Appointments follow weeks of protests over fuel and food shortages and demands that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government resign.
Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed a new 17-member cabinet, but it does not include members of his family who were dropped as protests erupted over the government’s handling of a devastating economic crisis.
The president’s elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, however remains the prime minister.
The island nation of 22 million is suffering from prolonged power cuts and fuel and medicines shortages, triggered by a sharp fall in its foreign exchange reserves that has stalled imports of essentials and brought thousands out on the streets.
Rajapaksa’s government is set to begin talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday for a loan programme, and analysts have flagged political instability as a risk in Sri Lanka finding a way out of financial turmoil.
Sri Lankans protest near the president’s office in Colombo [Jewel Samad/AFP]
Faced with growing popular unrest, Rajapaksa dissolved his cabinet earlier this month and invited all parties in the parliament to form a unity government, an offer that was rejected by opposition groups and members of the ruling.
“Seventeen new cabinet ministers were sworn in before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the President’s Secretariat today morning,” a statement from the president’s office said.
Only five members of the previous cabinet were sworn in again, while most of the other portfolios were assigned to members of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.
“The Cabinet portfolios held by the President and Prime Minister have not changed,” the statement said.
Besides Mahinda Rajapaksa, no other member of the family is in the new cabinet.
Another two of the president’s brothers, Basil and Chamal Rajapaksa, and the prime minister’s son, Namal Rajapaksa, were part of the outgoing cabinet, and were not re-appointed.
Thousands of Sri Lankans have been protesting outside the president’s office in the commercial capital Colombo for over a week, asking for the Rajapaksas to quit government.
Economic mismanagement by successive governments weakened Sri Lanka’s public finances, but the situation was exacerbated by deep tax cuts enacted by the Rajapaksa administration soon after it took office in 2019.
Key sectors of the economy, particularly tourism, where then battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government dragged its feet on approaching the IMF for help.
Last week, the country’s central bank said it was unilaterally suspending external debt payments, using its paltry foreign reserves of about $1.93bn for importing essential goods instead.
New Delhi, India – A prominent Muslim organization has filed a plea in India’s top court, urging its intervention as properties of mainly Muslims accused of violence are bulldozed by the authorities in states governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the dangerous politics of bulldozers that have been started to destroy minorities especially Muslims under the guidance of crime prevention in BJP-ruled states,” the group’s president, Arshad Madani, tweeted on Monday.
The petition urges the top court to issue directions to the federal and state governments that “no lasting precipitative action be taken against any accused in any criminal proceedings” and that residential buildings not be demolished as a punitive measure.
Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the dangerous politics of bulldozers that have been started to destroy minorities especially Muslims under the guise of crime prevention in BJP ruled states. https://t.co/6Os0EnbA7A
Last week, authorities in at least two states demolished dozens of homes and shops, almost all of them belonging to Muslims accused of violence during a Hindu festival.
In the central state of Madhya Pradesh, violence broke out during the Ram Navmi festival earlier this month.
Hindu devotees usually take out large processes on the day to celebrate the birth of their god Ram.
However, the processes this year saw saffron-clad Hindu men carrying swords, sticks and pistols as they marched through mainly Muslim neighbors, raising slogans threatening genocide of the community, playing loud music outside mosques, and attacking homes and shops belonging to Muslims.
In some places, stones were pelted, leading to violence between the two communities, as both sides blamed the other for starting it. At least two people died in the clash.
Protesters hold placards during a vigil against anti-Muslim violence in India, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi [Bilal Kuchay/Al Jazeera]
In Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh, violence erupted after nearly 10 houses and a mosque were set on fire during the Ram Navmi procession, forcing the police to impose a curfew. Violence was also reported from other Indian states during the festival.
A day later, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the “rioters have been identified” while the state’s home minister blamed Muslims for the violence.
“Those who have pelted stones will be punished but along with it they will be made to pay for the losses to both public and private properties,” Chouhan said.
Acting on cue from the top state leader, authorities in Khargone used bulldozers to demolish nearly 50 properties – most of them belonging to Muslims accused of inciting violence.
Similar demolitions were also reported from Modi’s home state of Gujarat following violence on Ram Navmi.
