SriLanka: 1 killed as police fire at anti-government protesters

The Sri Lanka police on Tuesday shot dead one man and wounded 10 others, A police spokesperson confirmed they had to fire at the protesters after the mobs turned violent and threw stones at them. The people had blocked a highway in central Sri Lanka's Rambukkana, 95 km from capital Colombo, to protest acute oil shortages and high prices.The folks had blocked a freeway in central Sri Lanka’s Rambukkana, 95 km from capital Colombo, to protest acute oil shortages and excessive costs. A extreme gasoline scarcity sparked spontaneous protests throughout Sri Lanka earlier immediately, with tens of 1000’s of offended motorists burning tyres and blocking the most important street main into the capital.The highway where the protest took place connects the central city of Kandy to capital Colombo. It was cut off at multiple stretches as fuel stations across Sri Lanka ran out of petrol and diesel. Motorists have joined throngs of protesters in Colombo who have been calling for  Rajapaksa to step down for 11 straight days.

Doctors at the country's main children's hospital also began protesting over a serious shortage of medicines and equipment. Sri Lanka is looking for as much as $4 billion from the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, to beat its balance-of-payments disaster and enhance depleted reserves.Main oil retailer Ceylon Petroleum Corporation raised prices by up to 64.2 per cent on Tuesday and lifted a rationing system, limiting how much fuel individuals could buy, that had been implemented last week. Lanka IOC, a petrol retailer which accounts for a third of the local market, had already raised its prices by up to 35 per cent on Monday