Month: July 2022

Sri Lanka’s former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is the youngest brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was stopped from boarding a flight to Dubai on Monday evening, local media reported.

Basil reportedly attempted to leave Sri Lanka amid the ongoing economic crisis in the country but airport immigration officials refused to let him leave the country following the protests by passengers, Daily Mirror reported.
Upon immigration officials’ refusal, Basil had to return without being able to proceed, the report added.

This development comes a day after Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena clarified that Gotabaya Rajapaksa is still in the country, soon after reports emerged that the President has left the island nation.

Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa, who announced his resignation on Saturday, was earlier said to have fled and was in a third country.

“President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa is still in the country, I made a mistake in the (BBC) interview,” Speaker Abeywardena told ANI in a telephone call.

When asked further about the whereabouts of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lankan President, the speaker said that both of them are still in the country.

The development comes after thousands of people stormed into the President’s House in Fort on Saturday. The dramatic visuals came from PM’s official residence where they were seen playing carrom board, sleeping on the sofa, enjoying in park premises and preparing food for dinner.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also announced to step down from his posts amid the ongoing protests. However, the protesters who have occupied the residences of the President and Prime Minister have cleared that they will continue to occupy their houses until they resign from their posts.

The worsening economic situation in the country has led to increasing tensions and over the last few weeks, there were reports of several confrontations between individuals and members of the police force and the armed forces at fuel stations where thousands of desperate members of the public have queued for hours and sometimes days.

Sri Lanka is suffering its worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948, which comes on the heels of successive waves of COVID-19, threatening to undo years of development progress.

The oil supply shortage has forced schools and government offices to close until further notice. Reduced domestic agricultural production, a lack of foreign exchange reserves, and local currency depreciation, have fuelled the shortages.

The economic crisis will push families into hunger and poverty – some for the first time – adding to the half a million people who the World Bank estimates have fallen below the poverty line because of the pandemic. (ANI)

Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary C.T. Ravi, who is also the party’s Goa in-charge, on Monday claimed that 12 MLAs of the Goa Congress are ready to leave the party and join the BJP.

“12 MLAs of Goa Congress are ready to leave Congress and join us as soon as possible. Many leaders and legislators of Congress are in contact with the BJP and will hopefully join the BJP in the near future,” said CT Ravi.
The Goa Congress on Monday said it was seeking disqualification of two of its leaders – Michael Lobo and Digambar Kamat – from the Assembly over allegations that the two senior functionaries were trying to engineer defections in the opposition camp for a switchover to the BJP.

This comes as five Goa Congress MLAs, who went incommunicado a day before, attended the state Assembly proceedings on the first day of the monsoon session on Monday, and claimed there was “nothing wrong” in the opposition party.

On Sunday, out of the total 11 Congress MLAs in the state, five — Michael Lobo, Digambar Kamat, Kedar Naik, Rajesh Faldesai and Delialah Lobo — had gone incommunicado, a senior party leader earlier said. The Congress subsequently removed Lobo from the post of Leader of Opposition in the 40-member state Assembly. Congress’s Goa in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao had alleged that “Lobo and Kamat were hatching a conspiracy by hobnobbing with the BJP to engineer a split in the Congress.”

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Dinesh Gundu Rao said that “a conspiracy was hatched by some of our own leaders with the BJP to see that the Congress party in Goa is weakened and to engineer defections.”

“This conspiracy was led by two of our own leaders, Leaders of Opposition Michael Lobo and Digambar Kamat. Both these people had been working in total coordination with BJP. One person- Digambar Kamat- did it to safeguard his own skin because so many cases are against him and the other person- Michael Lobo- for the sake of power and position. BJP wants to finish the Opposition,” he said.

Rao said that a new leader will be elected for the post of Leader of Opposition.

Talking further about the political developments in Karnataka, CT Ravi said, “Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar are dreaming of becoming Chief Ministers which will never come true. A competition is going on between those two for the position of CM.”

“Knowing about this tussle, several Karnataka Congress MLAs and leaders are uncertain about their future and can also join the BJP soon,” he said.