Hindu Raksha Vahini has threatened to do a Dharm Sansad in Bhagwan Pur, Roorkee if the houses of Muslims are not demolished by bulldozer. Communal violence broke out in Roorkee during Hanuman Jayanti procession. This is happening in my hometown!! 1/2 pic.twitter.com/cSJxRu3NaX
“The Madhya Pradesh government is only demolishing those structures which were erected over government lands. And if anybody feels that the law was violated, they are open to going to court,” BJP politician in Madhya Pradesh, Rajneesh Agarwal, told Al Jazeera on Monday.
But rights groups and legal experts have questioned the legality of the demolitions.
In a statement last week, Amnesty International said the demolitions “amount to collective punishment” of the minority community and called for a “thorough, impartial and transparent investigation” into the matter.
In its petition before the Supreme Court, the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind said the policy of using bulldozers has been “started to destroy minorities, especially Muslims, under the guise of crime prevention in BJP-ruled states”.
“It is noteworthy that the politics of bulldozers is already going on in Uttar Pradesh, but now this nefarious act has started in Gujarat and Madhya statement Pradesh as well,” a released by the Muslim organization said.
“The governments are doing what the courts used to do. It seems the rule of law in India is over now.”
[English Caption]
A Hindu preacher provoking his devotees, and asking them to bulldoze houses of Muslims in India. pic.twitter.com/NyQexfN9pb
Supreme Court lawyer Vrinda Grover said demolishing the property of a person accused of violence was “totally unconstitutional and illegal”.
“Actually there is no law which permits this kind of demolition. This person [accused] is a suspect at this juncture. The police or the administration is behaving like the judge, jury and the executor and is punishing the person,” she told Al Jazeera.
Majeed Memon, former parliamentarian and top criminal lawyer, agreed.
“Even if assuming that somebody has done some crime of rioting or any other crime, the chief minister or any of the persons from the administration has no right to punish,” he told Al Jazeera.
Memon said an accused should be presented before a court of law. “Ultimately it is the court that will decide the nature and quantum of punishment,” he said.
“This kind of so-called instant justice is similar to mob lynching.”
‘Bulldozer Mama’
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Chouhan is popular in his state as “Mama” (maternal uncle).
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, chief minister of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh [File: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters]
However, he is now being called “Bulldozer Mama” by his supporters – a play on “Bulldozer Baba” that his counterpart Yogi Adityanath is referred to as in neighbor Uttar Pradesh.
“The houses of poor people were burned in Hargone. They should not worry as ‘Mama’ will build their houses. We will recover from those who burned their houses,” Chouhan was quoted as saying by ANI news agency during a rally in the state capital Bhopal on Thursday.
Last month, a billboard came up in Bhopal that said: “Anyone who dares fool around with the honor of sisters and daughters, the bulldozer will reach his door. Whoever tries to be a deterrent in the security of daughters, Mama’s bulldozer will be the hammer.”
In its statement, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind called the demolitions a “cruel act”.
“It is noteworthy that the politics of bulldozers is already going on in Uttar Pradesh, but now this nefarious act has started in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh as well,” it said.
New Delhi-based academic and activist Apoorvaanand said there is an “internal competition within the BJP” and its various chief ministers on “who is more virulent than the others”.
“They [masses] want instant justice. This is the base instinct the BJP is appealing to and they are destroying the very idea of law and justice,” he told Al Jazeera.
“This is the end of the rule of law which is most worrisome.”
Kashif Kakvi contributed to this report from Madhya Pradesh, India
A member of the search and rescue team looks through debris in Dassenhoek near Durban, South Africa, April 17, 2022
Search operations are continuing for 63 people still missing following the devastating floods that swept through South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province last week.
More than 440 people have died, including two emergency workers.
Some of them swept away by swollen rivers and mudslides.
The government has declared KwaZulu-Natal a disaster area after officials described the floods as some of the worst to ever hit the province.
KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala said that nearly 4,000 homes were destroyed in the floods and more than 8,000 were damaged, most in the coastal city of Durban and its surrounding areas.
Sniffer dogs are being used to find bodies
Both the police and army were involved in the search effort, with six more bodies recovered on Sunday, local media reported.
One woman, Lethiwe Sibiya, said her niece had not yet been found.
