All posts tagged: Sri

Sri Lankans mark their New Year amid Iran war worries : NPR

Sri Lankans mark their New Year amid Iran war worries : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

A New Year began on April 14 for Sri Lankan Buddhists and Hindus. One custom is to boil fresh milk in a new clay pot and allow it to overflow, seen as a way of invoking blessings. Sanka Vidanagama/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Sanka Vidanagama/NurPhoto via Getty Images COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — In her home in a tidy working class alley, Shiranti Rambukkana has set up a literal bonfire in her narrow living room. At precisely 10:51 a.m. she strikes a match to get a fire going under the wooden kindling on a metal pan in her living room. She throws fire starters to feed the flames, and soon a clay pot of milk resting on bricks boils over — to bring on prosperity and good fortune in the New Year. The day that marks the New Year differs from culture to culture. In this island tucked at the tail end of India, the Buddhist majority and Hindu minority celebrate on April 14. The date marks the end of on solar year …

Growing up during Sri Lanka’s civil war taught me that getting along with people across divides is a virtue we can learn

Growing up during Sri Lanka’s civil war taught me that getting along with people across divides is a virtue we can learn

Published by Sam Flores

(The Conversation) — I grew up in Sri Lanka. Much of my adolescence was spent in Kandy, a city built around a lake, set amid the lush tea plantations of the hill country. Its northern shore houses the Temple of the Tooth, one of Buddhism’s most sacred sites. Each year, it came alive with drummers, dancers and elephants parading through the streets in a “perahera,” or procession, honoring the Buddha’s relic. But Buddhism was only one part of Kandy’s mosaic of religious life. I went to a high school where students from different religious and ethnic backgrounds got along easily. Within walking distance stood Buddhist temples, Christian churches, brightly colored Hindu temples, or “kovils,” and Muslim mosques whose call to prayer echoed across the city multiple times a day. Religious observances filled the calendar; Sri Lanka has more holidays than almost any other country. Our own home was a glimpse into the island’s diversity. I attended both churches and temples with ease. My mother regularly visited a Hindu kovil with a close friend – though …

Sri Lanka says it denied US request to land two aircraft at Mattala airport | US-Israel war on Iran News

Sri Lanka says it denied US request to land two aircraft at Mattala airport | US-Israel war on Iran News

Published by Sam Flores

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says request made on February 26, two days before US and Israel launched war on Iran. Published On 20 Mar 202620 Mar 2026 Sri Lanka’s president says his government turned down a request from the United States to land two US combat aircraft at a civilian airport earlier this month. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Sri Lanka’s parliament on Friday that Washington had requested permission for the aircraft to land at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in southern Sri Lanka from March 4 to 8. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The request was made on February 26, two days before the US and Israel launched their military offensive against Iran. “They wanted to bring two warplanes armed with eight antiship missiles from a base in Djibouti”, Dissanayake told lawmakers. “We turned down the request to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutrality”, he added to applause. The US-Israeli war on Iran has sparked widespread concern globally, as Iranian missile and drone attacks across the wider Middle East have sent energy prices soaring …

Sri Lanka Court Orders 84 Iranian Sailors’ Bodies Be Handed to Iran Embassy, Local Media Says

Sri Lanka Court Orders 84 Iranian Sailors’ Bodies Be Handed to Iran Embassy, Local Media Says

Published by Sam Flores

COLOMBO, March 11 (Reuters) – A Sri Lankan court has ⁠ordered ⁠that the bodies of 84 ⁠sailors killed in an attack on an Iranian warship off ​the island nation’s coast last week be handed over to the embassy of Iran, local media ‌reported on Wednesday. The warship, IRIS ‌Dena, was hit by a torpedo from a U.S. submarine while it was returning ⁠from a ⁠naval exercise organised by India, amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran ​that has wreaked havoc on global markets, sent oil prices soaring, and disrupted trade and travel. The court order was issued on Wednesday following a request from the Galle Harbour Police in ​the southern port city of Galle, the media reports said. The bodies are currently at ⁠the ⁠morgue in Galle’s National Hospital. Sri ⁠Lanka has ​also granted 30-day entry visas to 208 crew members from a second Iranian vessel ​who were taken in ⁠by the South Asian country after the vessel experienced engine problems in the same region, Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekera told Reuters. The Sri Lankan foreign …

Sri Lanka hospital releases 22 rescued from torpedoed Iranian vessel

Sri Lanka hospital releases 22 rescued from torpedoed Iranian vessel

Published by Sam Flores

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka discharged 22 Iranian crew members from hospital who were plucked from life rafts after their warship was sunk by a US submarine, officials said Sunday (Mar 8). The crew had been treated at Karapitiya Hospital in the southern port city of Galle since Wednesday, after the IRIS Dena was torpedoed just outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters. The attack on Dena was the first military strike far outside the Middle East since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran a week ago. Those discharged overnight had been taken to a beach resort in the same district, as Sri Lanka’s navy ended its search on Sunday for survivors from the vessel. Just over 60 people remain missing, according to an official Sri Lankan estimate. “Another 10 are still undergoing treatment,” a medical officer at the hospital told AFP. He said the bodies of 84 Iranians retrieved from the Indian Ocean were also at the hospital. Sri Lanka has denied claims that it was under pressure from Washington to stop the Iranians …

After the U.S. sinks an Iranian warship, Sri Lanka takes custody of an Iranian vessel : NPR

After the U.S. sinks an Iranian warship, Sri Lanka takes custody of an Iranian vessel : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Two Iranian sailors, center, who were rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka’s navy are escorted to a Judicial Medical Officer from the National Hospital, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) Eranga Jayawardene/AP/AP hide caption toggle caption Eranga Jayawardene/AP/AP COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka transferred more than 200 sailors from an Iranian naval vessel to shore Friday after it sought assistance while anchored outside the country’s waters, as tensions mounted in the Indian Ocean following the sinking of an Iranian warship by a U.S. submarine. Sri Lankan navy spokesperson Cmdr. Buddhika Sampath said 204 sailors of the IRIS Bushehr were brought to Welisara Naval Base near the capital, Colombo. They underwent border control procedures and medical tests, but none were found to have health issues. About 15 others have been left aboard the ship with Sri Lankan naval personnel for assistance because they had reported a fault with the ship. The Iranian sailors are interpreting operational instructions, manuals and logs for their Sri Lankan counterparts. He said the …

Sri Lankan navy video shows rescue of Iranian sailors

Sri Lankan navy video shows rescue of Iranian sailors

Published by Sam Flores

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Sri Lanka evacuates crew of second Iranian vessel after US sunk IRIS Dena | Israel-Iran conflict News

Sri Lanka evacuates crew of second Iranian vessel after US sunk IRIS Dena | Israel-Iran conflict News

Published by Sam Flores

Listen to this article | 5 mins info Sri Lanka has evacuated more than 200 crew members from a second Iranian naval vessel off its coast, a day after a US submarine sank an Iranian frigate in the same waters, leaving 87 sailors dead. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced on Thursday that his navy would take custody of the second ship and move it to the northeastern port of Trincomalee for safekeeping, amid fears it could be targeted. He said his government held discussions with Iranian officials and the captain of the ship. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Sri Lankan officials say 87 bodies were recovered and 32 people rescued from the roughly 180 people believed to have been on board IRIS Dena sunk on Wednesday. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday confirmed that a US submarine sank the vessel amid US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Cabinet spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa told parliament the vessel was positioned near Colombo, inside Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone but beyond its territorial waters, adding that authorities were doing “their …