For many in Sri Lanka, life is pretty much in survival mode right now where your daily chores and activities must be carefully planned in a manner according to the intermittent power cuts and the instinct to spot the fastest moving queues at the fuel and gas station, and outside grocery stores.

For the most part, the fuel crisis has been sticking out for months like a sore thumb, with commuters and passengers deeply inconvenienced on a daily basis as they impatiently wait in line for hours to fill up their tanks.

While some might eventually fill up their tanks at the cost of breaking the bank and thinning patience, some face the horror of returning empty-handed even after standing in line for hours as the fuel stations run out of supply.

When WION observed fuel stations across the commercial capital in Colombo over the past few days, steady lines of vehicles and people standing with cans and bottles were visible at almost every fuel station.

So far, three senior citizens have died due to exhaustion and one was stabbed and killed while in line for fuel —a very saddening sight and reminder of the desperation, plight and anger of the people.

In light of the recent turmoil, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa initiated the All-Party Conference (APC) to seek solutions to the ongoing crisis.

Although the main opposition parties - The Samagi &nbsp;Janabalawegaya and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna—decided to boycott the conference, former prime minister Ranil Wickramasinghe decided to attend. In fact, he stole the limelight with his comments.

In the event, Wickremesinghe snapped back at the Central Bank Governor who opened his remarks by blaming the former government for the crisis in front of the parties who attended the APC casting aside their differences.

The former premiere also butted heads with the incumbent Finance Minister, Basil Rajapaksha, when an argument broke out over the latter’s demand to furnish the draft report of the International Monetary Fund at the Parliament.

Wickremesinghe said repeated requests for the IMF report on Sri Lanka were turned down by the government, adding that this was the reason for many political parties to boycott the All-Party Conference.

Finance Minister Rajapaksa said that Sri Lanka has not received the full report from the IMF, to which the former prime minister responded that he was informed that the report in its entirety was submitted to the Government of Sri Lanka.

Rajapaksa said that what Sri Lanka received was a draft, and the government would add its comments to it and the final report will only be released following the IMF board approval.

For many in Sri Lanka, life is pretty much in survival mode right now where your daily chores and activities must be carefully planned in a manner according to the intermittent power cuts and the instinct to spot the fastest moving queues at the fuel and gas station, and outside grocery stores.

For many in Sri Lanka, life is pretty much in survival mode right now where your daily chores and activities must be carefully planned in a manner according to the intermittent power cuts and the instinct to spot the fastest moving queues at the fuel and gas station, and outside grocery stores. For the most part, the fuel crisis has been sticking out for months like a sore thumb, with commuters and passengers deeply inconvenienced on a daily basis as they impatiently wait in line for hours to fill up their tanks. While some might eventually fill up their tanks at the cost of breaking the bank and thinning patience, some face the horror of returning empty-handed even after standing in line for hours as the fuel stations run out of supply. When WION observed fuel stations across the commercial capital in Colombo over the past few days, steady lines of vehicles and people standing with cans and bottles were visible at almost every fuel station. So far, three senior citizens have died due to exhaustion and one was stabbed and killed while in line for fuel —a very saddening sight and reminder of the desperation, plight and anger of the people. In light of the recent turmoil, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa initiated the All-Party Conference (APC) to seek solutions to the ongoing crisis. Although the main opposition parties - The Samagi Janabalawegaya and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna—decided to boycott the conference, former prime minister Ranil Wickramasinghe decided to attend. In fact, he stole the limelight with his comments. In the event, Wickremesinghe snapped back at the Central Bank Governor who opened his remarks by blaming the former government for the crisis in front of the parties who attended the APC casting aside their differences. The former premiere also butted heads with the incumbent Finance Minister, Basil Rajapaksha, when an argument broke out over the latter’s demand to furnish the draft report of the International Monetary Fund at the Parliament. Wickremesinghe said repeated requests for the IMF report on Sri Lanka were turned down by the government, adding that this was the reason for many political parties to boycott the All-Party Conference. Finance Minister Rajapaksa said that Sri Lanka has not received the full report from the IMF, to which the former prime minister responded that he was informed that the report in its entirety was submitted to the Government of Sri Lanka. Rajapaksa said that what Sri Lanka received was a draft, and the government would add its comments to it and the final report will only be released following the IMF board approval.

Sri Lanka’s economic crisis: As people’s patience runs out, top leadership plays blame game

Heidi Alexander, who resigned as health policy chief for Britain&#39;s opposition Labour Party today, said she expected several of her colleagues in party leader Jeremy Corbyn&#39;s top team to do the same. 
 
The party is in open conflict following Britain`s vote to leave the European Union on Thursday. Labour&#39;s widely respected foreign policy chief Hilary Benn was sacked earlier after saying he had lost confidence in Corbyn. 
 
&quot;I think that there are a fair number,&quot; Alexander told ITV television in response to a question about how many of her colleagues she expected to resign. 
 