“When the mudslide happened she was washed away. We don’t know where she is. We have tried to get police and their dogs but till today they have not come,” she said.
Some houses were built on hills without solid foundations
Nearly 300 schools and some health facilities have also been damaged.
Some communities are completely cut off because roads and bridges have collapsed.
“We don’t have electricity in many, many areas,” said Imtiaz Syed, the leader of the Active Citizens’ Coalition. He said the group is looking at how they can help people clean up their homes and get access to clean water.
The government is under pressure to rebuild roads destroyed in the floods
Mr Zikalala said that people needed to stop building homes along river banks.
“Many still remain precariously perched on the edge of the river. In reality, no building should ever have been allowed to be erected at such a location,” he said.
During a visit to flood-affected areas last week, South Africa’s President Cyril Rampahosa said the government would “spare no expense” to rebuild the infrastructure and assist all affected families.
Destruction at a church in Clermont on April 13, 2022 in Durban, South Africa
Weather experts have said that climate change may be contributing to changing patterns and making such extreme events more frequent.
The rainfall has since eased but the amount of rain which fell last Monday was equal to about 75% of South Africa’s average annual precipitation.
The weather system which triggered the floods saw more than 300mm of rainfall being dumped over a 24-hour period on 11 April – far more than previous serious floods.
In 2019, 165mm fell on in April and 108mm was recorded in October 2017.
Manufacturers, including Tesla, have begun preparing to prepare to their Shanghai factories, as the city accelerates efforts to exit a COVID-19 lockdown that has forced most businesses in China’s economic hub to shut down for nearly three weeks.
Tesla has recalled workers to its factory to prepare for the restart, two sources told Reuters news agency. They added that while the US automaker had initially intended to resume one production shift on Monday, it was now looking to do so on Tuesday. One of the sources said one reason was that a supplier was facing issues with logistics.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment immediately.
SAIC Motor, the Chinese partner of Volkswagen and General Motors, said it would start stress-testing its production resumption plans on Monday.
Meanwhile, Shanghai aims to stop the spread of COVID-19 outside of quarantined areas by Wednesday, Reuters cited sources as saying on Sunday, which would allow a further easing of its lockdown. It is stepping up testing and the transfer of positive cases and their close contacts to isolation centers to meet that target.
The lockdown has ground business to a halt in China’s most populous city, while wider curbs are rattling global supply chains and taking a mounting toll on the world’s second-largest economy during a key year for President Xi Jinping, who is expected to secure a third leadership term later in the year.
Lockdown-weary residents are bristling over hardships that for many difficulties include securing food as well as lost incomes, separated families and poor conditions at quarantine centres.
While Shanghai had previously said companies could stay open if they managed to isolate their workers on site through “closed loop management”, that has proven onerous for many, including Tesla and Volkswagen, which shut their plants on April 1.
And even if workers were willing to stay on site, procuring supplies has become difficult after cities near Shanghai implemented their own COVID-19 curbs and as truck transportation has been severely disrupted.
China’s industry regulator stepped in on Friday, publishing a “white list” of 666 firms mainly in Shanghai’s semiconductor, auto and medical supply sectors that it prioritised for ongoing operations.
An employee at a company on the list, who did not want to be identified as she is not authorized to speak publicly, was told by her employer that she could apply for a permit to drive to work or be picked up from home.
Other companies that are preparing to reopen include biotechnology firm Shanghai Raas Blood Products and a unit of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals, the state-backed Shanghai Securities News reported on Monday.
Companies applying to resume work must stock up on medical supplies and also establish closed loops for workers who must live at the workplace or be limited to traveling between work and home, according to guidance issued on Saturday.
Shanghai is under pressure to deliver on China’s COVID-19 elimination strategy, which kept the at bay for the last two years but is challenged by the highly infectious Omicron variant.
On Monday, Wu Qianyu, an official from the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, said the city would kick off a new round of daily PCR and antigen tests for residents in “sealed” and “controlled” areas from Monday to Thursday.
“We hope that the majority of our citizens will continue to cooperate as always,” she said at a Monday news conference.
“So we can stop the spread of the virus, achieve the goal of zero-COVID at the community level as soon as possible, and allow normal production and life to resume.”
