Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka protesters, angered by economic meltdown, storm president’s house
People wait in a queue after receiving tokens to buy petrol due to fuel shortage, amid the country’s economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 27, 2022. Dinuka Liyanawatte | Reuters Thousands of protesters in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital Colombo stormed the president’s official residence and his secretariat on Saturday amid months of mounting public […]
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IMF-Sri Lanka bailout talks end without a deal
Sri Lanka is facing its worst financial crisis since independence in 1948, which has left it struggling to pay for essential imports and forced it to default on some foreign debt. Serhej Calka | Istock | Getty Images The International Monetary Fund has ended talks with Sri Lanka, failing to conclude a deal for a […]
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Sri Lanka stops fuel supply to non-essential services as crisis worsens
A closed Ceylon Petroleum Corporation fuel station displays the availability of all fuel types on a board due to fuel shortage, amid the country’s economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 27, 2022. Dinuka Liyanawatte | Reuters Sri Lanka will shut schools and only allow fuel supplies to services deemed essential like health, trains and […]
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Sri Lanka names new prime minister in bid to address growing crisis
United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe sets his signature on his letter of appointment as the new Prime Minister at the Presidentâs House in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 12 May 2022. Wickremesinghe, a political veteran who has been prime minister of the island nation five times before, must try to address financial chaos and heal political […]
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Sri Lanka protesters call for new government a day after clashes kill eight
The burned buses near Sri Lanka’s former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s official residence, a day after they were torched by protesters in Colombo on May 10, 2022. Protesters and a key trade group in Sri Lanka called for a new government to take control of the crisis-hit country on Tuesday. Pradeep Dambarage | Nurphoto | […]
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IMF says any loan to Sri Lanka requires debt sustainability
A woman walks past the International Monetary Fund headquarters building in Washington, DC on March 11, 2022. The IMF said discussions with Sri Lanka on a potential IMF loan program are at an early stage and any deal would require “adequate assurances” that the island country’s debts can be put on a sustainable path. Mandel […]
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One dead after police fire on protesters in Sri Lanka amid bailout talks with IMF
Mounting frustration over inflation, scarcity and lengthy power cuts brought demonstrators in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Monday. Angry protestors called for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Buddhika Weerasinghe | Bloomberg | Getty Images Sri Lankan police fired live ammunition to scatter protesters on Tuesday, killing […]
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Sri Lanka’s reluctance to tap IMF helped push it into an economic abyss
Protesters in Colombo on Easter, April 17, 2022. The Rajapaksa government has leaned heavily on its foreign exchange reserves, eroding them by more than 70% in two years. Jewel Samad | AFP | Getty Images Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis has triggered an unprecedented wave of spontaneous protests as the island nation of 22 million […]
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Sri Lankan president tries to preempt protests with nationwide curfew
“I don’t know why a curfew has been declared. What we need now is not a curfew, we need food, gas, fuel and the freedom to express ourselves,” said one protest organizer in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Ishara S. Kodikara | Afp | Getty Images Sri Lanka imposed a countrywide curfew starting Saturday evening until Monday […]
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Sri Lanka’s president declares emergency as police clash with angry protesters
Protestors in Colombo on April 1, 2022. Inflation has wracked Sri Lanka, rising to 17.5% in February from 16.8% a month earlier, according to the country’s central bank. Ishara S. Kodikara | AFP | Getty Images Sri Lanka’s president declared a state of emergency in the island nation Friday, a day after angry protesters demonstrated […]
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