Sri Lanka closes schools, limits work amid fuel shortage

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Schools are closed and public officials are staying home from work Friday in Sri Lanka. The Indian Ocean island nation’s Public Administration Ministry called for the closures in preparation for days of acute fuel shortages. Sri Lanka is in the midst of its worst economic crisis in decades, now almost without gasoline and other fuels. People have been waiting for days in long lines at fuel stations across the  country. The government has been struggling to find money to pay for importation of fuel, gas and other essentials in recent months. Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy and has suspended payments on its foreign loans.