This news comes amid the Congress party’s upcoming ‘Bharat Jodo Padayatra’, a campaign aiming to boost the presence of the Congress party in Karnataka ahead of next year’s Assembly elections. (ANI)

A sessions court in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh on Monday sent Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair to judicial custody for 14 days.

He was presented before the court through video conferencing from Sitapur Jail. Charges under Sections 153B, 505(1)(B), 505(2) have been added to the FIR against him.
Warrant was issued against him in Lakhimpur Kheri’s Mohammadi, in a case registered against him in September 2021, after a complaint was filed by a Sudarshan News employee for a fact check tweet. The session court is expected to hear his bail plea on July 13.

Zubair is currently in Sitapur jail.

The Supreme Court last week granted five days’ interim bail to the Alt News co-founder in a case registered in Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh for hurting religious sentiments through a tweet.

Justices Indira Banerjee and JK Maheshwari granted interim bail to Zubair in a plea challenging the Allahabad High Court order refusing to quash FIR registered for a tweet in which he allegedly called three Hindu religious leaders “hate mongers”.

The interim bail to Zubair was granted for 5 days on the condition that he will not post any fresh tweets on the issue related to the case and not leave the jurisdiction of the Sitapur Magistrate’s court.

The apex court also said that Zubair shall not tamper with electronic evidence in Bengaluru or anywhere else.

Zubair had approached the top court challenging the Allahabad High Court’s June 10 order where it had refused to quash an FIR registered against him in Sitapur stating that it was premature to interfere when the investigation was at a preliminary stage. (ANI)

Harmanpreet Kaur is all set to lead Team India in the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The All-India Women’s Selection Committee met on Monday to pick the squad for the forthcoming 2022 Commonwealth Games.

This will be the first time that Women’s T20 International will be featured in the prestigious multi-sport event.

India is in Group A with Australia, Barbados, and Pakistan. Sri Lanka, England, New Zealand, and South Africa are placed in Group B. The top two teams from the respective pools will progress to the semi-finals. India is scheduled to play three games in the league stage of the tournament starting July 29, 2022.

Team India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, S Meghana, Taniyaa Sapna Bhatia (Wk), Yastika Bhatia (Wk), Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana.

Standby: Simran Dil Bahadur, Richa Ghosh, Poonam Yadav. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil developmental projects of more than Rs 16,800 crores in Deoghar on Tuesday which includes the inauguration of an airport. The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of Deogarh airport in Jharkhand on May 25, 2018.

It will be the second international airport in Jharkhand after Ranchi. Prior to 2014, India had 74 airports in India but in seven years, 66 new airports have been established taking the total to 140 airports (including heliports and water domes) as of April, 2022.
Under the UDAN scheme, more than 420 routes are operationalised as of June, 2022. More than 1.79 lakh flights have flown under this scheme. UDAN scheme has immensely benefited several sectors pan-India including Hilly States, North-Eastern region, and Islands.

The Prime Minister said in a tweet that he looked forward to visiting Jharkhand and Bihar on Tuesday.

“I look forward to being in Jharkhand and Bihar tomorrow to attend various programmes. In the afternoon, I will reach Deoghar where I will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for development works worth Rs. 16,800 crore,” he said.

During his visit, the Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation the In-Patient Department (IPD) and Operation Theatre services at AIIMS, Deoghar.

The Prime Minister laid the foundation of AIIMS Deoghar on May 25, 2018. The setting up of new AIIMS at Deoghar will help in achieving the dual purpose of providing super speciality health care to the population while also helping to create a large pool of doctors and other health workers in this region.

There were only seven AIIMS before 2014. During the last eight years, 16 AIIMS have been approved. Out of these 16 AIIMS, MBBS classes and OPD services have started in 10 new AIIMS. Limited IPD services have also been operationalized in six AIIMS.

There has also been a phenomenal increase in the number of medical seats across the country which will lead to a substantial increase in the number of doctors in the country.

