A fortnight after Sri Lanka switched to a new visa issuing system, authorities are facing a backlash over higher visa costs that could deter tourists, “Indian involvement”, and “corruption” in the subject minister’s push to outsource visa processing. Beginning April 17, 2024, Sri Lanka’s Department of Immigration and Emigration directed travellers to a new visa … Read more
The New Wings activists take part in a silent protest demanding justice of the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide attack, in Colombo on April 20, 2024. | Photo Credit: AFP Sri Lanka marks on April 21 five years since Islamist bombers slaughtered 279 people in the island’s deadliest suicide attack, but grieving families say they are … Read more
A view of Katchatheevu in Sri Lanka. | Photo Credit: L. Balachandar Sri Lanka’s Cabinet has not discussed the Katchatheevu issue so far as it was never raised, a government spokesman said in Colombo on April 2, after India’s ruling BJP blamed the Congress for ceding the tiny island to Colombo in 1974. “The Cabinet … Read more
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, ousted as the president of Sri Lanka in a popular public uprising in 2022, on Thursday hinted that India was keen on his continuation despite the growing public discontent against him at the behest of certain Western powers. “There was, in fact, a major foreign power that was insisting that I should not … Read more
Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay has completed a three-day visit to Sri-Lanka. | Photo Credit: AP The Indian envoy here has visited Sri Lanka’s Northern Province to emphasise New Delhi’s abiding commitment to the development and well-being of the people of the country through enhanced development cooperation and expanded economic partnership. Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay … Read more
Chinese research ship Shiyan 6 is seen berthed at Colombo harbor, Sri Lanka, on October 26, 2023. | Photo Credit: AP Chinese research vessel Shiyan 6, which arrived in Colombo last week amid concerns raised by India and the United States, is set to begin its two-day research off the Sri Lankan coast today, Sri … Read more
Former President Maithripala Sirisena has paid the first instalment of 15 million Sri Lankan Rupees as compensation to the victims of the Easter terror attacks in 2019 | file photo | Photo Credit: AP Ahead of a deadline set by Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court, Former President Maithripala Sirisena has paid the first instalment of 15 … Read more
Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe attends the country’s 75th Independence Day celebrations in Colombo, Sri Lanka on February 4, 2023. | Photo Credit: Reuters Sri Lanka marked its 75th independence anniversary on Saturday as a bankrupt nation, with many citizens angry, anxious and in no mood to celebrate. Many Buddhists and Christian clergy had announced … Read more
Image used for representative purpose only. File | Photo Credit: Reuters Sri Lanka began a fresh austerity drive on Monday, freezing government recruitment as new taxes and higher electricity prices kicked in with authorities trying to secure an IMF bailout. The Indian Ocean island nation needs to achieve debt sustainability as a precondition to a … Read more
Sri Lankan Opposition legislator Shanakiyan Rasamanickam. File | Photo Credit: Twitter/@ShanakiyanR Sri Lankan Opposition legislator Shanakiyan Rasamanickam has threatened to launch a “China go home” campaign, akin to the ‘Gota go home’ movement that ousted the former President in the wake of the island’s painful economic crash. The popular 32-year-old MP, among the few Sri … Read more