Author: Mel Gunasekera
‘s tense east goes to polls; Pillaiyan votes
VALACHCHENAI, Sril Lanka, March 10, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s volatile eastern district of Batticaloa on Monday held local council elections for the first time in 14 years with an armed Tamil group expected to win the vote.The government has thrown a security blanket over the coastal area, a former hotbed of factional fighting, pouring […]
Sri Lanka tea growers set for party as prices soar
March 3, 2008 (AFP) – The tea industry in Sri Lanka, the world’s second biggest exporter of the crop, is looking forward to good times again as prices soar on a global commodities boom.And the rise for a cup of tea comes as the prices of other traditional brews such as cocoa and coffee have […]
Sri Lanka train station suicide bombing toll climbs to 12
Feb 3, 2008 (AFP) – A suicide bomber attacked a train at Colombo’s main railway station Sunday, killing at least 12 and injuring 100 others on the eve of Sri Lanka’s independence day celebrations, officials said. The blast near a suburban train as it arrived at the Fort terminal came just hours after six people […]
Sri Lanka bombings kill 10, more than 100 injured
Feb 3, 2008 (AFP) – A suicide bomber attacked a train at Colombo’s main rail station Sunday, killing at least 10 and injuring more than 100 others on the eve of Sri Lanka’s independence day celebrations, officials said. The government in January pulled out of a tattered peace pact with the rebels, who have been […]
Sri Lanka cricket runs out of cash, looks for Indian loan: Ranatunga
Feb 1, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s new cricket chief and former captain Arjuna Ranatunga has revealed his board has no money left and is banking on financial support from India to stay afloat.Ten Sports’ 50-million dollar deal ends in 2009 and there were allegations that the previous administration had extended it till 2012 without […]
Japan peace envoy in peace amidst intense fighting
COLOMBO, Jan 14, 2008 (AFP) – A Japanese peace envoy began a second day of talks with Sri Lankan leaders Monday as the world community stepped up pressure over Colombo’s decision to abandon a truce with the Tamil Tiger rebels. The talks began as government warplanes bombed suspected rebel intelligence hideouts and fighting raged in […]
Sri Lanka may lose vital aid because of war
Jan 13, 2008 (AFP) – Japan’s peace envoy opened talks in Sri Lanka on Sunday, hinting international donors may hold back much-needed foreign aid if the island’s decades-long ethnic conflict escalates, officials said. Yasushi Akashi, who arrived in Sri Lanka for three days of crucial talks on Sunday, met the Marxist JVP, the main left […]
Sri Lanka tsunami survivors still struggle to recover
GALLE, Sri Lanka, Dec 25, 2007 (AFP) – Graft and renewed fighting has blocked relief to Sri Lanka’s tsunami survivors with less than a fifth of money pledged properly accounted for three years later, according to watchdogs.Sri Lanka’s government claims success in rebuilding homes destroyed by the disaster, but international agencies say big problems remain. […]
‘s cinnamon farmers seek divine help to spice up trade
SEENIGAMA, Sri Lanka, Dec 23, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka at the weekend revived an ancient ritual of offering the first cinnamon harvest to the gods, three years after a devastating tsunami wiped out centuries-old plantations here.Some 30,000 people are employed in chopping off cinnamon branches and turning out quills. In a pageant involving traditional […]
Tamils in Sri Lankan capital pay price of Tiger bombs
Dec 9, 2007 (AFP) – Minority Tamils in Sri Lanka’s capital are running a gauntlet of arrest and intimidation as fighting escalates between government troops and Tiger rebels, community members and rights groups say. Harassed at security checkpoints and arbitrarily arrested from their homes and workplaces, Colombo’s Tamil’s are being subjected to what human rights […]
Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger bra bomber targets minister
Nov 28, 2007 (AFP) – A disabled Tamil Tiger suicide bomber with explosives hidden in her bra blew herself up outside the office of a Tamil minister Wednesday, killing his secretary, the Sri Lankan military said. Two men from the minister’s security staff were also wounded in the blast, one seriously, Colombo national hospital spokeswoman […]
Scotland wins 2014 Commonwealth Games at Sri Lanka parley
Nov 9, 2007 (AFP) – Glasgow on Friday convincingly clinched the 2014 Commonwealth Games, shattering Nigeria’s hopes of being the first African nation to host the event. Scotland’s biggest city won by 47 votes to 24 for its only rival, Abuja, at the Commonwealth Games Federation annual assembly in Sri Lanka, president Mike Fennell announced. […]