Sri Lanka’s new president, by-elections in Punjab, ‘14 Peaks’ and more

In this episode, we discuss the three-way contest in Parliament to elect Sri Lanka’s new president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, after Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and resigned last week amid an astounding protest movement. We also unpack heightened tensions between the Sri Lankan government and protesters, and what the political implications of this dramatic reconfiguration of political roles will be. In Around Southasia in 5 minutes, we look at Myanmar junta’s attempts to roll out Chinese-built surveillance cameras across the country, arbitrary travel restrictions and harassment of journalists and activists in India, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) landslide victory in Punjab by-elections, and more. Plus in our culture section Bookmarked, we talk about ‘14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible’, a 2021 Netflix documentary that follows Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja’s quest to summit all fourteen of the world’s 8000-meter peaks in seven months, plus our monthly recommendations for reading and watching. https://www.himalmag.com/southasiasphere-sri-lanka-next-president-elections-in-punjab-14-peaks-and-more/