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Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Sri Lanka's finance minister quits after just one day

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said today that it is monitoring political and economic developments in Sri Lanka "very closely" as public unrest in the island nation grows amid its worst economic crisis in decades.

Business • 05 Apr 22

Diesel was unavailable at stations across the island, according to officials and media reports

Sri Lanka facing record blackout amid diesel shortages

Diesel is no longer on sale across Sri Lanka, crippling transport as the crisis-hit country's 22 million people endure record power blackouts.

World • 31 Mar 22

Volunteers in Sri Lanka checking the carcass of a blue whale that washed ashore

Wildlife deaths blamed on ship disaster off Sri Lanka

More dead turtles have washed up on Sri Lankan beaches, underscoring the environmental blight caused by a container ship fire off the country's coast.

World • 18 Jun 21

MV X-Press Pearl has nearly 350 tonnes of oil in its fuel tanks

Oil spill fears after cargo ship sinks off Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan authorities have said they are preparing for the worst-case scenario of a possible oil slick from the burnt-out cargo ship sinking off Colombo's main harbour.

World • 03 Jun 21

The 186-metre ship burned for 13 days before the blaze was extinguished

Burnt-out chemical cargo ship sinking off Sri Lanka

A burnt-out container ship that has already caused one of Sri Lanka's worst maritime environmental disaster is sinking with nearly 350 tonnes of oil in its fuel tanks.

World • 02 Jun 21

Members of the Sri Lankan navy work to remove debris washed ashore

Plastics from burning ship cover Sri Lanka beach

Tonnes of charred plastic pellets from a burning container ship have washed ashore near Sri Lanka's capital as an international effort to salvage the vessel dragged into a ninth day.

World • 28 May 21

Pushpika de Silva needed hospital treatment after the incident (Getty Images)

'Mrs Sri Lanka' regains title after on-stage fracas

A Sri Lankan beauty pageant winner who had her crown yanked off by last year's champion in an ugly on-stage fracas has been re-declared the victor and says she will sue.

World • 07 Apr 21

Locals surround a dead pilot whale on a beach in Panadura, Sri Lanka

Over 100 stranded whales rescued in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's navy has said more than 100 whales have been rescued after becoming stranded on a beach on the island's southwest coast.

World • 03 Nov 20

Rajapaksa is the latest nationalist leader that has tapped into the anger and fears of majority communities

Nationalist Rajapaksa declared Sri Lanka president

Sri Lanka's former civil wartime defence chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been declared the winner in the presidential election, after promising to secure the country following Easter bombings this year.

World • 17 Nov 19

Ian Paisley survived Westminster's first ever recall petition last year

Watchdog urged to re-investigate Paisley holiday claim

A British parliamentary standards watchdog has been urged to re-investigate Ian Paisley after another series of claims about luxury foreign holidays.

Ulster • 26 Jun 19

The service marked the reopening of St Anthony's Shrine in Colombo

Sri Lankans celebrate mass at restored church

Catholics in Sri Lanka have celebrated mass in a church restored after it was bombed during Easter attacks by Islamist militants, which killed more than 250 people on the island.

World • 13 Jun 19

At least 253 people were killed in the attacks on Easter Sunday

Sri Lanka government lifts ban on social media

The Sri Lankan government has lifted a ban on social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp and Viber, after the sites were barred on hopes of putting a stop to the spread of rumours after the Easter Sunday bombings.

News Lens • 30 Apr 19

A presidential order was issued banning any face veils

Sri Lanka bans face veils after attacks

Authorities in Sri Lanka have banned women from wearing face veils under an emergency law put in place after deadly Easter Sunday attacks by Islamist militants.

World • 29 Apr 19

President Michael D Higgins and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin with members of the Sri Lankan community

Victims of Sri Lankan bombings remembered in Dublin

A mass has taken place at the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin in memory of the victims of the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.

Ireland • 28 Apr 19

Catholics gathered near St Anthony's Church in Colombo

Sri Lanka marks one week on from bomb horror

Church bells tolled at Colombo's devastated St Anthony's Shrine, as people wept, prayed and lit candles for the victims of the horrific Easter Sunday bombings.

World • 28 Apr 19

Funeral ribbons in Sri Lanka following the Easter Sunday terror attacks

15 killed during police operation in Sri Lanka

Police in Sri Lanka say 15 people, including six children, have died during a raid by Sri Lankan security forces as three cornered suicide bombers blew themselves up and others were shot dead.

World • 27 Apr 19

Sri Lanka now believes 253 were killed in the attacks, more than a hundred fewer than the previous figure

Sri Lanka revises death toll from attacks down to 253

The dramatic revision of the death toll in Sri Lanka's Easter Sunday bombings, which has been cut by more than 100, is a grim indicator of the power of the deadly blasts.

World • 26 Apr 19

At least 359 people were killed in the attacks, with over 500 others injured

Defence Minister resigns over Sri Lanka bombings

The Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando has announced that he has resigned, taking responsibility for the suicide bomb attacks on the country last Sunday.

World • 25 Apr 19

Hundreds were killed and injured in the suicide attacks

Sri Lanka admits 'major' lapse over deadly bombings

Sri Lanka's government has acknowledged "major" lapses over its failure to prevent the attacks on Easter Sunday that killed more than 350 people, despite prior intelligence warnings.

World • 24 Apr 19

Priests and relatives carry the coffin of a bomb blast victim after a funeral service at St Sebastian's Church in Negombo

Sri Lanka PM believes attacks had Islamic State links

Sri Lanka began a day of national mourning with three minutes of silence to honour more than 300 people killed in suicide bomb blasts that have been blamed on a local Islamist group.

World • 23 Apr 19

Locals were evacuated after the blast went off in a van in Colombo

Sri Lanka imposes emergency as death toll climbs to 290

Sri Lanka has said it is invoking emergency powers in the aftermath of devastating bomb attacks on hotels and churches, blamed on militants with foreign links, in which 290 people were killed and nearly 500 wounded.

World • 22 Apr 19

The nature of the blasts was not immediately clear and there were no immediate claims of responsibility

President expresses solidarity after Sri Lanka attack

President Michael D Higgins has sent "the sympathies and solidarity of the people of Ireland' to the families of victims of a series of deadly bomb attacks in Sri Lanka.

World • 22 Apr 19

Security personnel stand guard after a explosion hit at St Anthony's Church in Kochchikade in Colombo

Eight arrested in connection with Sri Lanka blasts

Eight people have been arrested in connection with a string of deadly blasts that have killed more than 200 people in Sri Lanka, the country's prime minister said.

World • 21 Apr 19

The DUP are currently carrying out an internal party investigation into Ian Paisley Jr's conduct

Paisley Jr listed as Independent on Westminster website

DUP MP Ian Paisley Junior has been registered on the Westminister parliament's website as an Independent.

Politics • 02 Aug 18

Ian Paisley Jnr denied he and his family enjoyed two all expenses paid holidays in Sri Lanka

Paisley Jnr suspended over non-declaration of benefits

The Commissioner for Standards in the House of Commons at Westminster has recommended that DUP MP Ian Paisley Jnr be suspended for 30 days over non-declaration of £100,000 in hospitality from the government in Sri Lanka.

Politics • 18 Jul 18