Swirled around and drowning in an epidemic of dengue, it was to a top Sri Lankan health team that Pakistan's Punjab province turned in their desperation last September. Two visits and much advice and guidance on the part of the Sri Lankans and quick action by Punjab not only in clinical management but also prevention have seen a major turnaround in the dengue situation in Punjab, while ironically Sri Lanka is grappling with an epidemic which is threatening to get out of control, the Sunday Times understands.

I didn’t expect to find a new guesthouse with the panache of a boutique hotel in Jaffna. Neither did I know that there are about 600 rooms for tourists available in Jaffna, according to a member of the Jafna-based Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Yarlpanam.Preconceived ideas of Jaffna evaporate as development arrives.