IMF rejects crisis-hit Venezuela’s request for $5 b virus aid

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday rejected economically devastated Venezuela's request for a $5 billion loan to help it cope with the onslaught of coronavirus on the country that an aid agency warned is as prepared as war-torn Syria.

President Nicolas Maduro made the request earlier Tuesday but, in a statement hours later, the Washington-based institution indirectly cited a dispute over Maduro's leadership in denying his petition.