time in 11 years as it seeks to control stubbornly high inflation in the eurozone. i expect you to raise rates again in september. coming up next in d. w. news, asia shall anchor's new president of face is monumental challenges if he wants to write the economy. skeptic sphere, the veteran politician, will only offer more of the same as we've been facility. who has that story? ardmore, a news asia in just a moment. i'll be back at the top about what secrets lie behind these walls? discover new adventures in 360 degrees. and explore fascinating world heritage sites. d. w world heritage. 360. get the app. now.

a man with the memories of a woman. mm ali from syria is born in a female body. forced into marriage. great. far from home, folly can finally become the person he's always wanted to be. and i have, i moved this very badly. oh, in the 3 credit and we'll go through with it. i was born in berlin. starts july 22nd on d, w. today on d, w. 's asia, a new president for sri lanka, but can the people expect the same old patron politician delano victory messina is sporting as then you've leader. he urges the either nation to come together to find a way out if it's west economic crisis in decades. but does he happy era of protests and has crisis written, sri lanka got itself into a dead trap?

some critics claim china's belton road initiative. ah, i'm been fissile and welcome. she luggage have been taking to the streets for months, demanding change. the economy's collapsed. food prices go up every day. it's hard to get your hands on medicine and you have to line up a days for fuel. however, listened to what this demonstrator has to say. you want to give up because what the country need these up does it does is some take a different, i mean you want to get rid of this that up at politicians. so that's what we are doing well. asked lee to go to buy a roger poxy who fled the country after mass protests over his handling of the economy is replaced by prime minister, the crime a sing on the right. but he's seen as his ally. protestors want both of them out

be doing believe in him this he's not the correct choice at this moment. now i'll is gary will word that i was dead corrupt prisoners. later the, the people of she lanka has not been given what they deserve, which is peace and all of a peace of mind. and the basic necessities being meant there was high security around the parliamentary complex as became a singer, took on his new role. his office said he wants to form a unity government to manage the turmoil. the new president is a familiar face in sri lanka. but having served 6 times as prime minister, which in sri lanka is the deputy to the president, he was sworn in and signed himself on as the elected head of state. though in this case, it was parliament. we'll elected him amidst the country's turmoil. the

grandma single election had been greeted by yet another surge of protests and colombo from the same movement, had pushed out his predecessor as d. w. corresponded when you're a chaudhry explains why dick, for the past you did that be saw been done, it took over as the prime minister of the country and as the acting president after breads and go to baggage bucks are designed. people have been frustrated that took over the pm's office as well and protested thing that they wanted run into grandma thing not to step down. and now that he has one, they are not happy. the grandma singer has said he will bring opposition lawmakers into his cabinet, but about a tough line after his election against troublemakers. a dog do seek to destroy the denton democracy. there must then be dealt with the law by the law. but that the i would like to bring it with you on forget it. ronald dick ramos singer is a lawyer turned politician who won his 1st parliamentary election in 1977. he's

considered a technocrat with deep technical understanding of sri lanka, as economic woes. he says negotiations on an international monetary fund, a bailout are near a deal, but his toughest task may be distancing himself from his ties to the previous government. and convincing those who already want him out, that he should stay. let's analyze this with lawyer activist and former commissioner of the human rights commission of sri lanka. and because that quinn had not done great to have you, he what's going to happen next with the turmoil in your country. well, it's hard to predict because them is and i will become missing. i was sworn as president today, and the fact is he did not win seat to parliament in the general elections in 2020, when he was appointed as prime minister by the previous president to go to bed raj

proctor. that was a lot of opposition and an uproar public up role. and when he got was nominated to contest for the position of parliament, which he won with the votes of the previous president's party. all of which showed that he does not have public trust of public legitimacy. and also that he is in a way, a proxy for the raj boxes because they nominated him and their party elected him, which means he's also going to be protecting them and they might just turn out to be more of the same no matter the lack of legitimacy or his links, does he have the ability to, to fix the nation's problems despite that? well, the point is that we are, well, one would be dead. but also the issue is that we must not look to him only as an individual. and there are many who are saying that the other candidates,

for instance, would not have been able to. and i think that one of the problems that trailer has always had is focusing on individuals and making them save us instead of focusing on our institutions and our processes and strengthening them. whoever is in that position. they do need to follow 2nd steps. they need to listen to the experts and they need to keep the national interest at heart. so the best option that we see going forward towards economic recovery in order to have stability is to call for general elections as soon as practically possible is not going to stretch things out even further. i mean, what happens in the meantime? well, for lanka, which is bankrupt, waits for its bailout from the international monetary fund, which is going to take months. well, the international monetary fund has, i just saw, they've announced today that they plan to complete the negotiations as soon as possible. and also elections has also created about the

