SRI LANKA: U.N. Wants Economic Recovery for Former Conflict Zone

With thousands of war affected civilians still without livelihood and an economy still reeling from the aftermath of a decades-long conflict in Sri Lanka’s northern region, plans should be in place to revive local economies and jobs, says a top United Nations official.

Back Off Sri Lanka Inquiry, U.N. Chief Told

Sri Lanka's newly-appointed Foreign Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris arrived in New York last week carrying a tough message for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: keep your hands off Sri Lanka.

SRI LANKA: Garment Sector, Gov’t Optimistic about Trade Pact with EU

Relations between Sri Lanka and European Union (EU), which turned frosty around six months back, appear to be thawing as the government makes a last ditch stand to regain a crucial trade concession that has been suspended over human rights issues hounding the south Asian island state.

SRI LANKA: War-Affected Women Bewail Their Plight

Rajini Padamaraj, 32, is burdened with the responsibility of looking after the needs of her entire household, composed of her mother and two younger siblings.

SRI LANKA: Tourists Return to Paradise Isle a Year After War’s End

A year since Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war ended on May 18 last year, tourists are returning in huge numbers to a popular beach destination located over 300 kilometres from where the last battles were fought.

POLITICS: Sri Lanka’s Turnaround Could Signal New Beginning

For a country that has had quite a few run-ins with global giants in the diplomatic arena, the last fortnight has witnessed somewhat of a turnaround for Sri Lanka.

SRI LANKA: Farming, Fisheries Offer Hope to Former Battleground

Well before the northern Sri Lankan region of the Jaffna Peninsula was devastated by over two and a half decades of a bloody sectarian war, fisheries and agriculture had been the mainstays of its economy.

SRI LANKA: Jaffna Tamils Decry Development Plan of Gov’t

Two cyclists from the minority Tamil community are shooed away by government soldiers as they approach this northern Sri Lankan city’s only Buddhist temple while President Mahinda Rajapaksa is paying a visit.

SRI LANKA: Former Battle Zone Getting Used to Peace

In the yard of the Javiz Arulanandam's church here lies the top portion of a statue of Jesus Christ. Only the head remains of the statue, which would have been at least 20 feet tall.

RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: How the War Gave Tamil Women More Space

Whenever Sri Lankan rights activist Shereen Xavier attends a meeting related to her work in this war-battered northern capital, she makes sure to be dressed in a sari, a traditional gown worn by South Asian women.

POLITICS-SRI LANKA: New Parliament, New Hopes, New Fears

Voter turnout in the Apr. 8 election was one of the lowest in Sri Lanka's post- independence history. But the result was a landslide win that has strengthened the hand of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration like never before.

SRI LANKA: Islamic Convert’s Detention Sparks Debate on Tolerance

Issues of religious tolerance, the rule of law and freedom of expression in this mainly Buddhist country are being thrown into debate by the detention of a Sri Lankan Buddhist woman who converted to Islam and was writing a book on her conversion.

DEVELOPMENT-SRI LANKA: Opening of War Zone Helps Ease Distrust

Elephant Pass conjures up images of the deadliest battles in Sri Lanka's conflict with the Tamil Tigers. But today, tens of thousands of local visitors have been to visit the former war zone.

SRI LANKA: Attack Over ‘Offensive’ Music Video Revives Old Fears

Anger against the popular rap and hip-hop singer Akon, whose music video has footage of bikini-clad women dancing near a Buddha statue, may have been just a ruse used in this week's attack on a private media house in Sri Lanka, media advocates fear.

POLITICS-SRI LANKA: Scepticism Greets Human Rights Plan

Pressured by the west and international groups over its human right record, the Sri Lankan government is close to finalising a roadmap on safeguarding civil and political liberties.

Q&A: Sri Lanka Remains Defiant of U.N. Chief

The Sri Lankan government continues to challenge U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's right to appoint a panel of experts to advise him on the human rights situation - euphemistically called "accountability issues" – following the end of a protracted conflict against a secessionist group widely considered a terrorist organisation.

POLITICS: Sri Lanka Garners Support Against U.N. Probe

Sri Lanka, which won a grueling decades-long battle against one of the world's most ferocious terrorist organisations last May, has scored a diplomatic victory in its ongoing war of words with the United Nations.

POLITICS: Sri Lanka Locks Horns with UN over Experts’ Panel

The war of words between the Sri Lankan government and the United Nations has begun all over again, this time over the creation of an experts’ panel on the island’s human rights record.

POLITICS: Sri Lanka, Britain Spar Again Over Tigers

Tensions between Sri Lanka and Britain may have calmed down somewhat after the civil conflict ended in this South Asian country last year, but are rising again after the government accused London of aiding the defeated Tamil Tigers to regroup internationally.

DEVELOPMENT-SRI LANKA: NGOs Brace for Tighter Gov’t Control

Local and foreign non-governmental organisations have had a liberal existence in Sri Lanka, but this may not last for much longer under the government’s plans to amend a 1980 law that would tighten control over them.

SRI LANKA: Post-Election Protests Fail to Get Wide Support

Street protests that erupted in Colombo and other cities following the Feb. 8 arrest of defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka have yet to gain wider support from non-political groups.