By Uditha Jayasinghe and Sudipto Ganguly COLOMBO (Reuters) -Sri Lankans elected Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake as new president on Sunday, putting faith in his pledge to fight corruption and bolster a fragile economic recovery following the South Asian nation’s worst financial crisis in decades. Dissanayake, 55, who does not possess political lineage like some of his rivals in the presidential election, led from start to finish during the counting of votes, knocking out incumbent President […]
Tag: SriLanka
McDonald’s stores shut in Sri Lanka over poor hygiene case
COLOMBO, March 24, 2024 (AFP) – McDonald’s stores across Sri Lanka shut Sunday after the US fast-food giant launched a legal battle with its local franchise holder over allegations of poor hygiene, court officials said. The Commercial High Court of Colombo ordered the closures until April 4, after the parent company accused the local franchise holder of failing to meet international hygiene standards. “The closure was ordered pending an investigation,” a court official said. He […]
Ottawa stabbing: family of Sri Lankan origin murdered in their home
OTTAWA, March 7, 2024 (AFP) – A 19-year-old student was arrested after four young children and two adults were found dead at a suburban home near Canada’s capital city Ottawa, police said Thursday. Police said they rushed to a home in the Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven after receiving a call at 11:00 pm Wednesday evening (0400 GMT Thursday). At the scene, police discovered the bodies of four children, their 35-year-old mother and a 40-year-old man, […]
Rat on a plane sparks worries for Sri Lanka’s airline
COLOMBO, Feb 27, 2024 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s national airline on Tuesday blamed a rat for grounding a plane for three days, sparking chaotic delays and fears it will scare off investors for the cash-strapped carrier. The stowaway rodent was spotted enjoying the SriLankan Airlines Airbus A330 flight from the Pakistani city of Lahore on Thursday, triggering an aircraft search to ensure it had not chewed through critical components. An airline official said the plane […]
Sri Lanka detains nearly 15,000 in drug crackdown
COLOMBO, Dec 24, 2023 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s police announced Sunday the arrests of nearly 15,000 people during a week-long military-backed anti-narcotics drive, a crackdown denounced by rights activists. Police said their operation, code-named “Yuktiya” or “Justice”, led to the seizure of almost 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of narcotics, including 272 kg of cannabis, 35 kg of hashish and nine kilograms of heroin. Authorities believe the Indian Ocean island is being used as a drug […]
Sri Lankan leader seeks to disarm India’s China fears
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Sri Lanka’s president arrives in India on Thursday for his first visit to the regional powerhouse, with concerns mounting in New Delhi over China’s increasing influence in the strategically placed but financially bankrupt island. New Sri Lankan leaders usually travel to India within a few weeks of taking office, but Ranil Wickremesinghe’s trip comes exactly a year after he became president following the toppling of his predecessor at the height […]
Sri Lanka navy finds 14 bodies in capsized Chinese boat
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, May 24, 2023 (AFP) — Sri Lanka’s navy said Wednesday it had located 14 bodies inside a Chinese fishing boat that had capsized last week with 39 crew on board. The discovery came a day after a preliminary Chinese government probe concluded there were no survivors. The Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 overturned on May 16, with 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesians and five Filipinos on board within Australia’s vast search-and-rescue region, 5,000 […]
Bankrupt Sri Lanka hikes power prices again for IMF deal
Colombo, Sri Lanka | AFP | Thursday 2/16/2023 Sri Lanka’s electricity board hiked consumer rates by up to 275 percent, officials said Thursday, the second steep increase in months as the bankrupt island nation works to secure an IMF bailout. An unprecedented financial crisis last year saw Sri Lanka’s 22 million people suffer through months of food and fuel shortages, along with lengthy power cuts. The government defaulted on its $46 billion foreign debt and […]
Sri Lanka bankruptcy to last until 2026: president
Sri Lanka’s president said Wednesday the island nation will remain bankrupt for at least three more years as he works to repair battered government finances following an unprecedented economic crisis. Ranil Wickremesinghe took office last year at the peak of national unrest sparked by months of food, fuel and medicine shortages. He has since pushed through tax hikes and negotiated with international creditors after a default on Sri Lanka’s foreign debt to clear the way for […]
Sri Lanka widens import ban as economic crisis persists
Colombo, Sri Lanka (AFP) Sri Lanka tightened import restrictions Wednesday with a ban on more than 300 additional items, as an economic crisis that has created months of shortages and toppled a president refuses to abate. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who replaced Gotabaya Rajapaksa after his ouster in July, slapped a ban on goods including home appliances, tools and sports gear. The South Asian island nation of 22 million people has been suffering dire shortages […]
Sri Lankan ex-leader arrives in Bangkok after fleeing protests
Bangkok, Thailand | AFP | Former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday arrived in Bangkok after his visa ran out following a month-long stint in Singapore where he had taken refuge from protesters at home. The deposed leader landed on a private jet at Don Mueang International Airport around 8pm local time (1200 GMT), a senior Thai official said. He left the airport’s VIP section around 40 minutes later with his wife and got […]
Sri Lanka president emails resignation from Singapore: official
Colombo, Sri Lanka | AFP | Thursday 7/14/2022 by Amal JAYASINGHE Sri Lanka’s president submitted his resignation Thursday shortly after reaching Singapore, the parliamentary speaker’s office said, days after the head of state fled protests triggered by his country’s worst-ever economic crisis. Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned by email, the speaker’s spokesman said hours after he landed in the city-state, after protesters overran his palace on the weekend. Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on Wednesday, and left […]
