Fuel crisis brings Sri Lanka to its knees

PHILADELPHIA - There's a picture hanging in the Church of the Crucifixion on Bainbridge Street in South Philadelphia that stands out from the rest. It’s that of Reverend Jessie Alejandro. "They call me Mother Jessie, and I am the vicar of the Church of the Crucifixion," Alejandro said.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has unveiled his latest blueprint to get greener. From the carbon tax to zero-emission vehicles, Abigail Bimman breaks down what’s in the 271-page climate plan, how Ottawa hopes to pull it off, and the concerns over the multi-billion dollar timeline.

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Will Smith slapped his face at the Oscars Sunday night."How was your weekend?" Rock asked the sold-out crowd at the Wilbur, a theater of 1,200 seats in South Boston. "I had a whole list of jokes before this week happened."Since the shocking incident at the Oscars, sales for "Chris Rock Ego Death World Tour 2022" have skyrocketed, soaring to over $1000 per ticket.

TRENTON - New Jersey has issued a statewide recall of a specific brand of school cafeteria milk after officials said it contained sanitizer that sickened several students when they unknowingly drank it. The New Jersey Department of Health’s Public Health on Wednesday instructed public schools to remove Guida's 1% Lowfat Milk from circulation in its cafeterias. Officials said at least 25 children have been hospitalized due to the presence of peroxyacetic sanitizer in milk with the date code 09-183 Apr 11 B2. The health department fears that other batches of milk could also be tainted. The statewide recall comes after emergency teams were called to the Early Childhood Development Center in Camden Wednesday after sanitizer was discovered in milk cartons, according to the school district. According to tweets released by Camden Schools, it was determined that some of the cartons contained a "non-toxic consumable sanitizer that runs through the vendor machines prior to milk." The Camden County Health Department said first responders were also called to Riletta Twyne Cream Childhood Development Center where five children were sent to Cooper Medical Center and discharged in the afternoon.

Oil pumpjacks stands in the Inglewood Oil Field on Nov. 23, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.

TAMPA, Fla. - Bruce Arians told his coaching staff and players that he is stepping aside as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach. To take his place, the Bucs promoted Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles to head coach.Arians will be stepping into a new role as the team's Senior Football Consultant, according to team officials. He said the decision is not prompted by health issues and has been working with the Glazer Family and General Manager Jason Licht on a potential succession plan.  "I have spent most of the last 50 years of my life on the sidelines as a football coach in one form or another.

PHILADELPHIA - A Philadelphia police officer is expected to be OK after authorities said she was hit by a suspected drunk driver who was later arrested Wednesday night.Chief Inspector Scott Small told reporters that two officers were walking back to their car during a traffic stop on the 6700 block of Torresdale Avenue when the officer on the driver's side was struck by a black Chevy that crossed over the double yellow lines. Small said the female officer was launched 10 feet and landed on the northbound side of the road. She was taken by ambulance to Jefferson Hospital with head injuries and bruises, but is in stable condition.Witnesses told police the driver sped away from the collision and drove through several red lights.

With the BA.2 Omicron subvariant now the dominant strain in the U.S., there are concerns of another COVID-19 surge this spring. Jackson Proskow looks at the push to get Americans to take a fourth dose of the vaccine.

Data and doctors now indicate a sixth wave of COVID-19 in Alberta is likely on its way. But what impact could an increase in cases have on our hospitals this time? Morgan Black reports.

FILE - Scientists with NASA’s New Horizons mission have assembled this highest-resolution color view of one of two potential cryovolcanoes spotted on the surface of Pluto by the New Horizons spacecraft in July 2015. Slushies anyone? After years of research, scientists now hypothesize that giant dome-like formations that were first photographed by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in 2015 were recently active icy volcanoes, also known as cryovolcanoes. Scientists guessed these cryovolcanoes expelled "slushy" ice water as opposed to molten lava. These formations could indicate that the interior of the giant space rock was warmer than previously thought, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications on March 29. Researchers believe there may be an insulating layer under Pluto’s surface, kind of like the insulation in a coffee mug that keeps the liquid hot - the same principle applies to Pluto. This built-up heat within Pluto could be how these icy volcanoes produced viscous material and spewed out icy water or slush, Kelsi Singer, senior research scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado and lead author of the study, told FOX TV Stations. This recent theory allows scientists to view Pluto as a far more reactive space body than previously believed. "This area is by far the most numerous and the largest icy volcanoes found so far in the solar system," Singer said. "Besides just being a fun fact, this means that Pluto had to have more heat in its interior than we expected.

Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were 68% less likely to be hospitalized during the Omicron wave in the United States than unvaccinated children, according to a study published on Wednesday.

The new character, Ameera, is scheduled to premiere next week on “Ahlan Simsim” — the local version of “Sesame Street” in the Middle East and North Africa. (Credit: Sesame Workshop) NEW YORK - Sesame Workshop, the educational organization behind "Sesame Street," has unveiled a new muppet character with a spinal cord injury, the non-profit announced Monday. The new muppet, Ameera, is scheduled to premiere next week on "Ahlan Simsim" — the local version of "Sesame Street"in the Middle East and North Africa. "A witty, inquisitive 8-year-old girl with a passion for science and basketball, Ameera uses her bright purple wheelchair or forearm crutches to get around due to a spinal cord injury," Sesame Workshop wrote in a press release.

Today we are reporting 15,250 community cases, 830 hospitalisations and 22 deaths.

Organisations representing doctors and nurses have called on the Government to reintroduce some measures to tackle the spread of Covid-19.

The Razzie Awards and director Kevin Smith on Wednesday issued apologies for past criticism of Bruce Willis in the wake of news that the actor was 'stepping away' from his career after he was diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that impact's one's ability to understand or process speech.The Razzie Awards, a satire on the Oscars that lampoons critically-maligned movies, had promoted a new category titled 'Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie,' after the 67-year-old actor appeared in eight straight-to-video films in 2021.They included American Siege, Apex, Cosmic Sin, Deadlock, Fortress, Midnight in the Switchgrass, Out of Death, and Survive the Game. The latest:The Razzie Awards and director Kevin Smith, 51, on Wednesday issued apologies for past criticism of Bruce Willis, 67, in the wake of news that the actor was retiring after he was diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that impact's one's ability to understand or process speech.

snow and ice on this system's colder side in portions of the Great Lakes and central Appalachians.Severe storms will impact some of the same places that were hit hard by last week's outbreak of severe weather, which resulted in more than 60 confirmed tornadoes over three days. While there will likely be several tornadoes – some of which could be strong – with Wednesday's outbreak, there is an even greater threat of widespread wind gusts over 75 mph, particularly from the lower Mississippi Valley into western and southern Alabama, West Tennessee and the western Florida Panhandle.Here's what to expect through Thursday.

Gas prices in some provinces are set to rise Friday as the federal carbon tax increases.

BRISTOL, Pa. - A large contingent of law enforcement officers traveled to Bucks County on Wednesday for a viewing for Pennsylvania State Trooper Martin Mack III, who was killed by an alleged drunk driver on I-95 in Philadelphia in March."We have to continue to pray for them every day they’re doing a very difficult job and obviously it can have deadly consequences and I just feel awful," Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said. The deadly crash happened over a week ago on Interstate 95 in South Philadelphia near the sports complex. Investigators said Mack, 33, and fellow Pennsylvania State Trooper Branden Sisca, 29, were called to the area to assist a man who was walking on the highway. A large number of Pennsylvania State Troopers showed up to Trooper Mack's viewing.

LOS ANGELES - The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on Wednesday said that Will Smith was asked to leave Sunday's Oscar ceremony after hitting Chris Rock but refused to do so.The academy’s board of governors met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. The academy said disciplinary action for Smith could include suspension, expulsion or other sanctions.Many have focused on why Smith was allowed to remain seated front row in the Dolby Theatre after the incident. On Wednesday, the academy suggested that it attempted to remove the actor from the audience.RELATED: Jim Carrey ‘sickened’ by celebs applauding Will Smith’s Oscar win after slap"Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated," the academy said.

PHILADELPHIA - A Ukrainian cathedral in Northern Liberties is offering sanctuary to two women who fled their war-torn homeland of Ukraine as the Russian invasion continues. Alla Pukhtetska and Veronika Matviienko arrived at the Saint Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral Wednesday night after being picked up by Vice President and Choir Director Susan Guz, and Bishop Lukeat JFK Airport. They will live in the rectory of the church and are likely to be joined by others as church member have raised $20,000 to help refugees.The women lived in Kiev and worked together in a cathedral there. They told FOX 29's Jeff Cole that they feared they would be killed in the bombardment of the city."I was afraid not to have time to escape," Pukhtetska said.