&quot;I know from the conversations that I&#39;ve had with colleagues that this is a very difficult time for all of us. It&#39;s not a decision that we want to take but some of the time you do have to take tough decisions in politics and so I know a lot of my colleagues will be asking themselves similar questions to the one I&#39;ve asked myself this morning.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Labour's widely respected foreign policy chief Hilary Benn was sacked earlier after saying he had lost confidence in party leader Corbyn

Heidi Alexander, who resigned as health policy chief for Britain's opposition Labour Party today, said she expected several of her colleagues in party leader Jeremy Corbyn's top team to do the same. The party is in open conflict following Britain`s vote to leave the European Union on Thursday. Labour's widely respected foreign policy chief Hilary Benn was sacked earlier after saying he had lost confidence in Corbyn. "I think that there are a fair number," Alexander told ITV television in response to a question about how many of her colleagues she expected to resign. "I know from the conversations that I've had with colleagues that this is a very difficult time for all of us. It's not a decision that we want to take but some of the time you do have to take tough decisions in politics and so I know a lot of my colleagues will be asking themselves similar questions to the one I've asked myself this morning." (Reuters)

'Fair number' of UK Labour policy chiefs to resign: Heidi Alexander

Britain&#39;s opposition Labour party plunged into turmoil today and the prospect of Scottish independence drew closer, ahead of a showdown with EU leaders over the country&#39;s seismic vote to leave the bloc. 
 
Two days after Prime Minister David Cameron resigned over his failure to keep Britain in the European Union, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn faced a revolt by his lawmakers who called for him, too, to quit. 
 
US secretary of state John Kerry will also fly first to Brussels and then on to London on Monday, amid dismay in Washington over Britain&#39;s decision. 
 
European leaders have called for a swift divorce amid fears of a domino-effect of exit votes in eurosceptic member states that could imperil the integrity of the 28-country alliance. 
 
Britain&#39;s political world is in disarray, while two new polls today showed a surge in support for independence in Scotland, where voters defied the national mood and chose to stay in the EU. 
 
European leaders meet on Monday to discuss the result, which wiped $2.1 trillion from global equity markets Friday amid fears of a new threat to the global economy. 
 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host French President Francois Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and EU President Donald Tusk for talks in Berlin. 
 
Cameron is then due to attend a summit of EU leaders on Tuesday to explain Britain&#39;s decision. 
 
Britons cast aside warnings of isolation and economic disaster to vote 52 percent to 48 percent in favour of quitting the EU in Thursday&#39;s referendum. 
 
The historic vote, fought on the battlefronts of the economy and immigration, exposed deep divisions in the country that politicians are scrambling to respond to. 
 
Cameron has said he will stay on until a successor is found from within his governing Conservative party, which could take until October, at which point the new prime minister will launch the EU exit negotiations. 
 
But EU foreign ministers on Saturday urged Britain not to delay, with France&#39;s Jean-Marc Ayrault directly calling on Cameron to go quickly. 
 
&quot;A new prime minister must be designated, that will take a few days but there is a certain urgency,&quot; he told AFP. 
 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Britain&#39;s exit talks should not &quot;drag on forever&quot; but said that until they were completed, Britain would remain a fully-fledged EU member. 
 
&quot;There is no reason to be nasty in the negotiations. We have to follow the rules of the game,&quot; she said. 
 
Labour revolt 
 
Likely candidates to succeed Cameron, including Brexit campaigner and former London mayor Boris Johnson, began sounding out support over the weekend. 
 
The referendum decision has also lit a fuse under disgruntled members of the Labour party, many of whom have been unhappy with Corbyn&#39;s leadership since he took office last September. 
 
Support for leaving the European Union was strong across northern England, the Midlands and Wales, including many areas that traditional vote Labour. 
 
The party leadership had campaigned to stay in the EU, but critics accuse Corbyn of failing to reach out to working-class voters drawn in by the &quot;Leave&quot; camp&#39;s anti-establishment rhetoric. 
 
After a symbolic vote of no confidence on Friday against Corbyn, he sacked foreign affairs spokesman Hilary Benn late Saturday for challenging his leadership. 
 
Hours later, health spokeswoman Heidi Alexander quit, and media reports suggested several other colleagues were poised to join her.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I do not believe you have the capacity to shape the answers our country is demanding,&quot; Alexander wrote in her resignation letter. 
 
But allies of the veteran socialist said he had no plans to step down. &quot;He&#39;s not going anywhere,&quot; finance spokesman John McDonnell told BBC television. 
 
The motion of no confidence is expected to be discussed at a meeting of the parliamentary Labour party on Monday. 
 
Any challenger would need the support of 20 percent of the party&#39;s 229 MPs and it would then be put to party members. 
 
Boost for Scottish independence&nbsp; 
 
As Westminster politicians bickered, Scotland appeared to be moving closer towards independence, just two years after they voted by 55 per cent to stay in the UK. 
 
&quot;The UK that Scotland voted to stay in in 2014 does not exist any more,&quot; First Minister and Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon told BBC television Sunday. 
 
