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+18 +1
The darker side of Buddhism
The principle of non-violence is central to Buddhist teachings, but in Sri Lanka some Buddhist monks are being accused of stirring up hostility towards other faiths and ethnic minorities.
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+42 +1
The Country That Supplies Eyes
There is a worldwide shortage of corneas for transplant operations but Sri Lanka is doing its best to satisfy demand, without seeking any reward - at least in this life.
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+24 +1
Lightning kills four elephants in Sri Lanka
Four elephants, including two calves, were killed by lightning in northern Sri Lanka in one of the worst wildlife tragedies to hit the country in years, officials said Sunday. A female elephant, aged about 25 years, and two of her calves, aged 10 months and two years, and an eight-year-old female were found dead Sunday just outside the Wilpattu wildlife sanctuary, an official said.
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+28 +1
The Story Behind The World's Emptiest International Airport
Hardly anybody goes to Sri Lanka’s Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) because they have a flight. No, the air transport hub is currently a daily flight or two away from being completely defunct, and the people who do go there tend to be tourists making a side trip from the nearby wildlife parks to see the stunning, fully modern airport in the middle of the jungle for themselves. I arrived at HRI, which is located in Sri Lanka’s southern Hambantota district, in the mid-morning to find a group of tourists huddle together in front of its passenger terminal. I asked them why they wanted to visit an empty airport.
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+34 +1
China and Sri Lanka: Between a Dream and a Nightmare
Colombo is realizing the unintended strategic consequences of closer ties with Beijing. By Jeff M. Smith.
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+6 +1
A Christmas carol service accidentally printed the words to Tupac's ‘Hail Mary’ instead of the carol
A Christmas carol service in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo has accidentally printed out the lyrics to late rapper Tupac Shakur’s ‘Hail Mary’ in its programme instead of the 15th century Catholic prayer. The mix-up occurred at the 2016 Catholic Joy to the World Festival at the city's Nelum Pokuna Theatre during one of Sri Lanka's largest Christmas celebrations earlier this month.
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+28 +1
At least 26 dead in garbage dump collapse in Sri Lanka
The death toll from Friday’s collapse of a large portion of the massive garbage dump in Meethotamulla, in the suburbs of Colombo, rose to 26 by yesterday evening. The bodies of seven children, along with 19 adults, have been found so far. Another 12 injured have been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital. Residents told WSWS reporters that there could be as many as a 100 people still buried under the debris.
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+22 +1
Human Forms in Nature: Ernst Haeckel’s Trip to South Asia and Its Aftermath
An early promoter and populariser of Darwin's evolutionary theory, the German biologist and artist Ernst Haeckel was a hugely influential figure of the late 19th century. Bernd Brunner looks at how a trip to Sri Lanka sowed the seeds for not only Haeckel's majestic illustrations from his Art Forms in Nature, for which he is perhaps best known today, but also his disturbing ideas on race and eugenics.
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+11 +1
Sri Lankan caught smuggling gold in rectum
Sri Lankan authorities have arrested a man for allegedly trying to smuggle gold and jewellery weighing up to 1kg (2.2lb) hidden in his rectum. Customs officials found 904 grams of gold, worth about 4.5m Sri Lankan rupees ($29,370, £21,700) inside the suspect's rectal cavity. The 45-year-old Sri Lankan man was bound for India but was stopped at Colombo's international airport.
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+13 +1
A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold: the Meethotamulla disaster
In this article, Stuart Cosgrove reflects upon the Meethotamulla garbage dump disaster in Colombo, earlier this year. It was, he argues, the consequence of rampant capitalist development that pays little heed to environmental consequence, and which presents as much danger as it does opportunity to the world’s poor.
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+10 +1
WW2 ship refloated by Sri Lanka navy
A British passenger ship that sank after it was bombed in a Japanese air strike in World War Two has been raised off the Sri Lanka coast after 75 years. The SS Sagaing, whose passengers and cargo were largely saved back in 1942, has been refloated with the help of a team of divers from Sri Lanka's navy. It had been resting about 35ft (10.7m) under the water at Trincomalee harbour. The salvage operation took several months and was carried out by Sri Lanka's Eastern Naval Command unit.
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+19 +1
The 150-Year-Old Story of Sri Lankan Tea-Making
The lives of the hardworking tea pluckers who produce Ceylon tea.
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+18 +1
Where Countries Are Tinderboxes and Facebook Is a Match
False rumors set Buddhist against Muslim in Sri Lanka, the most recent in a global spate of violence fanned by social media.
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+12 +1
Sri Lanka's disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns
Controversial leader signs resignation letter, signalling an end to a seven-week long political crisis.
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+21 +1
Sri Lanka attacks: more explosions as at least 150 killed at churches and hotels on Easter Sunday – live
Many more injured as explosions hit three hotels and three churches in and around Colombo as well as at Batticaloa in the east of the country
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+16 +1
Sri Lanka blocks social media after deadly Easter explosions
Sri Lanka has temporarily shut down access to social media following multiple coordinated bombings on Easter Sunday that left scores dead and injured. More than 200 people were killed and hundreds more hospitalized with injuries from eight blasts at Roman Catholic churches and high-end hotels, according to multiple reports. The attacks struck at around 8:45 a.m. local time. Sri Lankan Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene described the blasts as a terrorist incident and blamed religious extremists.
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+2 +1
ISIS claims Sri Lanka attacks; official says bombings were retaliation for Christchurch assault on Muslims
The Islamic State on Tuesday claimed responsibility for a series of bombings at churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday that killed 321 and injured 500. The group made the claim through its Amaq News Agency. Its statement, two days after the deadly attacks, came after a senior government official said the bombings were "in retaliation" for mass shootings at two mosques in New Zealand last month.
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+28 +1
Death toll rises to 359 in Sri Lanka bombings, more arrested
The death toll from the Easter suicide bombings in Sri Lanka rose to 359 and more suspects have been arrested, police said Wednesday.
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+11 +1
Sri Lanka Bans all Face Veils After Easter Bombings
As of Monday, Muslim women in Sri Lanka will no longer be allowed to wear face veils in public. All types of face coverings that could hide someone’s identity are now banned in the country under an emergency law. The measure was imposed a week after more than 250 people were killed in a series of bombings that targeted churches and hotels. “President Maithripala Sirisena took this decision to further support the ongoing security and help the armed forces to easily identify the identity of any wanted perpetrators,” read a news release from the president’s office.
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+27 +1
How Much It Sucks to Be a Sri Lankan Worker Making Beyoncé's New Clothing Line
According to a newspaper investigation, the sweatshop workers making the Ivy Park collection for Topshop are only making 64 cents an hour. We ask an expert on the Sri Lankan clothes industry just how bad the situation really is.
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