by Feizal Samath | 26 Apr 2022 | Asia, China, Economy
Fed up with corruption and shortages of food and fuel, protesters are calling on Sri Lanka’s rulers to resign as the South Asian nation nears bankruptcy. Protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 20 April 2022 (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) Dogged by corruption, economic...
by Feizal Samath | 8 Jun 2021 | Asia, Politics
A huge port city project backed by China in Sri Lanka has the U.S. and India worried about Beijing’s sway in the South Asian island nation. Asia’s largest sand dredger belonging to China Harbour Engineering Co pumps sand during construction of the Colombo...
by Feizal Samath | 18 Aug 2020 | Asia, Human Rights
South Asia is no stranger to political dynasties. Sri Lanka’s ruling family is prompting worries about human rights and ethnic tensions. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa (L) and his younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 9...
by Feizal Samath | 30 Apr 2019 | Asia, Islam, Terrorism
After extremists killed hundreds in Easter suicide bombings, Sri Lanka’s minority Muslim population now has to worry about retaliatory attacks. A Sri Lankan Muslim waits to pray in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 29 April 2019 (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) It used to be that Sri...
by Feizal Samath | 20 Mar 2019 | Asia, China, Economy, Politics
China has dramatically increased its presence in Sri Lanka in the past decade. But so has India. Are the two giants in a race neither wants to lose? A Buddhist monk and villagers clash with police during a protest against the seizure of private land for the...