fact that we can't afford elections, but once again, they can also be assistance that we can obtain toward dish. and while we wait for elections to be held, all preparations are being made. mister grimacing, who will be president, which means he should continue with the business of governing in the national interest. i'm bigger what happens though with the main time with the protests, i'm sure a lot of those demonstrators aren't going to give up yes. ano yesterday and again today many of them have said that they will not give up because they do not find to him legit you meant to and that they will continue still back. we have to see how docked progresses, particularly the students who have been at the full find of the protests have said that they will not give up. i'm. i'm 2 key designs in that sense to have a president, particularly during such a time of tom aisle when the public is suffering a president who does not seem to also have empathy and who does not have public

trust is cause for great concerns. so what we hope, as i said before, is that we can go for general elections. i can also have a parliament that is different and not in the clutches of the roger boxes that will enable us to move towards economic recovery and stability. they will be closely watching this i'm sure you will be to form a commissioner of the human rights commission of sri lanka because that's called a not on thank you. is another problem we haven't talked about yet and that is the tree lanka also needs tourism. it's a huge money spent on it wants pump billions of dollars into the economy in 2018, around 5 percent of gross domestic product. but in 2019 a terror attack devastated the sector in the pandemic shutdown everything. and who wants to visit the country? suffering from what's now become a humanitarian crisis. the people can't even afford to feed themselves. some

blame sri lanka is close ties with china for its economic collapse. beijing extended $12000000000.00 in loans to the government between $22020.00 infrastructure projects like the one behind me. the multi 1000000000 dollar port in humble toyota hometown of recently fled, president go to buy a roger pox a was a flagship project in china's belton road initiative when it opened in 2010. 7 years later, the port was seated to chinese control after sri lanka realised a could no longer pay off the loans. a case study in debt trap, diplomacy, beijing, a sri lanka, single biggest creditor, accounting for 10 percent of the country's foreign debt. the pandemic soaring energy costs and global food shortages brought about by the ukraine war have left states like pakistan, philippines, and laos struggling to pay their belgian road obligations. china says it will help sri lanka, but it's vague on the details. drove all your china's ready to work with countries

and financial institutions to keep playing a positive role in helping sri lanka overcome its difficulties and ease its debt burden, poverty, his lawyer, which on his own economy, under pressure state banks are more eager than ever to collect on belton road debt, a tune and reported from china for years and has closely watched the roll out of this huge silk road project. no one's forced sri lanka to sign up to him anything. but why if the international monetary fund off his rights between one and 3 percent, would you sign up to a lending rate of 3 to 6 percent? well, one of the great things about the belton road project for a lot of countries is the fact that these loans come with pretty much no strings attached at china doesn't do the same levels of due diligence that the i m f does. so for example, when the i m f lends money, you have to show that it's sustainable that you will be able to pay back, usually have to reform yourself as well. that's right. you have to do these sort of things. you have to be transparent and how you do the dealings. china doesn't

really care about that. and that's why i mean, even in this particular deals that the, i'm been told a porch is, is in roger boxer. they're in their hometown and shows that, you know, this clearly special in their own interests are being represented here and the i, m f might have had a problem with that for example. so you can sort of see that there's a lot of these different elements at work, but then it's a win win. isn't it full for china or lose lose for sri lanka by, by the sounds of it. what's china going to do about this though? because it could all back fire if, if, if they don't get their money back. that's right. but as we saw the reports on is being quite vague about what they say. they're going to be supportive and, but there aren't really any precedents for them in this. i mean, this is the most severe test that the belgian road initiative has faced sin in the, in the 9 years since it was started am. so to remains it will have to see if they're going to be am, if they're going to really push people. if they're going to start seizing assets, which is what happened in, in sri lanka before with the port. and that would be very serious. it would also be

a big boost for china's regional and strategy of becoming more prominent and of, of increasing its muscle in the region. talking about the region. what about india? one of china's rivals, i, sri lanka, closest neighbor and a big investor as well. yeah, i mean there's a big power play going on between india and china. right now we've seen this in many, in many different areas. add their professing closeness at the moment because they're part of the bricks, grouping with brazil and russia, that they're all sort of, that they're showing this sort of new closeness. but at the back of it, there's still a lot of regional issues between the 2 indians. just overtaken china is the most populous nation in the world, or is about to this year. and so there's a lot of competitive competition between the 2 and india is not really involved in the, in the belgian road initiative. and it's, it's basically wants to push its own interests. so i think that and we're going to see they've, they've given a lot of money to sri lanka, a lot of support. i think we're going to see more of that. and am china is really

going to have to step up if it wants to, to win with this say, you know, this cap to capture sri lanka is hearts and minds is going to have to step up its activities that occurred at thank you very much. and thank you for joining us on d. w. 's, asia. i benches all, and i'll see you at the same time, same place tomorrow. here on the w is the end of the pandemic in site. we show what it could look like will return to normal. and we visit those who are finding it difficult successes and in

a weekly coven 19 special. next on d w. they want to know what makes with love and batting thing with them away. but i'm not even know how to work my own god and everyone with leader holden every day getting are you ready to meet the german then join me, rachel stuart, and d. w. ah ah . there is still many questions surrounding cove in 19. we know that some people are at particular risk, while others never seem to catch it at all. but we don't know why. welcome to our code 19 special. in china attempts to control the virus with strict locked downs and homegrown vaccine.