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Sri Lankan prime minister: Island’s economy ‘has collapsed’

Published:Thursday | June 23, 2022 | 12:07 AM
Women wait in a queue to buy kerosene in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, June 11, 2022. Sri Lanka's economic crisis, the worst in its history, has completely recast the lives of the country's once galloping middle class. For many families that never had to t
AP
Women wait in a queue to buy kerosene in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, June 11, 2022. Sri Lanka's economic crisis, the worst in its history, has completely recast the lives of the country's once galloping middle class. For many families that never had to think twice about fuel or food, the effects have been instant and painful, derailing years of progress towards lifestyles aspired to across South Asia. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP):

Sri Lanka’s debt-laden economy has “collapsed” after months of shortages of food, fuel and electricity, the prime minister told lawmakers Wednesday in comments that underscored the country’s dire situation as it seeks help from international lenders.

Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament the South Asian nation faces “a far more serious situation” than the shortages alone, and he warned of “a possible fall to rock bottom”.

“Our economy has completely collapsed,” he said.

The crisis on the island of 22 million is considered its worst in recent memory, but Wickremesinghe did not cite any specific new developments.