Sri Lanka’s stock market, once a darling of investors, has seen its value plummet 26% in the past year and now faces a crisis of confidence after its regulator quit in a storm of controversy.
The tiny bourse became the world’s top gainer soon after the country ended decades of ethnic war, but three years later […]

(SALEM) – Exactly one year ago today, we brought our readers the story, Everyone’s asking ‘Where’s Prageeth?’ Sadly over this last year, nothing has been learned to bring this important Sri Lankan media figure, Prageeth Eknaligoda, back to his family.
His story has remarkable ties to many other similar occurrences that left behind widows, fatherless children […]

New Poll Finds Zimbabweans Uncertain About Political Future
Zimbabweans are uncertain about their political future and fear increased violence in the lead up to elections, according to a new public opinion
survey sponsored by Freedom House. More than four in five respondents, however, plan to cast a vote. The survey also found that support for President Mugabe’s […]

Introduction
In order to understand the ‘role’ of women in such a vital process of social transition, we have to understand the place of women in our society –
their position, their status, their condition. This conference is being held at a time when the country is shaken by a spike in reports of sexual violence against […]

The highlight of last week’s visit to Sri Lanka by Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee of Liberia was the presentation of a Sri Lankan
Women’s Agenda on Peace, Security and Development to the government. The many co-sponsors of this Women’s Agenda would have wished to make this presentation directly to President Mahinda Rajapaksa himself. However, […]

“….everything that was ever invented by knavery to impose upon imbecility” –  Voltaire (A Philosophical Dictionary)
The Rajapaksas are world class, and more, when it comes to building innocuous facades to hide insalubrious realties.
Dismantling devolution
Who would expect a bill regarding the self-employment scheme sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Development, a bill harmlessly, even trifle
boringly, titled […]

NAIROBI, Kenya — China’s investment prowess and construction know-how is widely on display in this long-congested African capital. A $200 million ring road is being built and partly financed by Beijing. The international airport is undergoing a $208 million expansion supported by the Chinese, whose loans also paid for a working-class housing complex that residents […]

(Washington, DC) – The Australian parliament’s swift approval of an “offshore processing” law marks a shift in refugee policy that appears arbitrary and discriminatory on its face.
The Migration Legislation Amendment (Offshore Processing and Other Measures) Bill 2011, passed by the Senate on August 16, 2012, and by the House the previous day, authorizes the transfer […]

Wed, Aug 15, 2012 11:03 AM AEST: A leading Sri Lankan refugee lawyer says a return to off-shore processing will deter many Tamil asylum seekers.
A leading Sri Lankan refugee lawyer says a return to off-shore processing will deter many Tamil asylum seekers. The end of the civil war in Sri Lanka has seen a surge in Tamils […]

My husband and I have established a cat café at the back of the Cinnamon Grand Hotel where we have been feeding the cats every day for the last seven years. A cat café is basically an area where cats are fed at a regular time each day. Usually a cat café is set up […]