Sri Lanka records rise in rapes of children

Photo courtesy: Roy del Vecchio | flickr

By Indo Asian News Service | Yahoo! News

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Sri Lanka has seen a rise in the number of underage children being raped or abused this year, the police said Thursday.

Over 700 incidents of rape or abuse of children were reported during the first six months of this year, police spokesperson Ajith Rohana told Xinhua.

Sri Lankan journalists on the edge

By Qadijah Irshad | Khaleej Times

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The Sri Lankan government has been accused of human rights violation following the closure of two opposition websites this week.

While human rights organisations called the raids a part of a the government’s bid to intimidate and harass all critical journalists, the US and the UN have severely criticised the move.

Sri Lanka FM hits back over crackdown criticism

AFP

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Sri Lanka hit back Wednesday over claims it is clamping down on press freedom after criticism from rights groups and Washington for its shuttering of opposition news websites.

"Look at the newspapers in Sri Lanka. Can you possibly say that there is no freedom of press in the country? There is so much," Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris told reporters in Tokyo.

Sri Lanka to build US$3bn tourism city with Singapore firm: BOI

Lanka Business Online

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Sri Lanka’s state investment promotion agency said it had inked a deal with a Singapore led consortium to build a 3 billion US dollar tourism city in Katana, north of the capital Colombo.

A consortium led by Asian Resorts, Casinos, a Singapore based firm, will invest in Katana City Developments Private Limited, the project company.