Tag Archives: Colombo

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. …

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 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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Sri Lankans shrugged off fears of the novel coronavirus and streamed into polling centres on Wednesday to elect a new parliament that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa hopes will clear the way for him to boost his powers. The tourism-dependent island nation of 21 million people has been struggling since deadly Islamist …

Sri Lankan police have not found enough evidence to prove that Islamic State (IS) terrorists were directly involved with the Easter Sunday bombings, the chief investigator said on Wednesday, even though the group had claimed responsibility. The attacks on churches and hotels in Colombo and in the east killed more …

Sri Lanka’s president has reinstated the death penalty for drug-related crimes, and signed death sentences for four people, more than 43 years after the country’s last execution. Maithripala Sirisena announced the policy change on Wednesday, in what some critics say is a politically-motivated move ahead of elections later this year. …

Sri Lanka’s $4.4 billion tourism industry is reeling from cancellations as travelers shun the sun and sand Indian Ocean island after multiple suicide bombings that killed over 250 people two weeks ago. Suspected suicide bombers from little-known Islamic groups in Sri Lanka attacked churches and luxury hotels in the country …