Shanghai has carried out more than 200 million PCR tests since March 10, when the city’s cases started surging, state media said.
Of 21,395 new local infections Shanghai reported on Sunday, 561 were found outside the quarantine areas, down from 722 on Saturday, the third consecutive decline.
Shanghai also reported that three people infected with COVID-19 died on Sunday, the first time during the current outbreak that it reported deaths among coronavirus patients.
The patients, two women and a man aged between 89 and 91 years, suffered from underlying health conditions such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and hypertension, the city authorities said.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Two Palestinian men were critically injured by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, the latest incident in a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The Israeli military were, when an arrest raid in the village, west of Jen of dozens of Palestinians started throwing rocks and explosives at the village, who returned fire.
“The soldiers responded with live ammunition toward the suspects who hurled explosive devices. Hits were identified,” the army said in a statement.
The two wounded men were hospitalized, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Israel has sent forces to search through Palestinian cities and villages in search of suspects or accomplices linked to two deadly attacks on Israelis in recent weeks. Earlier this month, a Palestinian gunman opened fire at a crowded Tel Aviv bar, killing three, and fled the scene. He was later killed in a shootout with police after an extensive manhunt.
That assault, as well as three other attacks elsewhere in Israel in recent weeks, have killed 14 people, the deadliest outburst of bloodshed against Israelis in years.
At least 25 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in recent weeks, according to an Associated Press count. Many had carried out attacks or were involved in the crime, but an unarmed woman and a lawyer who appears to have been a bystander were also among those.
Jenin is considered a stronghold of Palestinian militants. Israeli forces often come under fire when operating in the area. Even the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank and coordinates with Israel on security matters, appears to have little control.
Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for a future independent state.
When Sri Lankan officials arrive in Washington this week to meet with the International Monetary Fund amid an economic and political crisis, the main question they’ll need to answer is how the country plans to manage its billions in debt.
Sri Lanka is seeking up to $4 billion this year to help it import essentials and pay creditors. To get any of that through the IMF’s various programmes, the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa must present a sustainable debt program. That’s a standard requirement for aid from the so-called lender of last resort, even if a shortage of food, fuel and medicine is pushing the country toward a humanitarian crisis.
The downward economic spiral — dwindling foreign reserves and soaring inflation — has triggered political unrest in Colombo, where Rajapaksa has resisted calls to step down despite growing and a loss of coalition partners in parliament. Over the weekend, the army denied speculation it planned to crack down on the protesters, while the local stock exchange announced it would shut down this week amid the uncertainty.
The outlook makes a default inevitable, as acknowledged by S&P Global last week when it downgraded Sri Lanka’s credit rating and warning of another cut if the nation misses coupon payments due Monday. Meanwhile, investors are trying to figure out how much they might recover on $12.6 billion of foreign bonds, and if there’s even a profit to be made.
The country’s dollar bond due July 2022 indicated 5.2 cents higher on Monday to trade at 46 cents on the dollar, after a sharp drop Friday.
Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa (pictured) has resisted calls to resign [File: Getty Images]
Here are some IMF funding options in play as talks are due to start this week:
Emergency Assistance
IMF members can access one-off emergency loans, with few conditions, through the lender’s Rapid Credit Facility and Rapid Financing Instrument. However, this payout is capped at 50% of a state’s quota for a year, which in Sri Lanka’s case works out to $395 million — or 289 million in special drawing rights, the IMF’s unit of account. The nation has declared that it will prioritize payments for food and fuel imports over debt servicing.
But even for that, Colombo needs to take steps toward restructuring its debt, which the IMF staff last month determined was unsustainable.
“When the IMF determines that a country’s debt is not sustainable, the country needs to take steps to restore debt sustainability prior to IMF lending,” Masahiro Nozaki, the IMF’s mission chief for Sri Lanka, said in an emailed response to questions. “Thus, approval of an IMF-supported program for Sri Lanka would require adequate assurances that debt sustainability will be restored.”
Meeting that criteria could include even initial steps like hiring advisers, which the government is pursuing. The administration has set a Friday deadline for applications from financial and legal advisers, extending its original date by a week. That makes Finance Minister Ali Sabry’s stated goal of emergency funds as early as a week after negotiations start looking optimism.
