The story appears in the business section of today's Gulf News. Emirates have made no secret of their displeasure in the whole thing, making clear the fact that the events "will affect their negotiations with Colombo regarding the renewal of the management contract".
Perhaps time for EK to walk away and let Al Baker take over, as was rumoured some time back, although the political changes in Colombo probably won't be too palatable for anyone at this moment in time.