Latest Sri Lanka News
Sri Lanka deploys troops as the railway workers' strike worsens
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka's government deployed army troops at railroad stations as railway employees continued with their strike that paralyzed train services across the country for a second day Wednesday, a day after two passengers were killed while attempting to travel on a packed...
Sri Lanka's president will appoint a committee to probe allegations of complicity in 2019 bombings
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president said Sunday he will appoint a committee chaired by a retired Supreme Court judge to investigate allegations made in a British television report that the South Asian country’s intelligence was complicit in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that...
Sri Lanka's ruling coalition defeats a no-confidence motion against the health minister
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition on Friday defeated a no-confidence motion against the country's health minister who has been accused of allegedly failing to secure enough essential drugs and laboratory equipment that some say resulted in preventable deaths in hospitals. ...
Sri Lanka will investigate allegations of intelligence complicity in 2019 Easter bombings
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s government will appoint a parliamentary committee to investigate allegations made in a British television report that officials with the South Asian country's intelligence had complicity in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 269 people, including...
Sri Lanka parliament debates the health minister's fate over reports of lack of drugs, hospital care
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan lawmakers began a debate on the fate of country's health minister on Wednesday, seeking to remove him over his alleged failure to secure enough essential drugs and laboratory equipment that some say resulted in preventable deaths in hospitals. ...
Sri Lankan president vows to strengthen provincial governments to share power with Tamil minority
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president said Wednesday he will strengthen provincial governments to meet long-standing demands for self-rule from the ethnic Tamil minority, an issue that led to a bloody quarter-century civil war in the island nation. The provincial...
Booker Prize semifinalists include 4 Irish writers, 4 debut novelists
LONDON (AP) — Author Sebastian Barry, who has received four previous nominations for the Booker Prize and twice been shortlisted for it, was one of four Irish writers Tuesday to make the long list of semifinalists for the prestigious award. Barry is up this year for his novel...
With one eye on China, Japan backs Sri Lanka as a partner in the Indo-Pacific
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Saturday that Sri Lanka is a key partner in a Tokyo-led initiative aimed at building security and economic cooperation around the Indo-Pacific but also at countering an increasingly assertive China. Sri...
French President Macron visits his counterpart in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron held discussions with his Sri Lankan counterpart Saturday on an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region in the first-ever visit by a French leader to the Indian Ocean island nation. As the fourth-largest creditor to Sri...
Crisis-hit Sri Lanka may allow Indian rupee to be used in local transactions
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka is considering the possibility of allowing the use of the Indian rupee for local transactions, as the island nation struggles to build its depleted foreign reserves and to emerge from last year’s unprecedented economic crisis. Sri Lankan...
