BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI

Associated Press
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake, center right, walk together during an official welcome ceremony in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
India and Sri Lanka sign defense and energy deals as Modi’s visit strengthens ties
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated construction work on an jointly funded solar plant in neighboring Sri Lanka and witnessed the signing of energy and defense agreements.
 
In this photo provided by the Sri Lanka President's Office, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets traditional dancers upon his arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, April 4, 2025. (Sri Lanka President's Office via AP)
India’s Modi in Sri Lanka on a 2-day state visit as concerns grow over China’s influence
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun a two-day state visit to neighboring Sri Lanka, where he is expected to sign several power and defense agreements.
 
Cook Malithi Prabhani, second left, and her colleagues prepare lunch for guests at the Amba Yaalu resort in the Kandalama locality in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
A resort entirely staffed and run by women in Sri Lanka seeks to break gender barriers
Sri Lanka has opened its first resort that’s entirely operated and managed by women. The Amba Yaalu resort opened in January as an example of change in a male-dominated tourism sector that’s crucial for the country’s economic recovery after a major crisis.
 
Wildlife and police officers stand next to a derailed train engine after it collided with a herd of wild elephants in Minneriya, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Priyan Malinda)
A train struck an elephant herd in Sri Lanka, killing 6 animals
A passenger train has hit an elephant herd near a wildlife sanctuary in Sri Lanka and killed six of the animals. A wildlife official said two adults and four babies were killed near the town of Minneriya, about 120 miles from the capital, Colombo.
 
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, center, hoists the Sri Lankan national flag during the country's 77th Independence Day ceremony in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Debt-stricken Sri Lanka marks independence day as new president pledges to rebuild the country
Debt-stricken Sri Lanka has marked its 77th independence anniversary with a military parade, while the country’s newly elected president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, pledged to heal Sri Lanka’s economic woes by the end of his five-year term.
 
The leader of Sri Lanka navigates the China-India rivalry on a visit to Beijing
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has held talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, one month after visiting India on his first overseas trip since winning election in September.
 
A group of people believed to be Rohingya refugees, rest in a boat at a port in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Mangalanath Liyanaarahhi)
Sri Lanka’s navy rescues 102 Rohingya refugees found adrift aboard a fishing trawler
Sri Lanka’s navy says it has rescued more than 100 people believed to be Rohingya refugees who were found adrift aboard a fishing trawler off the island nation.
 
Dark clouds hover as a man walks along a street in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Children among the dead and missing as heavy rains trigger floods in Sri Lanka
Authorities in Sri Lanka say at least five people have died, including three children, after heavy rains triggered floods and landslides.
 
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake shows his finger as he leaves after casting his vote during the parliamentary election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.(AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Sri Lanka’s Marxist-leaning president appoints Cabinet after election win
Sri Lanka’s new Marxist-leaning president has sworn in a 22-member Cabinet after his party secured a two-thirds parliamentary majority in last week’s election.
 
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake leaves after casting his vote during the parliamentary election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.(AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Party of Sri Lanka’s new Marxist-leaning president wins two-thirds majority in parliament
The party of Sri Lanka’s new Marxist-leaning President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won a two-thirds majority in parliament, according to official election results, providing a strong mandate for his program for economic revival.
 
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake waves with other candidates during a public rally ahead of Thursday's parliamentary election in Gampaha, Sri Lanka, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Sri Lankan president seeks party win in parliamentary election to help him push his economic reforms
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is looking to consolidate his party’s power in Thursday’s parliamentary election to help him implement his election pledges to solve the country’s economic woes and foster good governance.
 
A bus carrying students skids off a road in Sri Lanka, killing 2 and injuring 39 others
A bus carrying university students on a field trip has skidded off a road and tipped over in central Sri Lanka, killing two people and injuring 39 others.
 
Sri Lanka says 3 locals were arrested over a possible attack on Israel tourists
Sri Lanka police have arrested three persons in connection with a possible attack on Israel travellers in the Indian ocean island, a government minister said on Thursday, a day after the authorities stepped up the security across the country, with the United States warning of an attack targeting a p
 
This image made from a video footage shows a derailed fuel transporting train in Minneriya, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, after it collided with a heard of elephants Friday. (AP Photo)
Train hits and kills 2 wild elephants in Sri Lanka as 2 of its fuel-carrying tankers derail
Authorities in Sri Lanka say a train carrying thousands of gallons of fuel hit a herd of wild elephants in the country’s northeast, killing two of the giant mammals and injuring one other as two of its tankers got derailed.
 
A man wades through his flooded neighborhood in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Sri Lanka closes schools as floods hammer the capital
Sri Lanka has closed schools in its capital, Colombo, and its suburbs as heavy rains triggered floods in many parts of the island nation. Heavy downpours over the weekend wreaked havoc in many parts of the country, flooding homes, fields and roads.
 
