Category:
Sri Lanka rejects Tamil Tiger unilateral ceasefire
April 26, 2009 (AFP) – The Sri Lanka government rejected a ceasefire declared by Tamil Tiger rebels on Sunday, defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse said, instead demanding that the cornered guerrillas surrender. “The ceasefire is purely for humanitarian purposes and the duration will depend on the response of the Sri Lankan government,” Puleethevan told AFP by […]
‘ ceasefire
April 26, 2009 (AFP) – The Sri Lanka government rejected a ceasefire declared by Tamil Tiger rebels on Sunday, defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse said, instead demanding that the cornered guerrillas surrender. Rajapakse, who leads the government’s military campaign against the Tigers, said there was no need for a ceasefire as the military was about to […]
” in S.Lanka fighting
April 26, 2009 (AFP) – UN humanitarian chief John Holmes on Sunday appealed to Sri Lanka to halt their military offensive against the Tamil Tigers in order to allow aid workers to help civilians trapped in the war zone.Holmes, the under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, told government leaders that months of fierce fighting had taken […]
Sri Lanka boycott call from Australian Tamil protesters
SYDNEY, April 26, 2009 (AFP) – Hundreds of Tamil protesters burned Sri Lankan-produced tea and clothes as they marched through central Sydney on Sunday calling for a boycott of goods from the island nation.About 800 demonstrators demanded the Australian government put pressure on Colombo to declare a permanent ceasefire in its campaign against Tamil Tiger […]
‘s Holmes in Sri Lanka for crisis talks
April 26, 2009 (AFP) – UN humanitarian chief John Holmes was to hold talks with the Sri Lankan government on Sunday over the thousands of civilians caught in fighting between troops and Tamil rebels, officials said. Holmes, who arrived here on Saturday for a three-day visit, was to meet with Human Rights and Disaster Management […]
Sri Lanka ruling coalition sweeps regional polls
April 26, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition led by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) of President Mahinda Rajapaksa swept regional polls with close to 70 percent of votes in two out of three districts in the Western province. In the capital Colombo, the UNP has held on to some of its strongholds […]
Sri Lanka judge to head revenue office
April 26, 2009 (LBO) – A judge of Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal who has been appointed to head the island’s revenue office will continue to hold both offices, while the existing revenue chief would be moved to the finance ministry, media reports said. The current tax chief S Angammana, had been moved to the […]
Fair Play
April 25, 2009 (LBO) – Bunker prices in Colombo port have fallen following a court verdict that ended an effective monopoly on ship fuel held by Sri Lanka’s biggest conglomerate and opened up the market.Shipping lines said price differences with competing ports had also narrowed sharply after the market was liberalized with more suppliers competing […]
Text News
April 25, 2009 (LBO) – Dialog, Sri Lanka’s largest telco, has made available news from the government’s department of information through its popular short message service (SMS), the company said.“Access to information plays a key role in the development process of a country and we believe that educating and informing its people is the first […]
Sri Lanka hospitals overwhelmed by wounded civilians: MSF
April 25, 2009 (AFP) – The flood of wounded civilians from the conflict in Sri Lanka is overwhelming doctors and nurses in hospitals near the war zone who said Saturday people risk dying from lack of proper attention. A British surgeon working for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Paul McMasters, said his team in the state-run […]
UN humanitarian chief to press Sri Lanka on civilians
April 25, 2009 (AFP) – The UN’s humanitarian chief was due in Sri Lanka Saturday as international concern over civilians trapped in the island’s war zone fuelled a White House call for an immediate ceasefire.John Holmes’ three-day mission will focus on pushing the government to facilitate humanitarian missions in and around the conflict zone and […]
Sri Lankan envoy rejects calls for humanitarian pause
GENEVA, April 24, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva on Friday rejected calls for a humanitarian pause in the Tamil conflict, saying temporary ceasefires did not work. “The largest number of civilians who have come out (of the conflict zone) came out not during the humanitarian pause, not as […]