Sri Lanka has secured the eighth place in a Gallup poll on civic engagement, in 130 countries measuring individuals’ likelihood to volunteer their time and assistance to others, Washington based agency reports said yesterday. An IANS story published from Washington said: India is ranked 48th far behind neighbours Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal in a Gallup poll of civic engagement …

73/19 E, KIRULAPONE AVENUE, COLOMBO 5, SRI LANKA. TEL/FAX: 94 -11 4405902 TEL: 94-11 2512846   18th January 2011  Immediate Relief for Flood Victims in the Eastern Province   We write to you in the hope that you will be able to assist us to relieve the people in Ampara and Batticaloa who are undergoing immense suffering due to heavy …

The recent floods that have wreaked havoc on the Eastern Province has left in its wake much misery and suffering as many people have lost their provisions and sources of livelihood. This has particularly affected the Ampara and Batticaloa districts. Badly affected areas include Kalmunai, Sainthamaruthu, Maruthamunai and Nindavur as well as certain parts of Sammanthurai, Natpattimunai, and Pandiruppu. The …

Parliament speaker becomes interim leader after president of 23 years, facing a mass uprising, lands in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has said that Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia's president for more than 23 years, and his family are in the kindgom, a day after they fled a mass uprising in their country. The departure came as a dramatic climax to weeks of violent …

Many of the young Israeli men and women who gathered a few weeks ago in the spacious hall of the Muqata in Ramallah must have wondered about the identity of the dark-haired woman who had a place of honor at the dignitaries' table, between MK Shlomo Molla and former MK Colette Avital. Some of them were still in diapers when Hanan …