Lawyers

• Human Rights Violations Continue in Sri Lanka, Rights Advocates Said

  While the election of Maithripala Sirisena brings hope for a more humane Sri Lanka, the fact that the country's police and security forces still makes use of inhumane methods towards their prisoners paints a bleak picture for human rights advocates.

• Sri Lanka plans South Africa-style commission to confront war crimes

  Sri Lanka's new government said on Monday it was setting up a South Africa-style truth and reconciliation commission to look into atrocities during its civil war, as it came under renewed pressure to prosecute perpetrators.

• U.N. rights chief backs delay for Sri Lanka war crimes report

  Sri Lanka's bid to postpone publication of a United Nations report into alleged war crimes has won the backing of U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Monday.

• China's President Xi to visit Pakistan this year

  China's President Xi Jinping will visit Pakistan this year in what will be the first trip by a Chinese head of state to its western neighbor in nine years, as Beijing looks to take a bigger role in South Asia.

• Australian court rules detention of Sri Lanka asylum seekers at sea lawful

  Australia's highest court ruled on Wednesday that the detention of asylum seekers from Sri Lanka on the high seas for almost a month was lawful, a win for the government's tough immigration policy.

• Pope's Asia trip to address poverty, dialogue, climate change

  Pope Francis returns to Asia for the second time in less than six months, traveling to Sri Lanka and the Philippines in coming days to underscore his concern for inter-religious dialogue, poverty and the environment.

• Rattled by Chinese submarines, India joins other nations in rebuilding fleet

  India is speeding up a navy modernization program and leaning on its neighbors to curb Chinese submarine activity in the Indian Ocean, as nations in the region become increasingly jittery over Beijing's growing undersea prowess.

• China looms over South Asian summit in the Himalayas

  When eight South Asian leaders gather for a summit in Kathmandu on Wednesday, they will meet in a conference center donated by China to its cash-strapped Himalayan neighbor Nepal 27 years ago.