TOPIC

/ location

Sri Lanka

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Sri Lanka. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Colombo

Head of State

President Ranil Wickremesinghe

Head of Government

President Ranil Wickremesinghe

Prisoners board a bus to be transferred to another prison following clashes between two groups of inmates at Negombo prison in the coastal town of Negombo, Sri Lanka on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Crime

Sri Lanka prison riot kills 26, wounds more than 100

The clash between inmates from two drug gangs is Sri Lanka’s worst prison riot in more than five years.

1 hour ago

Japan

Japan’s detention system under scrutiny after ruling on abuse of restraints

2 Jul 2026 - 4:22PM

Crime

Sri Lanka arrests son of ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa for corruption

17 Jun 2026 - 6:55PM

India

Could India’s Cockroach Janta Party spark South Asia’s next youth uprising?

Analysts say the satirical party reflects real discontent but remains far from matching the movements that toppled neighbouring governments.

14 Jun 2026 - 4:00PMvideocam

A participant wearing a cockroach mask takes part in a nationwide protest campaign launched by Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, in Pune, India, on Thursday. Photo: AP

Sri Lanka nursing home fire kills 12

51 people were rescued from the facility and the home’s director has been arrested.

4 Jun 2026 - 6:09PM

Crime

Sri Lanka’s top monk suspended over alleged child sex abuse

Police arrested the 71-year-old on May 9 over allegations that he had sexually abused an 11-year-old girl in 2022.

30 May 2026 - 8:30PM

US-China relations

US agency goes back to the future to take on China’s Belt and Road Initiative

The US International Development Finance Corp mixes national security and foreign investment in its supply chain quest.

30 May 2026 - 8:00PMvideocam

The US International Development Finance Corp, an agency set up to rival China’s Belt and Road Initiative, has invested US$553 million to revamp the Lobito Atlantic Railway. Photo: AFP

China-India relations

What India’s ‘unsinkable aircraft carrier’ near Malacca means for its China ties

Uncertainty over Strait of Hormuz amid US-Iran conflict has New Delhi moving on US$10 billion plan to transform Great Nicobar Island.

28 May 2026 - 5:21PMvideocam

Cambodia

The great scam migration: fraudsters fleeing Cambodia find a new hub

Criminal gangs are setting up in rented spaces ranging from luxury villas to office complexes, thanks to cheap visas and fast internet.

18 May 2026 - 11:12AMvideocam

Climate change

‘Godzilla El Nino’: Southeast Asia warned of punishing climate whiplash

Experts warn the heat could increase the risk of localised flooding, put pressure on drainage systems and threaten agricultural production.

13 May 2026 - 4:10PM

A man shields his face from the sunlight as he leaves a train station in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 29. Photo: AFP

Crime

Sri Lankan Buddhist monk arrested over alleged sex abuse of girl, 11

Pallegama Hemarathana, 71, is the most senior monk in the country to be accused of such a crime. The child’s mother has also been arrested.

9 May 2026 - 11:27PM

Senior Sri Lankan Buddhist monk Pallegama Hemarathana. File photo: AFP

Airbus

Ex-SriLankan Airlines head in US$16 million Airbus corruption case found dead

Kapila Chandrasena was arrested in March on charges of conspiring to accept a US$16 million bribe for the purchase of 10 Airbus aircraft.

8 May 2026 - 3:11PM

Indonesia

‘I started crying’: Indonesian captain’s wife in agony over pirate attack

Captain Ashari Samadikun had sent a chilling warning to his wife before his fuel tanker was hijacked by pirates last month.

6 May 2026 - 7:49PMvideocam

Asean

Opinion | Asia must unite to avert an Iran war food crisis

The energy and fertiliser shocks come amid crucial planting windows for Asia’s farmers, exposing the region’s dire dependencies.

6 May 2026 - 4:30PMvideocam

A farm worker sprays fertiliser on a paddy field at Sabak Bernam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on April 1. Conflict in the Middle East has driven up prices of energy, fertiliser and food production. Photo: EPA

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Elephant in room: can Sri Lanka’s ‘world’s emptiest airport’ attract investors?

Since opening in 2013, Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport has failed to generate enough revenue to cover even its electricity bills.

30 Apr 2026 - 4:50PM

Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in Sri Lanka. Photo: Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport

Drugs

Sri Lanka arrests 22 monks with US$3.5 million worth of cannabis in record haul

Each monk was found with 5kg of kush concealed within false walls in his luggage at Colombo airport.

