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Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka
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
Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force (STF) personnel stand guard outside the Negombo prison near Colombo on July 6, 2026 following overnight clashes between inmates and guards. Clashes in a Sri Lankan jail have killed 23 people, including four guards, and wounded more than 100 in the country’s deadliest prison riot in more than five years, officials said July 6. (Photo by Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP)

Video | Sri Lankan prison riot kills dozens, over 100 wounded

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

Crime

Sri Lanka probes prison riot as death toll rises to 27

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Crime

Sri Lanka prison riot kills 26, wounds more than 100

Japan

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

A court order to compensate the family of a detainee shows reforms to immigration centres are urgently needed, observers say.

A police bus enters the Tokyo Detention House in Japan in 2019. Photo: AFP
Crime

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

Yoshitha Rajapaksa is accused of tapping state funds for overseas training during his career as a naval officer.

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.

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Sri Lanka nursing home fire kills 12

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

A police personnel inspects the burnt house on Thursday, a day after a fire broke out at an elder care home in Sri Lanka’s Batagoda. Photo: AFP
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.

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.

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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.

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A passenger vessel approaches the jetty at Campbell Bay on Great Nicobar Island, India's southernmost territory, located less than 150km from the Strait of Malacca's western entrance. Photo: AFP
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.

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Police escort detained Indians and Nepalis suspected of running cyber fraud centres to a court in Galle, Sri Lanka, on Tuesday. Photo: AFP
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.

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.

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.

A SriLankan Airlines plane takes off from Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake on September 13, 2022. Photo: AFP
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.

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An armed Somali pirate along the coastline in northeastern Somalia. Photo: AFP
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.

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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.

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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.

Sri Lankan monks arrive at court after their arrest in Negombo on Sunday. Photo: AFP
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.

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.

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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.

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Iranian walks past a billboard reading “The Strait of Hormuz remains closed” at the Revolution Square in Tehran on Wednesday. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS
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.

Women sit and eat rice noodles on the sidewalk in Hanoi, Vietnam, on April 14. Photo: AFP
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.

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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.

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.

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Children walk through a flooded area in Baseco, one of the biggest slums in Manila, the Philippines. Photo: AFP
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.

Police clash with activists during a protest against the arrest of former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli in Kathmandu, Nepal, on March 29. Photo: EPA
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.

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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.

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