The Ford government says it is taking aim at planning and implementation slowdowns which it says are among the main causes of high housing costs. But the government is not adopting changes designed to increase population density in existing residential neighbourhoods because it says they’re too radical for municipalities.

The Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield will today host a media briefing to provide updates on the response to the Omicron outbreak.

FILE-Florida, Miami Beach, South Pointe Park, Carnival Splendor cruise ship Departing. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) WASHINGTON - Federal health officials are dropping the warning they have attached to cruising since the beginning of the pandemic, leaving it up to vacationers to decide whether they feel safe getting on a ship.Cruise-ship operators welcomed Wednesday’s announcement, which came as many people thought about summer vacation plans.An industry trade group said the move by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention validated measures that ship owners have taken, including requiring crew members and most passengers to be vaccinated against the virus.RELATED: Norwegian Cruise Line announces additional cancellationsThe CDC removed the COVID-19 "cruise ship travel health notice" that was first imposed in March 2020, after virus outbreaks on several ships around the world.However, the agency expressed reservations about cruising.RELATED: More cruise ships under CDC investigation due to rising COVID cases"While cruising will always pose some risk of COVID-19 transmission, travelers will make their own risk assessment when choosing to travel on a cruise ship, much like they do in all other travel settings," CDC spokesman Dave Daigle said in an email.Daigle said the CDC's decision was based on "the current state of the pandemic and decreases in COVID-19 cases onboard cruise ships over the past several weeks."COVID-19 cases in the United States have been falling since mid-January, although the decline has slowed in recent weeks, and the current seven-day rolling average for daily new cases in the U.S.

SAPPORO, Japan - Ex-MLB player Tsuyoshi Shinjo marked his first home game as manager of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in spectacular style on March 29.Fan video shows the Japanese baseball manager and former Major League Baseball player riding on a hoverbike and flying over the field. RELATED: MLB, players reach agreement, paving way to end months-long lockoutShinjo, who is also known as Big Boss, was hovering an XTURISMO Limited Edition hoverbike, according to local media. While Shinjos’ entrance was a flying start to the season, it didn’t end well for the team. The Fighters lost 4-0 to the Saitama Seibu Lions, leaving them still searching for a first win of the season.Tsuyoshi Shinjo is a former Japanese professional baseball outfielder and a current manager for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).He played for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan between 1990 and 2000, before signing with Major League Baseball’s New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. RELATED: Mets' Pete Alonso 'thankful to be alive' after car accident, kicked out windshield to escapeIn 2002, Shinjo became the first Japan-born player to play in the World Series. AdvertisementThis story was reported from Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES - After hosting the 2022 Oscars alongside co-hosts Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes, comedian Amy Schumer is speaking out about that onstage viral debacle between Chris Rock and Will Smith.In an Instagram post, Schumer started by joking that "the best way to unpack what happened is to stream my series @lifeandbethhulu." She goes on to address "what happened," saying "But for real. Still triggered and traumatized," she continued. "I love my friend @chrisrock and believe he handled it like a pro.

Alberta is proposing rules that would make it easier for entrepreneurs to test products in the emerging field of cryptocurrencies and online banking.

There is a common type of scam that targets seniors specifically. It’s called the ‘grandparent scam’ and while it may not be new, it appears to be on the rise.

Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping announces more pharmacies in the province now have access to the COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid.

Health Minister Jason Copping says 70 per cent of positive COVID-19 cases in Alberta are now the Omicron variant BA.2.

Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping says both positivity rates from PCR tests and wastewater data are showing initial signs of increased COVID-19 transmission.

Thomas Rhett joins TMS with a special performance of ‘Angels’ off his new album ‘Where We Started’ out April 1.

President Joe Biden today announced the launch of covid.gov, a new one-stop shop for finding COVID-19 vaccines, masks, tests, and treatments by county on an easy-to-use website.

After rising for 2 weeks, global cases declined again, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest weekly snapshot of the pandemic, but it urged caution about interpreting trends, due to reduced testing in a number of countries.

