Sri Lanka closed schools and halted all non-essential government services on Monday, beginning a two-week shutdown to conserve fast-depleting fuel reserves as the International Monetary Fund opened talks with Colombo on a possible bailout.

Former member of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council Hasitha Samantha Muhandiram alias ‘Sarpaya’ has been acquitted and released from the case against him over a double murder in 1999.

A decision has been reached to increase the number of flights in operation between China and Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Police arrested 21 people for blocking gates and protesting near the President’s Office in Colombo this morning (June 20).

Australia will provide $50 million in Official Development Assistance to support Sri Lanka meet urgent food and healthcare needs, Australian High Commission in Sri Lanka said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) team visiting Sri Lanka is currently holding discussions with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Protesters at Galle Face Green have set up two more tents and blocked the remaining two entrances of the Presidential Secretariat earlier today (June 20).

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team arrives in Sri Lanka on Monday for talks on a bailout programme, but time is short for a country just days from running out of fuel and likely months from getting any relief money.

Letter of Credit (LCs) amounting to USD 90 million have been opened for a shipment of petrol and diesel, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera said.

Veteran actress Liyoni Kotelawala passed away this morning (June 19) at the age of 78.

With existing fuel stocks almost exhausted, the website indicating fuel availability at filling stations, which was made and was being managed by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), has been temporarily shut down.

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Saturday chaired a parliamentary consultative committee meeting on the situation in Sri Lanka and said there was “unanimous support” on the need to stand with the neighbouring country in this difficult time.

The Ministry of Public Security has instructed Sri Lanka Police to use Minimum Force to control unruly situations at filling stations that arise due to the fuel crisis.

A 30-year-old person was killed when a firearm of a police officer was discharged during a drug raid in Neluwa, Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said.

Licences of three fuel trucks have been suspended with immediate effect, Minister of Energy Kanchana Wijesekera said.