a dire shortage of food, fuel, and even medicines have caused prolonged power cuts and prices to skyrocket as the government, with negligible foreign reserves and a massive debt burden, is unable to pay for imports of even the essentials. vegetable prices have increased 2.5 times since december. rice now costs double, and milk powder is four times more expensive than before, forcing many families to even skip meals. the government has promised $17 per family for the new year's celebration next month. but with no supplies to buy, citizens are uncertain if the new year will be spent in another queue. archana shukla, bbc news, columbo, sri lanka. workers in new york have voted to form amazon's first union — in what's being called a major david verse goliath win. the company had vigorously fought the organisation of its workforce. the effort in staten island