China becomes wild card in Sri Lanka’s debt crisis – by BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI China says its initiative to build ports and other infrastructure across Asia and Africa, paid for with Chinese loans, will boost trade Source:abcnews.go.com COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — China says its initiative to build ports and other infrastructure across Asia and Africa, paid for with Chinese loans, will boost trade. But in a cautionary tale for borrowers, Sri Lanka’s multibillion-dollar debt to Beijing threatens to hinder efforts to resolve a financial crisis so severe that the Indian Ocean nation cannot import food or gasoline. Sri Lanka’s struggle is extreme, but it reflects conditions across dozens of countries from South Pacific islands through some of the poorest in Asia and Africa that have signed onto Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative. The total debt of poor countries is rising, raising risks others might run into trouble. Sri Lanka’s 22 ...

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Wickremesinghe chosen Sri Lanka PM in effort to quell crisis – by Krishan Francis and Bharatha Mallawarachi Source:ctvnews.ca COLOMBO, SRI LANKA – Five-time former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was reappointed on Thursday in an effort to bring stability to the island nation, which is engulfed in a political and economic crisis. Wickremesinghe, a contentious choice by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, took his oath in a ceremony at the president’s residence. Protesters have blocked the entrance to the president’s office for more than a month. The president’s brother, Mahinda Rajakapsa, resigned as prime minister on Monday following violent attacks by supporters on peaceful anti-government protesters. His resignation automatically dissolved the Cabinet, leaving an administrative vacuum. The president’s selection of Wickremesinghe is an attempt to end the violence and restore international credibility as the government negotiates a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund. Sri Lankans for months have been forced to ...

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