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Heavy Israeli Air Strikes on Lebanon - Sri Lanka Mirror - Right to Know ...
Sri Lanka and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff-level agreement on the country’s economic policies, marking the conclusion of the combined Fifth and Sixth Reviews under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF). Once approved by the IMF Executive Board, the agreement will allow Sri Lanka to access around US$700 million in financial support. An IMF mission team led by Mr. Evan Papageorgiou visited Sri Lanka from March 26 – April 09, 2026, to discuss recent macroeconomic developments and progress in implementing economic and financial policies under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. At the end of the mission, Mr. Papageorgiou issued the following statement: “IMF staff and the Sri Lankan authorities have reached staff-level agreement on the combined Fifth and Sixth Reviews under the 4-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. The arrangement was approved by the IMF Executive Board for a total amount of SDR 2.3 billion (about US$3 billion) on March 20, 2023. “The staff-level agreement is subject to IMF Executive Board approval, contingent on: (i) the restoration of cost-recovery electricity and fuel pricing while protecting the vulnerable and (ii) the completion of the financing assurances review, to confirm multilateral partners’ financing contributions and assess adequate progress with debt restructuring. “Upon completion of the Executive Board review, Sri Lanka would have access to SDR 508 million (about US$700 million), bringing the total IMF financial support disbursed under this arrangement to SDR 1,778 million (about US$2.4 billion). “Sri Lanka’s ambitious reform agenda continues to deliver commendable outcomes. The economy grew by 5 percent y/y in 2025. Inflation has returned to positive territory and rebounded to 2.2 percent y/y in March, and gross official reserves reached US$7 billion in end-March 2026. Fiscal performance in 2025 was strong, primarily supported by taxes on motor vehicle imports. Debt restructuring is nearing completion, with the successful completion of Sri Lankan Airlines’ debt exchange and further progress in finalizing remaining bilateral agreements. “Sri Lanka is significantly exposed to the Middle East conflict, which has heightened energy prices, disrupted a key air hub for tourists, and affected Sri Lankans working in the region. Authorities have ameliorated disruptions to economic activity by securing sufficient fuel supplies for households and industries. At the same time, the ...
At least 182 killed across Lebanon in large wave of Israeli strikes
Israel has carried out a large wave of air strikes across Lebanon, which killed and wounded hundreds of people, while officials say the war against the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah continues despite a ceasefire in Iran.Israel described it as the largest wave of air strikes in this conflict, hitting more than 100 of what it called Hezbollah command centres and military sites in 10 minutes.The southern suburbs of Beirut, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley were all targeted.The Lebanese health ministry said at least 182 people had been killed, a number that is likely to rise, and 890 wounded.At the site of the largest air strike on Beirut, hours later, emergency workers were still searching the damaged buildings. Found amid the rubble, glimpses of interrupted lives: pictures of smiling families, pieces of clothing, school homework that was left unfinished.Abdelkader Mahfouz was visiting his brother who had been wounded."There was a lot of body parts here. Only people are getting harmed. What should the people do. We can't do anything," he told the BBC.The attacks happened after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office denied the assertion by Pakistan, which had mediated the deal between the US and Iran, that the ceasefire covered the conflict in Lebanon.In Washington, US President Donald Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt also said Lebanon was not part of the deal.Hezbollah, which has not claimed any attack since the deal was announced, said the group had the right to respond and warned displaced families to wait for a formal ceasefire announcement before trying to return home.The Lebanese presidency said it would continue "efforts to include Lebanon in regional peace".The latest escalation in the decades-long conflict between Hezbollah and Israel erupted when the group fired rockets into Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the opening stages of the war, and in response to the near-daily Israeli attacks on Lebanon that have continued despite a ceasefire, which was agreed in November 2024.More than 1,700 people have been killed, including at least 130 children, so far as a result of the war, the Lebanese health ministry says, without distinguishing combatants from civilians.Israel says it has killed around 1,100 Hezbollah fighters.Over 1.2 million people have been displaced, or one in five of the population, most of them from Shia Muslim communities.Villages near the border have ...
Israel launches massive wave of strikes across Lebanon following Iran ...
A massive wave of Israeli strikes hit Lebanon on Wednesday, killing at least 254 people, just hours after a ceasefire between Iran and the US was agreed.
Israel strikes southern Lebanon after US-Iran ceasefire - BBC
The Israeli military has carried out a wave of air strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday morning, an indication that, for Israel, the US-Iran ceasefire deal does not apply to Lebanon - where it ...