27 Apr 2026 - 2:46PM

India

Chinese drone discovery sharpens focus on Asia’s undersea security race

Experts say India is playing ‘steady catch-up’ in boosting undersea surveillance, while Southeast Asian nations’ capabilities differ widely.

24 Apr 2026 - 7:27PM

US, Israel war on Iran

Why US tanker blockades are raising risks for Southeast Asian strait controllers

The bigger risk is not of the Iran war spilling into their waters, but the strain of operating in more contested sea lanes, analysts say.

24 Apr 2026 - 3:10PMvideocam

Guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy patrols the Arabian Sea during a maritime blockade on April 15. Photo: US Navy/AFP

Malaysia

US intercepts Iranian tankers near India, Malaysia amid Hormuz tensions

The vessels were ordered to move away from their positions as Washington and Tehran intensify their stand-off over the waterway.

23 Apr 2026 - 10:27AMvideocam

Food and agriculture

Asia braces for food shortages as ‘super El Nino’ and Iran war collide

A precarious planting season looms amid suppressed rainfall and soaring fertiliser costs threatening the region’s harvests.

22 Apr 2026 - 5:06PM

US, Israel war on Iran

Asia’s energy supply at breaking point as US blockades Hormuz

Nearly 90 per cent of the region’s crude oil is now at risk as stalled peace talks and a naval stand-off raise the spectre of stagflation.

14 Apr 2026 - 6:09PM

A liquefied natural gas tanker is seen at a port in Yokohama, Japan’s Kanagawa prefecture, on April 8. Photo: AFP

US, Israel war on Iran

UN warns 8 million in Asia-Pacific risk poverty if Iran war drags on

A new UNDP report has forecast job losses, crippling inflation and food insecurity, with the poorest nations brutally exposed to the oil shock.

14 Apr 2026 - 5:26PM

A farmer sprinkles fertiliser on crops in a field on the outskirts of Amritsar, India, on April 9. Experts have warned that the fertiliser crunch across Asia-Pacific may have lasting effects. Photo: AFP

The Philippines

Manila vs Hong Kong: the 2 sides of Asia’s housing affordability crisis

Asia is home to 60 per cent of the world’s slum dwellers and some of the planet’s most expensive real estate.

12 Apr 2026 - 4:00PMvideocam

US, Israel war on Iran

Fuel, food and fury: how the Iran war could topple South Asian governments

Analysts warn the crisis is threatening to spill over into wider economic and political instability.

5 Apr 2026 - 1:30PM

Scams and swindles

Cambodia’s high-stakes war on online scam compounds

Cambodia has vowed to stamp out the scam compounds on its soil by month’s end – but perpetrators remain drawn to the potential for huge profits.

4 Apr 2026 - 6:22AMvideocam

Cybersecurity

152 arrested in Sri Lanka in alleged Chinese-run cyberscam

Among those arrested in a raid on a hotel rented by Chinese men in the coastal town of Chilaw were 133 Chinese people.

3 Apr 2026 - 11:23PMvideocam

Over 150 people, including 133 Chinese, have been arrested in Sri Lanka in relation to alleged cybercrime. File image: AFP

Iran

Sri Lanka’s refusal to host US warplanes before Iran war risks trade backlash

Trying to keep conflict at arm’s length by distancing itself from the US could bring Sri Lanka’s economy ‘to its knees’, analysts say.

25 Mar 2026 - 5:31PMvideocam

Diplomacy

Opinion | Look East? South Asia’s fate is far more intertwined with Middle East

Beyond oil, remittances and cultural ties, trade and defence pacts in recent years have added to strategic and security interconnectedness.

24 Mar 2026 - 9:04AMvideocam

Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.

SUPPORT NOW

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka prison riot kills 26, wounds more than 100

The clash between inmates from two drug gangs is Sri Lanka’s worst prison riot in more than five years.

Japan’s detention system under scrutiny after ruling on abuse of restraints

Sri Lanka arrests son of ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa for corruption

Could India’s Cockroach Janta Party spark South Asia’s next youth uprising?

Analysts say the satirical party reflects real discontent but remains far from matching the movements that toppled neighbouring governments.

Sri Lanka nursing home fire kills 12

51 people were rescued from the facility and the home’s director has been arrested.

