“The prolongation of military commands made Rome a servile state”. Machiavelli (The Discourses) By Tisaranee Gunasekara Stratospheric defence costs constitute Lankan economy’s deadliest ticking time-bomb. Militarization is menacing Southern (and Lankan) economic wellbeing as much as it is impeding Northern democracy. The fundamentally weak Lankan economy can ill afford the huge amounts of money sp...

American war reporter Marie Colvin, who has lost sight in one of her eyes when she was reporting the conflict in Sri Lanka has died in Syria following a shelling attack, says media reports. Colvin in her 50s was working for Britain’s Sunday times and has been reporting the Syrian political crisis

A Sri Lankan man was among four people wounded in separate stabbing incidents in Male on Saturday night, according to reports reaching Colombo.The other three were Maldivians one of whom died in hospital, the following day. Maldivian newspapers earlier reported that a foreign expatriate, was among the victims, and was receiving treatment after being assaulted with a sharp object by two men on a mo...

(Srilankamirror) - The political crisis in the Maldives has brought unexpected advantage for Sri Lanka’s hospitality industry, said Sri Lanka Tourism chairman Nalaka Godahewa. According to him, more tourists were now turning to Sri Lanka than before in view of the situation

MALE (Reuters): The former President of the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives sat inside his house awaiting arrest on Thursday after being ousted from his post in what he said was a coup at gunpoint. About 200 supporters stood under umbrellas in the pouring rain outside as Mohamed Nasheed spoke to reporters at his ...

HAS democracy failed in the Maldives? As chaos engulfs the second closest country to Sri Lanka, it is impossible not to wonder over where this change will lead. Will the country still continue as a democracy or will it fall into extremist hands? What are the lessons that Sri Lanka can learn from what has ...

Sri Lanka has called for a peaceful end to the issue in the Maldives after protests led to the resignation of former President Mohamed Nasheed. The Sri Lankan External Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the developments are internal matters of the Maldives and hopes that all issues pertaining to this transition ...

The Secretary General of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has decided to resign her post after she was accused of siding with anti-government forces in the political crisis engulfing the Maldives. Maldivian media reports said Dhiyana Saeed would hand hover her resignation

BANGKOK (Reuters): Thailand’s worst floods in 50 years have hit tourism at the start of the high season, but the country has recovered quickly in the recent past from all sorts of scourges and some tour operators are hopeful a recovery might start next month. Floodwater in some areas of the capital, Bangkok, and other ...

HONG KONG (AFP): Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday as Italy’s deepening debt and political crisis overshadowed progress by Greece, another stricken eurozone member, towards installing a new government. Italy’s borrowing rates have soared to unsustainable levels with the yield

BANGKOK (Reuters):  The Thai government is pushing ahead with a big rise in the minimum wage despite appeals from industry to shelve the plan to help companies cope with financial losses after the worst floods in half a century devastated parts of the country.  Flooding has killed at least 297 people since late July and ...

Global banking giant HSBC is upbeat on Sri Lanka’s external trade, predicting exponential growth above global average over the next 15 years. In its October 2011 dated HSBC Trade Connections Trade Forecast Quarterly Update, HSBC said Sri Lanka’s external trade would grow in volume terms by 105% by 2025 and value wise by 83% to ...

The Campaign for Freedom for Political Prisoners (CFPP), which has been organized under the We Are Sri Lankans (WESL) organization, has said the government must be accountable for arrests made during the period of the war. Member of the CFPP, Chameera Koswatte has told the media that a political

A POLITICAL crisis was averted yesterday after the Tasmanian Greens sided with the Labor Government in support of embattled Children's Minister Lin Thorp.

A POLITICAL crisis has been averted after the Tasmanian Greens this morning sided with Labor.

in resolving its political crisis.

External affairs Minister G.L Peiris today reiterated his claim that Nepal sought the assistance of Sri Lanka to diffuse it’s ongoing political crisis, which Nepal later denied earlier

Nepal has refuted claims made by a Sri Lankan minister that it had sought the island nation's help to diffuse the ongoing political crisis in the Himalyan nation. Sri Lankan...

Nepal has refuted claims made by a Sri Lankan minister that it had sought the island nation’s help to diffuse the ongoing political crisis in the Himalyan nation, the Hindustan Times reports. .

Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav has asked his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapksa to help Kathmandu in resolving the political crisis prevailing in the Himalayan nation, External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris said in Parliament. .

Outgoing labor commissioner Michael Thurmond addressed the media Thursday for the first time since losing Nov. 2 to GOP incumbent Sen. Johnny Isakson.

President Rajapaksa returns home after a successful three day official tour of China. The President returned to the island this afternoon. The President was a special guest at the 2010 EXPO Exhibition which concluded at Shanghai yesterday. He and his entourage were there at an invitation extended by China. President Rajapaksa was also a special ...

the political crisis in his country. The President ...

The Shanghai Expo Summit Forum was held in China on a grand scale with the participation of world leaders including President Rajapaksa. The first session was held this morning with the participation of invited guests, including the Sri Lankan leader. Thereafter the President had discussions with his Nepalese counterpart Ram Badan Yadev Reporting from Shanghai ...

by Dr.Nihal Jayawickrama In an article published in a Sunday newspaper, and in a recycled version published on a popular website, Dr Dayan Jayatilaka continues his defence of the indefensible Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution. That piece of secret legislation...

by Dayan Jayatilleka The recent Asia Society question and answer session with External Affairs minister GL Peiris, was describes by veteran journalist Thalif Deen, head of the IPS New York bureau as a “lively interaction”....

Maldivian Vice President, Dr Mohamed Waheed speaking at the General Debate of the 65th Session of the UN General Assembly thanked President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his assistance in solving the Maldivian political crisis. "I would like to thank all members of the international community

Maldivian Vice-President Dr. Mohammed Waheed Hassan speaking at the 65th Session of the UN General Assembly has thanked Sri Lanka and President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his support during the Maldivian political crisis. The Maldivian Vice-President called on the international community to assist Sri

Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed has revealed that he will request President Rajapakse to intervene again-‘if necessary. He also stressed that President Rajapakse helped both himself and the Opposition Leader Ahmed Thasmeen ‘to get on the track’ during last July’s political crisis. President

Since Madagascar underwent a violent change of government in 2009, the island nation's economy has collapsed and illegal logging has boomed as people seek any means of earning a living. BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents reveals how Madagascar's forests have been plundered since the political crisis began.