Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Sri Lanka workers defy strike ban to protest rescue plan

Sri Lanka workers defy strike ban to protest rescue plan

SRI LANKAN workers went on strike Wednesday (1) in defiance of a government ban to protest a rescue plan for the bankrupt island nation, forcing the closure of hospitals, banks and ports.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe is facing a public backlash over steep tax hikes and spending cuts imposed to secure a sorely needed International Monetary Fund bailout.


Around 40 trade unions, including government hospital staff and bank employees, called work stoppages.

Doctors at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka in Colombo said only emergency cases were being treated, while appointments were cancelled at private clinics and hospitals.

Electricity workers and bank tellers were also on strike while dock workers staged lunchtime protests at the capital's port.

Wickremesinghe used his executive powers on Tuesday (28) to effectively outlaw strikes by compelling "essential services" to remain at work, and government workers defying the order risk losing their jobs.

Union leaders said they were told by Wickremesinghe last week that he cannot reduce income taxes as it was a condition of the IMF to release a bailout package.

Haritha Aluthge of the Government Medical Officers' Association told reporters in Colombo that his union planned to continue its industrial action.

"A token one-day protest is not going to sway the authorities," he said. "We will have to take stronger action."

Sri Lanka sought IMF help after defaulting on its $46 billion foreign government debt last April but is waiting for financial assurances from China, its largest single bilateral creditor, that it is willing to take a haircut on loans to the South Asian nation.

Sri Lanka's unprecedented economic crisis since late 2021 has caused severe shortages of food, fuel and medicines and led to months of protests that toppled president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July.

Wickremesinghe, who was elected by parliament to replace Rajapaksa, says the economy contracted by 11 percent last year and the island will remain bankrupt until at least 2026.

He has also announced that the country did not have money to finance a local government election which was scheduled for March 9, prompting accusations that he was using the economic crisis to stifle democracy.

(AFP)

More For You

Air India flight crash

Debris of Air India flight 171 is pictured after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 13, 2025.

Getty Images

Leicester to observe silence for Air India crash victims during Rathayatra festival

A MINUTE of silence will be observed in Leicester on Sunday, June 22, to remember those who died in the recent Air India crash. The silence will take place during the inauguration of the annual Rathayatra festival of chariots in the city centre.

Organisers from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness confirmed the silence will be held at 11.20am, followed by traditional Hindu performances from Gujarat at Gallowtree Gate, outside Sports Direct.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

The discount is funded and distributed by energy companies across England, Scotland and Wales, but the government decides who qualifies. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock)

Millions more to get £150 off energy bills under new Warm Home Discount rules

MILLIONS of households in Britain will receive £150 off their energy bills this winter after the government changed the eligibility rules for the Warm Home Discount.

People on means-tested benefits will now automatically qualify for the discount, regardless of their property's size or energy score. This change is expected to extend support to 2.7 million additional households, including nearly a million with children.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sisters drown in Snowdonia pools during trip with friends

Haleema Zahid

Sisters drown in Snowdonia pools during trip with friends

TWO sisters studying at the University of Chester have drowned in mountain pools while visiting Snowdonia with university friends, an inquest has heard.

Hajra Zahid, 29, and Haleema Zahid, 25, were pulled from the water at the Watkin Pools at Eryri in the Nant Gwynant area of Gwynedd on June 11.

Keep ReadingShow less
Croydon couple dies in Air India crash after baby shower trip

Vaibhav Patel and his wife Jinal Goswami

Croydon couple dies in Air India crash after baby shower trip

A YOUNG couple from Croydon were among those killed in last week's devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, it has been confirmed.

Vaibhav Patel, 29, and his pregnant wife Jinal Goswami, 27, died when their flight crashed just moments after takeoff on June 12. Goswami was seven months pregnant with the couple's first child, reports said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Iran-Israel-clash-Reuters

Smoke rises following an Israeli attack in Tehran on June 18, 2025.

Reuters

Israel hits nuclear reactors in Iran; hospital struck in retaliation

ISRAEL launched airstrikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities on Thursday, while Iranian missiles damaged an Israeli hospital, escalating the ongoing conflict between the two countries.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue its campaign until Iran's nuclear programme is destroyed. “The tyrants of Tehran will pay the full price,” he said.

Keep ReadingShow less