03/19/2010SRI LANKA Tamil Catholic students travel south, bear witness to “love and unity” for Sri Lanka by Melani Manel Perera Thanks to an initiative by Jesuit fathers, a group of 150 children from Mannar visit Colombo and Kandy. Despite the trauma of war, the kids symbolise hope for a future of peace. An act of altruism by a Tamil boy helps a man overcome decades of divisions and conflict.
Colombo (AsiaNews) – A group of 150 children from Arippu, a town in Mannar District, in northwestern Sri Lanka were able to travel south on an educational trip that gave them the opportunity to admire the region’s natural wonders. They also visited the capital...
03/18/2010SRI LANKA With the support of Catholic and anglican religious, jobless workers demand severance pay by Melani Manel Perera Hundreds of former employees demonstrated in Colombo yesterday, complaining about a life of misery since losing their job years ago. Some employers have failed to meet their severance pay obligations. Workers, backed by priests and nuns, want the government to intervene.
03/16/2010SRI LANKA Colombo: General Fonseka before a court martial The government accuses the former army chief of taking part in January’s presidential election whilst still in the army. They also accuse him of violating military procurement procedures. If he is found guilty, he could get up to five years in prison. He rejects all the charges, calls them politically motivated.
03/15/2010SRI LANKA – CHINA – INDIA Chinese investments in Sri Lanka bring poverty and injustice by Melani Manel Perera China is competing against India, Sri Lanka’s traditional partner, for its support. Meanwhile, foreign investments are making matters worse for the country’s poor, reduced to the status of cheap labour. Both democracy and the trade unions movement are at risk.
03/14/2010VATICAN The rigor of the Church and the Pope on paedophilia Interview with the head of investigations into paedophile priests. The figures of the phenomenon (300 in 10 years), and "false and libellous" attempts against Pope Benedict XVI and the Church accused of covering up abuse.
03/13/2010ASIA El Niño and heavy industry leave South East Asia waterless Over 65 million people in the Mekong region are suffering the worst drought in 30 years. Bangkok: the Chinese dams the source of the problem. At risk crops of rice and sugar, production of palm oil in Indonesia and Malaysia. Indigenous Filipinos forced to eating poisonous plants.
03/12/2010INDIA – CHINA – SRI LANKA Chinese aid to Sri Lanka could lead to conflict by Nirmala Carvalho Fr Nithiya, the executive secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, talks about Sri Lanka’s new, Chinese-funded airport. He blames outside power for turning the country into a colony, destroying peace; he points the finger at China, India and Pakistan.
03/11/2010VATICAN Pope: crisis in Penance, the result of relativism, primarily challenges priests Benedict XVI recalled the example of St. John Mary Vienney to urge priests to be , "a sign of God's presence” in every day life. There is a sort of vicious circle between the blurring of the experience of God and the loss of the sense of sin.
03/11/2010SRI LANKA The relics of Saint Anthony in Sri Lanka to bring “peace and unity” to the country by Melani Manel Perera For the first time in 750 years, the saint’s remains have left Padua (Italy) to make a pilgrimage to the Asian nation. The initiative is part of the celebrations marking the 175th anniversary of the basilica of Kochchikade, which is dedicated to the saint, who in his life was a member of the Franciscan order. Thousands of people, Catholic and non-Catholic, are praying for the country’s “lost unity” and for a “better life”.
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