COLOMBO: Sri Lankan lawmakers exchanged blows in Parliament on Wednesday during a debate over alleged corruption in a bond issue that has marred the reputation of a government elected on a platform of good governance.
The brawl erupted after opposition lawmakers protested in the chamber as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was speaking on the bond issue.
A recent presidential inquiry report said the son-in-law of a former central bank governor benefited from leaked inside information on the bond issue.
Opposition lawmakers first lodged a protest that they haven’t been given the report and later walked into the middle of the chamber while shouting slogans and carrying placards. Government lawmakers also walked into the well of the chamber and a brawl soon broke out.
About 50 lawmakers from both sides of the 225-member Parliament took part in the scrum. It was unclear if anyone was injured, but some lawmakers had their shirts torn off.
The former central bank governor was a confidante of Wickremesinghe, who picked by him for the position.
The inquiry report said the former central bank governor’s son-in-law made a quick profit of $72 million (SR270 million) and the state suffered a loss of about $55 million. It also recommended bribery charges be filed against the then finance minister, who allegedly lived in a luxury apartment paid for by the ex-governor’s son-in-law.
Sri Lanka’s government won election three years ago after promising to investigate alleged large-scale irregularities under its predecessors.
Sri Lankan lawmakers exchange blows over corruption claims
Sri Lankan lawmakers exchange blows over corruption claims
Philippines seeks to regain Chinese visitors as arrivals lag behind regional rivals
- 262,000 Chinese tourists visited Philippines in 2025, compared to 1.7m in 2019
- Vietnam is top destination for Chinese travelers, with about 4.8m visitors this year
MANILLA: The Philippines is trailing behind other countries in Southeast Asia in winning back Chinese tourists, with arrivals well below a quarter of pre-pandemic levels so far this year, latest data showed.
Known for its white sandy beaches, famous diving spots and diverse culture, the Philippines was welcoming an increasing number of Chinese tourists in the period before the pandemic, with the number peaking at over 1.7 million in 2019, when it was the second-largest source market after South Korea.
But the post-pandemic rebound has been slow, with China ranking sixth among international arrivals and the number of Chinese visitors reaching only 262,000 as of Dec. 20, according to data from the Philippine Department of Tourism.
“China remains one of the country’s largest and most important source markets,” the tourism department said earlier this week.
Chinese arrivals this year are equivalent to only around 15 percent of the numbers in 2019 and there is stiff competition with regional rivals like Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia each welcoming at least 1 million tourists from China in 2025.
Vietnam has become Chinese travelers’ top travel destination in Southeast Asia with around 4.8 million visitors so far this year, followed by Thailand, which has recorded about 4.36 million.
China is Singapore’s top source market, with nearly 3 million visitors as of November.
To attract more visitors from China, the Philippines reintroduced electronic visas for Chinese travelers in November, after suspending the system for two years.
“The eVisa resumption is a critical step forward and a clear signal that the Philippines is open, ready, and eager to welcome our Chinese friends,” said Ireneo Reyes, the tourism attache to China.
“While the timing meant that its full benefits could not be felt within the peak booking periods of 2025, we expect a more visible impact beginning the first quarter of 2026.”
The Philippine tourism department said that “recovery has also been constrained by reduced flight capacity, with China-Philippines routes operating at only about 45 percent of pre-pandemic levels,” adding that officials were working closely with relevant stakeholders to “rebuild connectivity and confidence.”
Tourism is an important sector in the Philippine economy, according to a report by the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office, accounting for about 13.2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product last year and making up around 13.8 percent of its labor force.
