Sri Lanka's new president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, right, greets his brother Mahinda after appointing him prime minister at the presidential secretariat in Colombo, Nov. 21, 2019 (AP photo by Eranga Jayawardena).

Sri Lanka has a tendency to flow in and out of global headlines in one of two ways. After a decades-long civil war between the government and ethnic Tamil separatists ended in 2009, it has periodically burst into the news, usually as a result of a paroxysm of violence. The rest of the time, during periods of calm, Sri Lanka datelines tend to arrive with glossy stories about tourism to an island nation rich in natural beauty. Which Sri Lanka appears in headlines in the years to come will depend to a large degree on the ramifications of the recent […]