The USFL is a new, independent American football league controlled by FOX Sports through NSFL HoldCo, LLC, a new business entity. (Source: USFL) The USFL, NFL Films and FOX Sports are teaming up to produce "United By Football: A Season in the USFL," a 13-episode series that will capture the fascinating athlete personalities and the unique circumstances they find themselves in as they pursue their dreams in a new professional spring football league. The one-hour series premiere airs Saturday, April 16 at 6:30 p.m.

WASHINGTON - NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has announced an extraordinary new benchmark: the detection of the farthest individual star to date."We’ve certainly seen galaxies further away, but that is the new record-holder for the most distanced star that we know of," NASA astronomer Jane Rigby told FOX Television Stations Group.The find is a huge leap further back in time from the previous single-star record holder, detected by Hubble in 2018.According to the space agency, the newly detected star is so far away that its light has taken 12.9 billion years to reach Earth. This means the star existed within the first billion years after the universe’s birth in the big bang.NASA announced an extraordinary new benchmark: the detection of the farthest individual star to date.

PHILADELPHIA - A suspect has died after police say he was shot by a customer inside a North Philadelphia corner store that he was attempting to rob Wednesday afternoon. The incident occurred shortly after noon on the 1400 block of Master Street – a few blocks from Temple University’s campus. Police say the unidentified suspect was armed with a gun and attempting to rob a corner store when a customer who was inside shot him multiple times. Following the shooting, police initially identified the shooter as the store's owner. Sources, including the owner, tell FOX 29 that it was actually a customer who opened fire.The suspect was hit twice in the chest and twice in the abdomen.

Steven Bertolino filed a motion to dismiss a civil lawsuit from the parents and stepparents of slain travel blogger Gabby Petito Wednesday.Bertolino filed his 20-page motion on Wednesday asking a Florida judge to drop the lawsuit with prejudice, arguing that there are no facts to support their claims of "intentional infliction of emotional distress." He further asked that the judge prevent the Petito-Schmidt families from filing an amended lawsuit should his dismissal request be granted. Clients Chris and Roberta Laundrie were exercising their constitutional right to remain silent, Bertolino wrote. "The gravamen of the claimed wrongdoing is that the Laundries exercised their constitutional rights and essentially made no statements to Plaintiffs or law enforcement," the motion states.

Actor Bruce Willis attends the "Motherless Brooklyn" premiere during the 57th New York Film Festival on October 11, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jim Spellman/WireImage) Actor Bruce Willis is taking a break from acting and his family announced on social media Wednesday that the 67-year-old has been diagnosed with aphasia. "Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities," the family said.

Surveillance photo of a tow truck stealing a Honda in Burlington County earlier this week BURLINGTON, N.J. - Authorities in Burlington County say they are investigating two car that were stolen by a tow truck earlier this week. Burlington Township police say on Monday, around 8:30 p.m., a car theft occurred on Foxchase Drive. On Tuesday, another vehicle was stolen around 9:30 p.m.

This photo taken February 4, 2019 shows Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the Hollywood Reporter's 7th Annual Nominees Night in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX / AFP) / ALTERNATE CROP (Photo by JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX/AFP via Getty Imag LOS ANGELES - NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did not hold back in his response to the slap that echoed around the world after Will Smith smacked Chris Rock, writing that the incident on the Oscars stage "perpetuated stereotypes about the Black community."Abdul-Jabbar wrote a column titled "Will Smith Did a Bad, Bad Thing," which was posted to his Substack account.He shared that he first met Smith when he appeared on an episode of "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" in 1994."I like him.

Bruce Willis' daughters Rumer and Scout Willis were captured out in Los Angeles on Wednesday after revealing their famous father has been diagnosed with thedegenerative brain condition aphasia.Because of the devastating diagnosis, the 67-year-old Hollywood icon is stepping away from the spotlight and the acting career that 'has meant so much to him,' as per a statement published by the family earlier in the day.The sisters, 33 and 30 respectively, put on brave faces as they reportedly attended a Coachella pre-party held at Infinity house. Spotted:Bruce Willis' daughters Rumer and Scout Willis were captured out in Los Angeles on Wednesday after revealing their famous father has been diagnosed with the degenerative brain condition aphasiaRumer and Scout were photographed seemingly arriving to the event, with the eldest Willis sister rocking a white sundress and Scout opting for a psychedelic sweater and black shorts.Scout appeared to be in a jovial mood while Rumer strolled along the sidewalk with her cellphone pressed to her ear.

