Alas, Anni has resigned. The former democracy campaigner against an implacable dictator implausibly became President. Then, almost as quickly, he fell, largely to forces of the former dictator, and his own fractured opposition. Anni actually used to hang out in Colombo talking about regime change and we kinda laughed at him. Then he somehow won the 2008 election. Now, just as surprising, he’s been forced out in what looks like a soft coup.

I’ve been reading the Ayatollah Begs To Differ and recently hung out with some Iranians. The two I met support the US sanctions on Iran. I wouldn’t say I beg to differ, but I really don’t know. I don’t think a nuclear Iran is an existential threat and I don’t think half boycotts work (ie Cuba, or anywhere). I think the hostility towards Iran, like too much American policy, is driven by Israeli aggression and is not really in the interests of anybody.

If I had a blogger idol it would be Han Han – Chinese super-blogger, race car driver, and all around dreamy guy. My friend is down from Beijing and he says China is a land of paradoxes. It’s both more free and restricted than you would imagine. I think Han Han is the riddle within the enigma. He’s recently written three essays, On Revolution, On Democracy, and On Freedom. They’re quite interesting.

The latest reports sound exactly like Pakistan is breaking up with America – ‘A senior US official said “Pakistan has told us very clearly that they are re-evaluating the entire relationship.”‘ ‘Mushahid Hussain Sayed, summed up the anger that he said many harbored: “We feel like the U.S. treats Pakistan like a rainy-day girlfriend.”‘

North Korean dictator and international man of douchery Kim Jong-Il is dead. I feel like saying ‘ding-dong’, but he’s still a man. He leaves behind a legacy of an impoverished and oppressed people, some polished propaganda, a young and portly heir, and a puppet cameo in Team America. In the tradition of Christopher Hitchens, perhaps that’s the best way to remember the dictator, as a farce.

The Maldives is a Muslim country, but they’re not known for beings dicks about it. The ones I meet in Sri Lanka are generally quite chill. I find this quite shocking though. Apparently extra-marital sex is a crime in the Maldives, punishable by public flogging.

Sri Lanka lost its bid for the Commonwealth Games. The Economist blogger Banyan is reporting that many people are glad. I guess I’m glad too. The last Commonwealth Games were a disaster in Delhi, and Hambantota is definitely not the place to have them.

The Egyptian Revolution never quite won. The military (the source of Mubarak) just took power, in trust. But they’re not leaving. And they’ve been arresting, torturing and thugging like before. Now the trust has run out, and there are tens of thousands in Tahrir again. This year I met Ahmed Salah, one of the street organizers, in Madrid. Great guy, very intelligent and fun. I’ve been following his updates on Facebook and they’re alternately hopeful and terrifying.

The rump LTTE doesn’t have a head so much as two cheeks, Vinayagam and Nediyavan. Instead of fighting for Eelam, however, they’re fighting each other over event halls in the UK and over who gets to control the LTTE’s international wealth. Makes a loud farting noise, but not much sense. DBS has been covering the LTTE abroad recently, and I’ve collated some interesting parts.

If you haven’t been following, some crazy Maldivians have been attacking monuments that South Asian countries gave them as gifts to commemorate the SAARC meeting there. First they burnt the Pakistani monument, then poured oil on the Sri Lankan lion. Now the Sri Lankan lion has been totally defaced. Literally, it’s face chopped off. Madness.