If steps had at least been taken to slow down the collapse of the economy at the beginning, we would not be facing this difficult situation today. But we lost out on this opportunity. We are now seeing signs of a possible fall to rock bottom.

They didn't lose an opportunity. Any opportunity they're referring to is more debt. This is another case of a collapsing currency. The whole world is in this debt cycle, like a dog chasing its tail. The US is the reserve currency which is laughable as it has no real value considering the US is currently 30 TRILLION in debt. And this is the economy that is the reserve currency? So, again, the world economy is a house of cards. Sri Lanka is low hanging fruit. They don't have a whole lot of guanxi in the world of finance.

From the same article:

Sri Lanka has been muddling through mainly supported by $5.81 billion in credit lines from neighbouring India. But Wickremesinghe said India would not be able to keep Sri Lanka afloat for too long.

It also has received pledges of $433 million-$865 million from the World Bank to buy medicine and other essential items.

Sri Lanka has already announced that it is suspending repayment of $10.16 billion in foreign debt due for repayment this year, pending the outcome of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on a rescue package.

It must pay $7.26 billion on average annually until 2026.

That explains it all. Every country is in debt. How can this possibly work? It can't. There will be international upheaval of some sort. It might be war. It might be civil unrest. But it's an absurd situation that government are refusing to acknowledge.

9 News: In Sri Lanka, people queue for kilometres to fill a tank of fuel. In Bangladesh, shops shut at 8pm to conserve energy. In India and Pakistan, power outages force schools to shut, businesses to close and residents to swelter without air conditioning through deadly heat waves in which temperatures top 37 degrees Celsius.

These are just some of the more eye-catching scenes playing out in the Asia Pacific region, where various countries are facing their worst energy crisis in years - and grappling with the growing discontent and instability caused by knock-on increases in the cost of living.

When people get hangry on a large scale - that's how revolutions happen.

Fuel and water lines, they're already happening all over the world. This from Mexico.