As Sri Lanka battles its worst economic crisis in 70 years, the jobless rate climbed, stoking massive social and political concerns. The latest official data showed the island nation's unemployment rate rose to 5 per cent by the end of September last year, during which the economy contracted by 12 per cent.
Canadian envoy was summoned by the Sri Lankan government to protest against his country’s decision to impose "unilateral sanctions" on its four citizens, including two former presidents Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The other two citizens who were sanctioned include Staff Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake and Lt Commander Chandana P Hettiarachchithe.
Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry expressed displeasure over the move to Canada's Acting High Commissioner in Colombo.
Two men from Australia were arrested in Sydney for bribing Sri Lankan officials to in order win infrastructure contracts worth 14 million dollars.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested the men, aged 67 and 71, last month after a decade-long investigation spanning several countries.
It is said that the men bribed more than AUD 304,000 ($190,000) to government officials between 2009 and 2016.
The men, aged 67 and 71, worked for a company which has been accused of misconduct in South Asian countries. They will face the court on Tuesday, reports BBC.
The 350-metre (1,155-feet) Lotus Tower, dubbed South Asia’s tallest structure, built for an estimated US$113 million with Chinese debt is all set to commence operations on September 15 in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo city.
This huge green and purple communications tower is one of several “white elephant” projects built with Chinese loans under Mahinda Rajapaksa, brother of ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa who had to flee in July following months-long protests over Sri Lanka’s dire economic crisis.
Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai, a well-known social and spiritual leader, opened the first phase of a 75-bed free super speciality hospital, Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Super Speciality Hospital, in Batticaloa, a region in the east of the island of Sri Lanka, which has endured years of civil war and has housed over 30,000 war widows, in order to support the Indian Government's efforts to provide humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka, which is bankrupt.