Sources: Reuters
For the first time in Sri Lanka's history, election officials begin a second round of vote counting. In the first round, National People's Power candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake led with 42.31% of the vote counted, while opposition leader and United People's Power candidate Sajith Premadasa took second place with 32.76%. Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe came in third place with 17% of the vote. Following the counting of second and third preferences, Dissanayake is declared president-elect by the election commission. 2024-09-22
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa flees his residence in Colombo after protesters storm the residence and clash with police. At least 33 people are injured. Rajapaksa's resignation is demanded amid the worst economic crisis in Sri Lanka since 1948. 2022-07-9
Sri Lanka reports its first community case of the highly transmissible Lineage B.1.617 Delta variant in five patients. 2021-06-17
Sri Lankan Member of Parliament and former industry minister Rishad Bathiudeen is arrested, along with his brother, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act for having connections with the perpetrators of the 2019 attack. 2021-04-24
Sri Lanka receives 600,000 doses of the Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccine from China. Vaccination of Chinese nationals could commence first as the Medicines Regulatory Authority says that the vaccination of Sri Lankans will begin after a study by a committee of experts. 2021-03-31
Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Authority bans all flights to and from the United Kingdom beginning on December 23 to prevent a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 from spreading to the country. 2020-12-22
A series of explosions at churches and hotels in four cities in Sri Lanka, including the nation's commercial capital and largest city Colombo, kills at least 359 people and wounds around 500 others. ISIL has since claimed responsibility for the attacks. 2019-04-21
Sri Lanka lifts unofficial ban on Tamil national anthem on independence day. 2016-02-4
Save the Children launches a £1 million appeal to help assist up to 400,000 children it expects are affected by a food crisis following Sri Lanka's worst floods in recent history. 2011-01-20
Sri Lanka announces that a United Nations panel investigating human rights abuses will not be allowed to enter the country. 2010-06-24