Category: Politics

SYDNEY, March 16, 2011 (AFP) – Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday defended the police reaction to riots at the remote Christmas Island detention centre after “bean-bag bullets” and tear gas was used. The facility, which houses some 2,539 boat people, has been hit by a series of disturbances this week involving hundreds of […]

Mar 16, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankans travelling to India will be required to apply for visas online from March 25, the Indian High Commission said in a statement. “Henceforth, applicants will be required to apply online at www.indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa,” it said. Applicant will be required to download the filled-in application, sign and submit it with […]

SYDNEY, March 15, 2011 (AFP) – Australia’s remote Christmas Island detention centre was hit by a second night of riots on Tuesday, with up to 200 asylum seekers destroying closed-circuit television cameras. It followed a “significant and serious incident” on Monday when police used tear gas to quell a protest of 300 detainees. “We saw […]

NEW DELHI, March 14, 2011 (AFP) – The Indian navy has captured 61 suspected Somali pirates and rescued 13 fishermen after a firefight with a pirate mothership in the Arabian Sea, a navy spokesman said Monday. “A total of 74 men have been apprehended of which 61 are suspected to be Somali pirates,” Indian navy […]

SYDNEY, March 14, 2011 (AFP) – Australian police used tear gas to quell a protest of 300 asylum seekers on remote Christmas Island on Monday, as the government warned of a tense mood within the under-pressure detention centre. More than 6,500 refugees — mostly from Iraq, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka — arrived in Australia last […]

Mar 11, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Ministry of External Affairs said it has set up an information desk to help nationals seek news of relations in Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami there. It said in a statement those who cannot get information about their next of kin in Japan following […]

March 4, 2011 (AFP) – A call by the US Senate for an international probe into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka was “unfortunate”, the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse said Friday. The Sri Lankan government said “well motivated groups” had pressured the Senate to adopt a resolution earlier this week calling for an international […]

March 1, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka could be hauled before a war crimes tribunal over the killing of “many thousands of civilians” in the final months of its separatist war with Tamil rebels, a top US official said. In the toughest warning since the end of fighting in May 2009, US Assistant Secretary of […]

GENEVA, February 23, 2011 (AFP) – Several thousand foreign migrants from Libya have crossed the Tunisian border in the first major exodus to Tunisia since the Libyan turmoil began, the International Organisation for Migration said on Wednesday. The UNHCR was locating possible sites for camps in case larger numbers arrive. Fleeing migrants said they had […]

Feb 24, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is seeking rescue by ship nationals stranded in Libya from where foreigners and migrant workers are fleeing the violence triggered by a public uprising against the government, a spokesman said. “We have despatched a ship,” media minister Keheliya Rambukwella told a news conference. AFP news agency reported that […]

February 7, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s latest monsoon rains have claimed at least 17 lives and left around 1.2 million people flooded out of their homes, officials said Monday. The Disaster Management Centre in Colombo said 311,000 people had sought refuge in state-run relief shelters by Monday morning, while approximately 900,000 were living with […]

February 5, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition on Saturday warned of an uprising, a day after ruling party activists unleashed violent attacks against demonstrators seeking the release of a jailed opposition leader. The United National Party (UNP) said repeated violence against the opposition, arson attacks on anti-government news organisations and arrests of student […]