Sri Lankan President Steps Down After Country Officially Bankrupt
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has announced he is stepping down and will allow an all party interim government to take over after thousands of protestors stormed into his home in Colombo. With TMJ News, Fatima El Zein brings you the latest headline. Transcript: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has announced he is stepping down and will allow an all party interim government to take over after thousands of protestors stormed into his home in Colombo. With TMJ News Network, I’m Fatima El-Zein and you’re watching TMJ’s Newscast. Videos surfaced of protestors in Sri Lanka swimming in the presidential pool and wrestling on his bed in the wake of the Prime Minister announcing the country’s bankruptcy. While some made tea and used the gym, others issued statements from the conference room that the president and prime minister must go. Sri Lanka is in the midst of the worst financial crises in seven decades after foreign exchange laws dropped to the lowest low. The situation is so dire that the minister Kanchana Wijesekera said the country has less than a day’s worth of fuel. Millions of Sri Lankans are struggling to buy food, medicines and fuel. The severe foreign exchange shortage has limited essential imports of necessities and record high inflation which is at over 54 percent and said to increase to 70 percent in the coming months is causing extreme hardship on Sri Lankans. The cash strapped country is seeking a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund controlled by the United States, however the bid has gone unanswered. Schools have been forced to shut down and fuel is now being rationed for only essential services.
Written by ZainabRights, Anchored and Produced by Fatima El-Zein
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