Sri Lanka leader says IMF agreement pushed back after unrest

By KRISHAN FRANCIS
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president says an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to help pull the bankrupt nation out of its economic crisis has been pushed back to September because of unrest over the past weeks. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his first speech since he was elected by Parliament on July 20, says even though he as the prime minister had aimed to reach an agreement by early August, it has now been pushed back by a month. He was elected to complete the five-year term of his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled to Singapore after protesters angry over economic hardships stormed his official residence and occupied several key government buildings. Wickremesinghe says talked on a rescue package had not moved since those incidents.