NEWSWORTHY
Mahinda Rajapaksa vows January snap election called by Sri Lankan president will go ahead
Sri Lanka's former strongman leader Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday vowed snap elections will go ahead to "seek a mandate from the people" after the president's sacking of parliament plunged the country deeper into political turmoil. President Maithripala Sirisena triggered the crisis two weeks ago by ...
Sri Lankan president dissolves Parliament amid deepening crisis
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has dissolved Parliament and called for fresh elections amid a deepening political crisis. An official notification signed by Sirisena announced the dissolution of Parliament effective midnight Friday. It said the names of candidates will be called before Nov. 26, and ...
Attempts to win over MP defectors intensified in Sri Lanka's constitutional crisis Saturday amid growing pressure to let the suspended parliament hold a vote on the two rivals who each claim to be prime minister. Ousted premier Ranil Wickremesinghe has refused to accept his sacking ...
Sri Lanka's strongman is back, and he's brought his family too
In a compound secured by the Sri Lankan elite special task force that protects the island nation's top leaders, beneath framed photos of himself in army uniform, the brother of newly installed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is mulling a presidential run. "I'm not interested in ...
The speaker of Sri Lanka's Parliament warned Monday of a possible bloodbath if the body is not summoned immediately to resolve a deepening political crisis following the president's sacking of the prime minister. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya's comments came hours after dismissed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe ...
The outcome of the political struggle in Sri Lanka will have international repercussions.
Turmoil in Sri Lanka could lead to closer China ties
A suspension of Parliament by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena deepens a power struggle that has led to the return of former strongman President Mahinda Rajapaksa and could herald closer ties with China. On Friday evening, Sirisena unexpectedly dismissed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed ...
After sacking prime minister, Sri Lankan president suspends parliament as political rift deepens
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday suspended parliament until Nov. 16, a day after removing Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister and replacing him with former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa in a surprise move that signals escalating political tensions in the South Asian nation. "The president ...
Japan's biggest warship visits Sri Lanka amid rise in Chinese military clout
Japan's largest warship, the Kaga helicopter carrier, sailed into Sri Lanka's Colombo harbor this weekend, marking Tokyo's highest profile salvo in a diplomatic battle with China for influence along the region's vital commercial sea lanes. Japan has long provided low-interest loans and aid to Sri ...
'Once-a-century' rains that have killed more than 1,200 people across South Asia and displaced 1.3 million people are in line with predictions say climate scientists, who warn that worse is to come if global warming continues unabated. The monsoon rains upon which farmers in the ...
Japan vows to help boost Sri Lanka maritime security as China makes inroads
Japan has pledged to help strengthen Sri Lanka's maritime security, authorities said Tuesday, in a new sign of efforts to counter China's strategic grip on the Indian Ocean island. President Maithripala Sirisena thanked Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera for donating two coast guard patrol craft ...
China's silk road isn't turning out to be smooth
Skeptics' warnings about the "Belt and Road" initiative are beginning to come true.
