Sri Lanka

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Plans for 'White Party' Cause Uproar in Sri Lanka

And lead to officials threatening to cancel Russians' long-term tourist visas

(Newser) - An event planner says he has been forced to leave Sri Lanka after he tried to plan an ill-advised "white party"—and it led to Sri Lankan officials telling Russian tourists they must go, too, though it seems that decision may not stick. The story:
  • The party: The
...

Sri Lanka's New President Is a Familiar Face: The 'Fox'

Selection of Ranil Wickremesinghe could reignite turmoil

(Newser) - Sri Lankan lawmakers elected the unpopular prime minister as their new president Wednesday, a choice that risked reigniting turmoil in the South Asian nation reeling from economic collapse . The crisis has already forced one Sri Lankan leader out, and a few hundred protesters quickly gathered after the vote to express...

Embattled Leader Uses Email to Resign

But legality of Sri Lankan leader Gotabaya Rajapaksa's letter is not yet certain

(Newser) - Because Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had fled his own country and could not resign in person, he chose a modern alternative—email. Rajapaksa emailed his resignation letter from abroad to the nation's parliamentary speaker on Thursday, reports the New York Times . However, the Wall Street Journal notes that...

Sri Lanka's President Just Fled the Country

Gotabaya Rajapaksa left for the Maldives, officials say

(Newser) - The president of Sri Lanka fled the country early Wednesday, days after protesters stormed his home and office and the official residence of his prime minister amid a three-month economic crisis that triggered severe shortages of food and fuel. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his wife, and two bodyguards left aboard a...

Sri Lanka Doctors Sound Alarm: This Is Worse Than COVID

They saw country is experiencing a drug shortage

(Newser) - Don't fall ill or get into accidents: That’s the advice doctors in Sri Lanka are giving patients as the country's economic crisis leaves its health care system short of drugs and other vital supplies. The South Asian island nation lacks the money to pay for basic imports...

Series of Actions by Leaders Exacerbated Sri Lanka's Crisis

Protests drove president, prime minister out

(Newser) - As Sri Lanka's crisis reached its climax this weekend, two men in the center of the turmoil brought about by the country's economic collapse promised they would heed the call of tens of thousands of angry protesters and resign. One is President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the last of six...

Sri Lankan Leaders Resign After Protesters Attack Their Homes

President, prime minister agree to leave during largest demonstrations yet over economic crisis

(Newser) - Update: This story has been updated throughout with the leaders' resignations. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced he's resigning after unrest Saturday that included Sri Lankan protesters storming his residence and setting the prime minister's house on fire. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also agreed to quit, the BBC reports. Rajapaksa...

Sri Lanka Desperate for Tourists, Russian Oil

President says he has asked Putin help

(Newser) - With Sri Lanka facing a severe economic crisis , the country's leaders have apparently decided they can't afford to shun Russia. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said Wednesday that he had asked Vladimir Putin for help in a "very productive" phone call, reports Reuters . The country has almost exhausted its...

Sri Lanka Says No Country Will Sell It Fuel

Due to the heavy debt that's owed by petroleum company

(Newser) - Sri Lanka's debt-laden economy has "completely collapsed" after months of shortages of food, fuel, and electricity, its prime minister told lawmakers Wednesday, in comments underscoring the country's dire situation as it seeks help from international lenders. While Sri Lanka's crisis is considered its worst in recent...

Prime Minister Resigns With Sri Lanka in Crisis

Nationwide curfew takes effect in response to violent protests

(Newser) - Update: With Sri Lanka's economic crisis worsening and protests becoming violent, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned Monday. He told President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his younger brother, in his resignation letter that he was stepping down in hopes of ending the crisis, the BBC reports. Confrontations between pro- and anti-government demonstrators...

