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Police and railway personnel examine the derailed train at Habarana in eastern Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka train derailed after smashing into elephants

A Sri Lankan passenger train has derailed after smashing into a family of elephants, with no passengers injured but six animals killed in the island's worst such wildlife accident, police said.

World • 20 Feb

Anura Kumara Dissanayaka was declared the winner of the weekend's poll with nearly 1.3 million more votes than his nearest rival

Marxist president vows to 'rewrite Sri Lankan history'

Sri Lanka's Marxist president-elect invited his compatriots to help him "rewrite" history in the cash-strapped island nation after winning a vote coloured by discontent over an unprecedented financial crisis.

World • 22 Sep 24

Police announced an eight-hour curfew after polls closed

Curfew in Sri Lanka as presidential election polls close

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka has voted for its next president in an effective referendum on an unpopular International Monetary Fund austerity plan enacted after the island nation's unprecedented financial crisis.

World • 21 Sep 24

More than 17 million people are eligible to vote in the election

Sri Lanka votes in first poll since economic collapse

Sri Lanka began voting for its next president in an effective referendum on an unpopular International Monetary Fund austerity plan enacted after the island nation's unprecedented financial crisis.

World • 21 Sep 24

This marks the 17th IMF bailout for Sri Lanka and the third since its decades-long civil war ended in 2009

Sri Lanka to get first tranche of IMF funds in 2 days

Sri Lanka will get the first $330m tranche of an International Monetary Fund bailout in the next two days, the global lender said today, putting the onus on the cash-strapped country to rein in its debt to sustainable levels.

Business • 21 Mar 23

The tax cut was to "make hygiene products more affordable"

Sri Lanka cuts tax on period products

Sri Lanka's government has cut taxes on period products in a bid to help those unable to afford them because of the country's economic crisis.

World • 02 Oct 22

Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka in July after demonstrators stormed his official residence and office (file image)

Sri Lanka's ousted president gets govt residence

Sri Lanka's ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was provided today with an official residence and security by the government after he returned to the country he had fled in July during economic unrest, two senior officials said.

World • 03 Sep 22

Ranil Wickremesinghe became acting president last week

Wickremesinghe is Sri Lanka's new president

Sri Lankan lawmakers have voted in acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe as the new president, hoping his long experience in government will help pull the country out of a crippling economic and political crisis.

Asia • 20 Jul 22

A man waves Sri Lanka's national flag in the capital Colombo

Ousted president claims he did 'utmost' for Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's ousted president did his "utmost" to avoid an economic catastrophe but the coronavirus pandemic derailed his efforts, he said in his resignation letter read out to parliament today.

World • 16 Jul 22

A demonstrator waves the national flag outside the president's office in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's president ousted, search on for new leader

Sri Lanka's parliament accepted the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today after he fled the country, paving the way for lawmakers to start repairing the island's shattered politics and resume efforts to ease its economic crisis.

News • 15 Jul 22

The presidents official residence, which was seized by anti-government protesters has been handed back to security forces

Sri Lanka speaker to address president's resignation

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's original resignation letter has been received by the country's parliamentary speaker, his office said in a statement on Thursday, after it was flown from Singapore, where the leader fled to.

World • 14 Jul 22

Protesters in Sri Lanka have occupied four government buildings so far

Acting Sri Lankan president seeks new PM amid protests

Sri Lanka's acting president and prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has asked the speaker of parliament to nominate a new prime minister, his media team said after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country.

World • 13 Jul 22

Anti-government protests have been taking place in Sri Lanka in recent days

Sri Lankan president flees country on military aircraft

Sri Lanka's embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has flown out of the country, heading to the neighbouring Maldives, local officials have said.

World • 12 Jul 22

Women stand in front of a graffiti painted outside the premises of Sri Lanka's presidential palace, in Colombo

President and cabinet to resign in crisis-hit Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the entire cabinet will resign to make way for a unity government, the prime minister's office has said, after tens of thousands of protesters stormed the official residences of both men.

World • 11 Jul 22

Protesters barged into the President's whitewashed colonial-era residence on Saturday, jumped into the swimming pool and sat on a four-poster bed

Calm in Sri Lanka as president, PM to quit over economy

Calm has returned to the streets of Sri Lanka's commercial capital Colombo this morning and protesters are jubilant as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa agreed to resign after his house was stormed amid outrage over the southern Asian nation's collapsing economy.

World • 10 Jul 22

Protesters broke into Mr Wickremesinghe's private residence and set it on fire

Sri Lanka's president to resign, PM's home set on fire

Thousands of protesters have stormed the Sri Lankan president's official residence and set the prime minister's private residence on fire in Colombo as anger intensified over the country's worst economic crisis in seven decades.

World • 09 Jul 22

Sri Lanka is struggling to pay for essential imports and has defaulted on some foreign debt

IMF says Sri Lanka is on track for agreement

The International Monetary Fund had constructive and productive discussions with the Sri Lankan authorities on economic policies and reforms to be supported by an IMF extended fund facility arrangement, it said in a release today.

Business • 30 Jun 22

People have queued for days to access fuel

Sri Lanka suspends fuel sales for two weeks

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka has announced a two-week halt to all fuel sales except for essential services and appealed to the private sector to let employees work from home after running out of supplies.

World • 27 Jun 22

The island nation of 22 million people is scrambling to get fuel shipments

IMF delegation arrives in crisis-hit Sri Lanka

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team began bailout talks in Sri Lanka today, with police called to escort a top government official to the negotiations after protesters angry about the economic crisis blockaded the finance ministry.

Business • 20 Jun 22

Sri Lanka is in the middle of its worst economic crisis since independence

Sri Lanka raises taxes on wine, cheese to curb imports

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka raised tariffs on a wide range of goods including wine and cheese, in a new drive to discourage imports and preserve foreign currency reserves, the finance ministry said today.

Business • 02 Jun 22

Sri Lanka's Prime minister resigned last week after pressure over the acute economic hardships faced by the 22 million population

Sri Lanka won't restart repaying debts for six months

Sri Lanka will take at least six more months to start repaying its debts, its central bank said today as the government shut schools because of fuel shortages.

Business • 20 May 22

Anti-government demonstrators take part in a protest near the President's office in Colombo

The crisis in Sri Lanka - What you need to know

The crisis in Sri Lanka, which has seen protests on the streets of Colombo for the past two months, has now descended into deadly violence, with the armed forces ordered by the government to shoot any looters on sight.

World • 11 May 22

Burnt-out buses near Sri Lanka's former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's official residence in Colombo

Shoot-on-sight orders issued to quell Sri Lanka riots

Sri Lanka's defence ministry has ordered troops to shoot on sight people involved in looting or damaging property, a day after mobs targeted the homes of ruling-party politicians.

World • 10 May 22

Fuel, power, food and medicines have been running low for weeks.

Sri Lanka says IMF to consider request for rapid aid

The International Monetary Fund will consider providing quick financial assistance to debt-burdened Sri Lanka following representations by India, Sri Lanka's finance ministry said today.

Business • 19 Apr 22

Motorists queue to buy petrol in Colombo

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka defaults on foreign debt

Sri Lanka announced a default on its $51 billion foreign debt today as the island nation grapples with its worst economic crisis in memory and escalating protests demanding the government's resignation.

Business • 12 Apr 22