Browsing: International – Sri Lanka
Trucks carry bodies of Iranian sailors, who died following a submarine attack on Iranian military ship, IRIS Dena, off the coast of Sri Lanka, to an…
A Sri Lanka Navy vessel approaches an Iranian vessel during a rescue operation, a day after the crew of a distressed Iranian military ship, IRIS Dena…
An Iran embassy staff member (right) stands outside the Karapitiya hospital in the southern city of Galle Thursday where the rescued Iranian sailors are being kept…
Long queues formed at fuel stations across Sri Lanka Monday as the conflict in Iran fed fears of oil shortages in the island nation, which is still recovering from a deep financial crisis.The nation of 22mn people is clawing its way back from a crisis brought about by a record shortfall of dollars in 2022, supported by a $2.9bn loan programme from the International Monetary Fund.At the height of its problems Sri Lanka faced a massive fuel shortage for months that sparked huge protests and the eventual ousting of former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July 2022.Monday, people lined up at fuel stations across the island as US and Israeli strikes on Iran stoked fears of another fuel shortage.Many people were panic buying despite assurances from the authorities that Sri Lanka had enough stocks of diesel and petrol to last 35 and 37 days, respectively — the full amount that the country usually stores.’There is fuel. People are panicking because of the war and they are themselves creating these lines. So people are just flocking to the stations, but there is enough fuel in Sri Lanka,’ said Mohammed Aslem, a 36-year-old three-wheeler driver standing in a fuel queue in Colombo.Sri Lanka spent $3.83bn on fuel imports last year, according to government data, with most shipments arriving from India and Singapore.’Sri Lanka does not have enough storage facilities to store fuel beyond the next few weeks, but there are sufficient confirmed shipments till the end of this month,’ said S. Rajakaruna, chairman of the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corp told reporters.The CPC also stepped up distribution, releasing more than 5mn litres of fuel despite Monday being a public holiday, Rajakaruna added.Police have ordered stations to stop dispensing fuel into cans and have warned of legal action against hoarders.Lanka IOC PLC, a unit of Indian Oil Corp, and China's Sinopec who also operate fuel stations reassured the public of adequate supply. Source link
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday vowed to overhaul the country’s loss-making national airline after the government failed to find a buyer, in line with…
Amal JAYASINGHE Forty years ago, mobs in Sri Lanka burned 13 people alive, part of a week-long pogrom that turbocharged simmering ethnic unrest into all-out civil…
Dissanayake wins run-off after second round of countingFirst election since Sri Lanka’s 2022 economic crisisDissanayake polls 42.3% of counted votesOpposition leader Premadasa gets 32.8%Sri Lankans elected…
New president Dissanayake takes oathPrime Minister Gunawardena resignsChina, largest bilateral creditor, says it’s willing to play constructive roleSri Lanka’s leftist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake took office…