Scots had defied the national trend and voted to remain in the European Union, and the prospect of being taken out against their will has boosted the nationalist cause. 
 
Two polls today support for independence at 59 percent and 52 percent respectively. 
 
Sturgeon has said a second independence referendum was now &quot;highly likely&quot;, and a meeting of her cabinet on Saturday agreed to start drawing up the necessary legislation. 
 
&quot;This is not going to be a re-run of the 2014 referendum. The context and the circumstances have changed dramatically,&quot; she told the BBC. 
 
Across Britain, more than three million Britons signed up to a rapidly-growing petition on an official government website pleading for a new vote. 
 
The number of signatories far surpassed the 100,000 required for a proposal to be discussed in the House of Commons. A committee will consider the motion on Tuesday.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)

Scots defied the national mood and voted to stay on in EU. The 'leave' sentiment was strong in northern England, Midlands and Wales

Britain's opposition Labour party plunged into turmoil today and the prospect of Scottish independence drew closer, ahead of a showdown with EU leaders over the country's seismic vote to leave the bloc. Two days after Prime Minister David Cameron resigned over his failure to keep Britain in the European Union, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn faced a revolt by his lawmakers who called for him, too, to quit. US secretary of state John Kerry will also fly first to Brussels and then on to London on Monday, amid dismay in Washington over Britain's decision. European leaders have called for a swift divorce amid fears of a domino-effect of exit votes in eurosceptic member states that could imperil the integrity of the 28-country alliance. Britain's political world is in disarray, while two new polls today showed a surge in support for independence in Scotland, where voters defied the national mood and chose to stay in the EU. European leaders meet on Monday to discuss the result, which wiped $2.1 trillion from global equity markets Friday amid fears of a new threat to the global economy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host French President Francois Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and EU President Donald Tusk for talks in Berlin. Cameron is then due to attend a summit of EU leaders on Tuesday to explain Britain's decision. Britons cast aside warnings of isolation and economic disaster to vote 52 percent to 48 percent in favour of quitting the EU in Thursday's referendum. The historic vote, fought on the battlefronts of the economy and immigration, exposed deep divisions in the country that politicians are scrambling to respond to. Cameron has said he will stay on until a successor is found from within his governing Conservative party, which could take until October, at which point the new prime minister will launch the EU exit negotiations. But EU foreign ministers on Saturday urged Britain not to delay, with France's Jean-Marc Ayrault directly calling on Cameron to go quickly. "A new prime minister must be designated, that will take a few days but there is a certain urgency," he told AFP. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Britain's exit talks should not "drag on forever" but said that until they were completed, Britain would remain a fully-fledged EU member. "There is no reason to be nasty in the negotiations. We have to follow the rules of the game," she said. Labour revolt Likely candidates to succeed Cameron, including Brexit campaigner and former London mayor Boris Johnson, began sounding out support over the weekend. The referendum decision has also lit a fuse under disgruntled members of the Labour party, many of whom have been unhappy with Corbyn's leadership since he took office last September. Support for leaving the European Union was strong across northern England, the Midlands and Wales, including many areas that traditional vote Labour. The party leadership had campaigned to stay in the EU, but critics accuse Corbyn of failing to reach out to working-class voters drawn in by the "Leave" camp's anti-establishment rhetoric. After a symbolic vote of no confidence on Friday against Corbyn, he sacked foreign affairs spokesman Hilary Benn late Saturday for challenging his leadership. Hours later, health spokeswoman Heidi Alexander quit, and media reports suggested several other colleagues were poised to join her. "I do not believe you have the capacity to shape the answers our country is demanding," Alexander wrote in her resignation letter. But allies of the veteran socialist said he had no plans to step down. "He's not going anywhere," finance spokesman John McDonnell told BBC television. The motion of no confidence is expected to be discussed at a meeting of the parliamentary Labour party on Monday. Any challenger would need the support of 20 percent of the party's 229 MPs and it would then be put to party members. Boost for Scottish independence As Westminster politicians bickered, Scotland appeared to be moving closer towards independence, just two years after they voted by 55 per cent to stay in the UK. "The UK that Scotland voted to stay in in 2014 does not exist any more," First Minister and Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon told BBC television Sunday. Scots had defied the national trend and voted to remain in the European Union, and the prospect of being taken out against their will has boosted the nationalist cause. Two polls today support for independence at 59 percent and 52 percent respectively. Sturgeon has said a second independence referendum was now "highly likely", and a meeting of her cabinet on Saturday agreed to start drawing up the necessary legislation. "This is not going to be a re-run of the 2014 referendum. The context and the circumstances have changed dramatically," she told the BBC. Across Britain, more than three million Britons signed up to a rapidly-growing petition on an official government website pleading for a new vote. The number of signatories far surpassed the 100,000 required for a proposal to be discussed in the House of Commons. A committee will consider the motion on Tuesday. (AFP)

UK's split with EU boosts Scottish nationalists

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