Economic crisis: Sri Lanka only has one day of petrol left

Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is so extreme it has just one day’s worth of petrol left.

The new prime minister made an urgent appeal for international help – warning ‘the next couple of months will be the most difficult of our lives’.

The country has been thrust into turmoil after weeks of protests and clashes against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his ruling family. But he remains in place, even the prime minister, his brother, stepped down last week.

He presides over a country that still cannot afford the basics. Matt Frei has spent a week in Sri Lanka, to see the impact of the global cost of living crisis, writ large.