- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
JRI | 0.66% | 13.67 | $ | |
BCC | -1.14% | 139.89 | $ | |
NGG | -0.23% | 69.57 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.13% | 24.74 | $ | |
SCS | 1.42% | 13.34 | $ | |
GSK | 0.15% | 40.77 | $ | |
AZN | 0.15% | 77.74 | $ | |
BTI | -0.86% | 36.525 | $ | |
BP | -0.1% | 31.39 | $ | |
RIO | -0.18% | 71.1 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.14% | 7.03 | $ | |
RBGPF | 7.18% | 64.75 | $ | |
BCE | -1.32% | 34.73 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.72% | 24.9 | $ | |
RELX | -0.41% | 47.365 | $ | |
VOD | -0.85% | 10.005 | $ |
Bankrupt Sri Lanka asks citizens abroad to send home cash
Sri Lanka urged its citizens overseas to send home money to help pay for desperately needed food and fuel Wednesday after announcing a default on its $51 billion foreign debt.
The island nation is in the grip of its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, with severe shortages of essential goods and regular blackouts causing widespread hardship.
Authorities are weathering intense public anger and spirited protests demanding the government's resignation ahead of negotiations for an International Monetary Fund bailout.
Central bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said he needed Sri Lankans abroad to "support the country at this crucial juncture by donating much needed foreign exchange".
His appeal came a day after the government announced it was suspending repayments on all external debt, which will free up money to replenish scant supplies of petrol, pharmaceuticals and other necessities.
Weerasinghe said he had set up bank accounts for donations in the United States, Britain and Germany and promised Sri Lankan expatriates the money would be spent where it was most needed.
The bank "assures that such foreign currency transfers will be utilised only for importation of essentials, including food, fuel and medicines", Weerasinghe said in a statement.
Tuesday's default announcement will save Sri Lanka about $200 million in interest payments falling due on Monday, he said, adding that the money would be diverted to pay for essential imports.
Weerasinghe's appeal has so far been greeted with scepticism from Sri Lankans abroad.
"We don't mind helping, but we can't trust the government with our cash," a Sri Lankan doctor in Australia told AFP, asking for anonymity.
A Sri Lankan software engineer in Canada said he had no confidence that the money would be spent on the needy.
"This could go the same way as the tsunami funds," he told AFP, referring to millions of dollars the island received in aid after the December 2004 disaster, which claimed at least 31,000 lives on the island.
Much of the foreign cash donations meant for survivors was rumoured to have ended up in the pockets of politicians, including current Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was forced to return tsunami aid funds credited to his personal account.
- Snowballing crisis -
Sri Lanka's snowballing economic crisis began to be felt after the coronavirus pandemic torpedoed vital revenue from tourism and remittances.
The government imposed a wide import ban to conserve dwindling foreign currency reserves and use them to service the debts it has now defaulted on.
But the resulting shortages have stoked public resentment, with day-long lines forming across the island for petrol and kerosene, the latter used for cooking stoves in poorer households.
At least eight people have died while waiting in fuel queues since last month.
Economists say the crisis has been made worse by government mismanagement, years of accumulated borrowing and ill-advised tax cuts.
Crowds have attempted to storm the homes of government leaders, and security forces have dispersed protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Thousands of people were camped outside President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's seafront office in the capital Colombo for a fifth straight day of protests Wednesday calling for him to step down.
X.Wong--CPN