The Real Reasons Behind China's Big Investments In Sri Lanka

          What’s China doing in Sri Lanka? Officially, it’s building the country’s infrastructure. Like the ports of Colombo and Hambantota, which have left the country heavily indebted.

Unofficially, China is setting up outposts in the Indian Ocean as part of Beijing’s broader strategy to secure the passage of Middle East oil through the Strait of Malacca and counter American naval hegemony in the region.

China has increasingly come to rely on the Middle East for its oil needs, which must be shipped through the Strait of Malacca to reach its shores. This means that Beijing runs the risk of being cut off from Middle East oil supplies should America blockade the Strait -- in the event of a further escalation of South China Sea disputes or an outright war between America and China.

Tamil Nadu farmers reel from drought

 Clad only in a green loin cloth, Mr Damodaran, a 47-year-old farmer, has been sitting at Jantar Mantar, the popular protest site, in Delhi for the past two weeks with a number of human skulls by his side. They are ostensibly of fellow farmers who committed suicide. Mr Damodaran, along with 83 other farmers from Tamil Nadu, is taking part in a protest, demanding that the Narendra Modi government step up aid to farmers in the southern Indian state which is in the grip of its worst drought in decades. They want relief from the government, including loan write-offs. Mr Damodaran's rice field now lies barren and he is struggling to service a loan of 1.3 million rupees (S$28,000), including for a tractor he bought two years ago

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