Category: Politics
Disease risk in Sri Lanka war zone: Red Cross
March 17, 2009 (AFP) – Tens of thousands of people trapped by fighting in Sri Lanka’s north are facing serious risks of disease due to shortages of clean water and sanitation, the Red Cross said Tuesday.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the humanitarian situation was deteriorating fast as civilians still living in […]
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March 16, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops pushed deeper into remaining Tamil Tiger-held territory and captured a rebel court house in weekend battles, the defence ministry said on Monday.The UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said last week 2,800 civilians had been killed in the fighting since January 20, and that both sides may […]
Sri Lanka UN says staff forcibly recruited by Tigers
March 16, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations said Monday one of its employees and his teenage daughter had been forcibly recruited by Tamil Tiger rebels to battle advancing government forces in Sri Lanka. The UN office in Colombo said it feared for the safety of the local employee and three of his family members […]
Sri Lanka troops kill another 32 rebels: military
March 15, 2009 (AFP) – Government forces shot dead at least 32 Tamil Tiger rebels in north-eastern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said on Sunday, as troops moved closer to finally defeating the separatist guerrillas.About 30 rebels were killed on Friday in the Puthukkudiriruppu area, the last stronghold of the Tigers, while another two were […]
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WASHINGTON, March 13, 2009 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday to express her “deep concern” over mounting deaths in a government safe zone, a US official said.With the exception of the International Committee of the Red Cross, aid agencies face many restrictions in their efforts […]
UN charges of civilian killings unsubstantiated: Sri Lanka minister
March 14, 2009 (AFP) – Charges by the United Nations that 2,800 civilians had been killed in Sri Lanka in recent weeks were “unsubstantiated,” Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said on Saturday.The minister denied that government forces were firing into a demarcated “safe zone” for civilians and accused UN human rights chief Navi Pillay of […]
Sri Lanka troops claim 32 Tigers killed
March 13, 2009 (AFP) – At least 32 Tamil Tiger rebels have died in the latest push by Sri Lankan government troops into the rebels’ shrinking fiefdom, the island’s defence ministry said Friday.It has rejected calls for another truce, saying troops now have the upper hand in the decades-old conflict and are close to crushing […]
Sri Lanka conflict: UN chief fears war crimes on both sides
GENEVA, March 13, 2009 (AFP) – United Nations’ human rights chief Navi Pillay said Friday she feared both sides could be guilty of war crimes in the Sri Lanka conflict and that more than 2,800 civilians could have been killed since late January. “Certain actions being undertaken by the Sri Lankan military and by the […]
Sri Lanka needs devolution after fighting: India
WASHINGTON, March 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka needs true devolution of power to minority Tamils if it wants to permanently end its long-running ethnic war, Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said Wednesday. Menon, who was in Washington for talks, said the United States and the Sri Lankan government itself both agreed with regional power […]
Sri Lanka troops kill 12 more rebels: military
March 12, 2009 (AFP) – Security forces captured more territory in northeastern Sri Lanka after heavy fighting that killed at least 12 rebels, the military said Thursday. Troops took control of the abandoned Puthukkudiriruppu hospital following Wednesday’s clashes, a military official said. “At least a dozen LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) terrorists were killed […]
Sri Lanka Tigers accused of misusing UN food aid
March 11, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations on Wednesday accused the Tamil Tigers of siphoning off food meant for severely malnourished children in Sri Lanka’s embattled north.The defence ministry says troops are on the verge of defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who have been fighting for a separate homeland since 1972. […]
Deflation worries stalk India economy as growth slows
NEW DELHI, March 11, 2009 (AFP) – It was less than a year ago that Indians watched inflation shoot to dizzying 13-year highs but now they are worried about deflation as growth slackens in Asia’s third-largest economy. Deflation — in which falling prices prompt consumers to delay buying, deepening a downturn — has become a […]