Sri Lanka

As the summer season draws near, the issue of staffing in the tourism sector in Bulgaria comes to the forefront once again, with the workforce having to depend on individuals from foreign countries for yet another year. With each passing year, businesses find themselves in the familiar situation of relying on overseas staff to meet the demands of the busy season.

The Turkish corvette TCG Kınalıada embarks on an expedition to the Far East on April 8, retracing the route of the ill-fated frigate Ertuğrul, which sank en route from Japan in 1890.

The voyage also marks the centennial milestone of diplomatic ties between Türkiye and Japan.

Sri Lanka's police announced yesterday the arrests of nearly 15,000 people during a week-long military-backed anti-narcotics drive, a crackdown denounced by rights activists.

Police said their operation, code-named "Yuktiya" or "Justice," led to the seizure of almost 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of narcotics, including 272 kg of cannabis, 35 kg of hashish and nine kilograms of heroin.

The Netherlands returned formal ownership to Sri Lanka of six colonial-era treasures on Aug. 28, including a more than 275-year-old cannon inlaid with gold, silver, bronze and rubies.

At a ceremony at the cultural ministry in Colombo, Dutch deputy minister for culture, education and science, Gunay Uslu, signed over the ownership of the objects to Sri Lanka, local officials said.

Sri Lanka is considering the possibility of allowing the use of the Indian rupee for local transactions, as the island nation struggles to build its depleted foreign reserves and to emerge from last year's unprecedented economic crisis.

Sri Lanka's inflation eased to 12 percent in June, official data showed on July 1, the lowest figures since the island nation careened into an unprecedented economic crisis last year.

Sri Lanka defaulted on its $46 billion foreign debt in April 2022 and the public endured months of food, fuel and medicine shortages.

Sri Lankan authorities have declared a five-day closure of financial markets from June 29 ahead of a controversial move to restructure the government's domestic debt amounting to more than $51 billion.

The restructuring affects government bonds in line with an IMF bailout agreed in March, after Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt in April last year and declared bankruptcy.

Police on the island of Kefalonia have arrested two parents after their three-year-old son fell into a private pool and drowned.

Sri Lanka must not allow entrenched corruption to undermine a bailout for its bankrupt economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday after signing off on a $3 billion loan for the crisis-hit nation.

The IMF approved its long-delayed rescue program on March 20 after China, the South Asian nation's biggest bilateral lender, offered debt relief assurances.

Pakistan had a dismal home international cricket season, but over the last five weeks stadiums in four major cities were packed with thousands of spectators to witness a quality brand of modern-day Twenty20 cricket.