Sri Lankan asylum seekers deported

THE federal government has begun returning Tamil asylum seekers to Sri Lanka, amid signs the threat to minority groups there and in Afghanistan is easing.

Sri Lanka's ripples go far beyond the island

Australia must add its voice to calls for a democratic future

Sri Lankan poll loser arrested

THE arrest of failed Sri Lankan presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka was not unexpected, but it was swift. He was hauled from his home by military police about 9.20pm on Monday and taken away in a van.

LIFE'S A BEACH

Cool and calm ... children play on the shore at Ambalangoda, on Sri Lanka's southern coast. The Boxing Day tsunami devastated the island's coastal belt nearly five years ago, killing 40,000 people in Sri Lanka and more than 225,000 in 14 countries. More than 1 million people were displaced.

Sri Lanka denies order to kill rebel leaders

THE Sri Lankan Government has angrily denied an allegation by a former army chief, General Sarath Fonseka, that the Defence Secretary ordered the killing of Tamil Tiger rebel leaders as they were trying to surrender.

Sri Lanka deal aimed at smugglers

AUSTRALIA and Sri Lanka have signed an agreement that both countries say will make it easier to investigate and prosecute people smugglers.

Rudd pressed to visit Sri Lankan camps

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd must urgently travel to Sri Lanka to inspect overcrowded camps in the country's north, housing up to 300,000 displaced people, according to an Australian-based Tamil rights advocate.

Fears for safety of UN official

AN AUSTRALIAN United Nations official has received anonymous threats to his safety days after being branded a terrorist sympathiser by the Sri Lankan Government and ordered to leave the country.

UN official receives phone threats after speaking about Tamil camps

AN AUSTRALIAN United Nations official has received anonymous threats to his safety days after being branded a terrorist sympathiser by the Sri Lankan Government and ordered to leave the country.

Another hit for Tigers as new leader arrested

THE new head of the Tamil Tigers, Kumaran Pathmanathan, was being interrogated in Sri Lanka last night after being arrested outside the country and flown to the capital, authorities have said.

Sri Lankans back on the pitch, thanking game's healing power

AT NO stage in the past three months, in the aftermath of the Lahore terrorism attacks on his team and during the violent end to Sri Lanka's civil war, did the country's Australian coach think of deserting his post.

Bayliss stands firm with Lankans

AT NO stage in the past four months, in the aftermath of the Lahore terrorist attacks on his team and during the violent end to Sri Lanka's civil war, did the country's Australian coach think of deserting his post.

A Voice For The People

A free press will survive in Sri Lanka, despite the brutal means used to silence journalists, wrote Lasantha Wickrematunga, before he was killed last week.

Hit-run Arrest Made After Mobile Phone Trace

A REFUGEE who fled Sri Lanka after being bashed almost to death two years ago has been killed in a suspected hit and run car accident in Dandenong.

Deadly Prophecy From Sri Lankan Journalist

A dissident's final editorial has been published posthumously. Jonathan Steele reports.

Sri Lanka Find Two Willing Warriors In Their Time Of Need

HEROES have been thin on the ground for Sri Lanka in recent weeks, but out of the rubble of the Hobart Test emerged a pair of cricketers whose valour brought colour, if not parity, to the series.

All Grown Up, Pup Slays Sri Lankans

THE series is just two days old, but Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey might already have dealt the knockout blows to Sri Lanka.

No Middle Way For Sri Lanka's Militant Monks

Despite war fatigue, Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majority wants the Tamil Tigers tamed, Mian Ridge reports.

It's Australia, Sri Lanka . . . Oh, And Pietersen

IT MIGHT have dragged on, but the World Cup has provided some brilliant cricket. I've picked my team of the tournament but it became an exercise - and a tough one at that - in picking which Australian or Sri Lankans to leave out.

Ponting Puts Heat On Lanka

READING straight from the successful 2003 blueprint, Australian captain Ricky Ponting has questioned how Sri Lanka's young players, including the punk slinger Lasith Malinga, will handle the pressure of their first World Cup final tonight.