at lowering attorneys fees would reduce the use of the “contingency risk multiplier” which is used to multiply fees in complex or difficult cases. The measure would restrict its use to “rare and exceptional” cases. Trial lawyers have said the fee multiplier is essential to attract lawyers to difficult or expensive cases, and infringing on it could leave some consumers without representation.
Insurance companies would also be able to require consumers pay a deductible of up to 2% for roof repairs as part of the slate of bills to be considered by lawmakers. Regulators are already allowing insurers to offer roof deductibles as an option to consumers.
Some of the measures under discussion build off of previously passed laws and provisions considered during the regular Session but never passed. For instance, the Legislature passed SB 76 in 2021, which required a claimant to file a notice of intent to sue 10 days before filing the lawsuit. Insurance companies have complained some lawyers aren’t following the law, so a new measure under consideration would impose fees on lawyers who don’t file a notice of intent.
Other provisions would seek to close loopholes surrounding the AOB law.
Also under discussion are measures to make it easier for companies to receive payouts from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, or CAT Fund. Currently, claims would have to exceed $8.2 billion for the CAT Fund to pay claims. Reducing that threshold would make it cheaper for companies to purchase reinsurance, alleviating pressure on some smaller companies that could see ratings downgrades without legislative action.
Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican, pushed to lower the threshold to $4.5 billion during the regular Session, estimating it could save homeowners $150 per year, but the idea never gained traction.
What doesn’t appear to be on the table for the Special Session are measures dealing with Citizens Property Insurance, a state-run company designed to be the safety net for the market, covering homes deemed too risky for the private sector to cover at an affordable rate. Citizens has seen its policies double in two years, to more than 800,000, and it could reach 1 million by the end of the year.
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