Smugglers Devastate Gulf of Mannar Marine Reserve

Forest officials of the Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve abutting the Palk Straits between India and Sri Lanka have reported a decline in marine wildlife, as smugglers exploiting lax conservation laws in the region tank up on protected species used in traditional Chinese medicines and fine dining.

Sri Lanka Rattled by Planned UN Rights Resolution

Strung across the main road leading away from the international airport is a banner that has an intriguing message: ‘USA, Pls Do Not Support Terrorism’.

ECONOMY: Sri Lankan Poor Hit by Triple Whammy

First the government devalued the Sri Lankan rupee by three percent in November. Then interest rates were hiked. And to cap that U.S. sanctions hit Iran, which meets 90 percent of this country’s oil needs.

SRI LANKA: Peace Brings Little for the War-Disabled

There are times when Thiyagarajah Santhirakumaran, 35, wishes that he had died in Sri Lanka’s civil war. There is peace now, but with both his legs blown off by a shell he has little to look forward to except a life of dependency.

SRI LANKA: Road Signs Indicate Better Times

The rough road is almost indistinguishable from the mud huts and dilapidated surroundings of this village - still pockmarked by the artillery duels of Sri Lanka’s fierce civil war that ended more than two years ago.

SRI LANKA: Alive or Beheaded this Maid is a Heroine

Will Rizana Fathima Nafeek return to this poverty-ridden coastal village in Sri Lanka alive and in one piece? Or will the beheading sentence passed on her by a Saudi Arabian court in 2007 be finally carried out?

Sri Lankan Rights Abuses Obstruct Trade Efforts with Canada

Despite the crossfire of Canadian accusations of human rights violations by Sri Lanka at the end of its civil war and Colombo's corresponding counter-claims, the economically battered South Asian country aims to bolster its trading relationship with Canada and increase foreign direct investment.

SRI LANKA: Solar Lights Dispel Post-War Gloom

The one thing that a quarter century of civil war has taught the local population in the north of the island is how to make the best use of local resources - starting with plain sunshine.

SRI LANKA: Struggling Beside the Shining New Road

The sun’s rays bouncing off the A9 highway give it a shining glow. Once known as Sri Lanka’s ‘highway of death’, the road has come a long way from those macabre associations.

Watchdogs Push Hard for War Crimes Probe in Sri Lanka

Despite months of frustrated efforts to secure a full and impartial investigation into possible laws-of-war violations during the last phase of Sri Lanka's civil war, which ended in 2009, leading human rights advocates in the U.S. launched a fresh charge on the island nation's government this week, vowing that, "If the Sri Lankan government won't provide justice for victims, the international community will."

SRI LANKA: Catching Itself Young

When Sri Lanka extended the age of retirement for government workers from 55 to 57 years it defied criticism that the island’s public sector was overstaffed and needed serious downsizing.

SRI LANKA: Less Guns Mean More Food

As paddy cultivation revives in Sri Lanka’s former war zones, prospects for the island’s food security have improved dramatically.

Sri Lanka Ducks International Probe

Although the Sri Lankan government has evaded calls for an international probe into alleged excesses while militarily defeating Tamil separatism in 2009, it may yet be called to account at the September session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: Recovery of Disappeared’s Body Raises Hopes

The details would have done credit to the plot of a spy thriller, except they are chillingly real.

In Sri Lanka Democracy Rides on Wheels

If voters in this remote village, deep inside Sri Lanka’s former war zone, turned out in strength for the historical Jul. 23 local body elections, it had to do with the availability of buses to ferry them to the nearest polling station 20 km away.

Sri Lankan Jails “Hell” for Women

Monthly ‘visiting hours’ at the female ward of Sri Lanka’s notorious Welikada Prison are as traumatic for the inmates as they are for their family and friends. A tiny room, measuring 10 feet by seven feet, is divided in half by a mesh counter. On one side, mothers, fathers, children and relatives jostle for standing room. On the other the inmates, in white prison clothes, shout to be heard over the din.

SRI LANKA: Film Reveals Atrocities in Final Months of Civil War

A new documentary showing graphic footage from the end of Sri Lanka's war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009 is rejuvenating calls for an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity.

SRI LANKA: Saudi Death Sentence for Maid Shakes Govt

The Sri Lanka government is considering a further tightening of age restrictions on women leaving the country to become domestic workers. But some analysts say this is a quick-fix solution to the problem of women running afoul of the law abroad.

SRI LANKA: No Cricket for This Tendulkar

His father named him after the famous Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar, one of the best sportsmen of his generation. But little Sachin Tendulkar from the northern Sri Lankan town of Vavuniya harbours no ambition of following in the footsteps of his illustrious namesake.

SRI LANKA: Conflict Gives Way to Hardship

Like many Sri Lankans, Kandiah Selvadurai measures the improvement in his life by the amount of money he spends on essentials. When basic goods were scarce more than two years ago, he paid dearly for them. These days, he buys them for a tiny fraction of what they used to cost.

SRI LANKA: Onset of Rains Tests Anti-Dengue Campaign

With the monsoon season upon it, Sri Lanka’s war against the deadly dengue- carrying mosquito faces its toughest test yet, but early signs show that the mosquitoes are not quite ready to give up.