New High

VIENNA, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) – OPEC exporters agreed Tuesday to pump an extra 500,000 barrels of oil a day to cool near-record crude prices, in a victory for Saudi Arabia over its reluctant partners.Analysts said that while the gesture would ease fears about a supply crunch heading into the northern hemisphere winter, the peak […]

Sri Lanka issues evacuation order; waves reach Indonesia

Sept 12, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has issued evacuation orders to people living in coastal areas after a tsunami struck the coast of Indonesia from a 8.2 magnitude earthquake. Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre estimates that the first waves could reach Sri Lanka by 7.30 pm local time (1400GMT) The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre […]

Sri Lanka lifts tsunami warning

Sept 12, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has lifted a tsunami warning and evacuation order issued after an 8.2 magnitude earthquake generated a small wave in Indonesia. Sri Lanka lifted the warning after Indonesia gave the all clear. Police said residents along southern coastal settlements fled inland and to high ground when the tsunami alert […]

Sri Lanka says wanted Tamil Tiger arms supplier arrested

Sept 11, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s defence ministry Tuesday claimed that one of the most wanted Tamil Tigers had been arrested by Interpol in Bangkok, Thailand. He and his group are suspected of running weapons purchased Thailand and neighbouring countries to the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. Quoting ‘reliable sources from Thailand’ the ministry […]

Sri Lanka navy sinks suspected rebel gun-running ships

Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s navy sank at least three suspected Tamil Tiger gun-running vessels off the island’s southeastern sea board, navy officials said Tuesday.Clashes between suspected Tamil Tiger ships and the Sri Lankan navy have escalated in recent months amid heavy fighting in the island’s northern and eastern regions.Naval craft intercepted the […]

Sri Lanka navy claims major success against Tamil Tigers

COLOMBO, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s navy on Tuesday claimed its biggest success against the Tamil Tiger rebels, saying it had virtually wiped out the separatist group’s ability to smuggle arms into the country. More than 5,400 people have been killed in a new wave of fighting since December 2005 when a Norwegian-brokered […]

Hedging Game

Sept 11, 2007 (LBO) – Lanka IOC, the Sri Lanka unit of the Indian Oil Corporation, has started to hedge oil imports with positive initial results, an official said. LIOC expects oil prices to ease towards the latter part of the year. “We have started to hedge imports in a cautious manner,” Lanka IOC managing […]

Fresh Sri Lanka violence kills 15

Sept 8, 2007 (AFP) – At least 15 people were killed in fresh violence in Sri Lanka’s embattled northern and eastern regions, military officials said Saturday.Three soldiers and five Tamil Tiger rebels were killed in a gun battle in the northern Vavuniya region late Friday, the officials said. They said two more rebels were killed […]

Sri Lanka presses France to clamp down on Tamil Tigers

PARIS, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s foreign minister said Thursday he had won assurances from French authorities that they will take action to curb the activities of Tamil rebel supporters in France.Sri Lankan government troops have been fighting Tamil separatist rebels since 1972 and the conflict has claimed more than 60,000 lives. Foreign […]

Top spies from Sri Lanka, Asia Pacific meet to combat security threats

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) – Top military intelligence chiefs from 19 nations gathered here Wednesday for the first time to discuss terrorism, maritime security and disaster relief. “This is an opportunity for the intelligence chiefs from all these countries to get together to talk about areas of mutual cooperation and how we can […]

Rights group says 43 aid workers killed in Sri Lanka

Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) – At least 43 aid workers have been killed in Sri Lanka since early last year amid an escalation of fighting between troops and Tamil separatists, the Asian Human Rights Commission said on Thursday. The AHRC said that another 14 people had gone missing since January 2006 as the government and […]

Kero Hurdle

Sept 6, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka would make a fixed payment to poor households on income support from this month but limit a promised subsidy to fishermen to one month, a senior minister said. Ceylon Petroleum Corporation would make a 4,000 rupee one-off payment to 16,036 fishermen for the month of August at a […]

Page 443 of 672