Polling began in Thailand’s elections Sunday with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra poised for a sweeping victory which would deliver the premier an unprecedented second term in power. Voting booths in the kingdom’s 400 constituencies opened at 8:00 am (0100 GMT) and will close seven hours later, with projected unofficial results by television stations expected late…
Read moreHeritage of Sri Lankan fort town emerges mostly unscathed by tsunami
Security guard G.A. Nimal stands on the broken fort wall, the sea pounding below, and stretches an arm skyward to show the height of the tsunami that pounded the historic Sri Lankan city of Galle. But while new Galle city outside was pulverised by the force of the waves, killing thousands, the people inside the…
Read moreBrick by brick, US marines undertake gut-wrenching” clean up in Sri Lanka”
Despite their training and combat experience, the US marines working in tsunami-hit Sri Lanka admit that picking through the shattered remains of peoples’ lives has been a heart-rending exercise. A few dozen of around 400 marines stationed in or off the southern city of Galle pick up brick after broken brick, the pieces left behind…
Read moreTeachers compile lists of the living as Sri Lankan schools resume
Tears swell in student Fathima Farha’s eyes as she waits, on edge, for her friends to arrive for their first day back at school. She already knows some are dead, but she’s not sure about the rest. "I’m very sad. I lost my friends and my neighbours. Today my friends are not here. I wish…
Read moreAs Sri Lankan schools resume, teachers brace for emotional roll call
As students traumatised by the Asian tsunami return to school in Sri Lanka Monday, teachers braced for an emotional rollercoaster and the beginning of a long process of psychological recovery. Vice-principal of Sudhamma College S.K. Weerasuruya, standing among dump trucks and volunteers frantically clearing debris ahead of school opening, told AFP that the focus of…
Read moreDespite its own disaster, India’s navy quietly helps Sri Lanka clean up
When Indian naval Captain T. K. Ashokan was at sea during exercises on December 26, he felt an unusual sudden swell. Five days later, the INS Sarvekshak dropped anchor outside Sri Lanka’s debris-strewn Galle harbour with an urgent mission: to clean it up, allowing relief to reach the survivors of the country’s worst-ever natural disaster….
Read moreSri Lankans thrilled, oblivious to Powell’s lightning visit
Sri Lankans in the tsunami-hit southern city of Galle were either thrilled or oblivious to US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s lightning visit Friday, but hoped regardless that his presence would lead to more aid. Amid a thin crowd waiting at a security line looped around the makeshift helipad where Powell touched down, tuk-tuk driver…
Read moreBored and confused, Sri Lankan tsunami survivors play the waiting game
W.D. Ariyapala sits among a cluster of men, some skimming newspapers, others slurping on coconuts. Hanging out in the rubble where they used to live or work is their latest pastime. "I don’t know what to do. I read the paper. I come in every morning, I look to see if anyone can help me…
Read moreBroken-hearted Sri Lankan cricket star mourns destruction of famed stadium
The clock at Galle International Cricket Stadium stands frozen at 9:26 am. That was the moment Sri Lanka’s biggest disaster hit this southern city and shattered Jayananda Warnaweera’s dream. "It was a paradise," Sri Lanka’s former star batsman said of the famed stadium, hailed as one of the most picturesque in the world with its…
Read moreSri Lanka’s devastated fishermen make plea to president: Eat our fish””
Sri Lanka’s devastated fishermen on Wednesday sent a shipment of fish to the president as they pleaded with people to resume eating seafood in the wake of the Asian tsunami disaster. At the southern fishing village of Mirissa, where around 300 boats support some 1,300 families, three boats of fishermen returned to sea Tuesday night…
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