SRI LANKA

SRI LANKA

Sri Lankan presidential polls to be held between Nov 15 and Dec...


The presidential elections in Sri Lanka would be held between November 15 and December 7, Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya has said, clarifying that according to constitutional provisions the polls must be held one month before the... More

Saffron surge is the immediate threat to Sri Lanka’s unity


It is just over a week since the hardline Sinhala nationalist Buddhist monk, Gnanasara Thero, was released from jail upon receiving a Presidential pardon. Following the release of the monk, who is General Secretary of the anti-Muslim Bodu... More

Sri Lanka president says undecided whether to run in upcoming poll


Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said on Friday that he had not decided on seeking another term in an election that is due by year-end. “I am not in a hurry to decide whether to stand,” Sirisena told... More

President says India warned Lanka about Easter attacks but no local action...


President Maithripala Sirisena, who was Thursday in India attending the swearing in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reiterated to the Indian media that Lanka had received intelligence reports from India on an impending terror attack... More

India’s NIA team reaches Sri Lanka over Easter Bombings probe


A two-member team of the India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) is in Sri Lanka to hold discussions with authorities about a probe in the Easter Sunday bombings over claims that some terrorists, owning allegiance to ISIS, had... More

Lankans grapple with spreading Islamophobia


The April 21 terror attack in Sri Lanka in which nine local Muslims blew themselves up causing around 300 deaths and maiming over 500 is now destroying the traditional harmony between the island’s Muslims and the rest... More

Sri Lanka signs MoC with Japan, India to develop Colombo South Port


Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) among the three governments of Sri Lanka, Japan and India on the development of the East Container Terminal (ECT) located in the Colombo South Port was signed in Colombo on Tuesday. The Ministry of... More

Lanka crushes terror network, but Islamophobia remains


With the Sri Lankan security forces successfully breaking into the Jehadi terror network which wreaked havoc in the country on April 21, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared that he is introducing policies which will help stem... More

Sri Lanka to left emergency next month


President Maithripala Sirisena has told a group of foreign diplomats he was hopeful the emergency regulations will be lifted next month. The emergency regulation were extended till June 21st after first being enforced following the Easter Sunday attacks. President... More

MR calls on Govt. to broaden post-Easter Sunday economic relief


Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa proposed the Government launch a special economic package targeting those who lost their livelihoods due to the Easter Sunday attacks. According to Rajapaksa, the economy took a serious blow with almost all industries and... More

Pardoning of BBS monk amounts to undue interference in the legal process,...


President Maithripala Sirisena after pardoning the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General secretary Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero  has hosted the rebel monk and his mother at his official residence on Thursday. This is soon after the BBS General... More

Sri Lanka’s veil ban is fueling hate


On May 8, when the 47-year-old Nazia Naseer (a pseudonym) went to her 5-year-old daughter’s school in Colombo to attend a parent-teacher meeting, she was stopped at the gate by other parents and teachers because of the... More

India, Japan sign tripartite pact with Sri Lanka to develop strategic port


India and Japan have struck an important tripartite agreement with Sri Lanka to jointly develop the 'East Container Terminal' in Port of Colombo. As per the agreement, a terminal operator company will be set up with the... More

Sri Lanka President Sirisena extends emergency by month


Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena Wednesday extended by a month the state of emergency imposed in the wake of the deadly Easter Sunday bombings that killed nearly 260 people. The president issued a special gazette notification extending the... More

President Sirisena pardons jailed Buddhist monk Gnanasara Thero of BBS


President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday signed the official pardon given to the jailed Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero who had been sentenced for six years in a contempt of court case. The... More

Sri Lanka likely to miss full-year growth target after Easter bombings


Sri Lanka is unlikely to hit its full-year economic growth target of 3-4% following the Easter Sunday bombings, junior finance minister Eran Wickremeratne told Reuters on Tuesday. A poll of 10 analysts this month predicted growth could slide... More

Is Sri Lanka really a victim of China’s ‘debt trap’?


Sri Lanka is often portrayed as a country that fell into a debt trap as a result of public investment projects financed by China. One such investment project was Hambantota port, which was leased to China Merchant... More

China trip, son’s wedding: Sri Lanka leader denounced after Easter bombings


After coming under fire for not acting on warnings about Easter bombings that killed more than 250 people, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena is now facing criticism over his leadership in the aftermath of the Islamist attacks. On... More

Ten years after internal war, Sri Lanka finds itself facing old and...


On Sunday, May 19, Sri Lanka observed the 10 th. anniversary of the end of the three-decade war against separatist Tamil militants. It was on May 18-19, 2009 that the entire top leadership of the Liberation Tigers... More

Even IPKF could not defeat LTTE, says Sri Lanka president


Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday recalled that even Indian troops could not defeat the LTTE during the war. He said that over 100,000 Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) troops had been sent to Sri Lanka during the... More

Politicization hampers Lankans’ bid to stem communalism


Sri Lankans are now desperatelytrying to save the country from terrorists, irresponsible political leaders and political goons who spearheaded the anti- Muslim violencein the North Western Province on May 12 and 13. More

COLUMN

Shame and defame: Using hybrid warfare against Chairman NAB

The major reason for the dismal economic situation of the country is corruption and the feudal-type nepotism that sustained it over decades has infested the state and its institutions. Making money from kickbacks by bureaucrats and politicians who are in a position of power, selling jobs and stealing public... More

Yangon’s smart metres: A step towards creating a smart city

Yangon city is introducing state of the art smart metres to control the electricity supply, monitor its usage and bill costumers in parts of the city – in one automated system. “It’s a step towards making Yangon a smart city and improving and extending e-government throughout Myanmar,” Myo Aung... More

India falls in line with others on Afghanistan

After swinging its Iran policy from ‘no dictate from the U.S.’ and compliance only with the U.N sanctions to completely ditching their purchase of oil from Iran and principally following the U.S. policy of isolating and crippling Iran’s economy, India has now also made a major change in its... More

Court ticks off Bangladesh Central Bank for being blatantly pro-rich

Bangladeshi farmers are facing a massive problem with their rice harvest facing low demand and a steep fall in prices. The distressing situation has led some farmers to burn their crops in anger. People are aghast that the agriculture sector can be in such a situation in what is billed... More

Effects of Saffron surge in West Bengal

Bengal and its poll outcome were clearly the sub-text to the 2019 Indian elections, if the main text was whether BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi could come back to power. The BJP is back in power in India and the country is set to witness another term of Modi. In... More

VIDEO-INTERVIEW

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Exclusive Interview with Bhutan’s Prime Minister


“I will request PM Sheikh Hasina to support us with some (medical) specialists that will be an immediate help for Bhutan” Dr.Lotay Tshering Prime Minister of Bhutan Bhutan’s Prime Minister, Dr. Lotay Tshering, is set to visit Bangladesh on 12th... More

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All offices of the South Asian Monitor will remain close on June 04-07, 2019, on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

There will be no publication of South Asian Monitor during this period.

South Asian Monitor wishes its readers and patrons a very happy Eid.

EID MUBARAK

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