Sri Lankans Mock Ruling Brothers as Thieving 'Crows'

Popular chant goes after Rajapaksa clan amid nation's economic spiral

(Newser) - Sri Lanka's government touted Basil Rajapaksa as the one to save the country from economic crisis. The former finance minister instead led the island nation into its worst economic crisis in decades —at least that's the take of thousands of protesters, who are fed up with his...

Sri Lanka Nixes Annual Exams Amid Spiraling Financial Crisis

It's a symptom of a serious economic malady in the small island nation

(Newser) - In what may come as a relief to some children, Sri Lanka has cancelled annual exams due to an acute shortage of printing paper. Although paper prices are on the rise worldwide, that’s not the real problem. According to the Guardian, the country faces "a debilitating economic crisis...

Plastic in Landfill Is Killing Elephants

Post-mortems showed no signs of a normal diet

(Newser) - Conservationists and veterinarians are warning that plastic waste in an open landfill in eastern Sri Lanka is killing elephants in the region, after two more were found dead over the weekend. Around 20 elephants have died in the past eight years after consuming plastic trash in the dump in Pallakkadu...

After Ship Sinks, Dead Turtles With Throat Damage Wash Up

A dozen dolphins have been found dead as well

(Newser) - Nearly a hundred carcasses of turtles with throat and shell damage, as well as a dozen dead dolphins and a blue whale, have washed ashore in Sri Lanka since a container ship burned and sank , raising fears of a severe marine disaster. Ecologists believe the deaths were directly caused by...

Sunken Ship Will 'Basically Destroy the Bottom of the Sea'

Chemical leak believed to have triggered fires prior to sinking off Sri Lanka

(Newser) - A chemical-laden cargo ship that burned for 13 days off the coast of Sri Lanka has now sunk, along with hundreds of tons of oil in fuel tanks, in what CNN calls "one of the worst ecological disasters in the country's history." Crews managed to put out...

Mrs. World Gives Up Her Crown After On-Stage Fracas

After Caroline Jurie's exit, Kate Schneider from Ireland is the new Mrs. World

(Newser) - Kate Schneider from Ireland has been named the new Mrs. World after the reigning titleholder resigned following an on-stage fracas in which she pulled the crown off the head of the winner of the Mrs. Sri Lanka beauty pageant. Mrs. World Inc. said it has received the resignation of Caroline...

Mrs. World 2020 Arrested in Crown-Grabbing Incident

The current Mrs. Sri Lanka, who has been re-crowned, was injured

(Newser) - Mrs. World 2020 now faces assault charges. Caroline Jurie, who won Mrs. Sri Lanka in 2019 before going on to win Mrs. World, was arrested after the bizarre Sunday night incident in which she yanked the crown off the head of the new Mrs. Sri Lanka moments after she'd...

After 'Mrs. Sri Lanka' Is Named, a Weird Turn of Events

Mrs. World 2020 declared Pushpika De Silva ineligible and removed her crown

(Newser) - It's an event that's high-profile enough that the prime minister's wife attended. The "Mrs Sri Lanka" pageant unexpectedly ended up being high-drama as well on Sunday night. The BBC calls it the country's "biggest beauty prize," and reports Pushpika De Silva was named...

Drug Smuggling Cat Escapes Detainment
Drug Smuggling Cat
Escapes Prison
Aug 4, 2020 3:47 AM CDT

Drug Smuggling Cat Escapes Prison

Sri Lankan officials do not plan to search for the feline

(Newser) - Officials at a Sri Lanka prison captured a drug-smuggling cat Saturday—but by the following day, the felonious feline had escaped. The cat had a plastic bag tied around its neck that held almost two grams of heroin, two SIM cards, and a memory chip, the Telegraph reports. It was...

One Man Blamed for Half of His Nation's Cases

Sri Lankan man says he is being scapegoated

(Newser) - Sri Lankan auto rickshaw driver Prasad Dinesh admits breaking into a house to steal coconuts to sell to buy heroin—but he says it's harsh to blame him for almost half of the country's coronavirus cases. The 33-year-old sustained a leg injury during the April 5 theft and...

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