Sri Lanka’s top monk suspended over alleged child sex abuse

Police arrested the 71-year-old on May 9 over allegations that he had sexually abused an 11-year-old girl in 2022.

US agency goes back to the future to take on China’s Belt and Road Initiative

The US International Development Finance Corp mixes national security and foreign investment in its supply chain quest.

What India’s ‘unsinkable aircraft carrier’ near Malacca means for its China ties

Uncertainty over Strait of Hormuz amid US-Iran conflict has New Delhi moving on US$10 billion plan to transform Great Nicobar Island.

The great scam migration: fraudsters fleeing Cambodia find a new hub

Criminal gangs are setting up in rented spaces ranging from luxury villas to office complexes, thanks to cheap visas and fast internet.

‘Godzilla El Nino’: Southeast Asia warned of punishing climate whiplash

Experts warn the heat could increase the risk of localised flooding, put pressure on drainage systems and threaten agricultural production.

Sri Lankan Buddhist monk arrested over alleged sex abuse of girl, 11

Pallegama Hemarathana, 71, is the most senior monk in the country to be accused of such a crime. The child’s mother has also been arrested.

Ex-SriLankan Airlines head in US$16 million Airbus corruption case found dead

Kapila Chandrasena was arrested in March on charges of conspiring to accept a US$16 million bribe for the purchase of 10 Airbus aircraft.

‘I started crying’: Indonesian captain’s wife in agony over pirate attack

Captain Ashari Samadikun had sent a chilling warning to his wife before his fuel tanker was hijacked by pirates last month.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Opinion | Asia must unite to avert an Iran war food crisis

The energy and fertiliser shocks come amid crucial planting windows for Asia’s farmers, exposing the region’s dire dependencies.

Elephant in room: can Sri Lanka’s ‘world’s emptiest airport’ attract investors?

Since opening in 2013, Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport has failed to generate enough revenue to cover even its electricity bills.

Sri Lanka arrests 22 monks with US$3.5 million worth of cannabis in record haul

Each monk was found with 5kg of kush concealed within false walls in his luggage at Colombo airport.

Chinese drone discovery sharpens focus on Asia’s undersea security race

Experts say India is playing ‘steady catch-up’ in boosting undersea surveillance, while Southeast Asian nations’ capabilities differ widely.

Why US tanker blockades are raising risks for Southeast Asian strait controllers

The bigger risk is not of the Iran war spilling into their waters, but the strain of operating in more contested sea lanes, analysts say.

US intercepts Iranian tankers near India, Malaysia amid Hormuz tensions

The vessels were ordered to move away from their positions as Washington and Tehran intensify their stand-off over the waterway.

Asia braces for food shortages as ‘super El Nino’ and Iran war collide

A precarious planting season looms amid suppressed rainfall and soaring fertiliser costs threatening the region’s harvests.

Asia’s energy supply at breaking point as US blockades Hormuz

Nearly 90 per cent of the region’s crude oil is now at risk as stalled peace talks and a naval stand-off raise the spectre of stagflation.

UN warns 8 million in Asia-Pacific risk poverty if Iran war drags on

A new UNDP report has forecast job losses, crippling inflation and food insecurity, with the poorest nations brutally exposed to the oil shock.

Manila vs Hong Kong: the 2 sides of Asia’s housing affordability crisis

Asia is home to 60 per cent of the world’s slum dwellers and some of the planet’s most expensive real estate.

Fuel, food and fury: how the Iran war could topple South Asian governments

Analysts warn the crisis is threatening to spill over into wider economic and political instability.

Cambodia’s high-stakes war on online scam compounds

Cambodia has vowed to stamp out the scam compounds on its soil by month’s end – but perpetrators remain drawn to the potential for huge profits.

152 arrested in Sri Lanka in alleged Chinese-run cyberscam

Among those arrested in a raid on a hotel rented by Chinese men in the coastal town of Chilaw were 133 Chinese people.

Sri Lanka’s refusal to host US warplanes before Iran war risks trade backlash

Trying to keep conflict at arm’s length by distancing itself from the US could bring Sri Lanka’s economy ‘to its knees’, analysts say.

Opinion | Look East? South Asia’s fate is far more intertwined with Middle East

Beyond oil, remittances and cultural ties, trade and defence pacts in recent years have added to strategic and security interconnectedness.

Opinion | Asia must unite to avert an Iran war food crisis