The number of undergraduate seats has increased from around 51,000 before 2014 to around 90,000 seats in 2022 which is an increase of almost 80 per cent. The number of post-graduate seats have increased by 93 per cent from around 31,000 seats before 2014 to around 60,000 seats.

Prime Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various developmental projects worth more than Rs 16,800 crores in Deoghar on Tuesday afternoon. At around 2:20 pm, he will perform darshan and pooja at Baba Baidyanath temple, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. At around 6 pm, the Prime Minister will address the closing ceremony of the Centenary celebrations of the Bihar Legislative Assembly in Patna.

The development projects in Deoghar will help to significantly improve socio-economic prosperity in the region.

The Deoghar airport will provide direct connectivity to Baba Baidyanath Dham.

The Deoghar Airport has been constructed at an estimated cost of around Rs. 400 crore. The terminal building of the airport is equipped to handle over five lakh passengers annually.

AIIMS in Deoghar is a boon for the healthcare sector of the entire region. The services at AIIMS Deoghar will get a further boost with the inauguration of In-Patient Department (IPD) and Operation Theatre services at AIIMS, Deoghar. This is in accordance with the Prime Minister’s vision to develop excellent health care facilities in all parts of the country.

Prime Minister’s commitment to develop world-class infrastructure at places of religious importance across the country and improve facilities for the tourists in all such places, will get a further boost as the components of project “Development of Baidyanath Dham, Deoghar” sanctioned under the PRASAD Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism will get inaugurated.

The projects being inaugurated by the Prime Minister include the development of two large pilgrimage congregation halls with a capacity of 2000 pilgrims each, Jalsar lakefront development, and Shivganga Pond development among others. The new amenities will further enrich the tourism experience for lakh devotees who visit Baba Baidyanath Dham.

Prime Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple road projects worth more than Rs. 10,000 crores.

He will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various energy infrastructure projects around Rs 3000 crore for the region.

The Prime Minister will also dedicate two Railway projects viz. Godda-Hansdiha Electrified Section and Garhwa-Mahuria Doubling project to the nation. (ANI)

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas are one of the most loved couples globally. The couple is often spotted supporting and cheering for each other. Whether it is on social media or offline, both Priyanka and Nick don’t shy away from indulging in PDA!

On Saturday, Priyanka was seen cheering for Nick as he played Golf at Lake Tahoe in Nevada, US. A fan account took to Instagram to share photos and videos of the couple. Priyanka was photographed wearing a white sleeveless top, shorts, a blue jacket, and a cap. Nick, on the other hand, wore a dark blue t-shirt, black pants, and a cap. Check the photos and videos here:

Priyanka is often seen cheering Nick during his games, be it baseball or golf.

Nick and Priyanka tied the knot in December 2018. The couple embraced parenthood earlier this year with the birth of their daughter Malti Marie Chopra Jonas. On Friday, Priyanka shared a new picture of her daughter. In the Instagram image, Priyanka and her friend were seen posing with their babies on their laps, against a stunning natural backdrop. Priyanka made sure not to reveal her baby face and added a white heart emoji over the picture.

On the work front, Priyanka will be seen in international projects such as ‘It’s All Coming Back To Me’, and the series ‘Citadel’. In Bollywood, she will be starring with Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif in Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Jee Le Zaraa’. (ANI)

The Delhi government will illuminate hidden historical gems in the national capital with tricolour lights on the 75th anniversary of Indian independence.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in a review meeting with the concerned officials on Monday said, ”Delhi is known for its historical monuments all over the world and it is the priority of the Kejriwal government to preserve them for life. To ensure the conservation of all the monuments in the jurisdiction of the Delhi government, its concerned departments are working diligently and round the clock.”

The Deputy CM said that most of the monuments in Delhi are maintained by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), but there are 71 hidden gems of history which are maintained by the Delhi government.

”Historical monuments in Delhi symbolise the country’s evolution over a period of time, but these all have remained neglected for a longer time, which has caused much damage to them. Most of the monuments in Delhi are maintained by the Archeological Survey of India but there are 71 hidden gems of history which are maintained by the Delhi Government. These monuments too have great historical importance,” said Sisodia.

