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Articles on Sri Lanka

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Dutchbar Batticaloa in eastern Sri Lanka was decimated by the 2004 tsunami. It fell under a newly created 200m buffer zone set up to protect people. But it destroyed fishing communities. Chris Young - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images

‘Building back better’ may seem like a noble idea. But caution is needed

There is a need to be alive to tensions between short- and long-term objectives, as well as the assumptions we hold around what we consider to be “better” and how to achieve it.
Nevada’s six Democratic electors sign their official ballots in December 2016. AP Photo/Scott Sonner

What could replace the Electoral College?

There are many more ways to elect a president than the US method – and several alternatives beyond the popular vote.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the frontrunner in Sri Lanka’s presidential election, faces a lawsuit in the US for alleged extrajudicial killing and torture. M.A. Pushpa Kumara/EPA

Sri Lanka election: will the country see a return to strongman politics?

Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the frontrunner in the presidential election. He was defence secretary during his brother Mahinda’s presidency when the government is accused of numerous wartime atrocities.
A Buddhist monk claiming to be the president of the self-styled ‘Protect Sri Lanka’ organisation argues with police personnel barricading the road leading to the president’s official residence in Colombo. EPA-EFE/M.A.PUSHPA KUMARA

Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday attacks were meant for international audience, but have local consequences

The bombings have been framed as part of ongoing internal conflict, but Sri Lanka was just the stage for a play that could have been performed anywhere in the world.
A Tamil man who was paralyzed by shelling during the final weeks of the conflict in Mullivaikkal in 2009 is seen in this 2018 photo in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Priya Tharmaseelan

Rwanda and Sri Lanka: A tale of two genocides

This spring marks the 25th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide and the 10th year since the Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka. The world knows what happened in Rwanda. What about Sri Lanka?
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Sri Lanka bombings – a clear signal the group is reforming in other parts of the world after its defeat in Syria and Iraq. M.A. Pushpa Kumara/EPA

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the Sri Lanka terror attack. Here’s what that means

The deadly Sri Lanka attacks show a return to the coordinated, sophisticated strikes employed by al-Qaeda in the 2000s, focusing on soft targets with vulnerable institutions.
Muslim devotees offer prayers during Eid al-Fitr in Colombo, Sri Lanka. EPA Images

Who are Sri Lanka’s Muslims?

A new chapter of violence has begun in Sri Lanka and old divisions may yet again escalate further.
Sri Lankan army soldiers secure the area around St. Anthony’s Shrine after a blast in Colombo. AP Photo/ Rohan Karunarathne

Who are Sri Lanka’s Christians?

Suicide bombers struck Sri Lanka’s churches and hotels on Easter Sunday, killing and injuring hundreds of people. Seven percent of Sri Lanka’s population is Christian – most of them Roman Catholics.

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