Given Sri Lanka has a $1 billion bond maturing in July and more repayments over the course of 2022, it will probably need access to the IMF’s Stand-By Arrangement. Termed as its “workhorse” instrument, Sri Lanka would be eligible for a loan of as much as 435% of its quota — roughly $3.4 billion, net of repayments — for up to 36 months.
The payout can be front-loaded if the need is dire, but is contingent upon the borrower agreeing to conditions such as specific revenue and deficit targets.
Central bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said last week that it was too early to estimate a value of the lending that Sri Lanka could get from the IMF or to confirm the type of program that the lender could agree to.
While he said that an Extended Fund Facility — which allows longer repayment periods — may be best suited to the country, it typically requires structural reforms. Sri Lanka had that facility approved in 2016, and a Stand-By Arrangement before it during the financial crisis of 2009.
Weerasinghe noted that Sri Lanka in the 2009 loan was approved for access to 400% of its quota.
“I do not see why we cannot get at least that amount,” he said. “Now the financial gap is much much higher.”
Debt Sustainability
Keeping deficits in check will entail extending the maturity of existing debt and smaller interest payments. When the government last week announced it would halt debt payments and it was heading for an default, Weerasinghe said authorities were seeking to negotiate with creditors.
Nomura Holdings Inc. envisions an Ecuador-style restructuring where Sri Lanka will swap notes for longer-dated bonds with lower coupon rates and some reduction to principal. Barclays Plc said Sri Lanka could roll all of its debt into a new bond with a final maturity in 2037 and semi-annual amortizations starting in 2027; coupons could be in the range of 4%-5%, lower than its current average 6.6%.
Rajapaksa’s government has also appealed to China, one of its biggest creditors, for an additional $2.5 billion in support. While President Xi Jinping has pledged to help, an apparent reluctance reflects both a rethink in its external lending practices and a hesitancy to be seen interfering in messy domestic political situations.
Earlier this month, Jin Liqun, president of the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, encouraged Sri Lanka to turn to the IMF. Neighbor India is also assisting Sri Lanka with credit lines to purchase food and fuel.
Sabry, the finance minister, said last week that the country will hold talks with other lenders, including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, adding that the country is committed to honoring its debt. “We will pay every dollar we borrowed,” he said.
Deaths of three elderly patients mark the first fatalities in Shanghai since authorities imposed a lockdown to curb China’s biggest COVID-19 outbreak.
The Chinese city of Shanghai has announced its first deaths in a COVID-19 outbreak that has plunged the financial hub into a weeks-long lockdown and sparked widespread anger and rare protests.
In a statement on Monday, the city said three people infected with COVID-19 had died on the previous day.
All three were elderly people with underlying conditions.
They “deteriorated into cases after going into hospital, and died after all efforts to revive them proved ineffective,” the city severe said.
It added that two of the dead were women aged 89 and 91, while the third was a 91-year-old man.
The municipal health commission confirmed the deaths.
It also reported 22,248 domestic cases of COVID-19 on Monday.
While relatively low compared with other global outbreaks, the figures extend the pattern of recent weeks which has seen the city log tens of thousands of daily cases, most of which are asymptomatic.
In response, authorities have doubled down on Beijing’s longstanding zero-tolerance approach to the virus, vowing to persist with onerous curbs on movement and isolating anyone who tests positive – even if they show no signs of illness.
Residents in Shanghai – one of China’s wealthiest and most cosmopolitan cities – have chafed under the restrictions, with many complaining of food shortages, spartan quarantine conditions and heavy-handed enforcement.
Social media users ripped into authorities for the filmed killing of a pet corgi by a health worker and a now-softened policy of separating infected children from their virus-free parents.
In a rare glimpse into the discontent, videos posted online last week showed some residents scuffling with hazmat-suited police ordering them to surrender their homes to patients.
Other footage and audio clips have indicated increased desperation, including some showing people bursting through barricades demanding food.
Despite the blowback, China, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019, is sticking to its tried-and-tested zero-COVID policy of mass testing, travel restrictions and targeted lockdowns.
But the world’s most populous nation has recently struggled to contain outbreaks in multiple regions, largely driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
The country last reported new COVID-19 deaths on March 19 – two people in the northeastern rust-belt province of Jilin – the first such deaths in more than a year.
