Feizal Samath

DEVELOPMENT-SRI LANKA: Lobbying Puts Ban on GE Food at Risk

Four months ago, Sri Lankan environmentalists were a jubilant lot. Now they are disappointed as a landmark ban on genetically engineered (GE) foods from Sep. 1 may be deferred due to protests from western governments and the private sector here.

SRI LANKA: Solar Power Brings Light, and More, to Rural Homes

By Feizal Samath

For Osgolla Ratnajothi, a Buddhist monk in this north-central Sri Lankan village, his solar- power unit has meant much more than just light to brighten his austere home at night.

POLITICS-SRI LANKA: Postponement of Vote Surprises Few

By Feizal Samath

Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga's postponement of this month's referendum, announced on Tuesday, surprised few people because the vote on a new Constitution had sparked very little interest across this war- battered island.

MEDIA-SRI LANKA: Press Fights its Own War

By Feizal Samath

As government troops pounded Sri Lanka's embattled northern Jaffna peninsula in October 1995, journalists from the city's main newspaper joined hundreds of civilians fleeing from the area to safer ground.

POLITICS-SRI LANKA: Tamil Tigers’ Attack a Blow to Embattled Govt

By Feizal Samath

Tamil rebels delivered a crushing blow to the Sri Lankan government Tuesday, attacking a military airbase and the country's international airport. However, President Chandrika Kumaratunga's worst enemy still remains the main opposition party.

DEVELOPMENT-SRI LANKA: Economy of War-torn Area in Tatters

By Feizal Samath

Workers at the KKS cement factory gather at a temporary office in the northern Sri Lankan capital and sign an attendance register two or three times a week.

POPULATION-SRI LANKA: Street People Stand Up to be Counted in Census

By Feizal Samath

A beggar walks up to Punyasiri Manawaduge and asks him, "Sir, can you count me?"

POLITICS-SRI LANKA: Uncertainty Hurting an Already Faltering Economy

By Feizal Samath

Sri Lanka is once again heading into a political quagmire as the government and opposition forces battle for the hearts and minds of voters ahead of a snap referendum called by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

ENVIRONMENT-SRI LANKA: Scepticism Greets U.S. Debt Swap Offer

By Feizal Samath

Green groups are stridently opposing a U.S. proposal to swap debt with a programme to conserve Sri Lanka's rainforest, accusing the west of trying to control and then spirit away the country's resources.

POLITICS-SRI LANKA: Uncertainty Rises as Government Teeters

By Feizal Samath

Sri Lanka is in its worst ever-political crisis in seven years, as opposition parties close ranks to try to oust President Chandrika Kumaratunga's administration after a key government ally quit last week.

LABOUR-SRI LANKA: Migrants Risk Lives to go to the West

By Feizal Samath

Ranjit (not his real name) wants a better life than what is possible with his meagre earnings as a fisherman off Sri Lanka's western coast. So the young man is prepared to brave the odds and cross the seas to Italy or Australia.

SRI LANKA: It’s Time for Culture-Friendly Tourism, Experts Say

By Feizal Samath

A British professor walks into the dining room of a posh Sri Lankan hotel for breakfast and is confronted by the restaurant manager dressed in a double-breasted suit who asks him "sausages, bacon and eggs, sir?"

RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: Disabled Create Own Niche at Workplace

By Feizal Samath

Ajith Kannangara's fingers curve over the round lids of brown, blue, green, pink and yellow plastic containers, while deftly peeling off stickers and slapping them on.

RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: Disabled Create Own Niche at Workplace

By Feizal Samath

Ajith Kannangara's fingers curve over the round lids of brown, blue, green, pink and yellow plastic containers, while deftly peeling off stickers and slapping them on.

HEALTH: Poor Nations Need Not Look Far for HIV/AIDS Successes

By Feizal Samath

"If governments have been working for many years on preventing AIDS, why are the number of cases increasing instead of decreasing?" asked 14-year-old Kelzang Dorjee from Bhutan.

RIGHTS-SOUTH ASIA: Children Drive Home Message to Corporate World

By Feizal Samath

Maldivian hotel magnate Wahir Deen was so moved by the call from a group of South Asian children for rights to education that he spontaneously offered to provide a computer to each youngster in the group.

LABOUR-SRI LANKA: Marxist Group Winning Allies among Workers

By Feizal Samath

Rising living costs and attempts to liberalise Sri Lanka's labour markets have propelled the country's main Marxist group into the forefront of workers' rights, outdoing other more established trade unions.

POLITICS-SRI LANKA: Army Setback to Add Impetus to Peace Talks

By Feizal Samath

A major Sri Lankan army debacle at the hands of Tamil guerrillas last week, a year after the rebels captured two major military bases in the north, is likely to step up the tempo of peace talks between the two sides, analysts say.

CULTURE-SRI LANKA: Group Offers the Disabled Theatre Exposure and Hope

By Feizal Samath

Sunethra Bandaranaike has no qualms about projecting herself as the elder sister of Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga in raising funds from the private sector to help promote the skills and talents of disabled artists.

SRI LANKA: Importers Unhappy with Ban on GE Food

By Feizal Samath

Public health and green groups in Sri Lanka are overjoyed by the government's decision to ban all types of 'genetically-engineered' (GE) foods, starting May.