Returning Sense

Apr.11 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s finance ministry says fuel subsidies are placing an unsustainable burden on the exchequer; in a move analysts expect to be a precursor to an upcoming round of retail fuel price hikes. “In 2005, the government had to spend Rs25 billion to sell fuel below cost,” a statement from the Ministry […]

Britons wounded in Sri Lanka blast

Apr.11 (AFP) – Three Britons were injured in Tuesday’s bomb attack in northeastern Sri Lanka in which 12 sailors were killed, police said. The two women and a man were flown to Colombo for treatment after their van was caught up in a mine attack that was intended for a navy bus, a police official […]

Bus blast kills 12 Sri Lankan sailors and dims peace hopes

Apr.11 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil rebels blew up a bus full of sailors in northeastern Sri Lanka on Tuesday killing 12 and further dimming hopes for a new round of peace talks next week, officials said. The attack was seen by officials involved in the Norwegian-backed peace bid as a blow to diplomatic efforts to […]

Canada labels Tamil Tigers terror group

OTTAWA, Apr. 10 (AFP) – Canada has added the Sri Lankan separatist Tamil Tigers to its list of terrorist organizations, Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day announced Monday.The declaration made it possible for Ottawa to block fundraising in Canada for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), or Tamil Tigers, a group fighting for the […]

Sri Lanka condemns death of five soldiers as international donors meet LTTE

Apr.10 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Monday condemned the killing of five soldiers in Jaffna today while island’s key international lenders met Tamil Tiger rebels. Five army personnel and three others, including two aid workers, died in a claymore mine blast by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Jaffna on the A-9 highway between Kodikaamam and […]

Four soldiers, two aid workers killed in Sri Lanka blast

Apr.10, 2006 (AFP) – At least four Sri Lankan soldiers and two civilians were killed in a landmine blast blamed on the Tamil Tigers in the northern Jaffna province Monday, defence officials said.Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe, Sri Lanka’s military spokesman, said an army truck was caught in the “mine explosion killing four and seriously injuring two […]

Sri Lanka donors meet Tamil Tigers to save peace talks

Apr.10 (AFP) – Envoys from Sri Lanka’s international donors went Monday to meet Tamil Tiger rebels in a bid to keep peace talks due to be held in Switzerland from April 19 on track, officials said.The ambassadors of Norway, Japan and the European Union (EU) flew north to rebel political headquarters at Kilinochchi to see […]

Canada to classify Tamil Tigers as terror group: report

MONTREAL, April 06(AFP) – Canada has added to its list of terrorist organizations the Tamil Tigers, a group fighting for the autonomy of northeastern Sri Lanka, the National Post reported Saturday, saying an official government announcement was expected Monday.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), or Tamil Tigers, would be the 39th organization deemed a […]

‘s east

Apr.07 (AFP) – A Tamil nationalist activist and two Muslim police guards were shot dead in Sri Lanka’s volatile eastern province on Friday, police said.Vanniasingham Vigneswaran, who spearheaded the Tamil Resurgence Movement in Trincomalee, was gunned down near the port town’s main bank in the morning. His movement had often clashed with the Sinhalese majority […]

Sri Lanka talks to go ahead despite killings: peace envoys

Apr.07 (AFP) – Norway’s top Sri Lankan peace envoys said they were confident new talks set for this month would go ahead despite the killings Friday of a pro-Tamil Tiger activist and two police guards.Vanniasingham Vigneswaran, who spearheaded the Tamil Resurgence Movement, a known front organisation of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), […]

Three shot dead in Sri Lanka’s east

Apr.07 (AFP) – A Tamil nationalist activist and two Muslim police guards were shot dead in Sri Lanka’s volatile eastern province on Friday, police said.Vanniasingham Vigneswaran, who spearheaded the Tamil Resurgence Movement in Trincomalee, was gunned down near the port town’s main bank in the morning. His movement had often clashed with the Sinhalese majority […]

Adding Layers

Apr.06 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has sought a US$500 million loan from Saudi Arabia to double its oil refinery capacity, Energy Minister A H M Fowzie said Thursday. State-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) had presented a concept paper to the Saudi government, when a ministerial delegation visited the oil kingdom recently. “We asked for a […]

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