Apr. 17—MOSCOW — Rep. Dusty Johnson was sanctioned by the Russian government late last week, something Johnson said he considers an honor.
“Putin sanctioned me today. I’ll consider it a badge of honor,” Johnson said in a Wednesday evening tweet.
The sanctions were announced by the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation on April 13 as a retaliation against 398 US Representatives who recently passed sanctions against 328 members of the state’s Duma — the lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly.
Other members of the Duma had previously been blacklisted, or banned from entering the United States.
Russia’s sanctions against American lawmakers came specifically in response to a round of
American sanctions that were passed on March 24,
where the White House placed restrictions on 400 Russian individuals and entities that “fuel Putin’s war machine.”
American sanctions came as President Joe Biden traveled to Europe to meet with G7 leaders and other European Union member-states to discuss initiatives to share information about and coordinate responses to “evasive measures intended to undercut the effectiveness and impact of our joint sanctions actions.”
“Together, we will not allow sanctions evasion or backfilling,” a statement issued by the White House reads. “As part of this effort, we will also engage other governments on adopting sanctions similar to those already imposed by the G7 and other partners.”
Actions from the United States
also included efforts to destabilize Russia’s Central Bank
by limiting their ability to access and utilize international reserves, including gold, to aid their crumbling economy.
Since their invasion of Ukraine in February, the value of the ruble dropped by as much as 40% when compared to the American dollar —
though it’s since recovered to pre-invasion values
since Russia transitioned to using a gold-based standard.
It’s unclear how Russia determined who to sanction and who to spare, as some Democrats and Republicans alike were left off the Kremlin’s list.
A full list of which lawmakers were sanctioned can be found
The measure is seen as a symbolic gesture and could be resolved by the time the Israeli Knesset reconvenes next month.
The United Arab List (UAL) party, also known by the Hebrew name Ra’am, has suspended participation in the coalition government of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, blaming days of violence at Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for its decision.
The party, whose supporters are mostly drawn from Palestinian citizens of Israel, a minority who make up about 21 percent of the approximately nine million population, is led by Mansour Abbas and was the first party representing Palestinian citizens to join an Israeli government.
Bennett took office last June after painstaking efforts to cobble together a coalition government that was able to topple Israel’s longest serving premier Benjamin Netanyahu. He did so by creating a razor-thin majority of 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.
But Bennett’s government lost that majority earlier this month when a far-right Knesset member quit over a government decision to authorize the distribution of leavened bread in hospitals during Passover, in line with a recent Supreme Court ruling reversing years of banning the practice.
Bennett’s coalition – a mix of left-wing, hardline Jewish nationalist and religious parties, as well as the UAL – has deep ideological divides and now has only 60 seats in parliament – the same as the opposition.
On Sunday evening, the UAL – which has four seats in Bennett’s coalition – said it was “suspending its support and freezing its parliament” activities.
“If the government continues its steps against the people of Jerusalem … we will resign as a bloc,” the UAL said in a statement.
The announcement comes two days after Israeli forces raided Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, resulting in at least 150 people being wounded and scores of arrests.
The UAL’s withdrawal from Bennett’s administration will not immediately affect the government, as the Knesset is in recess until May 8.
Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz said the UAL measure was coordinated with Bennett and foreign minister Yair Lapid and was designed to allow UAL supporters to “let off steam”, but avoid actually quitting the ruling coalition.
Some political commentators said the announcement was a symbolic gesture to take pressure off UAL party leaders during the crisis, and the dispute could be resolved by the time parliament reconvenes next month.
The UAL’s Shura Council – an advisory body of religious leaders – is expected to reconvene in two weeks’ time, after the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Sources say that Bennett will now seek to calm the situation with the UAL, and though his coalition can rule with 60 seats it will have difficulty in passing new legislation.
If another member leaves the government coalition, the Knesset could call to hold a vote of no confidence, which could lead Israel back to the polls for a fifth parliamentary election in four years.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promises not to give up territory in the east of the country to end the war with Russia.
Zelenskyy discusses plans for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction with the IMF managing director.
Ukrainian forces in Mariupol continue to hold out after Russian deadline to surrender passes.
