WEATHER ALERT
Sri Lankans' fury forced the powerful Rajapaksa clan out. Now its heir is running for president
Read full article: Sri Lankans' fury forced the powerful Rajapaksa clan out. Now its heir is running for presidentThe man who is considered the heir apparent to the powerful Rajapaksa family in Sri Lanka will contest the presidential election next week.
What's at stake in Sri Lanka's first presidential vote since its economic meltdown?
Read full article: What's at stake in Sri Lanka's first presidential vote since its economic meltdown?Sri Lanka will hold its presidential election Sept. 21 in a crucial vote that will decide the future course of the South Asian nation still struggling to recover from its economic collapse in 2022, which provoked mass protests and forced the former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and later resign.
Bangladesh protests are not the first time student uprisings have helped bring about radical change
Read full article: Bangladesh protests are not the first time student uprisings have helped bring about radical changeIn Bangladesh, weeks of protests against a quota system for government jobs turned into a broad uprising that forced the prime minister to flee the country and resign.
Heir apparent to Sri Lanka's powerful Rajapaksa family will run in September's presidential election
Read full article: Heir apparent to Sri Lanka's powerful Rajapaksa family will run in September's presidential electionThe man who is considered the heir apparent to the powerful Rajapaksa family in Sri Lanka will contest the presidential election in September.
Sri Lanka will investigate allegations of intelligence complicity in 2019 Easter bombings
Read full article: Sri Lanka will investigate allegations of intelligence complicity in 2019 Easter bombingsSri Lanka's government will appoint a parliamentary committee to investigate allegations made in a British television report that Sri Lankan intelligence had complicity in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 269 people.
Chinese navy ship docks in Sri Lanka, stokes worry in India
Read full article: Chinese navy ship docks in Sri Lanka, stokes worry in IndiaA Chinese navy vessel has arrived at a Beijing-built port in southern Sri Lanka after its port call was earlier delayed due to apparent security concerns raised by India.
Sri Lankans rally against crackdown on protesters
Read full article: Sri Lankans rally against crackdown on protestersHundreds of Sri Lankans have rallied against a government crackdown and the use of emergency laws against peaceful protesters demanding answers to the country’s worst economic crisis.
Group seeks ex-Sri Lankan president's arrest in Singapore
Read full article: Group seeks ex-Sri Lankan president's arrest in SingaporeA human rights group says it has filed a criminal complaint with Singapore’s attorney general to seek the arrest of Sri Lanka's former president for alleged war crimes during his country's civil war.
EXPLAINER: What's happened and what's next in Sri Lanka
Read full article: EXPLAINER: What's happened and what's next in Sri LankaSri Lanka’s president, who had announced he would resign Wednesday, has fled the country after months of turmoil culminated in protesters converging on the presidential palace.
President and PM: 2 men at heart of Sri Lankan crisis
Read full article: President and PM: 2 men at heart of Sri Lankan crisisAs Sri Lanka’s crisis peaked this weekend, two men in the center of the turmoil brought about by the country’s economic collapse promised they would heed the call of tens of thousands of protesters and resign.
Sri Lanka PM invites protesting youth to join governance
Read full article: Sri Lanka PM invites protesting youth to join governanceSri Lanka’s prime minister says protesting youth groups will be invited to be part of governance under political reforms he is proposing to solve the country’s political crisis triggered by an economic collapse.
Sri Lanka police tear gas protesters opposed to president
Read full article: Sri Lanka police tear gas protesters opposed to presidentPolice have used tear gas and a water canon to disperse demonstrators trying to approach Sri Lanka’s president’s office to demand his resignation over the country’s economic crisis.
Sri Lankan protesters include Tamil victims in war memorial
Read full article: Sri Lankan protesters include Tamil victims in war memorialSri Lankan protesters lit flames and offered prayers Wednesday remembering thousands — including ethnic Tamil civilians — killed in the final stages of the country’s decadeslong civil war.
Rajapaksa swears in 4 Cabinet members amid Sri Lanka crisis
Read full article: Rajapaksa swears in 4 Cabinet members amid Sri Lanka crisisSri Lanka's president swore in four new Cabinet ministers Saturday in an effort to ensure stability until a full Cabinet is formed in the island nation engulfed in a political and economic crisis.
Sri Lankan power family falls from grace as economy tanks
Read full article: Sri Lankan power family falls from grace as economy tanksWith one brother president, another prime minister and three more family members cabinet ministers, it appeared that the Rajapaksa clan had consolidated its grip on power in Sri Lanka after decades in and out of government.
Sri Lanka leader vows to shed powers, appoint prime minister
Read full article: Sri Lanka leader vows to shed powers, appoint prime ministerSri Lanka’s president is promising to appoint a new prime minister, empower the Parliament and abolish the all-powerful executive presidential system as reforms to stabilize the country engulfed in a political crisis and violence triggered by the worst economic crises in memory.
Sri Lanka orders troops to shoot those involved in violence
Read full article: Sri Lanka orders troops to shoot those involved in violenceSri Lanka’s defense ministry has ordered security forces to shoot anyone causing injury to people or property to contain widespread arson and mob violence targeting government supporters.
Sri Lankan prime minister resigns after weeks of protests
Read full article: Sri Lankan prime minister resigns after weeks of protestsSri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned following weeks of protests demanding that he and his brother, the president, step down over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.
Lawmaker: Sri Lanka president agrees to remove brother as PM
Read full article: Lawmaker: Sri Lanka president agrees to remove brother as PMA prominent lawmaker says 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 economic crisis.
