Sri Lanka plans $1.6 bn in cyclone recovery spending in 2026

Sri Lanka’s government announced plans on Thursday for $1.6 billion in extra spending in 2026 to fund the country’s recovery from Cyclone Ditwah, which killed more than 640 people.The natural disaster affected 2.3 million people, more than 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s population, and floods and landslides caused by the cyclone left extensive damage throughout the country.The government convened parliament on Thursday, interrupting a month-long recess, to discuss what President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has described as the most challenging natural disaster to hit the island.Dissanayake presented a request for an additional 500 billion rupees ($1.66 billion) for rebuilding devastated homes, roads, bridges and railways, as well as for cash handouts to help people regain lost livelihoods.”We need to allocate an additional 500 billion rupees for disaster relief and reconstruction over and above the money allocated for government spending in calendar 2026,” Dissanayake told parliament.The national assembly, where his party holds a more than two-thirds majority, is expected to approve the mini-budget on Friday.However, Dissanayake said the government does not intend to raise its borrowing limit to meet the additional expenditure.He previously said he was banking heavily on foreign grants, and the finance ministry on Wednesday announced that it would call an international donor conference early next month.The government has already asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for $200 million from a rapid relief fund and has secured World Bank agreement to repurpose $120 million from an ongoing project for disaster recovery spending.On Tuesday, Sri Lanka also secured a $200 million loan from the Asian Development Bank to finance water management, the first such funding since the cyclone.The finance ministry said the funds would be used to complete a canal network in the North-Central Province (NCP), which was among the worst affected by flooding last month.”The objective of the project is to enhance agricultural productivity, farmer incomes and climate resilience in the NCP,” the ministry said in a statement.The World Bank has said it is in the process of assessing the damage caused by the cyclone, while Colombo has said preliminary estimates suggest it may need up to $7 billion to rebuild.The cyclone struck as the country was emerging from its worst ever economic meltdown in 2022, when it ran out of foreign exchange reserves to pay for essential imports such as food, fuel and medicines.Following a $2.9 billion bailout from the IMF approved in early 2023, the country’s economy has stabilised.

US approves $11 billion in arms sales to Taiwan: Taipei

The United States approved $11 billion-worth of arms to Taiwan, Taipei said Thursday, announcing one of the largest weapons packages for the island and prompting an angry backlash from China.While Washington is traditionally Taiwan’s biggest arms supplier, remarks by US President Donald Trump raised doubts about his willingness to defend the democratic island.Taiwan has ramped up its defence spending in the past decade as China has intensified military pressure, but Trump’s administration has pushed the island to do more to protect itself.The arms sale announced on Thursday, which still needs US Congressional approval, would be the second since Trump returned to office in January, after a $330 million sale of parts in November.The latest, much bigger cache features HIMARS rocket systems, howitzers, anti-tank missiles, drones and other equipment, according to Taipei’s foreign ministry.”This is the second arms sale to Taiwan announced during the Trump administration’s second term, once again demonstrating the US’s firm commitment to Taiwan’s security,” Taipei’s foreign ministry said.Beijing reacted angrily on Thursday, strongly condemning the sale announcement.”China urges the United States to abide by the one-China principle… and immediately stop the dangerous actions of arming Taiwan,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press conference, adding that Beijing would take “resolute and forceful measures” to safeguard its territorial integrity.Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory under the one-China principle, and has threatened to use force to bring the self-ruled island under its control.The potential size of the sale rivals the $18 billion authorised under former US president George W. Bush in 2001, although that was ultimately downsized after commercial negotiations.Bush ended up selling $15.6 billion-worth of weapons to Taiwan over his eight years in office.During Trump’s first term, the United States approved $10 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, including $8 billion for fighter jets.The latest package is expected to soon receive a Congressional rubber stamp, given the cross-party consensus on Taiwan’s defence.Taiwan maintains its own defence industry but the island would be massively outgunned in a conflict with China, and so remains heavily reliant on US arms.The latest arms sale shows Washington has continued to assist Taipei in “rapidly building robust deterrence capabilities”, Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s government has vowed to ramp up defence spending to more than three percent of the GDP next year and five percent by 2030, following US pressure.It is also plans to seek up to NT$1 trillion in special funding to upgrade the island’s air defence systems and increase capacity to produce and store ammunition.The defence spending proposals need backing from the island’s opposition-controlled parliament before they can take effect.China deploys military aircraft and warships around Taiwan on a near-daily basis, which analysts describe as “grey-zone” operations — coercive tactics that fall short of an act of war.Taipei’s defence ministry said 40 Chinese military aircraft, including fighters, choppers and drones, as well as eight naval vessels, were detected around Taiwan in a 24-hour period ending early Thursday.On Tuesday, Beijing’s third and newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, sailed through the Taiwan Strait, according to Taipei. burs-dhw/je/fox

Le deuxième détenu évadé de la prison de Dijon interpellé à Marseille

Le deuxième détenu évadé de la prison de Dijon fin novembre et qui était toujours en fuite a été interpellé à Marseille jeudi matin, a-t-on appris de sources proches de l’enquête, confirmant une information de BFMTV.Cet homme de 19 ans, natif de Marseille, s’était évadé avec un autre détenu rattrapé depuis. Il a été interpellé par la Brigade de recherche et d’intervention (BRI) des Bouches-du-Rhône et la Brigade nationale de recherche des fugitifs (BNRF), a précisé à l’AFP une source proche de l’enquête.L’interpellation a eu lieu dans la cité des Rosiers, copropriété dégradée dans les quartiers du nord de la ville et connue pour être un point de deal.Interrogé par l’AFP, le parquet de Dijon a confirmé l’interpellation, sans plus donner de détails.Ce fugitif faisait l’objet d’une notice rouge d’Interpol, l’organisation internationale de police criminelle. Il est considéré comme “potentiellement dangereux” par la justice. Il était en détention provisoire après avoir été mis en examen pour tentative d’assassinat et association de malfaiteurs.Le 27 novembre, il s’était évadé avec un autre détenu de la maison d’arrêt dijonnaise, un établissement vétuste, en sciant les barreaux de leur cellule avec une lame de scie à métaux, vraisemblablement livrée par drone.L’un d’eux, âgé de 32 ans, qui était en détention provisoire pour violences conjugales, avait été repris 24 heures seulement après sa cavale, arrêté dans le bar d’un village de Saône-et-Loire.Le 30 novembre, un complice de l’évasion, également âgé de 19 ans, avait été interpellé lors d’une opération policière à Besançon. Il avait été mis en examen pour complicité d’évasions en bande organisée et association de malfaiteurs et placé en détention provisoire.