SRI LANKA: Civilians Urge UN Not to Leave War Zone

As the Sri Lankan army stands poised to capture the rebel headquarters of Kilinochchi in northern Sri Lanka, residents of the town are urging United Nations agencies not to vacate the region as ordered by the government.

SRI LANKA: Troops Surround Rebel Hq – NGOs Ordered Out

Saying it was keen to avoid a repeat of the August 2006 massacre of 17 local workers of a French aid agency, the government has ordered all non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to leave the Tamil separatist stronghold of northern Vanni, now under military siege.

SRI LANKA: ‘Animal Tracks’ Lead Villagers Out of Poverty

An impoverished village in southern Sri Lanka is slowly pulling out of poverty by churning out terra cotta moulds of animal footprints for tea connoisseurs all over the world.

SRI LANKA: Clampdown on International NGOs

Accusing international non-government organisations (INGOs) of disseminating ‘wrong’ information to media on the civil war with Tamil rebels and rights issues, the government has moved to tighten the visa regime for foreign workers in this country.

SRI LANKA: No Lessons Learnt From 'Black July' of 1983

On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the 1983 anti-Tamil pogrom in Sri Lanka there are few signs that any positive lessons have been learnt from the gory events that changed this island nation’s history and sent a once booming economy into a downward trajectory.

SRI LANKA: Scarcity, Insecurity as Army Besieges Rebel Hq

With the Sri Lankan army closing in on the Wanni, the headquarters of the Tamil Tigers in the north of the island, the embattled civilian population has been hit not only by scarcities but also by deep insecurity, according to humanitarian agencies remaining in the area.

ECONOMY-SRI LANKA: Business as Usual Despite Rights Record

Is Sri Lanka's bloody ethnic conflict and dismal human rights record an issue for international corporations and multinationals doing business in the country? Business leaders and rights activists are divided on this.

POLITICS: Sri Lanka Dropped From Human Rights Council

Amid calls for additional measures to protect human rights, civil society groups that work closely with the United Nations say they are pleased with the outcome of Wednesday's election of the world body's Human Rights Council.

LABOUR-SRI LANKA: Domestic Workers Promised New Deal in Kuwait

Will a new agreement between licensed labour recruiters in Sri Lanka and Kuwait protect the rights of domestic workers who face serious abuse in the Gulf state?

RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: &#39My Daughter, the Terrorist&#39

In Sri Lanka's brutal civil war some rebel women end their lives as suicide bombers that have killed hundreds over the years. A Norwegian documentary film that follows two 24-year-olds training to do just this has enraged the Sri Lankan government, but raises important questions about the conduct of war and its consequences.

SRI LANKA: Turning to China, Iran for Funds

Sri Lanka’s government, under pressure over human rights violations, is abandoning support from traditional but rights-sensitive partners like the United States and Europe and turning to countries like China and Iran to finance its infrastructure projects.

SRI LANKA: Beating Grain Prices With Home Grown Rice

Drastically lowered wheat consumption in this island country - once running close to that of the domestically grown staple rice - has been welcomed by food security experts as the only way to beat the current rise in global grain prices.

RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: War May See EU Duty Concessions Cut

Sri Lanka’s garment industry is worried that the duty free access it enjoys to European markets will soon be cut as a result of alleged human rights violations related to the government’s pursuit of a military solution to a long-standing ethnic conflict.

SRI LANKA: Elections Quicker Than Resettlement

In the last one year Sri Lanka’s eastern Batticaloa district has seen two rounds of mass displacements as hundreds of thousands of people fled warfare between Tamil militants and the armed forces of the country.

MEDIA-SRI LANKA: Edgy Customs Crack Down On Books

Media freedom has hit a new low in Sri Lanka.

SRI LANKA: Journalists Fight a Separate War

While Sri Lanka’s armed forces battle Tamil Tiger rebels in the north, sections of the country’s media are embroiled in a war of a different kind - a fight to pursue their mission as journalists.

SRI LANKA: Elections Planned in Ex-Tamil Tiger Country

Having secured local body polls in alliance with the armed Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), Sri Lanka’s ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) now plans to hold provincial elections in this eastern district, seized by the army from the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) 10 months ago.

SRI LANKA: Restrictions Tighten on Media

Gemunu Amerasinghe, a photographer with the international news wire Associated Press, was shooting earlier this month in downtown Colombo for an innocuous assignment - or so he thought.

RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: Civilian Lives Going Cheap

This week, as Sri Lanka celebrated the 60th anniversary of its independence from British colonial rule, over 60 civilians were reported killed in the raging ethnic conflict on the island.

MEDIA-SRI LANKA: New Media – First With Reports On Intensifying War

Information is at a premium in Sri Lanka, especially authentic, unadulterated news, fast and quick.

HEALTH-SRI LANKA: Stick to Generic Names or Face Jail Doctors Told

Sri Lankan doctors and patients’ rights groups have rarely seen eye-to-eye on the global debate over costly branded drugs against cheap generics, but they are coming together against a new rule that requires doctors to use only generic names on their prescriptions - or face jail.