“They didn’t believe that anyone in the international community was willing to stop them, and they were right.” That is the lucid explanation offered by John Holmes, the British diplomat and former ...

This article originally appeared on Groundviews, an award-winning citizen journalism website in Sri Lanka. An edited and shortened version is published below as part of a content-sharing agreement ...

Sri Lanka's former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is contesting in the upcoming general election, prays during the launch ceremony of his manifesto, in Colombo July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Dinuka ...