Sri Lanka blocks social media platforms after imposing emergency, curfew
Colombo(PTI): The Sri Lankan government on Sunday blocked social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram after declaring a nationwide public emergency and imposing a 36-hour curfew ahead of a planned anti-government rally over the worst economic crisis in the island nation.
The move is aimed at preventing masses from gathering in Colombo to protest the government's failure to provide relief to the public suffering from shortages of food, essentials, fuel and medicine amidst hours-long power cuts, the Colombo Page newspaper reported.
NetBlocks, a watchdog organisation that monitors cybersecurity and the governance of the Internet, confirmed the restriction of multiple social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Viber and YouTube in Sri Lanka after midnight on Sunday.
NetBlocks, reported that real-time network data collected from over 100 vantage points across Sri Lanka show the restrictions coming into effect across multiple providers from midnight.
Metrics corroborate user reports of service unavailability across the country, showing that all of Sri Lanka's major network operators including Dialog, Sri Lanka Telecom, Mobitel, Hutch are covered by the measure, the report said.
Fully or partially impacted social media and messaging platforms include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TokTok, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, and Facebook Messenger, it said.
Earlier, NetBlocks tracked a significant decline in connectivity levels on internet provider Dialog from March 29, coinciding with the onset of the protests.
The island nation braced for country-wide protests on Sunday against the government's poor handling of the ongoing economic crisis where people currently endure long hours of power outages and scarcity of essentials. The imposition of curfew would prevent citizens from holding protests.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa issued a special gazette notification late on Friday night, declaring a public emergency in Sri Lanka with immediate effect from April 1.
The government also imposed a 36-hour curfew with effect from 6 pm Saturday to 6 am Monday (April 4). A Sri Lankan man on Saturday alleged that his son, who is a social media activist, has been abducted by the police.
Anurudda Bandara's father said his son was taken away by someone from the north Colombo police station of Modera on Friday night.
According to the police, he was wanted to be questioned over his social media activities. On Sunday, he was released on bail.
Sri Lanka is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis in history. With long lines for fuel, cooking gas, essentials in short supply and long hours of power cuts the public has been suffering for weeks.
Rajapaksa has defended his government's actions, saying the foreign exchange crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic driven where the island's tourism revenue and inward remittances waning.
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109 from Karnataka stranded in UAE, Bahrain after West Asia airspace closure
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Bengaluru: According to data released by the Karnataka government on Monday, at least 109 persons from Karnataka are stranded in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain after the airspace closures in parts of West Asia following the February 28 attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel.
According to a report published by The Hindu, officials informed that 100 persons are currently stranded in the UAE, mainly in Dubai, while nine are in Bahrain after several countries issued NOTAMs, which disrupted international flight operations.
District-wise figures show Ballari accounts for 32 stranded passengers in the UAE which is followed by Bengaluru with 25 and Davanagere with nine. Chikkamagaluru has five affected persons. Kodagu and Vijayapura have four each. Dakshina Kannada, Shivamogga and Raichur account for three each. Chikkaballapura, Chitradurga, Kalaburagi and Udupi have two stranded persons each, and one person is from Tumakuru.
Among those stranded in Bahrain, four are from Hassan, three from Udupi, one from Kodagu and one from an unspecified district, as reported by The Hindu.
Relief Commissioner and Principal Secretary to the Revenue Department (Disaster Management) Munish Moudgil, was quoted by The Hindu as saying that following directions from the Chief Minister and the Revenue Minister, the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) and all District Emergency Operations Centres (DEOCs) have been activated and are functioning round the clock.
He said details of the 109 stranded persons, received at the SEOC and DEOCs as of 10 am on March 2, have been forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs and the Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi for further coordination.
The SEOC and DEOCs are regularly updating advisories issued by the Ministry of External Affairs and Indian embassies and consulates in the affected countries. Embassy- and consulate-wise helpline numbers have been circulated through official channels.
Moudgil urged residents from Karnataka in the affected countries to follow local advisories, remain in contact with Indian missions and register on the Sarthi Sahayata portal. He said standard operating procedures for coordination of returning passengers at Indian airports would be issued once evacuation efforts are initiated by the Ministry of External Affairs.
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