Sri Lanka

Cultural artifacts are handed back to Indonesia during a ceremony in Leiden, Netherlands, Monday, July 10, 2023. The Netherlands and Indonesia on Monday have hailed the return of hundreds of cultural artifacts taken, sometimes by force, during colonial times as a major step forward in restitution efforts worldwide.

The Dutch are returning looted artifacts to Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Does it matter?

5:45am July 11, 2023

by Ashley Westerman

Two Dutch museums returned nearly 500 cultural objects to Indonesia and Sri Lanka that were looted during the colonial era, including gold and silverware, statues, weapons and hundreds of artworks.

Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka holds his book The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida at the Shaw Theatre in London on Oct. 14. On Monday, his novel won the 2022 Booker Prize.

Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka wins 2022 Booker Prize

5:48pm October 17, 2022

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

The prestigious award was given to The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, which the judges hailed as "a searing, mordantly funny satire set amid the murderous mayhem of a Sri Lanka beset by civil war."

A motorcade believed to be conveying Sri Lanka's former president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, leaves the Bandaranaike International airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Saturday.

World News

Sri Lanka's ousted president returns home after fleeing

6:59am September 03, 2022

by The Associated Press

Sri Lanka's former president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled the country in July after tens of thousands of protesters stormed his home and office in a display of anger over the country's economic crisis.

World Bank senior mission chief Peter Breuer, right, speaks with Masahiro Nozaki, mission chief for Sri Lanka, by his side during a media conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022.

World News

IMF set to provide $2.9 billion to help crisis-hit Sri Lanka

4:08am September 01, 2022

by The Associated Press

The International Monetary Fund will provide Sri Lanka $2.9 billion over four years to help salvage the country from its worst economic crisis under a preliminary agreement the agency announced

People welcoming China's ship Yuan Wang 5 wave Chinese and Sri Lankan flags at Sri Lanka's Hambantota International Port in Sri Lanka, Aug. 16.

Why a Chinese ship's arrival in Sri Lanka has caused alarm in India and the West

11:01am August 19, 2022

by Lauren Frayer

A Chinese survey ship docked this week at the Hambantota port, built with Chinese loans. Some worry the ship's arrival may signal the start of militarization of Chinese infrastructure in Sri Lanka.

Queue Listen Now

Police officers stand guard as people wait in queue to buy petrol at a fuel station, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 17, 2022.

World News

In Sri Lanka, inflation means food shortages, blackouts — and days-long lines for gas

6:55am August 03, 2022

Sri Lanka offers a cautionary tale for countries struggling with inflation. Anger over fuel lines spilled into the streets and toppled a government. Will nationalism surge, or unity prevail?

Police commandos stand guard at a barricade outside president's office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Friday.

World News

Rights groups are urging Sri Lanka not to use force against protesters

5:24am July 23, 2022

by The Associated Press

Groups are urging the new president to order security forces to cease use of force against protesters who have been demonstrating against the government over the economic crisis.

Army soldiers arrive to remove protesters and their tents from the site of a protest camp outside the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Friday.

World News

Rajapaksa ally named Sri Lanka's prime minister after capital protest site cleared

2:30am July 22, 2022

by The Associated Press

Sri Lankans have taken to the streets for months demanding their leaders resign over the economic crisis. The protests forced out former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week.

A man walks past a security point outside president's official residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Friday.

World News

Sri Lanka begins to choose a leader to replace the ex-president

3:44am July 16, 2022

by The Associated Press

Sri Lankan lawmakers met Saturday to begin choosing a new leader to serve the rest of the term abandoned by the president who fled and resigned after mass protests over the country's economic crisis.

Sri Lanka's Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana speaks during a press conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, July 15, 2022.

World News

The naming of an interim president puts an end to a political dynasty in Sri Lanka

4:57am July 15, 2022

by The Associated Press

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka's interim president until Parliament elects a successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned after mass protests forced him from office.