New York (News 1st); New Fortress Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NFE) issued a statement following a favorable ruling on Friday, March 4, by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.Having considered the merits of all the fundamental rights petitions filed seeking to halt NFE’s development of natural gas power solutions in Sri Lanka, the Court fully dismissed the petitions without further hearing.NFE and The Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (“GOSL”) executed a definitive agreement in September 2021 whereby NFE will invest in energy infrastructure in Sri Lanka and develop a new LNG Terminal off the coast of Colombo.NFE will have gas supply rights to the Kerawalapitya Power Complex and will initially provide GOSL an estimated 1.2 million gallons per day of LNG (~ 35,000 MMBtu) to supply both the currently operational 310 MW Yugadanavi Power Plant and an additional 350 MW (the Sobadanavi Power Plant) which is expected to commence operations in 2023.

COLOMBO (News 1st); 27 Sri Lankans continue to remain in Ukraine and have expressed their unwillingness to leave, revealed Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Professor G. L.

COLOMBO (News 1st); When a Sri Lankan Minister who is a US citizen, negotiates with the United States on behalf of Sri Lanka, it goes beyond reasonable doubt that he will stand for the United States than Sri Lanka, as his property and family are in America, and he can easily return back without consequences after his tenure ends, says former Minister Udaya Gammanpila.Participating in the News 1st ’10 questions’ program, the former Minister alleged that although he did not protest against the 20th amendment when it was introduced, he stated that he fought for the East Terminal of the Colombo Port not to be handed over to foreign investors in the Cabinet.He said that the solutions presented by him to address the crises in Sri Lanka were disregarded as well.He further alleged that Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, who he dubbed as ‘The Ugly American’ was behind the New Fortress LNG deal, as well as the investments behind the East Container Terminal.The former Minister also said that the Finance Minister wants to take the country to a point where the economy is collapsed, food shortage is imminent alonfg wiith medicine and fuel.He warned that due to these actions at a certain point national assets must be sold to the United States to feed Sri Lankans.Watch the Full Program Here ;

COLOMBO (News 1st); 32 Sri Lankans who were in Ukraine, have been moved out of the country via four separate borders.This was confirmed to News 1st by the Sri Lankan Ambassador accredited to Ukraine.Earlier, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said that it continues to closely monitor developments in Ukraine.On Monday (28) the Ministry said it was engaged in the evacuation of approximately forty (40) Sri Lankan nationals, including two (02) students in Ukraine via the Ukraine – Polish border.The process is facilitated by the Sri Lanka Embassies in Warsaw and Ankara, the latter being concurrently accredited to Ukraine.The Ministry has strengthened the provision of resources to the Sri Lanka Embassy in Warsaw in order to ensure the effective facilitation of the evacuation process.The Ambassadors of Sri Lanka in Ankara and Warsaw continue to maintain close contact with the Sri Lankan nationals leaving Ukraine, in order to enable their safe passage and return to Sri Lanka.The Foreign Ministry is also engaged in monitoring the status of Sri Lankan nationals in countries which share land borders with Ukraine.Sri Lanka’s accredited missions are in contact with the relevant Honorary Consuls and Sri Lankan nationals in the respective countries.The Sri Lanka Embassy in Moscow which is concurrently accredited to Belarus continues to be in close communication with the approximately 1,600 Sri Lankan nationals, including 1,556 students studying in over eight (08) universities / higher education institutes in Belarus.Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Moscow is in direct contact with the relevant university authorities, student and parent groups, as well as other concerned institutions in Belarus, with regard to the safety and welfare of the Sri

COLOMBO (News 1st); A worsening shortage of fuel has brought Sri Lankans of all walks of life to mile-long ques across the island, with little hope for a solution over the coming days.“We have never experienced anything like this in our lifetime. It is a disaster”, noted a senior citizen, forced to queue up for hours for a few liters of fuel.The situation has worsened with farmers, already struck by the fertilizer crisis, left with no fuel for machinery used to harvest crops.