To mark the 75th year of Independence Day, Delhi Government has decided that 5 major monuments in Delhi will be illuminated with tricolour lights.

These monuments include Birji Khan’s Tomb in RK Puram, Sector-3; Baradari Qudsia Bagh; Bara Lao Ka Gumbad at Vasant Udhyan; Gol Gumbaz near Lodhi Flyover and Tomb of Paik at Mukarba Chowk.

He further said the Delhi Government is working on the restoration of these monuments and will organise various cultural events around them to celebrate their historical importance and spread awareness about them.

“I will soon visit them to review the conservation works in progress at the historical sites,” he added.

Sisodia said the work of preserving the Qudsia Bagh has also been taken up by the Delhi Government. The government has not only done the maintenance of the buildings here but has also given a new look to the garden.

Dara Shikoh’s library, located in the campus of Ambedkar University at Kashmere Gate, was in a dilapidated condition for years. The ceiling and walls of this library had become dilapidated due to lack of maintenance. As the library is located in close proximity to the Yamuna, the issue of dampness in the building was always reported here.

The work of preserving and reviving this building of historical importance has been given priority and expedited. These aforementioned monuments will soon get a state-of-the-art museum of history.

“In this series of monument, restoration works being done by the Kejriwal government, Delhi’s famous Malcha Mahal will also get a makeover soon. The government is planning to restore this popular monument soon and highlight its historical importance. Along with this, the government is already in the process of restoring the monument Azimganj Serai, located in Sunder Nagar and Phase 1 of restoration has already been completed. Very soon we will begin the work on Phase 2,” Sisodia added. (ANI)

The Supreme Court on Monday said that criminal law of the land does not have any extra-territorial application while holding that the Centre is bound to advise the President of India on the issue of an extradition treaty between India and Portugal on completion of Abu Salem 25 years of the detention period.

“The criminal law of the land does not have any extra-territorial application. Thus, what happens in another country for some other trial, some other detention, in our view, would not be relevant for the purposes of the proceedings in the country, ” a Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh said.
The Court also made it clear that it tends to agree with the submissions of the Additional Solicitor General on the larger conspectus, i.e., the separation of Judicial and Executive powers and the scheme of the Indian Constitution cannot bind the Indian courts in proceedings under the Extradition Act.

The Bench said that the courts must proceed in accordance with law and impose the sentence as the law of the land requires, while simultaneously the Executive is bound to comply with its international obligations under the Extradition Act as also on the principle of comity of courts, which forms the basis of the extradition.

The Court order came while disposing of the petition filed by extradited gangster Abu Salem.

Now Gangster Abu Salem cannot come out of jail till October 2030 as the Supreme Court ruled that his detention commenced from October 12, 2005, when his custody was handed to Indian authorities by the Portugal government.

“In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, we conclude that the detention of the appellant commences from 12.10.2005 in the present case. On the appellant completing 25 years of sentence, the Central Government is bound to advice the President of India for exercise of his powers under Article 72 of the Constitution, and to release the appellant in terms of the national commitment as well as the principle based on comity of courts,” the Court said.

In view thereof, the necessary papers be forwarded within a month of the period of completion of 25 years sentence of the appellant. In fact, the Government can itself exercise this power in terms of Sections 432 and 433 of the CrPC and such an exercise should also take place within the same time period of one month,” the Court said.

The Court also passed various remarks in its 44-page order.

“A reference to the solemn sovereign assurance on 17.12.2002 itself makes it clear that the assurance, which was given on behalf of the Executive in India was that if the appellant was extradited by Portugal for trial in India, he would not be visited with death penalty or imprisonment for a term beyond 25 years, ” the court observed.

“To achieve this objective the methodology placed before the Portugal Courts was that Article 72(1) of the Constitution conferred power on the President of India to grant pardon, reprieve, respite or remit punishment or suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any convict person convicted of any offence.”