Here are the latest updates:
Russian TV shows second British soldier captured in Mariupol
A British soldier fighting with the Ukrainian army, Shaun Pinner, has been paraded on Russian television. This comes a few days after Russian media showed another captured British, soldier Aiden Aslin.
In this video the 48 year old says: “Hi, I’m Shaun Pinner. I am a citizen of the UK. I was captured in Mariupol. I am part of the 36 Brigade First Battalion Ukrainian Marines.”
Pinner is believed to have moved to Ukraine four years ago and lived with his wife in Donbas. In January he had told the Mail he was fighting to defend his family and “adopted city”. He also said he feared for his life as “the Russians will treat us differently if we are captured because we are British.”
Belgium, Estonia and Bulgaria ban Russian ships
Belgium, Estonia, Bulgaria have implemented a European Union ban on Russian ships entering their ports, starting on Sunday April 17.
This comes after Italy also barred Russian ships from entering its ports on Sunday as part of extended EU sanctions.
War in should be over in two to three weeks, Ukrainian defense advisor says
The “hot phase” of the war in Ukraine will end in two to three weeks, and the war should be completely over in two to three months, Fyodor Venislavsky, a member of Ukraine’s Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence (also know as Verkhovna Rada) said on television.
He said his assessment was based on a number of factors, including that Ukrainian armed forces “have demonstrated how can push the enemy back from Ukrainian lands,” and that “Western partners have not only changed their assessments that Ukraine urgently needs more new models of weapons, they are already being delivered.”
Mariupol fighters continue to hold out
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said the remaining Ukrainian forces in the port city of Mariupol were still fighting and continued to defy the Russian demand that they surrender.
“The city still has not fallen,” Shmyhal told ABC’s This Week programme.
Read the full story here.
Latest UN refugee agency figures
The UN refugee agency has said 4,869,019 million Ukrainians have left the country since Russia invaded on February 24 – up 32,574 on Saturday’s total.
“As Christians celebrate resurrection on this sombre Easter Sunday, we must stubbornly hope that in the days, months and years to come the methods and language of war will not prevail over those – more difficult, more complicated – that lead to peace,” he said. UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said an addditional 215,000 third-country nationals have also escaped to neighboring countries since the war began.
People who fled the war in Ukraine rest inside an indoor sports stadium being used as a refugee centre, in the village of Medyka, a border crossing between Poland and Ukraine [File: Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo]
Russian shelling of Kharkiv ‘deliberate terror’: Zelenskyy
Eighteen people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in Russian shelling in the past four days in the northeast Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s president has said.
On Sunday, five people were killed and 20 were injured when a missile and artillery fire hit the city center and the Saltivka suburb, regional governor Oleh Synyehubov said earlier.
Al Jazeera was unable to confirm the death toll.
Zelenskyy said in his nightly address that Russia’s shelling of Kharkiv has been constant.
“This is nothing but deliberate terror: mortars, artillery against ordinary residential quarters, against ordinary civilians,” Zelenskyy said.
Firefighters work to extinguish multiple fires after a Russian attack in Kharkiv [Felipe Dana/AP Photo]
Zelenskyy, IMF managing director discuss ‘post-war reconstruction’
Zelenskyy has said he spoke with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva about Ukraine’s financial stability and the country’s post-war reconstruction.
“Discussed with IMF Managing Director Georgieva the issue of ensuring Ukraine’s financial stability & preparations for post-war reconstruction. We have clear plans for now, as well as a vision of prospects. I’m sure cooperation between the IMF & Ukraine will continue to be fruitful,” he wrote in a tweet.
Discussed with IMF Managing Director @KJeorgieva the issue of ensuring Ukraine’s financial stability & preparations for post-war reconstruction. We have clear plans for now, as well as a vision of prospects. I’m sure cooperation between the IMF & 🇺🇦 will continue to be fruitful.
Georgieva later confirmed the call in a post on Twitter. She wrote support is “essential to lay the foundations for rebuilding a modern competitive #Ukraine”.
Zelenskyy promises tough resistance in east
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is not willing to give up territory in the eastern part of the country to end the war with Russia and is preparing to offer tough resistance in the face of an expected large-scale offensive there.
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Welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine. Read all the updates from April 17 here.
