Sri Lanka

Police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said they had received information that a large number of those queuing at gas stations are buying fuel to resell at higher prices, reports Xinhua news agency. This was causing great inconvenience for the people as long queues persist despite availability of fuel, said Thalduwa.

It comes after a 30-day grace period to come up with $78m of unpaid debt interest payments expired on Wednesday. The governor of the South Asian nation's central bank said the country was now in a "pre-emptive default". Later on Thursday, two of the world's biggest credit rating agencies also said Sri Lanka had defaulted. Defaults happen when governments are unable to meet some or all of their debt payments to creditors

In a televised address to the nation on Monday night, Wickremesinghe said: "I propose to privatise Sri Lankan Airlines which is incurring extensive losses. The loss for the year 2020-2021 alone amounts to 45 billion LKR ($129.5 million). By March 31, 2021, the total loss was at 372 billion LKR.

The Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, also known as Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day, is marked annually by the Sri Lankan Tamils on May 18, the date on which the over 25-year-old Civil War in the island nation ended in 2009 after the killing of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

"I want to settle this problem to ensure the supply of petrol, diesel and electricity to the people," Wickremesinghe said. Although Wikremesinghe is no novice -- this is his sixth time as PM -- Sri Lanka is facing its worst crisis since independence. "It will not be easy for the new leader to fix the battered economy, there are structural issues which need attention and resolving those will be time consuming," an analyst with a ratings agency requesting anonymity told India Narrative. Many leaders earlier showed their reluctance to take charge at this daunting time.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have pushed debt levels for many countries to alarming levels. Take the case of Nepal. The Himalayan nation has been hit by a yawning trade deficit due to growing imports. Nepal's trade deficit in the first eight months of its financial year beginning on July 16 touched $9.5 billion.

Holding the office for a record-breaking 6th occasion, Wickremesinghe was sworn in as PM by his rival party leader and President Gotabaya Rajapaska. He also becomes the world's first premier to run a government with just one seat in the Parliament. Amidst the ongoing crisis, President Rajapaksa invited the opposition parties to join to form an all-party government.

Colombo's Magistrate court issued the travel ban on Mahinda Rajapaksa, his son MP Namal, and 14 others who participated in Monday's meeting with his supporters who later carried out violent attacks on peaceful protesters in front of his house and his President's office.

The oath will be taken before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at 6 p.m. local time. Vacated after the controversial resignation of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the elder brother of President Gotabaya, Wickremesinghe is to take up the premiership for the record sixth time in the island nation.

Addressing the nation, President Rajapaksa also agreed to bring constitutional changes in line with the 19th Amendment, which was introduced by the last government and seeks that the Parliament be given more powers while curtailing executive (presidential) powers. He also assured that as demanded by various sections of the society, he would make ways to abolish the Presidential system.