Sri Lanka has been grappling with political and economic instability since the end of its 26-year-long civil war 15 years ago. After the pandemic, miles-long lines began appearing for fuel. Power cuts were the daily norm. And even dal (lentils) and fish, daily staples of Sri...
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Sri Lanka ordered thousands of Russians and some Ukrainians staying on extended visas and escaping the war between their two countries to leave within two weeks, coinciding with a backlash over alleged racist policies enacted in Russian-run businesses on the island, the Independent reported this...
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The Sri Lankan Supreme Court issued a symbolic ruling saying that the once-powerful Rajapaksa family, which ruled the nation for nearly two decades, were among those responsible for the worst economic crisis in the country’s history, Agence France-Presse reported. In 2022, Sri Lanka’s economy crashed. As...
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On Easter Sunday in 2019, a series of bomb blasts at churches and luxury hotels rocked Sri Lanka, killing 269 people. Authorities blamed members of the National Thowheeth Jama’ath, a local Islamic State-affiliated terrorist group. A few months later, Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the South Asian island...
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Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka over the weekend, less than two months after he fled the country following mass protests over the nation’s collapsing economy, Voice of America reported. Rajapaksa returned to the capital Colombo from Thailand, where he had been...
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Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in Thursday as president, taking the reins of a country plagued with a deep economic crisis that has sparked massive social unrest, including demands for his resignation, France 24 reported. Wickremesinghe took office a day after Sri Lankan...
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Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was once a war hero, known for crushing the Tamil Tigers and putting an end to a brutal 26-year civil war and setting a course to make the country another Asian Tiger. But last week, he was forced to escape the...
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President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned Thursday after being forced to flee the island because of a civilian uproar over the collapsing economy, Nikkei Asia reported. Earlier this week, Rajapaksa announced he would resign Wednesday after thousands of protesters breached his residence over the weekend in protests against...
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Enraged Sri Lankan protesters stormed the prime minister’s residence after Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country Wednesday, the day he was set to officially resign following months of anti-government demonstrations over Sri Lanka’s dire economic situation, CNN reported. He had announced over the weekend...
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Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa agreed to resign after thousands of protesters stormed his official residence over the weekend amid ongoing public unrest over the country’s collapsing economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Parliamentary Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said Saturday the president intends to step down...
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Sri Lanka’s economy has “completely collapse,” according to the country’s prime minister, who warned that the South Asian island is in such a dire state it cannot pay for essential oil imports, Sky News reported Wednesday. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament Wednesday that the country...
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Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned Monday amid ongoing mass protests that have gripped the country over the worst economic crisis seen since gaining independence from Britain in 1948, BBC reported. Rajapaksa handed in his resignation to his president – and brother – Gotabaya, saying...
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Schoolteacher Agnes Felician has been protesting lately against the policies of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. But she also took to the streets recently to demand justice for the estimated 270 people who died when bombers attacked three churches and numerous hotels in the country in 2019. Since...
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Sri Lanka defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt Tuesday amid an economic crisis that has prompted mass demonstrations demanding the government’s resignation, Agence France-Presse reported. The suspension of payments marks the country’s first default since Sri Lanka became independent in 1948. Officials said that the...
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Several Sri Lankan ministers and officials resigned Monday following ongoing mass demonstrations as the country experiences its worst economic crisis in decades, CNN reported. The Minister of Justice and the Minister of Youth and Sports – the latter who is also President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s nephew –...
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Thousands of Sri Lankans took to the streets of the capital, Colombo, this week to protest against the government’s handling of the economy, as the country faces a deepening economic crisis and potential debt default, the Financial Times reported. Sri Lanka has for months faced a...
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