Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland will travel March 19-23 to Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka with an interagency delegation to underscore U.S. commitment to, and cooperation with, Indo-Pacific partners.  Under Secretary Nuland will hold Partnership Dialogues in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and Foreign Office Consultations in New Delhi.  On each stop, Under Secretary Nuland and the delegation will meet with civil society and business leaders to strengthen economic partnerships and deepen ties in the pursuit of peace, prosperity, and security in the Indo-Pacific region.

Other senior members of the delegation include Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Amanda Dory.

US Department of State

India announced a $ 1 billion line of credit to Sri Lanka on Thursday as part of its financial assistance to help the island nation deal with its economic crisis.

After an agreement to extend the line of credit was inked, ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India has always stood with the people of Sri Lanka and will continue to extend all possible support to the country.

At a weekly media briefing, he said the assistance will be used for importing food, medicines and other essential items.

“India has always stood with the people of Sri Lanka and we will continue to extend all possible support at this juncture. I think we are cognizant of the economic difficulties the country is facing,” Bagchi said.

Visiting Sri Lankan finance minister Basil Rajapaksa witnessed the signing of the agreement for the $1 billion line of credit being extended through the SBI.

The signing ceremony was held at the ministry of finance in the presence of Rajapaksa, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Last month, India extended a $ 500 million line of credit to Sri Lanka to help it purchase petroleum products as the island nation has been reeling under a severe foreign exchange and energy crisis.

“The $1 billion loan facility, which formed the key component of the four-pillar economic cooperation arrangement agreed between India and Sri Lanka during minister Rajapaksa’s visit to New Delhi in December last year, was extended to the government of Sri Lanka for procurement of food, medicines and other essential items,” the Sri Lankan high commission said.

Times of India

Showers or thundershowers are likely to occur in many parts of the country in the next 36 hours, warned the Department of Meteorology. Accordingly;

Tonight:

Showers or thundershowers may appear at several places in many parts of the island. Heavy showers of over 100 mm can be expected in the Sabaragamuwa, Central, Southern, Eastern and Uva Provinces and in some places in the Polonnaruwa District.

Tomorrow:

Showers or thundershowers may appear in several places in the North-Western Province and the Ampara, Batticaloa and Hambantota District after 2 pm. Turns of mild showers may appear the Western and Sabaragamuwa Provinces and the Galle and Matara Districts.

The Department urged the public to take necessary measures to minimise the dangers posed by temporary strong winds and lightning along with the showers.

MIAP

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has approved the request made by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) for power cuts in this weekend.

Accordingly;

On Saturday (19), P – W zones will meet a power cut of 01 hour and 30 minutes from 10 am to 04 pm and a power cut of 01 hour and 30 minutes from 04 pm to 10 pm. A – L zones will meet a power cut of 02 hours and 30 minutes from 08 am to 06 pm and a power cut of 01 hour and 15 minutes from 06 pm to 11 pm.

On Sunday (20), P – W zones will meet a power cut of 01 hour and 15 minutes from 04.30 pm to 09.30 pm. A – L zones will meet a power cut of 02 hours from 09 am to 05 pm and a power cut of 01 hour and 15 minutes from 05 pm to 10 pm.

MIAP

Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa has returned to Sri Lanka today (18) following his two-day tour in India.

During his tour, the two countries entered an agreement for a US$ 01 billion debt facility to Sri Lanka.

Finance Secretary S.R. Attygalle also joined the delegation.

MIAP

In the wake of the fuel and gas shortage, people are forced to wait in long queues near gas stations, and some are left empty handed indicating the ongoing fuel crisis in the country.

In the backdrop, unrest is unavoidably being grown and as to whether there is an effective process followed by the government to manage the crisis is in question.

MIAP

The entire people of the country from fisherman to other employments are under immense pressure and the entire country is suffering from an unbearable cost of living, said Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, addressing the opening ceremony of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Matara Devinuwara Electorate Office today (18).

Although the government blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for the economic crisis, it was the government itself that played with myths by allowing the contagion to spread, he noted.

The SJB also organised a protest at the venue against what it called as the government’s brutal rule.

MIAP

The price of crude oil in the global market has soared again, marking a barrel of crude oil over US$ 100.

The price of a crude oil barrel was less than US$ 100 in recent days, but has soared over the margin, marking US$ 107 per brent barrel and US$ 104 per WTI barrel.

The crude oil price indicated a promising decline upon the signs of the Russian-Ukrainian war being cooled down, but hopes for a ceasefire have been dashed recently, giving another strike on the prices.

MIAP

The Socialist Youth Union has organised an anti-government protest in Colombo Fort today (18).

The protest is marched from Maradana Technical Junction to Colombo Fort Railway Station.

The demonstration is in objection to the selling of local resources to foreign states and the fuel price hike.

The protest is attended by thousands of demonstrators.

MIAP

A group of robbers have reportedly barged into a petrol station in Nawala this (18) morning and snatched the cash belonging to the employees working in the filling shed.

A gang of five robbers who had arrived in a three-wheeler with a can under the pretext of purchasing fuel had robbed the employees and their belongings by threatening them with weapon point, Police said.

The amount robbed is yet to be determined, they added.

The event was recorded on CCTV at the station and the Police are conducting investigations to identify the culprits. Making arrests will be possible, Police added.

MIAP