All Blogs
Japan PM welcomes end of Sri Lanka war
TOKYO, May 19, 2009 (AFP) – Japan, Sri Lanka’s largest aid donor and the holder of two thirds of its foreign debt, on Tuesday “welcomed the end of the civil war” in the island-nation, the prime minister’s office said. Prime Minister Taro Aso spoke by telephone with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, who had earlier […]
Sri Lanka president calls for investment to revive war-battered economy
May 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse called for private sector investment and the return of the island’s diaspora to revive the economy of the country which he said had finally been freed of terrorism with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers. “The main obstacle to private sector investment, which had been […]
Sri Lanka urged to move quickly on relief, rights
WASHINGTON, May 19, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka must step up relief efforts and provide its Tamil minority political autonomy, governments and relief agencies urged after Colombo said it had finally routed the Tamil Tiger rebels.As the military mopped up in the far northeast, the European Union demanded an independent inquiry into allegations of human […]
Sri Lanka central bank revises foreign assets
May 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s has adopted a different reporting format for foreign reserves, giving a breakdown of cash advanced to domestic banks, Central Bank governor Nivard Cabraal said. But the government officially declared fighting at an end Monday with state media saying the top leadership of Tamil Tiger separatists has been killed. […]
Sri Lankan stocks shoot up on war victory
May 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares went up across the board Monday on news that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his top lieutenants were killed by the security forces, brokers said. However, the new international head of the LTTE, Selvarasa Pathmanathan also known as ‘KP’ remains at […]
Sri Lanka Carson unit says palm oil market stabilised
May 18, 2009 (LBO) – Palm oil prices have stabilised after last year’s collapse and demand should grow in future, according to Good Hope, a subsidiary of Sri Lanka’s Carson Cumber batch group with plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia.“Further, sustained economic growth in largely populated countries like China and India and increased effect of urbanization […]
Sri Lanka declares final victory over Tigers
May 18, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military declared a final victory Monday in its decades-old conflict with the Tamil Tigers, after routing the remnants of the rebel army and killing its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.“All military operations have come to a stop,” army chief Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka said in a statement after troops overran […]
EU calls for independent enquiry into Sri Lanka conflict
BRUSSELS, May 18, 2009 (AFP) – The European Union on Monday called for an independent enquiry into alleged human rights violations during the conflict between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Sri Lanka.EU foreign ministers, in an agreed statement, said the European Union was “appalled by the loss of innocent civilian lives as […]
All combat over, Tiger rebels defeated: Sri Lanka army chief
May 18, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s army chief announced Monday that all combat operations against the Tamil Tigers have ended with the last rebels defeated and all territory captured. “Now the entire country is declared rid of terrorism and over 250 dead bodies of terrorists are scattered over the last ditch,” he said. “All […]
Tamil Tiger deputies dead, island under govt control: military
May 18, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops on Monday killed the two deputies of the leader of the Tamil Tigers, the military said, declaring the entire island to be under government control for the first time in decades.“The Tigers had only an area of 100 metres by 100 metres, and that has now been […]