CHENNAI/COLOMBO—Heavy rains across southern India and Sri Lanka have killed at least 41 people, authorities said on Thursday, with weather forecasters expecting the downpours to ease in the next few days as stricken communities pumped out the deluge. The Indian Meteorological Department forecast light to moderate rain in most affected areas, with occasional flooding of…
Sri Lanka Finds Chinese Fertilizers Contaminated, Orders Indian One
NEW DELHI—Sri Lankan paddy fields this season became the plot for a geopolitical soft war between India and China as the island nation found its Chinese fertilizer samples highly contaminated and hastily requested India import a replacement. Rice is Sri Lanka’s staple food and is the second-largest crop in the country after tea. The country…
India to Build Deep Water Port Terminal in Sri Lanka to Counter Beijing’s Influence
An Indian company has signed a contract worth US$700 million to build a strategically important deep-water container terminal in Sri Lanka, a move considered a countermeasure to China’s growing influence in South Asia. The Adani Group of India signed the agreement with the Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) on Sept. 30 to build the terminal…
China Is One Step Closer to Becoming a Naval Super Power
Commentary Naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan said that the rise and fall of world trade and empires depends on sea power. Consequently, China’s Maritime Silk Road initiative has been compared to the British Empire strategy of establishing colonies that served as a series of seaports, not only for trade, but also for naval defense and…
Twin Elephants Born in Sri Lanka in Rare Occurrence
COLOMBO—An elephant in Sri Lanka gave birth to twins on Tuesday for the first time in nearly 80 years, wildlife authorities said. The twins, both males, were born to 25-year-old Surangi at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in the central hills of the country, an orphanage spokesperson said. Their father, 17-year-old Pandu, is also an orphanage resident….
Floods and Mudslides Kill 6, Another 5 Missing in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—Flash floods and mudslides triggered by heavy rains in Sri Lanka have killed at least six people and left five missing, while more than 5,000 are displaced, officials said Saturday. Rains have been pounding six districts of the Indian Ocean island nation since Thursday night, and many houses, paddy fields, and roads have…
Chemical Cargo Ship Sinks Off Sri Lanka, Fouling Rich Fishing Waters
COLOMBO—A cargo ship carrying tonnes of chemicals sank off Sri Lanka’s west coast, its navy said on Wednesday, and tonnes of plastic pellets have fouled the country’s rich fishing waters in one of its worst-ever marine disasters. The government on Wednesday suspended fishing along an 80-km (50-mile) stretch of the island’s coastline, affecting 5,600 fishing…
Sri Lanka Evacuates Crew From Burning Container Ship
COLOMBO—Rescuers have evacuated all crew from a container ship off the coast of Sri Lanka as a fire on board intensified and two people were injured, a spokesman for the Sri Lankan Navy said on Tuesday. An explosion was reported from within the vessel, Navy spokesman Indika De Silva said, adding that an air force…
Sri Lanka Reports 6 Cases of Blood Clots Among 925,000 AstraZeneca Vaccine Recipients, 3 Dead
NEW DELHI—Sri Lanka has found six cases of blood clots among recipients of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, three of whom have died, Health Minister Pavithra Waniarachchi told parliament on Wednesday. Nearly a million people, 925,000 of the country’s 21 million population, have been given the first dose of the Indian-made vaccine in the country. No announcement of…
Sri Lanka to Ban Burqa, Shut More Than 1,000 Unregistered Islamic Schools: Minister
COLOMBO—Sri Lanka will ban the wearing of the burqa and shut more than a thousand Islamic schools, a government minister said on Saturday. Minister for public security, Sarath Weerasekera, said the new policy was based on considerations for “national security” during a news conference on Friday. “In our early days, Muslim women and girls never…
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