“This was with the assurance under Sections 432 and 433 of the Cr.P.C. which conferred the power on the Government to commute the sentence to life imprisonment with terms not exceeding 14 years. It is also the subsequent solemn assurance of the Ambassador of India given on 25.05.2003 that on the appellant being extradited, he will not be prosecuted for offences other than those for which the extradition was sought and he will not be

extradited to any third country, ” the Court noted.

The Supreme Court in May reserved its order on July 11 regarding extradited gangster Abu Salem’s plea raising the issue that as per the extradition treaty between India and Portugal, his jail terms cannot extend beyond 25 years.

Abu Salem’s advocate had apprised the Supreme Court of India that the Supreme Court of Portugal had stated that if the requesting state (India) exceeds the terms of the agreement, then the accused (Abu Salem) shall be extradited again back. Abu Salem’s advocate has apprised the SC that there is a violation of the terms of the agreement and assurance given to Portugal.

Supreme Court had observed that the exercising of power by the executive and by the court is different.

Abu Salem’s advocate also apprised the court that his client was in custody in Portugal since 2002. Abu Salem was also arrested on the virtue of red corner notice, the lawyer said. He also apprised the court that my extradition started in 2003 and went on for almost 2 years and custody was handed over in 2005.

Centre had earlier submitted that the Union of India honouring its assurance will arise only when the period of 25 years is to expire.

The Centre had said the compliance of the assurance given to the Portugal government during the extradition of gangster Abu Salem will be done at an “appropriate time” and the judiciary, as the Constitution of India envisages, is independent in deciding all cases in accordance with the applicable laws.

The Supreme Court was hearing the plea of Abu Salem which contended that as per the extradition treaty between India and Portugal, his jail terms cannot extend beyond 25 years.

The Home Secretary has also clarified that the Government of India will abide by the assurances in accordance with the law and subject to the remedies as may be available at that stage.

Explaining the Extradition Act, 1962, the Centre, in its affidavit, said it is an Act enabling the executive of one State [the term “State” being used in the parlance of international law] to deal with another State to extradite accused / convict persons and these powers are executive powers and while exercising such powers, it is an inherent understanding that it would bind the executives of the respective States.

The government also said that before the said date, the convict appellant Salem cannot raise any arguments based on the said assurance.

The Centre Government remarked that the contention of the petitioner about non-compliance of assurance is premature and based on hypothetical surmises and can never be raised in present proceedings.

Salem has raised issues that the 2017 judgment of a Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) Court sentencing him to life imprisonment was against the terms of the extradition treaty.

Salem’s advocate Rishi Malhotra had said that on December 17, 2002, the Government of India gave a Solemn Sovereign assurance to the Government of Portugal that if the appellant Salem is extradited for trials in India he would neither be conferred with the death penalty nor be subjected to imprisonment for a term beyond 25 years.

He had also said that the TADA Court were not according to the extradition order. He further added that the Government can exercise its powers under section 432, 433 CrPC to commute the sentence of Life imprisonment in order to bring down within the ambit of assurance of the sentence of not more than 25 years as the execution of the sentence was purely in the domain of Government.

The petitioner had also said that the government should ensure to bring down punishment consistent and commensurate with the assurances but it cannot be said that the Court’s hands were tied in not awarding punishment to Salem for more than 25 years. (ANI)

‘Baaghi 2’ actor Disha Patani’s love for pets has been displayed to the world with her recent social media post which screams ‘adorable’.

In the slew of images, Disha shared on Instagram, the first one revealed the pet dog lying on the bed, resting near Disha’s feet. The actor sported a pair of white socks and from the picture it seemed that the owner and her pup were spending a lazy day together, watching television.

In the second picture, the canine rested its fluffy paws on Disha’s lap as it dozed off on the pillow.

Disha and her pet dog looked adorable as the latter slept peacefully on Disha’s neck while the actor clicked the selfie.

Disha often shares pictures of her furry pets on Instagram. She has three pooches and two cats with whom the actor spends a lot of quality time. Apart from being an actor, Disha is also known for her amazing physique and workout routines. She shares updates of her exercises on social media, performing difficult stunts with much ease. The actor also encourages fans to remain fit and healthy.

