Author: lbostgadmin
Foreign pressure pushing Sri Lanka to talks as war fears recede
June 4, 2006 (AFP) – Stepped up international pressure encouraged Sri Lanka’s warring parties to resume talks this week amid hopes of a new power-sharing deal, officials and diplomats said.Sri Lanka’s government is set to open two days of talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Oslo, the capital of peace broker […]
Tiger rebels escape in Sri Lanka jail break
June 4, 2006 (AFP) – Eight inmates, among them two Tamil Tigers being held for firearm offences, broke out of a jail in Sri Lanka’s restive eastern province Sunday after overpowering their guards, an official said.The men, brandishing a firearm, escaped from the main prison in Batticaloa, 300 kilometres (190 miles) east of here, as […]
Mine blasts kill two soldiers in Sri Lanka
June 4, 2006 (AFP) – Two soldiers and a bus station guard have been killed in separate attacks in Sri Lanka’s troubled northeast, the military said Sunday.A Claymore mine attack in the district of Mannar killed a soldier and wounded three others while a similar explosion killed another trooper in the northern peninsula of Jaffna […]
Sri Lanka warring parties head for Oslo talks
June 4, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s warring parties Sunday sent their respective delegations to Oslo, the capital of peace broker Norway, to discuss the safety of Nordic monitors amid a collapsing ceasefire, officials said.A five-member delegation of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was brought by military helicopter to the island’s only […]
‘s cinnamon industry on a different plane
A budding cinnamon plant that’s growing after the tsunami. PERALIYA, June 3, 2006 (LBO) — Wearing a red crash helmet to beat the sun, Punya Sena crouches on the ground, planting young cinnamon saplings to replace thousands that were destroyed by the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka’s coastal belt in December 2004. . Wimalawathi Mendis, […]
Quick Thinking
June 3, 2006 (AFP) – A Thai airways flight from Colombo to Bangkok made an emergency landing Saturday at Sri Lanka’s only international airport shortly after take-off, airport officials said.The Airbus A-330 aircraft carrying over 225 passengers and crew reported engine trouble and returned to the airport after being in the air for a few […]
Sri Lanka gets a new country head for World Bank
June 2, 2006 (LBO) – Naoko Ishii will take over as country director of the World Bank in August from the incumbent Peter Harrold, the bank said Friday. Harrold, a British national, ends his four-year tenure in July. Ishii, a Japanese national, has been a Director in the Japanese Ministry of Finance since 2002 where […]
Bomb fears in Sri Lanka capital trigger appeal
June 2, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military Friday sought public support to step up security in the main city of Colombo amid fears of bomb attacks by Tamil Tiger rebels. Military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said residents should alert the authorities to any suspicious individuals or activity in their neighbourhoods. He said 11 telephone numbers […]
Sri Lanka pushes Tamil autonomy as US warns against war
COLOMBO, June 2, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president launched talks with opposition parties Friday to hammer out a plan to grant autonomy to separatist Tamil rebels as the United States warned against a return to full-scale war. The meeting with major parties of the majority Sinhalese community was underway to agree a path to […]
Sri Lanka offers Tamil autonomy as US warns against war
June 2, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka moved closer Friday to granting more autonomy to minority Tamils under a new initiative backed by the opposition, as the United States warned against a return to full-scale war on the island.“Even though we will be having second or third-level talks in Oslo next week, the signal it […]
Beat the heat — with rattlesnake ice cream
TOKYO, June 2, 2006 (AFP) – Anyone for rattlesnake ice cream? Japan is no stranger to bizarre frozen deserts and this year is no exception with cow tongue, Indian curry, cheese and even cactus among the flavours on offer for courageous taste buds at an annual event at the Namjatown theme park. Other ice creams […]
No Bribes
June 02 (LBO) – A government help line linked up to 20 key state departments is to be rolled out soon, to offer general public information from getting birth certificates to a driving license. The Government Information Centre (GIC), accessed by dialing 1919 from anywhere in the island, is still in beta testing stages and […]