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BREAKING
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.
Sheikh Qassem: The government’s latest decision [on the disarmament of the Resistance] is non-charter-based, and if the government continues down this path, it is not faithful to Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Sri Lanka announces two-week fuel sales halt over economic crisis

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 27 Jun 2022 22:14
3 Min Read

The Sri Lankan government suspends the sales of all fuels in order to save petrol and diesel for emergencies.

  • x
  • All government schools were shut down and state institutions operated with minimum staff to reduce commuting and preserve oil
    All government schools were shut down and state institutions operated with minimum staff to reduce commuting and preserve oil

Sri Lanka announced a two-week halt to all fuel sales except for essential services starting Monday and called for a partial shutdown as its unprecedented economic crisis deepened.

The South Asian nation is facing its worst economic meltdown since gaining independence from Britain in 1948 and has been unable to finance even the imports of essentials since late last year.

As fuel reserves hit rock bottom with supplies barely enough for just one more day, Sri Lankan government Spokesperson Bandula Gunawardana said that the sales ban was to save petrol and diesel for emergencies.

"From midnight today, no fuel will be sold except for essential services like the health sector, because we want to conserve the little reserves we have," Gunawardana said in a pre-recorded statement.

Massive electricity price increase

The sudden fuel ban came as the state-run electricity monopoly asked for a massive price increase for its poorest customers.

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The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) lost 65 billion rupees ($185 million) in the first quarter and sought a nearly tenfold price hike for the heavily-subsided smallest power consumers, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) said.

Currently, anyone using less than 30 kilowatts a month pays a flat 54.27 rupees ($0.15), which the CEB sought to raise to 507.65 rupees ($1.44).

"A majority of the domestic consumers will not be able to afford this type of steep increase," PUCSL chairman Janaka Ratnayake told reporters in Colombo.

"Hence we proposed a direct subsidy from the Treasury to keep the increase to less than half of what they have asked," Ratnayake mentioned.

As part of measures to ease the forex crisis that led to the energy crunch, the CEB will be allowed to charge users who earn foreign currency, such as exporters, in dollars.

The move is aimed at helping the electricity utility collect dollars to finance imports of oil and spare parts it desperately needs, but is unable to secure because of the country's forex crisis.

Record-high inflation & lengthy power blackouts

The country is also facing record-high inflation and lengthy power blackouts, all of which have contributed to months of protests calling on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down.

Last week, all government schools were shut down and state institutions operated with minimum staff to reduce commuting and preserve the oil.

The state sector shutdown was meant to end this week, but it is now being extended till July 10, when Gunawardana promised to restore fuel supplies.

  • Gotabaya Rajapaksa
  • Asia
  • Sri Lanka
  • colombo
  • South Asia

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