DEVELOPMENT: Asian NGOs Must Lead in Asia

In a spirit of South-South Cooperation Asian NGOs must take the lead from international and western NGOs working in war-torn Sri Lanka and across Asia, as they understand the local dynamics and culture much more deeply than anyone else, an experienced Asian NGO leader told IPS.

SRI LANKA: Economic Crisis Ramping Up, As War Winds Down

Government troops are closing in on the last remnants of Tamil Tiger resistance in northern Sri Lanka as an upsurge of more that two years of fighting winds down. But, the country’s economic woes aren’t over. More and more pressure it being put on President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s cash-strapped administration.

ECONOMY-SRI LANKA: Conditions Worsen For Women Workers

Ramani, 26, sits inside her small, dimly-lit boarding house room, cutting vegetables, in this industrial town outside Colombo. She plans to return to her rural village in May to get married.

ECONOMY-SRI LANKA: Return of the IMF

Sri Lanka is going on bended knee to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - an institution it chased away two years ago - for a bailout package worth 1.9 billion US dollars, as authorities scrape the barrel for foreign exchange.

SRI LANKA: U.N. Urged to Intervene to Protect Civilians

The fast deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka - caused by the lingering armed conflict between the government and rebel forces - demands immediate action on the part of the U.N., a leading international human rights organisation said Friday.

RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: India Can Help End Civilian Killings

As Sri Lanka's armed forces battle the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in their last stronghold, the island country's influential neighbour, India, is weighing diplomatic options to goad President Mahinda Rajapakse's government to save civilians trapped in the war zone.

SRI LANKA: ‘Govt Targets Media Under Civil War Cover’

Sri Lanka's ruling establishment has become increasingly intolerant towards the island country's independent media, even as President Mahinda Rajapakse's government steps up its military offensive against separatist Tamil militants in the north.

SRI LANKA: Tamils Fearful For the Future

As Sri Lanka celebrates 61 years of independence from British colonial rule on Wednesday, the enthusiasm is understandably not shared by minority Tamils living under the military jackboot in the north of the country.

SRI LANKA: Govt Ignores Supreme Court

Far from heeding charges of human rights abuses and stifling dissent, the government has, this week, added blatant disregard for judicial fiat to its list of sins.

SRI LANKA: India Speaks Up For Embattled Tamils

As humanitarian agencies warned of a major crisis unfolding in Sri Lanka, Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee made a quick dash Colombo to extract promises concerning the safety of some 250,000 ethnic Tamils trapped in fighting between separatist rebels and government troops.

RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: 'Plight of Tamils Similar to Gaza Civilians'

While the Sri Lankan army has announced the capture of Mullaitivu, the last bastion of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the plight of more than 250,000 civilians caught in the fighting continues to be as grim as that of civilians in Gaza, say those involved in humanitarian work.

SRI LANKA: Journos Vow to Carry on Slain Editor's Legacy

Every Tuesday the editors of ‘The Sunday Leader’, the investigative Colombo-based newspaper, go through a ritual. Throughout the morning editorial staff amble in and out, tension levels rising as deadlines near.

RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: ‘Culture of Violence Getting Ingrained in Society’

One of the worst legacies of the decades-old civil war in this island country is the culture of violence and impunity that many fear has become ingrained in Sri Lankan society - once known for ‘serendipity' and respect for Buddhist virtues.

SRI LANKA: Outrage, Helplessness at Editor’s Murder

A controversial but powerful newspaper editor was assassinated Thursday even before outrage and dismay had died down over the ransacking of the premises of a popular radio and TV broadcaster by masked, armed men.

SRI LANKA: ‘Attacks on Media Will Continue’

It was typical of what Sri Lankan media has been facing over the years: a pre-dawn raid on a media house, employees beaten up and costly equipment destroyed. Maharaja TV, the latest victim, was also promised the routine, impartial inquiry by the government.

LABOUR-SRI LANKA: Gloomy Prospects in 2009

If the global financial crisis slams the brakes on worker remittances from the Middle East, Sri Lanka’s top foreign exchange earner, it could severely exacerbate this country’s economic woes, analysts say.

RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'

The eight rows of pews at St. Fatima’s church in Colombo were mostly empty despite the festive look from Christmas decorations.

SRI LANKA: Women Pray for Sons, Husbands Caught in Civil War

As the Sri Lankan army pushes deeper into Tamil rebel-held territory hundreds women can only pray that their sons and husbands, believed held captive by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), are spared.

SRI LANKA: Terror, Recession Put Tourism in the Doldrums

With the sun glistening on waves that gently lap its clean sandy beaches and coral reefs, Hikkaduwa is the perfect tourist paradise. But there is one thing missing -tourists.

SRI LANKA: Oil Hedging Deal Turning Into Billion-Dollar Scam

As global oil prices dive, the Sri Lankan government finds itself saddled with a complicated oil hedging deal with two foreign banks that could cost the country close on one billion US dollars and has brought charges of high corruption upon state officials.

SRI LANKA: No Calm After the Storm

The only good thing about tropical storm ‘Nisha’, that lashed northern Sri Lanka in the last week of November, was that it brought a lull to the fierce fighting between Tamil separatist rebels and the Sri Lankan army.