SL government announces shut-down of government offices and schools from next week amid fuel crisis
Colombo, Jun 18: Crisis-hit Sri Lankan government has announced a shut-down of public sector offices from next week, beginning Monday, due to severe fuel shortages as the island nation continues to reel under its worst economic crisis.
The Sri Lankan Education Ministry has also asked teachers in all government and government approved private schools in the Colombo city limits to conduct online classes from next week due to prolonged power cuts, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.
With its existing fuel stocks fast depleting, Sri Lanka is under intense pressure to get foreign exchange to pay for its imports, which has brought several sectors of the country's economy to a grinding halt.
Consequently, spontaneous protests have been reported at filling stations around the country where consumers have been waiting in long serpentine queues for fuel for hours.
"Taking into consideration the severe limits on fuel supply, the weak public transport system and the difficulty in using private vehicles this circular allows minimal staff to report to work from Monday," the Public Administration and Home Affairs Ministry said in a circular issued on Friday.
However, those employed in the healthcare sector will have to continue reporting to work, the circular stated.
The Sri Lankan Education Ministry announced that all government and government approved private schools in the Colombo city limits would remain shut in the next week due to prolonged power cuts, and asked teachers to conduct classes online, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.
Sri Lanka is facing power outages for upto 13 hours in a day for the past several months now.
Earlier this week, Sri Lanka's cash-strapped government approved several measures, including imposing a 2.5 per cent social contribution tax on companies based on their turnover and declaring Fridays as holidays for most public sector employees, to facilitate the economic recovery and mitigate energy and food crisis.
The Cabinet also approved a move to grant government officials one leave per week for the next three months to engage in agriculture to mitigate the approaching food crisis.
On Friday, Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that around four to five million out of the country's 22 million population could directly be affected by the food shortage.
The nearly bankrupt country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026.
Sri Lanka's total foreign debt stands at USD 51 billion.
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India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