India’s foreign minister becomes the first such dignitary to visit Sri Lanka since the election
India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has met Sri Lanka’s newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in the first such visit of a dignitary since a new government took office in the island nation last month, amid questions over how Dissanayake would balance between regional powers China and I
 
A woman walks outside the parliamentary complex in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Sri Lanka’s new president calls a parliamentary election for November to consolidate his mandate
Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has dissolved parliament and called for a parliamentary election in an effort to consolidate his mandate following his weekend election victory.
 
FILE -Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake waves as he leaves from the election commission office after winning Sri Lankan presidential election, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh, File)
Who is Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Sri Lanka’s new Marxist president?
Marxist politician Anura Dissanayake won Sri Lanka’s presidential election over the weekend, dealing a blow to a political old guard that has been widely blamed for the unprecedented economic crisis that hit the South Asian island nation two years ago.
 
Commanders of the security forces stand behind as Sri Lanka's new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake, addresses a gathering after he was sworn in at the Sri Lankan President's Office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Sept.23, 2024. (Sri Lankan President's Office via AP)
Marxist Anura Kumara Dissanayake sworn in as Sri Lanka’s president
Marxist politician Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s president on Monday after an election that saw voters reject an old guard accused of leading the country into economic crisis.
 
Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake waves as he departs the election commission office after winning the presidential election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Marxist Dissanayake wins Sri Lanka’s presidential election as voters reject old guard
Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won Sri Lanka’s presidential election as voters rejected the old political guard that has been widely accused of pushing the nation into economic ruin.
 
A woman supporter of Sri Lankan President and independent presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe, holds a placard at an election rally in Minuwangoda, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Sri Lanka has more women voters than men but no female presidential candidates
Women make up more than half of the voters in Sri Lanka, but in Saturday’s presidential election, not even one will be on the ballot.
 
People wait in a queue to cast their votes at a polling center during the presidential election on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.(AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Vote count underway in Sri Lanka’s presidential election after years of turmoil
Vote counting is underway in Sri Lanka’s presidential election as it seeks to recover from the worst economic crisis and political upheaval.
 
A bird flies past gantry cranes working at the Colombo port, Sri Lanka, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Sri Lanka’s presidential election a test for current leader, 2 years after its economy hit bottom
Sri Lankans who usually vote along religious and ethnic lines will be keeping another factor in mind when they vote Saturday on a new president.
 
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, presidential candidate of opposition political party National People's Power speaks to Associated Press in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Sri Lanka’s Dissanayake a strong contender for president with his alliance’s focus on working class
A political alliance centered on the working class has emerged as a strong contender in Sri Lanka’s presidential race.
 
Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe waves to media as he arrives to file nomination for the upcoming presidential election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
39 candidates are approved for Sri Lanka’s presidential election, the highest number ever
Sri Lanka’s elections commission has accepted applications from a record 39 candidates to run in next month’s presidential election, which will decide the course of the country’s financial reforms to survive an unprecedented economic crisis.
 
FILE -Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa sits for photographs, with his lawmaker son Namal by his side, following his election victory in the general election at his residence in Tangalle, Sri Lanka, Aug. 7, 2020. T (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File)
Heir apparent to Sri Lanka’s powerful Rajapaksa family will run in September’s presidential election
The man who is considered the heir apparent to the powerful Rajapaksa family in Sri Lanka will contest the presidential election in September. That’s according to his political party.
 
A Muslim man walks past a wall pasted with election propaganda of the main opposition candidate in the upcoming presidential election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, July 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Sri Lanka will hold presidential election on Sept. 21, its first since declaring bankruptcy in 2022
Sri Lanka will hold a presidential election on Sept. 21 that will likely be a test of confidence in President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s efforts to resolve the country’s worst economic crisis.
 
Police officers patrol in a railway station during a railway union strike in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
A railway union strike in Sri Lanka leaves tens of thousands of commuters stranded
A union strike launched by railway employees has stopped trains across Sri Lanka. Hundreds of scheduled train journeys were canceled Wednesday due to the strike. Now tens of thousands of passengers are stranded at railroad stations.
 
Supporters of Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe watch a televised speech in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, June 26, 2023. President Ranil Wickremesinghe in a televised address to the nation announced that the country had reached agreements with bilateral creditors including Japan, India, France and China, a key step in the island nation's economic recovery since defaulting on its debt repayment in 2022. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Sri Lanka reaches deal on debt restructuring with bilateral creditors including China and France
Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe has announced a debt restructuring deal with countries including India, France, Japan and China in a televised address to the nation.
 
People wade through a flooded street in Biyagama, a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Jun. 3, 2023. Sri Lanka closed schools on Monday as heavy rains triggered floods and mudslides in many parts of the island nation, killing at least 10 people while six others have gone missing, officials said. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Sri Lanka closes schools as the death toll from floods and mudslides rises to 16
Sri Lanka has closed schools as heavy rain triggered floods and mudslides in many parts of the island nation, leaving at least 16 people dead. The education ministry announced that the reopening of schools would depend on how the weather develops.
 
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