Sri Lanka: News & Insights

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, left, was apparently eager to settle a dispute over an unpaid bill for fertilizer with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. (Nikkei montage/AP/Reuters)

International relations

Sri Lanka settles $6.9m fertilizer bill with Chinese supplier

President Rajapaksa's tussle with Beijing ends just before Wang Yi's visit

8 January 2022

Sri Lankans must get approval from the Defense Ministry to wed foreigners under a legal rule issued by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's government. (Source photos by Yuji Kuronuma and Reuters)

International relations

Marrying a Sri Lankan? You'll need the Defense Ministry's blessing

Policy aimed at protecting citizens' 'safety' draws widespread ridicule

6 January 2022

A street market in Colombo: Sri Lanka's foreign reserves have been depleted as tourism revenue shrank amid the pandemic.

International relations

Sri Lanka to shut German consulate to save on foreign reserves

Overseas missions in Nigeria and Cyprus also on temporary chopping block

30 December 2021

Sri Lanka plans to pay Iran in tea to settle an oil debt.

Economy

Tea leaves for oil -- Sri Lanka struggles with runaway inflation

Island nation's price increases could act as bellwether for global prices

25 December 2021

Airport staffers carry the arriving remains of Priyantha Kumara, a Sri Lankan slain by a mob in Pakistan's Punjab Province on Dec. 3, at Bandaranaike International Airport on Dec. 6.

International relations

Lynching of foreigner threatens economic recovery in Pakistan

Sri Lankan factory manager was accused of blasphemy by a mob

7 December 2021

Shoppers at a street market in Istanbul on Nov. 18. The country's annual food price inflation came to 27.4% in October.

Commodities

Extreme food prices slam inflation-ridden Turkey and Sri Lanka

Vegetables vanish from dinner tables as price index soars 27%

3 December 2021

The stock market in Sri Lanka continues to climb despite a disconcerted public beset with rising prices and shortages of daily goods. (Source photo by AP)

Market Spotlight

Sri Lankan stocks soar even as economic alarm bells ring

Market tops 11,000 for first time as rupee sinks to new low

29 November 2021

Shipping containers at the main port of Colombo. Sri Lanka's location in the Indian Ocean and its deep harbors have made it strategically important under China's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

International relations

Sri Lanka awards port project to China after dropping Japan, India

Beijing steps up Belt and Road spending with support of friendly president

25 November 2021

Under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka has been printing money at a high rate partly to offset a fall in the tax take following cuts he pledged to gain election. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/Getty Images)

Economy

Sri Lanka's economy seen as a 'ticking time bomb'

Central Bank has been printing money as tax take falls and prices soar

27 October 2021

Yohani Diloka De Silva's song's success offered millions a chance to hear the Sinhala language for the first time. (Photo courtesy of Pettah Effect)

Tea Leaves

When music breaks language barriers

Neglected South Asian tongues can take heart in massive reach of Sinhala popular song

27 October 2021

India once again claims the container terminal deal in Colombo after being dumped by Sri Lanka earlier this year. (Source photos by Yuji Kuronuma and AP)

International relations

Sri Lanka walks India-China tightrope with port deal

Adani Group to build Colombo terminal in $700m agreement

7 October 2021

The European Union will visit Sri Lanka next week to see if a desperately needed trading concession should be suspended because of a recent "U-turn" there on human rights. (Nikkei montage/Reuters)

Trade

Sri Lanka's vital EU trade privileges hang in the balance

Dark human rights record could nix tax-free status in largest export market

25 September 2021

Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa attends an independence day ceremony in Colombo on Feb. 4, 2020.

Politics

Sri Lanka's food emergency heightens fears of militarization

Critics accuse President Rajapaksa of endangering country's democracy

6 September 2021

The legacy of Sri Lanka's civil war looms large in Anuk Arudpragasam's second book, "A Passage North," which has been longlisted for this year’s Booker Prize. (Nikkei montage/Photos courtesy of Granta Books, Ruvin De Silva)

Arts

Book review: Trauma lingers in novel about Sri Lanka's civil war

Young Tamil author ponders human costs of violence and the nature of love

3 September 2021

Wishma Sandamali's sisters hold a news conference at Japan's parliament on Aug. 10 following the release of a report on the circumstances surrounding her March death.

Japan immigration

Sri Lankan's death in Japan exposes disregard for detainee rights

Immigration chief declares end to mandatory detention following probe

18 August 2021

Economy

Sri Lanka's import ban puts hundreds of businesses in jeopardy

Colombo's ad hoc efforts to save forex likely to hamper economy and cost jobs

28 July 2021

The Colombo Port City project in November 2018: China Harbor Engineering Company, the developer, recently won a new highway project that it will own and operate for 18 years.

Belt and Road

China's control over Sri Lankan infrastructure reignites fears

First foreign company to own highway highlights rising Chinese influence

30 June 2021

A member of Sri Lanka's military tries to clear Sarakkuwa Beach, north of Colombo, of pellets from a plastic and chemical spill that has delivered another blow to the country's pandemic-ravaged economy. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara)

Environment

Sri Lanka fishing and tourism sectors drown in new crisis

Plastic pellet and chemical spill fuels fear of seafood and hinders exports

12 June 2021

Bangladesh's image has drastically changed after a decade of strong economic growth.

Economy

Bangladesh helps out cash-strapped Sri Lanka with $200m loan

Former recipient of major foreign aid, Dhaka now has money to lend

7 June 2021

Laborers work in a sewing section of a garment factory in Gazipur on May 2: Bangladesh's economic rise has been powered by the ready-made garment industry,

Opinion

Bangladesh goes from basket case to rising star

Recent success was far from preordained

4 June 2021

Tamil women cry as they hold up images of family members who disappeared during the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, at a protest in Jaffna, about 400 km north of Colombo, in August 2013.

Politics

Sri Lanka remains in 'state of denial' over alleged war crimes

Experts call a UN resolution against Colombo a 'diplomatic fall from grace'

22 April 2021

Signs advertise Colombo Port City: The development is said to give Beijing sweeping powers to oversee projects for the financial hub worth $1.4 billion. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)

International relations

China offers Sri Lanka a lifeline as critics question cost

Yearlong talks yield $500m loan thought to carry 'geopolitical conditions'

20 April 2021

People queue up to have their swab samples tested for COVID-19 in a residential neighborhood in Colombo on Dec. 21.

Tea Leaves

Sri Lanka's cautionary tale of pandemics and sorcery

When the state buys into local superstitions and homemade potions, it makes for an unhappy ending

10 March 2021

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, center, sings the national anthem during Independence Day celebrations in Colombo on Feb. 4. Rajapaksa's government is under pressure ahead of a U.N. Human Rights Council session over issues of accountability for alleged war crimes toward the end of the country's quarter-century long armed conflict in 2009.

Politics

Sri Lanka faces renewed pressure over war crime accountability

Ahead of UN human rights session, high commissioner demands targeted sanctions

10 February 2021

Shipping containers are seen at the main port in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The country's cabinet decided Monday that the East Container Terminal at the port would be wholly owned by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

International relations

Sri Lanka drops India and Japan from port partnership

Surprise unilateral decision follows strikes by labor unions

4 February 2021