Rights group demands probe into Sri Lanka police shooting
Read full article: Rights group demands probe into Sri Lanka police shootingAn international human rights group is urging Sri Lankan authorities to conduct a prompt and impartial probe into a police shooting that left one person dead and 13 others injured during protests over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.
Sri Lankan leader promises inquiry into police shooting
Read full article: Sri Lankan leader promises inquiry into police shootingSri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has pledged an impartial and transparent inquiry into a police shooting that left one person dead and 13 others injured during protests over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.
Sri Lankan protesters mark new year near president's office
Read full article: Sri Lankan protesters mark new year near president's officeSri Lankans are sharing milk rice and oil cakes to celebrate their traditional new year opposite President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office where they have camped out for a sixth day demanding his resignation over the worst economic crisis in memory.
Pressure mounts on Sri Lanka leader to quit as crisis grows
Read full article: Pressure mounts on Sri Lanka leader to quit as crisis growsThousands of Sri Lankans have rallied in the country’s main business district and Christian clergy marched in the capital to observe a day of protest calling on the debt-ridden nation’s president to resign.
Sri Lanka president won't resign despite growing protests
Read full article: Sri Lanka president won't resign despite growing protestsA government minister says Sri Lanka’s president will not step down and instead will face the political and economic crisis that has sparked large protests demanding his resignation.
Sri Lanka's sports minister quits, Cabinet offers to resign
Read full article: Sri Lanka's sports minister quits, Cabinet offers to resignSri Lanka’s sports minister and the president’s nephew, Namal Rajapaksa, has resigned from his position amid growing public outrage over the country’s economic crisis and shortages of food, fuel and medicines.
Sri Lankan president declares curfew to preempt protests
Read full article: Sri Lankan president declares curfew to preempt protestsSri Lanka has imposed a countrywide curfew until Monday morning, in addition to a state of emergency declared by the president, in an attempt to prevent more protests blaming the government for the worsening economic crisis.
Sri Lanka seeks Chinese debt restructuring amid crisis
Read full article: Sri Lanka seeks Chinese debt restructuring amid crisisThe president of debt-ridden Sri Lanka has asked China for the restructuring of its loans and access to preferential credit for imports of essential goods, as the island nation struggles in the throes of its worst economic crisis.
Pompeo brings anti-China roadshow to Indian Ocean islands
Read full article: Pompeo brings anti-China roadshow to Indian Ocean islandsU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo greets the gathering before his meeting with Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapksa, right, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Pompeo visited Sri Lanka and the Maldives to press the two countries to be on guard against potential predatory lending and investment by China. Even before Pompeo arrived, China had fired back at the U.S. message, accusing Washington of bullying smaller nations. Gunawardena also appeared unwilling to get involved in the spat with China, and said Sri Lanka is willing to cooperate with all friendly countries. ____Associated Press writer Krishan Francis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, contributed to this report.
Sri Lanka Parliament votes to strengthen presidential power
Read full article: Sri Lanka Parliament votes to strengthen presidential powerSri Lankan trade union and civil society activists hold placards outside the parliament as they protest against a proposed constitution amendment that would consolidate power in the presidents hands in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)COLOMBO – Sri Lanka's Parliament by a large majority has approved a constitutional amendment concentrating powers under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and reversing reforms a previous government had made to curb authoritarianism. The 20th Amendment to the constitution was passed late Thursday with a 91-vote majority with 156 lawmakers in the 225-member Parliament voting in favor. This will pave the way for a sibling who is a U.S. citizen to enter Parliament, further strengthening Rajapaksa family’s hold on Sri Lanka’s political power. Sri Lanka has been ruled under a powerful executive presidential system since 1978 but a reformist government in 2015 clipped much of the president's powers and gave them over to the Parliament and independent commissions, saying successive presidents had been more authoritarian.
Rajapaksa sworn in as PM in Sri Lanka, cementing family rule
Read full article: Rajapaksa sworn in as PM in Sri Lanka, cementing family ruleSri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa greets supporters following his election victory in the general election at his residence in Tangalle, Sri Lanka, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Rajapaksa is likely to be sworn in the same position by his younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, after the vote that could strengthen dynastic rule in the Indian Ocean island nation. Rajapaksa took oath before his younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, at a prominent Buddhist temple on the outskirts of the capital Colombo. He was first elected prime minister in 2004 and again appointed for brief periods in 2018 and 2019. Sri Lanka Peoples Front the party led by the Rajapaksa brothers won 145 seats in the 225-member Parliament in the election last Wednesday.
Rajapaksa brothers win by landslide in Sri Lanka's election
Read full article: Rajapaksa brothers win by landslide in Sri Lanka's election(AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)COLOMBO Sri Lankas powerful Rajapaksa brothers secured a landslide victory in the countrys Parliamentary election, according to results released Friday. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is most likely to be sworn in the same position by his younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The election results could enable them to change the constitution and strengthen dynastic rule. Sri Lanka Peoples Front has secured a resounding victory according to official results released so far, Gotabaya Rajapaksa said in a Twitter message. Sri Lanka has largely contained the spread of the virus with 2,839 confirmed cases, including 11 deaths.
Voting begins in Sri Lanka's parliamentary election
Read full article: Voting begins in Sri Lanka's parliamentary electionCOLOMBO Sri Lankans started voting Wednesday to elect a new Parliament that is expected to give strong support to the powerful and popular Rajapaksa brothers. His older brother, the charismatic former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is seeking a majority of the 225 seats in Parliament to return as prime minister. At least four members of the family are contesting for seats and strong support for the Rajapaksas' party could add to their political dynasty. Sri Lanka has largely contained the spread of the virus with 2,834 confirmed cases including 11 deaths. Voters have been asked to bring their own pens to mark their ballots or a disinfected pen is provided at voting stations.