Category: Local News

Sri Lanka’s public transport was crippled Wednesday as buses ran out of diesel, officials said as the country’s foreign exchange crisis worsened with no dollars to import fuel.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has assured the public that all necessary action will be taken immediately to avert the power crisis in the country.

Health workers have launched an island-wide strike over several demands that resumed at 8:00 am today (March 02) and will continue till 8:00 am Friday.

Economic hardships posed a graver threat to the country than LTTE terrorism, Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila yesterday told the media, adding that there were diesel stocks for four days in the country and a ship carrying diesel would arrive today.

Sri Lanka on Tuesday announced nationwide seven-and-a-half hour daily power cuts, the longest in more than a quarter of a century, as its foreign exchange crisis leaves it unable to import oil.

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) says the interruptions to the power supply would be extended to 07 hours and 30 minutes tomorrow (March 02).

Due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal made by the Minister of Tourism to extend the visa period of Russian and Ukrainian tourists for a period of two-months free of charge.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s directive to the Finance Ministry to release US dollars to pay for fuel shipments has not yet been a reality, Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila said yesterday (February 28).

The government’s efforts to provide an uninterrupted fuel supply at CEYPETCO pumping stations has suffered a debilitating setback due to the unprecedented heavy demand caused by sharp differences in prices at the CPC-owned and the Lanka India Oil Company (LIOC) managed service stations.

The Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has met Pope Francis at the St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican today (February 28), at 3:00 PM Sri Lanka time, the Bishop’s House confirmed.

Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa was acquitted and released on Monday (28) from a case filed with Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court on charges of misappropriation of ‘Divineguma’ public funds.

The National People’s Power says the country’s education sector needs massive transformation.

Around US$ 600 billion has been spent in 2021 on importing non-essential commodities, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.

SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera says the reaction of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) to the deteriorating financial crisis and a spate of other contentious issues have compelled some members of the ruling coalition to make a set of alternative proposals dubbed a national declaration.

The Government is to consider providing financial relief to over one thousand Ukranian tourists now in Sri Lanka on holiday and unable to go back to their war-torn country.

Fully vaccinated travellers for COVID-19 arriving in Sri Lanka from overseas will not be required to undergo PCR or Rapid Antigen Tests prior to arrival from March 01, 2022.