Amidst escalating regional tensions, Sri Lanka is carefully considering its response after a second Iranian ship requested entry into its waters following a reported US submarine attack on an Iranian frigate near Galle.
Sri Lanka is deliberating appropriate action after a second Iranian ship sought entry to its territorial waters, following an attack on an Iranian frigate near the island nation. The government is focused on safeguarding lives and regional peace.
Sri Lanka has allowed a second Iranian ship, IRINS Bushehr, to dock at Trincomalee port after it reported engine failure, following the sinking of an Iranian frigate. The move comes amidst heightened regional tensions and a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran.
Glimpses from Sri Lanka's presidential election, the first polls since the island's economic crisis, in Colombo and Jaffna, September 21, 2024.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka's ninth president on Monday, amid hopes that he will bolster the country's economy and eliminate corruption.
Sri Lanka's National People's Power of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Friday swept the parliamentary elections by winning a two-thirds majority, and also dominating the Jaffna electoral district -- the heartland of the nation's Tamil minority.
'If there is a push towards a Marxist oriented government it will be dangerous.' 'We have seen this in Nepal and Myanmar and it will be a concern for India if it is surrounded by countries with such political dispensations.'
'The Indian government is better prepared this time and has reached out to all contenders and not putting all eggs in one basket.'
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna's (JVP) broader front National People's Power (NPP), on Sunday consolidated his lead in the Sri Lanka's presidential election.
Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe on Sunday slammed Sri Lanka Cricket for bidding for a ban from the ICC, calling it a "big betrayal of the country".
Sri Lanka's parliament unanimously passed a resolution on Thursday, calling for the sacking of the country's cricket governing body, with both the ruling and opposition parties supporting it.
"International Cricket Council Board has suspended Sri Lanka Cricket's membership of the ICC with immediate effect," read a statement from the ICC.
For India to view the new Sri Lankan leadership only through the prism of the past or through their narrow view on China, is fraught with possibilities that should be avoided, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The 73-year-old United National Party was appointed as the prime minister by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after they held closed-door discussions on Wednesday.
The Sri Lankan Parliament is all set to elect the successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a three-way presidential contest on Wednesday, following a high-voltage political drama which saw the former president fleeing the country and resigning after a popular uprising against his government for mismanaging the economy.
A top Sri Lankan official, who claimed before a parliamentary panel that Prime Minister Narendra Modi allegedly influenced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to award a wind power project to the Adani Group in this island nation, resigned on Monday, a day after retracting his earlier statement.
Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected Trudeau's statements, asserting that they contained outrageous claims of genocide relating to past conflicts in the country.
Sri Lankans celebrated Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation as president, but they will understandably be concerned about the outcome of Wednesday's presidential election.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is under pressure to resign, was dealt a further blow on Wednesday when three more parliamentarians withdrew their support to the government.
There have been growing calls for President Rajapaksa's resignation over the past few weeks over his government's mishandling of Sri Lanka's worsening economic crisis.
Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The 225-member Parliament will elect the new president by a secret vote on July 20, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said on Friday.
Sanath Jayasuriya is both 'angry' and 'sad' to witness his beloved Sri Lanka grapple with enormous financial crisis and civil unrest but the former cricketer is expecting that democracy will soon be restored in the island nation.
Sri Lanka's main opposition party Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) on Monday said it is ready to lead the next government to bring stability to the bankrupt island nation as it grapples with political and economic crises and any resistance to the move in Parliament will be seen as a 'treacherous act'.
In a televised address to the nation, Mahinda, who is under growing pressure to quit due to the worst economic crisis facing the island nation, said that he understands the people's sufferings.
After nearly two days of political deadlock, the stakeholders are engaged in prolonged talks to try and appoint a successor to Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Despite mounting pressure, Gotabaya, and Prime Minister Mahinda have refused to quit office.
Wickremesinghe is the first Sri Lankan president to be elected by Parliament following a vote.
Ranil Wickremesinghe was on Wednesday elected as Sri Lanka's new President by Parliament, in a rare move that could provide continuity for ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout for the cash-strapped nation but a development likely to anger anti-government protesters who have been demanding his resignation from office for weeks.
The violence occurred following reports on Monday that Mahinda Rajapksa may offer to stand down as Prime Minister.
Parliament met for a brief special session on Saturday to announce the vacancy in the presidency following the resignation of Rajapaksa.
Sajith Premadasa, the 55-year-old leader of Sri Lanka's principal opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya, said on Tuesday that he was withdrawing from the race of President to provide support to Alahapperuma.
Sri Lanka's former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is the youngest brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was stopped from boarding a flight to Dubai on Monday evening, local media reported.
During the 13-minute special session, Dhammika Dassanayake, ecretary general of Parliament, announced the vacancy for the post of president.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Monday, hours after his supporters attacked anti-government protesters outside embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office, leaving at least 78 people injured and prompting authorities to impose a nationwide curfew and deploy army troops in the capital.
Sri Lankans were on the edge on Tuesday as they waited whether embattled Gotabaya Rajapaksa will honour his offer to resign as president, amid signs that key members of the erstwhile powerful ruling family were attempting to flee in the face of massive public anger against them for mishandling the economy that has bankrupt the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Rajapaksa and said he looks forward to further deepen relations between the two nations.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday fired Basil Rajapaksa from his post and invited the Opposition parties to join a unity Cabinet to tackle the raging public anger against the hardships caused by the economic crisis.
Sri Lanka's Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday imposed emergency giving him sweeping powers ahead of the key election on July 20 to pick a new President as he urged the political parties to put aside differences and form an all-party government, with the Opposition dubbing his decision as an 'undemocratic draconian act'.
The two brothers led a decisive campaign that helped end the island nation's three decade long civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
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