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Sri Lanka Allows Firms From Oil-Producing Nations to Sell Fuel in Retail Markets_我的网站

一 |     Sri Lanka on Tuesday opened its fuel import and retail sales markets for firms belonging to oil-producing countries, a measure which the government hopes may ease crippling shortages that have paralyzed most of the economic activity in the island nation.,The move will also end the duopoly of state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), controlling 80% of the fuel market, and Lanka IOC, a unit of Indian Oil Corporation.,The cabinet approved the proposal hours before a high-level delegation left for Qatar and Russia to arrange fuel for immediate needs.,Minister of Energy Kanchana Wijesekera said the firms would be able to operate without Forex requirements from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and other banks.,“This exemption of Forex requirements will be permitted for the first few months of operations,” the minister said.,The cabinet has asked the CPC to provide its logistics, stocking, and distribution service to the foreign firm, suggesting that the government would privatize a debt-ridden state-run firm which controls around 80 percent of the market.,However, the refinery business will remain with the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, which was operating with a monthly loss of approximately $90 million last year.,On Monday, the government restricted fuel sales to port, health services, and food transport until 11 July, citing the "unprecedented state of finance and foreign exchange crisis.”,“All other sectors are requested to stay at home and provide services online in this difficult time,” Bandula Gunawardena, the government spokesman, said.,Last Wednesday, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the economy had “completely collapsed,” showing the inability to purchase fuel as shortages of essentials and electricity worsen.,The government is in talks with Qatar, Russia, and India to arrange for fuel until the forex crisis gets resolved. The island nation has also planned a credit conference with the participation of India, China, and Japan to arrange for loans for food and fuel purchases.,A negotiation with the International Monetary Fund is in progress and will likely be finalized by July.,Want to know more? Check out our Koo & Telegram accounts!,Koo: https://www.kooapp.com/profile/sputniknews,Sputnik India: https://t.me/sputniknewsindia。    BILLINGS, Mont. -- A Montana man has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for making repeated threatening and racist phone calls to a Billings church for two years after he went there seeking help and received a gift card from a Black employee, prosecutors said.Joshua Leon Hiestand, 41, was sentenced Friday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montana. Hiestand pleaded guilty in June to making harassing telephone calls. A stalking charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.“When Hiestand, a white man, went to a Billings church looking for help, an elderly African American woman who worked there responded with kindness and assistance," U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said in a statement. "In return and for nearly two years, Hiestand launched a barrage of harassing, hateful and racist calls and voicemails at her and the church. His racist conduct isn't just abhorrent, it is illegal.”Prosecutors alleged Hiestand went to the Presbyterian church in November 2020 seeking help. Five days later, the church received a voicemail in which someone, using a racially derogatory term, said he would give more money to the church if the church did not employ an African American. After three similar calls, the woman called Billings police.A detective called the number used to leave the messages and spoke to Hiestand, who admitted making the calls and apologized for his behavior, prosecutors said. He was told to have no further contact with the church. Three days later, he left a voicemail with the church in which he apologized, court records said.However, over the next 19 months Hiestand called and left a series of voicemails at the church that were at times threatening and racially hostile, prosecutors said. Investigators determined that after January 2021, Hiestand was placing the calls from outside the state of Montana.Hiestand was arrested in November 2022 in Indiana and has remained in custody since then.Hiestand’s public defender Gillian Gosch asked for a sentence of time served, arguing her client's actions were affected by his mental health issues, which have resulted in psychiatric hospitalizations and which appear to be worsened by his use of illegal substances.The Bureau of Prisons will decide whether Hiestand will receive credit for the 11 months he has already been in custody, officials said.Hiestand remained in custody in the Yellowstone County jail on Monday.。

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