Tag: lbo
Sri Lankan Buddhist monk, five rebels killed
May 13, 2007 (AFP) – Unidentified gunmen shot dead a Buddhist monk in eastern Sri Lanka Sunday as security forces killed five Tamil Tiger rebels elsewhere, officials said. Monk Sandungamuwe Nandaratana was shot dead at a temple about 260 kilometres (162 miles) northeast of Colombo, military officials said, adding that the attackers had escaped. The […]
Sri Lanka Tiger attack costs Shell 700,000 dollars
May 12, 2007 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan unit of Royal Dutch Shell suffered damages of at least 700,000 dollars in an air attack by Tamil Tiger rebels last month, the company said on Saturday. Two bombs exploded at the Anglo-Dutch company’s storage facility on the outskirts of Colombo, damaging one of its four storage […]
Flight of Fancy
May 11, 2007 (LBO) — Sri Lanka plans to double the price of lottery tickets and use the extra cash to build a second international airport in Weerawila, the National Lotteries Board has said.From Thursday, the Bandaranaike International Airport, which shares a runway with an adjoining military base, will close between 10:30 pm (1700 GMT) […]
Sri Lankan pleads guilty in Tamil Tigers arms plot
WASHINGTON, May 10, 2007 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan national pleaded guilty in a Maryland court Thursday to charges he tried to smuggle US weapons to Tamil Tiger rebels, the US Justice Department announced.Thirunavukarasu Varatharasa, 37, pleaded guilty to attempted export of arms and munitions and to conspiracy to support the Tamil Tigers, a group […]
Rights group calls for Sri Lanka monitors
May 11, 2007 (AFP) – Human Rights Watch on Friday renewed a call for independent foreign monitoring of human rights in Sri Lanka, where hundreds of people have been killed by unidentified gunmen.The New York-based watchdog said international monitors should be able to report publicly on the abuses by Tamil Tiger guerrillas, a breakaway faction […]
Total Failure
May 10, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s national power utility has started to restore power to the capital Colombo following an island-wide power failure, officials said. A failure in the transmission line from the Kelanitissa power generation complex to Biyagama, in the outskirts of Colombo, is believed to have set off a chain reaction, causing […]
Former Sri Lanka leader protests security
May 10, 2007 (AFP) – Former Sri Lanka president Chandrika Kumaratunga has protested the withdrawal of commandos assigned to protect her, saying she was still a target for assassination.She retained a staff of 198 and used 36 vehicles after stepping down. The constitution allows a former president to use two cars and a staff of […]
‘s promise to stem bloodshed broken: US
COLOMBO, May 10, 2007 (AFP) – The United States Thursday accused Sri Lanka of going back on promises to protect human rights and said the situation in the embattled island had “deteriorated” in the past year.Visiting US diplomat Richard Boucher said there was more bloodshed and that the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse had failed […]
Sri Lanka troops kill suspected Tiger suicide bomber
May 8, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops shot dead a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber in the north of the island on Tuesday as ground battles raged elsewhere in the region, a military official said.Security forces killed the man who was riding a motorcycle in Vavuniya district. An official, speaking from the area by […]
US raises concern at Sri Lanka rights abuses
May 8, 2007 (AFP) – The United States is to raise concerns about human rights in Sri Lanka during a state visit that follows international concern over extra-judicial killings, diplomats said Tuesday.US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, who was due to arrive later Tuesday, will hold talks with President Mahinda Rajapakse, addressing the island’s […]
‘s northeast
May 6, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces were locked in combat in Sri Lanka’s northeast Sunday with both sides claiming heavy losses against each other. A landmine detonated by Tamil Tigers killed three police commandos in eastern Sri Lanka on Sunday, the defence ministry said. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam […]
Sri Lanka war planes hit Tigers as heavy fighting rages
May 7, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan war planes Monday bombed suspected Tamil Tiger positions in the island’s north where heavy ground battles were raging, a military spokesman said.Supersonic jets hit positions near Iranamadu where the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) maintain a clandestine airfield, spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said. He said a Tiger […]