Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Stricken tanker's captain to face charges in Sri Lanka

SRI LANKA will file negligence and pollution charges against the Greek skipper of an oil tanker that leaked fuel off the island nation's coast after a week-long fire, authorities said.

Some of the 1,700 tonnes of heavy fuel oil aboard the New Diamond poured into the Indian Ocean, prompting a large effort to contain a slick that was roughly two kilometres (1.2 miles) in length.


Its 270,000-tonne cargo of crude oil was unaffected by the fire.

"There is sufficient evidence to prosecute the skipper under the marine pollution act as well as the penal code for criminal negligence," a spokeswoman for Attorney-General Dappula de Livera told reporters in Colombo.

Much of the slick has been cleaned up and no further fuel has leaked from the vessel since Friday. For now, there are no signs of the slick reaching the coast.

The Panamanian-registered tanker's owners would also be slapped with a $1.88 million fire-fighting bill, de Livera said in a statement.

The vessel is owned by Liberian-registered Porto Emporios Shipping Inc and managed by Greek ship owner, New Shipping Limited, according to the Sri Lankan navy.

Compensation would also be sought from the owners for the cost of any environmental clean-up and damage, the statement added.

Sri Lanka has meanwhile asked the ship's owners to tow the 330-metre (1,100 foot) tanker beyond its exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from its coast.

The nation's environmental authorities fear a marine disaster if the tanker is allowed to transfer its oil to another ship in the country's waters.

The stricken tanker is currently located some 70 nautical miles east off the Sri Lankan coastal town of Batticaloa.

The ship issued a distress signal in early September while en route to the northeast Indian port of Paradip when a boiler exploded killing a Filipino crewman

The vessel's remaining 22 crew, including the captain, were rescued and are in quarantine at a hotel in the southern port city of Galle under the supervision of the navy.

More For You

Trump

Trump said the suspect had been arrested earlier for 'terrible crimes,' including child sex abuse, grand theft auto and false imprisonment, but was released under the Biden administration because Cuba refused to take him back.

Getty Images

Trump says accused in Dallas motel beheading will face first-degree murder charge

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has described Chandra Mouli “Bob” Nagamallaiah, the Indian-origin motel manager killed in Dallas, as a “well-respected person” and said the accused will face a first-degree murder charge.

Nagamallaiah, 50, was killed last week at the Downtown Suites motel by co-worker Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, a 37-year-old undocumented Cuban immigrant with a criminal history.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer Mandelson

Starmer talks with Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador's residence on February 26, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty

Starmer under pressure from party MPs after Mandelson dismissal

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer is facing questions within the Labour party after the sacking of US ambassador Peter Mandelson.

Mandelson was removed last week after Bloomberg published emails showing messages of support he sent following Jeffrey Epstein’s conviction for sex offences. The dismissal comes just ahead of US president Donald Trump’s state visit.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

Officials greet newly-elected Prime Minister of Nepal's interim government Sushila Karki (R) as she arrives at the prime minister's office in Kathmandu on September 14, 2025. (Photo by PRABIN RANABHAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

NEPAL’s new interim prime minister Sushila Karki on Sunday (14) pledged to act on protesters’ calls to end corruption and restore trust in government, as the country struggles with the aftermath of its worst political unrest in decades.

“We have to work according to the thinking of the Gen Z generation,” Karki said in her first address to the nation since taking office on Friday (12). “What this group is demanding is the end of corruption, good governance and economic equality. We will not stay here more than six months in any situation. We will complete our responsibilities and hand over to the next parliament and ministers.”

Keep ReadingShow less
UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

US president Donald Trump and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer arrive at Trump International Golf Links on July 28, 2025 in Balmedie, Scotland. (Photo by Jane Barlow-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

THE British government has announced over £1.25 billion ($1.69bn) in fresh investment from major US financial firms, including PayPal, Bank of America, Citigroup and S&P Global, ahead of a state visit by president Donald Trump.

The investment is expected to create 1,800 jobs across London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Manchester, and deepen transatlantic financial ties, the Department for Business and Trade said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

Protesters wave Union Jack and St George's England flags during the "Unite The Kingdom" rally on Westminster Bridge by the Houses of Parliament on September 13, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

MORE THAN 100,000 protesters marched through central London on Saturday (13), carrying flags of England and Britain and scuffling with police in one of the UK's biggest right-wing demonstrations of modern times.

London's Metropolitan Police said the "Unite the Kingdom" march, organised by anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson, was attended by nearly 150,000 people, who were kept apart from a "Stand Up to Racism" counter-protest attended by around 5,000.

Keep ReadingShow less