Commentary / World Apr 29, 2019
Asia is now ground zero for Islamist terrorism
by Brahma Chellaney
The region's leaders must address the problem at its source or prepare for more bloodshed.
World Apr 29, 2019
Sri Lanka raids headquarters of hard-line Islamist group suspected in Easter bombings
Sri Lankan police raided the headquarters of a hard-line Islamist group founded by the suspected ringleader behind the Easter suicide bombings of churches and hotels, a Reuters witness said, as Sunday mass was canceled due to fears of further attacks. Armed police in the town ...
Asia Pacific | FOCUS Apr 28, 2019
How 'laid back' Sri Lanka became a soft target for Islamist strike
by Joe Brock
A week ago, Sri Lankan tourist guide Ricky Costa was preparing for a typically easy Sunday ferrying backpackers between Colombo's tea shops and beach bars in his canary-yellow rickshaw. Then the blasts began. The coordinated suicide bombings by Islamist militants at hotels and churches killed ...
Editorials Apr 28, 2019
Power companies must redouble the efforts to fulfill the commitments that they made to revamp the safety of their nuclear power plants when they sought to restart them.
Asia Pacific / Politics Apr 27, 2019
Sri Lankan ex-defense chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa says he will run for president, tackle radical Islam
Sri Lanka's former wartime defense chief, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, said on Friday he would run for president in elections this year and would stop the spread of Islamist extremism by rebuilding the intelligence service and surveilling citizens. Gotabaya, as he is popularly known, is the younger ...
Commentary / World Apr 25, 2019
Sri Lanka attacks mark the birth of terrorism 3.0
by James Stavridis
The Islamic State has morphed into an web-based organization fueling cells and attacks across the globe.
National Apr 25, 2019
Body of Japanese victim of Sri Lanka Easter terror attack arrives at Narita
The body of a Japanese woman who was killed in a series of deadly bombings that hit Sri Lanka over the weekend arrived in Japan on Thursday accompanied by her injured husband and their two children. Kaori Takahashi, 39, was caught in one of eight ...
Asia Pacific Apr 25, 2019
Foreigners swept up as Sri Lanka searches for clues to Easter Sunday bombings
Sri Lankan authorities swept up more people, including foreigners, for questioning on Thursday as they probed deeper into the Easter Sunday bombings, which killed 359 people in potentially the deadliest operation claimed by Islamic State. Police said an Egyptian and several Pakistanis were among those ...
Asia Pacific | FOCUS Apr 25, 2019
Blood brothers: The family that played a key role in Sri Lanka's Easter attacks
Sri Lankan housewife Fathima Fazla thought of her neighbors in the grand three-story home across the street as the wealthy celebrities of her humble Colombo suburb. She had no idea how infamous they would become. Two brothers who lived at the white house on Mahawela ...
Asia Pacific Apr 24, 2019
Foreign groups likely behind Sri Lanka attacks, U.S. ambassador says
The scale and sophistication of the Easter Sunday attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka suggested the involvement of an external group such as Islamic State, the U.S. ambassador said on Wednesday as the death toll jumped to 359. The Islamic State militant group ...
Asia Pacific Apr 24, 2019
Rohingya camps in Bangladesh spawn a new civil society — and political violence
by Simon Lewis, Poppy Mcpherson and Ruma Paul
It was after Mohib Ullah scored his first political victories that the death threats began in earnest. On a recent morning, the Rohingya refugee leaned back on a plastic chair in the Bangladesh camp where he lives and translated the latest warning, sent over ...
Editorials Apr 23, 2019
The Easter Sunday attacks appear to be another indication that jihad is becoming truly global and Asian governments must prepare for that threat.