- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
Sri Lanka exchange halts again after 13% plunge
Crisis-hit Sri Lanka's stock exchange halted again Monday after a nearly 13 percent plunge, derailing the bourse's tentative reopening after a two-week break aimed at forestalling a market collapse.
The island nation is grappling with its worst economic downturn since independence in 1948, with months of regular blackouts and acute shortages of food and fuel.
Equities have shed nearly 40 percent of their value since January, with the local currency falling by a similar amount against the greenback in the past month.
Monday was the first morning of trade on the Colombo bourse since a weeklong Sri Lankan New Year holiday and a subsequent five-day trading halt after the government hiked interest rates and defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt.
The local S&P index fell seven percent in the opening minute of trade, more than the five percent needed to trigger an automatic half-hour halt.
Shares continued their rapid slide after a brief resumption, prompting the market to declare a halt to trading for the rest of the day.
Sri Lankan officials were in Washington last week to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout, but official sources said there was no immediate prospect of emergency funding from the lender.
Colombo is now banking on further bilateral help from India, China and Japan to help keep the country afloat, a finance ministry source told AFP.
Sri Lanka's economic collapse began to be felt after the coronavirus pandemic torpedoed vital revenue from tourism and remittances, leaving the country unable to finance essential imports.
Utilities unable to pay for fuel have imposed long daily blackouts to ration power, while long lines snake around service stations each morning as people queue for petrol and kerosene.
Hospitals are short of vital medicines, the government has appealed to citizens abroad for donations and record inflation has added to everyday hardships.
- 'Painful few years' -
Public anger over government mismanagement of the crisis is at a fever pitch and thousands of protesters have been camped outside the seafront office of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to demand his resignation for more than two weeks.
Nationwide demonstrations have seen crowds attempt to storm the homes and offices of other government figures.
Last week a man was shot dead when police fired on a road blockade in the central town of Rambukkana -- the first fatality since largescale protests began last month.
Finance minister Ali Sabry, who is part of the delegation meeting with the IMF in Washington, warned last week that the economic situation would likely deteriorate even further.
"It is going to get worse before it gets better," Sabry told reporters. "It is going to be a painful few years ahead."
R.Veloso--PC