Sri Lanka's long civil war seems to be in its last stages as government forces have now advanced into the last town held by the Tamil Tigers. Having lost their political capital and main military base, the Tigers are just hanging on as a viable military force and now can only fight from the jungles. The civil war may end soon but social and political tensions are sure to remain, so the government's reaction will be important in whether it will be magnanimous and genuine in trying to achieve reconciliation.

Meanwhile the current global economic crisis is having an adverse effect in an unlikely place, specifically the special court in Sierra Leone which is prosecuting war criminals responsible for committing atrocities during its civil war. Charles Taylor, former warlord and President of neighboring Liberia, may benefit from this with his freedom if the court has to be shut down. It is run entirely on voluntary donations from foreign countries, which the article says is the first international tribunal to be funded this way.