(Reuters) -India has committed to help ease the debt burden of its crisis-stricken neighbor Sri Lanka as part of a possible International Monetary Fund-supported program, the IMF said on Monday.
The island nation of 22 million people has grappled with challenges during the past year ranging from a shortage of foreign currency to runaway inflation and a steep recession – the worst such crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.
Reuters reported last week that India had told the IMF it strongly supports Sri Lanka's debt restructuring plan as the island seeks a $2.9 billion loan from the global lender, according to a letter.
"Sri Lanka is engaged with other official bilateral creditors to obtain similar assurances," an IMF spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.
"As soon as adequate assurances are obtained and remaining requirements are met, including by the Sri Lankan authorities, a Fund-supported program for Sri Lanka can be presented to the IMF's Executive Board for approval that would unlock much needed financing."
Sri Lanka requires the backing of China and India – its biggest bilateral lenders – to reach a final agreement with the IMF that is essential to help the country emerge from its worst financial crisis in seven decades.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Ismail Shakil; writing by Costas Pitas; editing by Tim Ahmann and Sandra Maler)
STORY: Ford faces the threat of Europe-wide labor unrest. German union IG Metall said Monday (January 23) that it would take action to disrupt output across the continent if the company did not reverse planned job cuts. The union reckons 3,200 roles are due to go in the region. IG Metall says Ford intends to cut jobs in product development and administration. Capacity is expected to be diverted to the U.S. instead. Ford declined to comment. It would only refer to a Friday (January 20) statement, which said the transition to electric cars would require structural changes. Ford of Europe produces, sells and services vehicles in 50 markets. It employs around 45,000 people at its own facilities and joint ventures. The U.S. carmaker has committed to going all-electric in Europe by 2030, and is working on a range of new vehicles.
Premier League leaders Arsenal have had their title credentials questioned all season but their last-gasp 3-2 win against Manchester United has silenced many of the remaining doubters.So does he believe Arsenal are now favourites for the title, on course to win the Premier League for the first time since Arsene Wenger's last triumph nearly two decades ago?
Burkina Faso has asked France to move its troops out of the country within a month, according to a letter from the authorities there to Paris obtained by AFP Sunday.AFP obtained the letter from a Burkinabe diplomatic source, who was not able to say whether or not France had acknowledged reception of the letter.
Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has claimed the disgraced late US financier Jeffrey Epstein was murdered in prison, in an interview with a British broadcaster that aired on Monday."I believe that he was murdered," former socialite Maxwell said in the series of jailhouse interviews aired on Britain's TalkTV. "I was shocked.
A massive power cut across Pakistan continued after night fell on Monday, affecting most of the country's 220 million residents, including in the metropolises of Karachi and Lahore.Karachi, with a population of more than 15 million, and Lahore, home to more than 10 million, both remained largely without power as darkness fell.
Dedicated to an Indian goddess as a child, Huvakka Bhimappa's years of sexual servitude began when her uncle took her virginity, raping her in exchange for a saree and some jewellery.She was forced into the order after the death of her mother and was 13 when a 30-year-old man took her virginity.
A woman suspected in the murder of a Paraguayan anti-mafia prosecutor was expelled from El Salvador on Saturday and handed over to Colombian authorities, the Colombian prosecutor's office said.Colombian, Paraguayan and US authorities are searching for the masterminds of the assassination, who they say are linked to drug trafficking networks.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday reaffirmed the importance of their nations' postwar alliance, despite strains created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.With pressure growing on Berlin to supply Ukraine with highly regarded German Leopard tanks, Scholz stopped short of any pledge, instead insisting all allies must work together.But Macron, whose country is already sending light tanks to Ukraine, made clear "nothing is excluded" regarding the possible delivery of French-made Leclerc heavy tanks.Scholz was visiting Paris to celebrate 60 years of postwar cooperation at a time when the Franco-German relationship, often described as the motor of Europe, has come under unusual strain.In addition to reported French impatience with Germany's caution on Ukraine, differences on nuclear power, budget issues and a possible lack of personal chemistry between the two men have caused tensions.But in a speech at the capital's Sorbonne University, Scholz said upholding strong ties was key for the continent."The future, like the past, rests on cooperation between both our countries as the driving force of a united Europe," he said.Macron said that "Germany and France, because they cleared the path to reconciliation, must become pioneers to relaunch Europe."We are two souls in the same body," he added.