Australia and Sri Lanka are usually bitter rivals on the pitch during cricket matches. But Sri Lankans are welcoming the Australian team and its fans as a much-needed distraction from their country’s recent political and economic turmoil.
Sri Lanka faces an environmental disaster as it scrambles to contain a sinking ship carrying chemicals north of Colombo. And, the WHO approves the Chinese-made Sinovac Biotech vaccine. Also, the Biden administration suspends Trump-era oil and gas leases in the Arctic.
Back in November, Sri Lankan writer Indi Samarajiva wrote a prescient essay titled, “I lived through a stupid coup. America is having one now.” After a violent Trump-backed mob attacked the US Capitol on Wednesday, Samarajiva shares what the US might learn from Sri Lanka.