Tag: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka faces marine disaster as ship fire extinguished after 13 days

by Amal JAYASINGHE COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — A fire aboard a ship that triggered Sri Lanka’s worst-ever marine ecological disaster was finally extinguished Tuesday after a 13-day international operation, the navy said. The near two-week inferno prompted a mammoth clean-up operation as huge volumes of microplastic granules from the Singapore-registered ship’s containers inundated 80 kilometers (50 miles) of beach. The unprecedented pollution forced a fishing ban and saw thousands of troops deployed to scoop […]

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Travel ban on passengers from India, four other countries stays

Oman, UAE added to list of countries covered by travel  ban until May 31 (Eagle News) — All passengers coming from or who have been to India  14 days preceding arrival in the Philippines shall still be banned from entering the country until May 31. According to the Bureau of Immigration, the ban also covers travelers from Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, , Sri Lanka and, additionally, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The travel ban on […]

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MIAA releases list of operational commercial flights for Thursday, May 13

(Eagle News) — The Manila International Airport Authority has released its list of operational commercial flights for Thursday, May 13: MIAA advised passengers to secure confirmation of their flights as only those with the confirmation will be allowed entry into the airport. It added flight schedules may change at any given time, so passengers should consult with their airlines. Allowed foreigners under previous Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases prior to […]

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Immigration bureau: Passengers merely transiting through India, 4 other countries can enter PHL but should undergo strict 14-day quarantine

(Eagle News) — Passengers merely transiting through India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh will be allowed entry into the Philippines but will be required to undergo a strict 14-day quarantine. The Bureau of Immigration issued the statement as it announced the ban on travelers from Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh takes effect starting today, May 7. The ban on travelers from India and those with a travel history to the country within 14 […]

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India’s neighbours close borders over virus rampage

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Sri Lanka on Thursday became the latest of India’s neighbours to seal its borders with the South Asian giant as it battles a record coronavirus surge. Bangladesh and Nepal have also banned flights and sought to close their borders with India, where a huge rise in numbers in the past three weeks has taken deaths past 230,000 and cases over 21 million. All three countries are fighting their own pandemic […]

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PHL to temporarily ban travelers from Pakistan, three other countries starting May 7, DOH says

(Eagle News) — Starting May 7, the Philippines will also temporarily ban passengers coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka or those who have been to those countries within 14 days before their travel to the Philippines. This is according to the Department of Health, which issued a statement on Thursday, May 6. Earlier, the Philippine government banned travelers from India following reports of another variant possibly causing a surge in that country. The ban, […]

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Second cyclone in a week threatens Sri Lanka, India

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Sri Lanka and southern India battened down the hatches for the second time in a week on Wednesday ahead of the scheduled arrival of another cyclone from the Bay of Bengal. Burevi will pack gusts of up to 100 kilometres (60 miles) an hour when it makes landfall late on Wednesday in Sri Lanka before moving west and hitting India around 24 hours later, forecasters said. Warning of a storm […]

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Sri Lanka rescues 120 whales after mass stranding

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Sri Lanka’s navy and volunteers rescued 120 pilot whales stranded in the country’s biggest mass beaching, but at least two injured animals were found dead, officials said. Sailors from the navy and the coastguard along with local volunteers pushed back at least 120 whales by dawn Tuesday after a gruelling overnight rescue, navy spokesman Indika de Silva said. The school of short-finned pilot whales washed ashore at Panadura, 25 kilometres […]

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Stricken tanker’s captain to face charges in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — 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 Wednesday. 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 […]

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Sri Lanka navy plugs fuel leak on fire-stricken tanker

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Sri Lankan military divers fixed a fuel leak from the engine of a fire-damaged oil tanker off the island’s east coast, the navy said Saturday, in a salvage operation after the huge week-long blaze. While the navy says no crude oil has escaped the cargo of the New Diamond, leaked diesel fuel had created a two-kilometre-long slick in the Indian Ocean that was visible from the air. The fuel was seeping […]

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Filipino crewman killed as oil tanker fire rages off Sri Lanka coast

    COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — A Panamanian-registered oil tanker burned out of control for a second day off Sri Lanka on Friday as authorities confirmed a Filipino crew member was killed in an explosion and fears grew of a major new oil spill in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lankan navy and Indian coastguard vessels fired water cannon at the blaze on the New Diamond, which issued a distress call Thursday after its engine […]

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Sri Lanka extends virus lockdown

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Sri Lanka reversed plans to end its virus lockdown on Monday, extending it for another week after a spike in coronavirus infections led to a recall of military personnel on leave. Within hours of announcing on Saturday that the nationwide restrictions imposed on March 20 would be lifted, the government revoked the order and extended them to May 4. Army chief Shavendra Silva said on behalf of the army, navy […]

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