Category: Politics

SYDNEY, August 22, 2010 (AFP) – Australia was in political limbo Sunday after voters punished Prime Minister Julia Gillard for deposing her predecessor two months ago, leaving the nation facing its first hung parliament in 70 years. Both sides targeted marginal seats in resource-rich Queensland and western Sydney, where rapid population growth has put pressure […]

SYDNEY, August 21, 2010 (AFP) – Australia faced the “more and more likely” prospect of a hung parliament Saturday, with neither the government nor the opposition looking assured of an election majority, party officials said. Australia has not had a hung parliament since 1940, in the midst of World War II, but the election was […]

August 19, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former army chief Sarath Fonseka said Thursday he expects the government to put him behind bars to end his political career after a court martial convicted him. Fonseka, who led troops to victory in the island’s 37-year ethnic conflict last year, said the government was seeking revenge for […]

REYKJAVIK, August 19, 2010 (AFP) – After Iceland’s near-economic collapse laid bare deep-seated corruption, the country aims to become a safe haven for journalists and whistleblowers from around the globe by creating the world’s most far-reaching freedom of information legislation. The project, developed with the help of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, flies in the face […]

VANCOUVER, August 17, 2010 (AFP) – A Canadian tribunal on Tuesday ordered continued detention for the first person interviewed in a group of 492 Tamil asylum seekers that reached Vancouver last week aboard a battered cargo ship. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, citing sovereignty, “significant security concerns” and “increasing” human smuggling for financial gain, said […]

VANCOUVER, August 17, 2010 (AFP) – Canadian authorities are investigating whether Sri Lankan rebels financed the passage of nearly 500 Tamil refugees to Canada last week, officials said Monday before the start of detention hearings. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, speaking to The Globe and Mail daily in an article Monday, said passengers were charged […]

August 15, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former army chief Sarath Fonseka will appeal against a court martial conviction that stripped him of his rank, pension and prestige, his political party announced Sunday. President Mahinda Rajapakse formally removed Fonseka’s rank and medals and stopped his pension on Saturday, a day after a court martial found […]

MONTREAL, August 15, 2010 (AFP) – A Tamil man who travelled with hundreds of other Sri Lankan migrants aboard a cargo ship bound for Canada died during the trip and was buried at sea, the Canadian Tamil Congress said Sunday. “A man indeed died. We don’t know what kind of sickness he died from, but […]

ESQUIMALT, August 14, 2010 (AFP) – Hundreds of Sri Lankan Tamil migrants who arrived aboard a rusty cargo ship were in good condition after their three-month voyage, Canadian officials said Saturday. The MV Sun Sea, a 59-metre Thai-registered ship reportedly carrying as many as 490 migrants, landed in Esquimalt, British Columbia on Friday, escorted by […]

VICTORIA, August 14, 2010 (AFP) – Hundreds of Tamils seeking asylum from Sri Lanka sailed into Canada on Friday under the scrutiny of authorities, who vowed to screen out Tiger rebels after charges that the country is too welcoming. After three months on the Pacific, a navy frigate escorted the shabby, Thai-flagged MV Sun Sea […]

August 14, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president has formally stripped former army chief Sarath Fonseka of his rank, medals and pension after his conviction by a court martial, officials said Saturday. President Mahinda Rajapakse ratified Friday’s verdict of the controversial tribunal, which found Fonseka guilty of dabbling in politics while heading the military last […]

VANCOUVER, August 12, 2010 (AFP) – The Canadian navy on Thursday intercepted a cargo ship carrying up to 500 Sri Lankan asylum seekers and prepared to screen them, fearing some belonged to the defeated and banned Tamil Tiger rebels. After days of tracking by Canadian and US authorities, the navy boarded the MV Sun Sea […]