Meanwhile, on the film front, Disha will be next seen in the movie ‘Ek Villain Returns 2’, helmed by Mohit Suri and produced by big names of Bollywood including Ekta Kapoor and Bhushan Kumar. The dark and gripping trailer of the film has already created quite a buzz amongst audiences and Disha has stunned everyone with the portrayal of a negative character in the movie.

Apart from Disha, ‘Ek Villain Returns 2’ also features Arjun Kapoor, John Abraham, and Tara Sutaria. It is slated to release on July 29 this year.

Disha is also the latest addition to Nag Ashwin’s upcoming film ‘Project K’, which stars Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, and Prabhas. ‘Project K’ is touted as a mega-budget sci-fi thriller. (ANI)

After protests intensified in Sri Lanka amid political and economic unrest in the country, UAE’s flydubai has suspended its flights to the South Asian country.

According to a statement by the airlines, the passengers who had booked their tickets will be refunded their money. “Flydubai flights between Dubai and Colombo Airport (CMB) have been suspended from July 10 until further notice. We will continue to closely monitor the situation on the ground in Sri Lanka,” a flydubai spokesperson said in a statement on Monday, reported Khaleej Times.
However, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said its flights to Colombo are operating as scheduled and the airways is closely monitoring the situation in Sri Lanka. “Etihad Airways passenger services between Abu Dhabi and Colombo are currently operating as normal. Starting July 14, select return services from Colombo to Abu Dhabi will make a short stop to refuel at Cochin International Airport. Etihad continues to closely monitor the situation in Sri Lanka,” said an Etihad Airways spokesperson.

Earlier, in an advisory the UAE Embassy to Sri Lanka asked its citizens not to travel to the island nation and stay away from the areas which are hotspots for demonstrations. “Due to the current circumstances, the UAE Embassy in Colombo calls on citizens in Sri Lanka to take precautions and stay away from the demonstration areas, and contact the embassy in emergency cases… It also recommends that citizens wishing to travel to Sri Lanka postpone their travel,” it said in a statement on its website.

In the month of April, the budget carrier flydubai had cited Colombo as one of its popular destinations. The flight saw an increase in demand for flights, said the media portal. “We apologise for the inconvenience caused to our passengers’ travel schedules,” said the flydubai statement.

The Dubai-based airline last month said it is preparing for a record-breaking summer amidst a surge in demand for travel after the Covid-19 pandemic. It expects to carry three million passengers over the busiest summer in the airline’s history. It projected an average of 8,500 departures per month are scheduled across flydubai’s network of 102 destinations, which exceeds pre-pandemic levels.

The development comes after thousands of people stormed into the President’s House in Fort on Saturday. The dramatic visuals came from PM’s official residence where they were seen playing carrom board, sleeping on the sofa, enjoying in park premises and preparing food for dinner.

Even Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also announced to step down from his posts amid the ongoing protests. However, the protesters who have occupied the residences of the President and Prime Minister have cleared that they will continue to occupy their houses until they resign from their posts.

The worsening economic situation in the country has led to increasing tensions and over the last few weeks, there were reports of several confrontations between individuals and members of the police force and the armed forces at fuel stations where thousands of desperate members of the public have queued for hours and sometimes days.

Sri Lanka is suffering its worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948, which comes on the heels of successive waves of COVID-19, threatening to undo years of development progress. Earlier, on Saturday, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced in a press conference that the President will resign from his post on July 13.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa officially informed PM Wickremesinghe that he is resigning from his post. Meanwhile, former Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya called July 9, the day when the demonstration started, a “public day.” The oil supply shortage has forced schools and government offices to close until further notice.

Amid the fuel shortage in Sri Lanka, the 1990 emergency ambulance service has been suspended in several areas. The Suwa Seriya Ambulance Service had urged the public to refrain from calling the 1990 emergency ambulance service in the affected areas, Colombo Gazette reported.

The economic crisis has particularly impacted food security, agriculture, livelihoods, and access to health services.Sri Lanka is one of the few nations named by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which is expected to go without food due to the global food shortage expected this year. (ANI)