Politics

Sri Lankan government health workers protest over the lack of critical supplies near the national hospital in Colombo on April 6.
Politics

Sri Lanka hospitals issue SOS as vital drugs, equipment run out

Doctors warn deaths could exceed COVID and other disasters combined

12 April 2022
Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family have become the focus of public anger over the country's worsening economic crisis. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/EPA/Jiji)
Politics

Sri Lanka rages against the Rajapaksas: 5 things to know

President 'Terminator' hangs on as protests evoke last days of Suharto

7 April 2022
A rainbow over the Colombo Port City site in 2019: Optimism surrounding the new slab of real estate in the heart of the Indian Ocean clashes with Sri Lanka's grim economic picture.
International relations

Sri Lanka's China-built isle beckons as economy sinks

Port City Colombo catches eyes in Hong Kong and beyond, but turmoil poses risks

5 April 2022
Protesters demand the resignation of Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his relatives in Colombo on April 4.
Politics

Sri Lanka unity cabinet offer fails to quell anti-Rajapaksa revolt

Opposition snubs invitation as thousands in economic pain take to streets

4 April 2022
A Sri Lankan Special Task Force member stops vehicles at a checkpoint in Colombo on April 3, after the government imposed a curfew.
Politics

Sri Lanka anger swells under Rajapaksa's curfew, internet curbs

Plagued by power outages and goods shortages, citizens vow to step up protests

3 April 2022
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa presided over the 74th Independence Day celebrations last month in Colombo. His popularity has plummeted as Sri Lanka remains enslaved to economic mismanagement and in need of its 17th IMF lifesaver.  
Economy

Public rage boils as Sri Lanka fumbles with faltering economy

IMF warns of worse to come as South Asian nation fights shy of 17th bailout

12 March 2022
The garment industry brought in more than $4 billion in export revenue last year, over half of which came from European orders.
International relations

Sri Lanka's harsh anti-terrorism law leaves garment makers hanging

EU threatens to pull lucrative trade preferences over human rights concerns

3 March 2022
The nationalistic policies of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa have resulted in food shortages as his government struggles under a growing pile of foreign debt.
Asia Insight

Sri Lanka faces food shortages and a meager New Year

Organic agriculture stunts crop yields, forcing lean times on debt-ridden nation

1 March 2022
Ceylon Petroleum Corp.'s oil refinery in Colombo. The CPC along with the government is overwhelmed by debt, giving India an entry point back into the strategically located island nation. (Source photo by Reuters/AP)
International relations

India gains foothold in Sri Lanka with Trincomalee oil tank deal

Debt-ridden island nation helps to fulfill decades-old hope for New Delhi

28 January 2022
A man counts change at a gas station on Oct. 18, 2021, in Colombo. 
Economy

Dollar drought leaves Sri Lanka groping in the dark

Oil in short supply, basic necessities grow scarce as foreign reserves dwindle

22 January 2022
A man counts Sri Lankan rupee notes at a currency exchange shop in Colombo, Sri Lanka. A U.S. dollar can fetch about 40 more rupees on the streets than at banks.
Economy

Sri Lanka pays foreign debt at expense of domestic economy

Drop in tourism income and migrant worker remittances squeeze government income

18 January 2022
Sri Lankan rupee banknotes sit in a bucket at a fruit stall in Colombo. The country is running out of imported food, fuel, medicine and a key ingredient of milk tea.
Economy

Sri Lanka economists tell government to default on bond, buy food

$500m should be redirected to pay for fuel, medicine and other essentials, experts say

15 January 2022
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, center, tours the Colombo Port City project during his visit to Sri Lanka on Jan. 9.
Belt and Road

China presses economic buttons to deepen Indian Ocean clout

Wang Yi's tour of Sri Lanka, Maldives and others sends message to India and U.S.

12 January 2022
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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