New Delhi’s historical influence over Colombo looks to be waning in the face of increased investment from Beijing. Should the South Asian island nation pick a side?
In Sri Lanka’s election, an ex-military chief who crushed the Tamil Tigers will battle the son of an assassinated president who hopes to improve menstrual hygiene.
Four years ago, Sri Lanka turned away from the pro-China presidency of Rajapaksa and went in search of US gold. Now a new Rajapaksa is in town, could its gaze be turning back to China?
Muslim ministers have resigned so the government can probe whether any of them were involved in the Easter Sunday bombs that killed more than 200
With few people having positive words for Sri Lanka’s government, the voice of the Archbishop of Colombo seems to be the one that counts in what many now think is a battle against Islamic State.
Some were from wealthy backgrounds, while others received favourable treatment and payments from the government for their business. But all had one thing in common – the ‘necessary mindset’ to carry out the atrocities.
For years, the country’s political elite wilfully overlooked a burgeoning extremist problem that had taken root among the Muslim enclaves of the east – at the cost of hundreds of lives, says Rajpal Abeynayake.
A team from Interpol is helping investigate the attacks as the death toll climbs to 321 and Islamic State claims responsibility.
The government received several warnings about an imminent terror attack by a domestic Islamic extremist group, but action was not taken, an official has admitted.
Beijing’s billion-dollar loan to Colombo for a major infrastructure project is the latest example of battle for influence in Southeast Asia’s Buddhist countries.
Ousted Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed blames political turmoil on a Chinese land grab and calls on India to intervene. Does even he believe this, or is it just a ploy? The neighbours appear to have made up their minds.