CHATTING with Ajith Cabraal, the amiable governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, in his lofty eyrie above Colombo, one could be forgiven that he’s presiding over some approximation of a Switzerland-sur-tropique
City Life - Colombo
Peace would be a better business plan for the island of a hundred ministers...
Tea with the Tigers becomes a turbulent brew
Sri Lankan tea maker Dilmah is taking
a leaf from the wine industry to label its beverage as high-end and chic
Eyewitness account of Tamil attack
Sunday's Tamil attack was yet another embarrassment to President Mahinda Rajapakse's dysfunctional government
The Flying Tigers of Tamil Eelam Buzz Sri Lanka
A surreal air raid and gunfire awaken the snoozing guests of the Galle Face, Colombo’s famous old seaside hotel
A disagreement with Sri Lankan villagers over
the ownership of beachside land has Eric Ellis desperate for a resolution
War of words over a Sri Lankan literary festival
A flamboyant hotelier’s plan to pair his tsunami charity with a lit fest draws pointed questions from donors and book lovers alike
The former Australian batsman's "terrorist" slur on a South African player came as no surprise to those who have followed Jones' crass commentating career
East & Eden
For a truly inspiring Asian experience step off the well-trodden path. The top
10 must-visit holiday hotspots
Almost a year later, too little has changed along the tsunami-smashed Sri Lankan coast. Aid was sent but the will to recover seems to have been swept away
As an occasional resident of a Sri Lankan fishing village, writer Eric Ellis pitched in to help those ruined by the tsunami. But the plan to finance and organise replacement boats was beset by bureaucracy, connivance and internecine warfare
Sri Lanka’s efforts to rebuild after the
tsunami have been slowed by
bureaucracy and renewed ethnic tensions. Can President Kumaratunga
use the disaster to transform the island’s political culture?
A reporter’s account of one personal mission
Interview with President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's expat elite are kicking off their high heels and rolling up the sleeves of their linen shirts with some acts of extraordinary generosity that few thought them capable of. Eric Ellis reports.
After the apocalypse; A journey to find loved ones in the devastation of southern Sri Lanka defies description - the jaw drops; the eyes glaze; the soul weeps. And the politicians fiddle as the people wail.
Along this stretch of highway south of Sri Lanka's capital, 10,000 people were washed away. What remains is sorrow
Victoria's Secret's Secret? Hint: It's In the Indian Ocean
Sri Lanka's largest private company has overcome 20 years of civil war to become the lingerie chain's biggest supplier
A vote that could prove dangerous
The controversies in Australian cricket pale into insignificance when you look at Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, a national obsession with cricket is helping to heal the wounds of a long-running civil war
Teardrop isle smiles once more
Colombo is striving to become "Asia's Majorca" as canny tourists snap up postwar bargains, says Eric Ellis
The Colombo stockmarket just had its best-ever year, but no-one in Sri Lanka seems to know how good, least of all the management of the emerging stock exchange. That's because the tiny market, capitalised at about $A800 million, does not yet have a share price indicator.
The most splendid reminder of those different times must surely be the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo.