Tag Archives: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka appointed a new prime minister on Thursday, a move President Gotabaya Rajapaksa hopes will quell weeks of worsening civil unrest in which at least nine people died this week and more than 300 were injured. Ranil Wickremesinghe, a political veteran who has been prime minister of the island …

Sri Lanka’s defense ministry on Tuesday ordered troops to shoot on sight people involved in looting or damaging property, a day after mobs targeted the homes of ruling-party politicians. “Security forces have been ordered to shoot on sight anyone looting public property or causing harm to life,” the ministry said. …

Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned, following a series of violent confrontations between his supporters and anti-government protesters that saw five people killed and 189 wounded. Rohan Weliwita, Rajapaksa’s spokesman, said on Monday the 76-year-old sent his letter of resignation to his younger brother President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, clearing …

It was Prime Minister Rajapaksa’s first outing since protests erupted amid the country’s worst-ever economic crisis.

Police again fired tear gas and water cannon at students trying to storm Sri Lanka’s parliament Friday as the country was brought to a halt by a trade union strike demanding the government step down.

Sri Lanka’s president has agreed to replace his older brother as prime minister in a proposed interim government to solve a political impasse caused by the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, a prominent lawmaker said Friday. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa agreed that a national council will be appointed to name …

Sri Lanka’s securities commission ordered the Colombo Stock Exchange to be halted next week to give investors time to digest the country’s economic conditions. The board of directors of the stock exchange, along with other stakeholders, had sought a temporary closure of the market, the Securities and Exchange Commission of …

Protesters share milk rice and oil cakes to celebrate the traditional new year near Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office, where they have camped out for six days. Sri Lankans have shared milk rice and oil cakes to celebrate their traditional new year opposite the president’s office, where they have camped out for …

Sri Lanka’s prime minister offered talks on Wednesday with protesters calling for the government to step down over its handling of an economic crisis as the opposition threatened to bring a no-confidence motion against it in parliament. The island nation of 22 million people is in the throes of its …

Hundreds of protesters chanted anti-government slogans and called on the debt-ridden nation’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign, as anxiety and anger over shortages simmered. Sri Lankan protesters have occupied the entrance to the president’s office for a second day, demanding Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign over the debt-ridden country’s worst economic crisis …

Sri Lanka’s main opposition party on Friday asked the government to take effective action to resolve an economic crisis or face a no-confidence motion, as business leaders from garments, tea and other industries warned exports could fall 20 to 30 percent this year. The heavily indebted country has little money …

Heavy rains on Sri Lanka’s coast and in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu have killed at least 25 people, destroyed thousands of homes and snarled traffic, authorities said. In Sri Lanka, 20 people have died in recent days, most from drowning, while five were hurt in landslides, officials …

The man who stabbed seven people at a New Zealand supermarket has been named as Ahamed Samsudeen. The 32-year-old had been assessed by authorities as such a high risk that he was being monitored by up to 30 police officers in the weeks leading up to the attack. Samsudeen, who …

Heavy rain has lashed Sri Lanka triggering floods and landslides that have killed at least 17 people and forced tens of thousands from their homes, officials said on Monday. After days of rain, rivers on the island nation’s southern and western plains overflowed on the weekend, inundating low-lying areas and …

A black box from a ship loaded with chemical and plastic that is sinking off Sri Lanka has been located, officials said Sunday, as investigators probe what caused the vessel to catch fire. The Voyage Data Recorder, also known as a maritime “black box”, enables investigators to review procedures and …

Flash floods and mudslides in Sri Lanka triggered by heavy rains have killed at least three people and left two missings, while more than 5,000 are displaced, officials said Saturday. Rains have been pouring in six districts of the Indian Ocean island nation since Thursday night, and many paddy fields …

A cargo ship carrying tonnes of chemicals is sinking off Sri Lanka’s west coast, the country’s government and navy said on Wednesday, in one of Sri Lanka’s worst-ever marine disasters. The Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl, carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid, along with other chemicals and cosmetics, …

Sri Lanka is facing its worst beach pollution crisis as tons of plastic waste from a burning container ship wash ashore, a senior environment official said Saturday. Fishermen have been banned from an 80-kilometer (50-mile) stretch of coast near the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl as an international firefighting operation went …

On Thursday, Sri Lanka navy spokesman Indika de Silva said the efforts to douse the blaze were continuing. Four tug boats and three Sri Lankan and Indian vessels have joined the operation. The fire erupted May 20 when the ship was anchored about 9.5 nautical miles (18 kilometers) northwest of …

Rescuers have evacuated all crew from a container ship off the coast of Sri Lanka as a fire onboard intensified and two people were injured, a spokesman for the Sri Lankan Navy said on Tuesday. An explosion was reported from within the vessel, Navy spokesman Indika De Silva said, adding …