- 'In close coordination' -Germany has so far resisted Ukrainian pleas for the Leopard 2 tanks, with reports suggesting it would only agree if the United States followed suit with a similar move.Scholz said at a joint news conference that the country had always in the past acted "in close coordination with our friends and allies".He refused to be drawn on the request for the tanks."We fear that this war is going to last for a long time," he said. "We are only going to act in close coordination."But Macron, who earlier this month agreed to send French-made AMX-10 RC light tanks to Ukraine, indicated that France was by contrast considering sending the Leclerc heavy tanks to Ukraine."As for the Leclercs, I have asked the defence ministry to work on it. Nothing is excluded," he said.He also stressed that any effort to dispatch the hardware to help repel the Russian invasion should be decided and coordinated "collectively" with allies including Germany.Macron said any joint decision on whether or not to send heavy tanks depended on three criteria –- that it not "escalate" the conflict, that it provide "real and effective support" to Kyiv's forces including in view of how long it would take to train Ukrainians to use them, and that it "not weaken our own defence capabilities".Adding to the pressure on Berlin, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland described Germany's attitude as "unacceptable"."Innocent people are dying every day," told the PAP agency.In a joint statement Saturday, the foreign ministers of the three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, urged Germany "to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine now".- 'Ambitious and rapid' -The 1963 Elysee Treaty signed between post-World War II leaders Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle provided for everything from military cooperation to youth exchanges.Since then, France and Germany have often built the foundation for joint crisis response in Europe, and other nations are looking to them again now."We will continue to provide Ukraine with all the support it needs for as long as necessary," Scholz said at the Sorbonne. "Together, as Europeans, to defend our European peace project."As well as the Ukraine conflict, top issues included climate and energy, and European competitiveness faced with a new wave of "buy-American" subsidies in the United States.Leaders across Europe fear distortions in transatlantic trade from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which will pour billions of dollars into American-made, climate-friendly technologies.After securing backing from Spanish leader Pedro Sanchez this week, Macron said France and Germany had agreed a "common line" on an "ambitious and rapid" European response to the American subsidies.bur-vl-fff-sjw/ah/jj
Residents of China's Wuhan said Monday they were hopeful for the future and no longer afraid of Covid-19, three years after the city was locked down over what was then a mysterious virus.- 'House of hope'- The January 2020 decision to lock down the city, announced in the middle of the night, took Wuhan's residents by surprise as the world watched on with uncertainty.
There's still a long way to go to land the English Premier League title, but one thing is certain: Arsenal will not panic, says Neil Humphreys.
Never-say-die fifth seed Andrey Rublev admitted Monday he was "lucky" after saving two match points to topple Danish teen Holger Rune in a rollercoaster five sets and book a place in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
Disgraced former socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has claimed in a jailhouse interview with a UK broadcaster that a decades-old photograph of Prince Andrew with his sexual abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre is "fake".But in her US federal prison interview with TalkTV, set to air in the UK on Monday evening, Maxwell, who has known him for decades, is adamant the image is not genuine.
Indian full-service carrier Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, on Monday reported a quarterly profit, its first since starting operations in January 2015, as air travel soared. The privately held airline said its revenue crossed $1 billion and it clocked a net profit, excluding foreign currency loss and non-operating income, in the October-December quarter. Vistara has turned profitable at a time when the Tata group is looking to boost its aviation business by consolidating its three brands – Vistara, low-cost carrier Air Asia and former state-run airline, Air India.
France's government on Monday moved forward with a fiercely contested pensions reform plan that would raise the retirement age to 64, saying balancing the system's books must be top priority.Dussopt said the government would accept amendments that "improve the text without giving up on getting back to balancing the books by 2030, nor the fundamentals of the reform".
His recent hit film "Elvis" is an Oscars frontrunner, but Tom Hanks was left all shook up Monday as he earned three nominations from the Razzies, which "celebrate" the year's worst films.A press release from organizers of the Razzies dubbed Hanks' "Elvis" role as "2022's most widely derided performance," and piled on a further nomination for "worst screen couple" to "Tom Hanks & His Latex-Laden Face (and Ludicrous Accent)."
Movies by and about Iranian women took center stage at the Sundance film festival this weekend, as diaspora filmmakers reflected on female-led protests and the deadly challenges of censorship and resistance in their ancestral home."Coming into Sundance, the film is on the world stage.
The 73rd Berlinale, Europe's first major film festival of the year, starts next month with new movies from around the world screening in the main showcase.Fifteen of the features in the main showcase are world premieres and one is a feature debut.
China reported nearly 13,000 Covid-related deaths in hospitals between January 13 and 19, after a top health official said the vast majority of the population has already been infected by the virus.But a top health official said China will not experience a second wave of covid infections in the next two to three months after millions return to villages to mark the Lunar New Year because nearly 80 percent of the population has already been infected by the virus.
Another safety scare hit the Mexico City metro on Monday, when around 20 people were treated for smoke inhalation following a short circuit, officials said.None of the roughly 20 people treated for smoke inhalation were in a serious condition, officials said.
Orders given to block over 50 tweets link to BBC documentary and YouTube asked to block uploads
