Image via video screeshot. By Benyasiri Eimviriyapong and Fatima Shahzad Over 70 delegates from 43 organizations across 17 countries gathered in Colombo from 16-18 July for the ‘Hands Off Asia’ conference, organized by the International Peoples’ Assembly and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. The choice of venue was no accident. Four years ago, Colombo was the world’s cautionary tale; sovereign default, fuel queues, a presidential palace occupied by its citizens.

Image via Facebook By Balram Banskota and Jeongeun Hwang On 4 March 2026, a US military vessel torpedoed and sunk the unarmed Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off the southern coast of Sri Lanka. The illegal strike killed over 80 and injured over 30 Iranian sailors, who were returning home after participating in the Indian Navy’s flagship biennial multilateral naval drill, Exercise MILAN, and the International Fleet Review, in Visakhapatnam. The Sri Lankan authorities mobilised to r