Tag: Sri Lanka
Oil Oil everywhere…
TEHRAN, June 6, 2007 (AFP) – Iran hopes to begin a much-delayed plan to ration petrol in the next two weeks amid continued uncertainty over its launch date, officials said on Wednesday. The plan, aimed at reducing colossal subsidies paid by the state to finance oil-rich Iran’s frenzied petrol consumption, envisages forcing consumers to pay […]
Precipice
June 10, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is on the brink of the dangerous path of petrol and diesel rationing, which will give set amounts of subsidized fuel to users, reports said. Related Story Rata Perata: Oil-rich Iran to ration petrol to get out of subsidy fiasco Updated The weekly Nation newspaper said the government […]
Sri Lanka president orders police probe on Tamil evictions
COLOMBO, June 8, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president Friday promised an investigation into police action that forced hundreds of ethnic Tamils from the capital at gunpoint in early morning raids condemned around the World. President Mahinda Rajapakse invited evicted people back to Colombo and ordered a disciplinary probe against the police chief responsible. Officers […]
Japan will not halt aid to Sri Lanka; hoping for peace
June 9, 2007 (AFP) – Japan’s special envoy to Sri Lanka ended a four-day visit Saturday saying he was still hopeful that the island’s tattered peace process could be salvaged.The LTTE has been fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils in a 35-year old ethnic conflict that has claimed over 60,000 lives. Yasushi Akashi, […]
Sri Lanka troops kill 30 Tigers in east
June 9, 2007 (AFP) – At least 30 Tamil Tiger rebels and one soldier were killed when Sri Lankan troops overran four guerrilla jungle bases, the defence ministry said Saturday.Soldiers captured the bases of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during an offensive late Friday and early Saturday in the eastern Batticaloa district, the […]
Rights groups accuse Sri Lanka over evictions
June 8, 2007 (AFP) – Human rights activists accused Sri Lanka’s government Friday of imposing a “collective punishment” on its minority Tamil community after forcing hundreds of them out of the capital. Activists and opposition politicians said the expulsions from Colombo, a measure the government said was to prevent Tiger terror attacks, had added to […]
UN see pattern in Sri Lanka aid worker killings
GENEVA, June 7, 2007 (AFP) – The murder of two Red Cross workers in Sri Lanka appears to be part of a trend in which aid workers are deliberately targeted, two United Nations human rights experts said Thursday. Sri Lankan Red Cross workers Sinnarasa Shanmugalingam and Karthekesu Chandramohan were abducted in the capital Colombo last […]
US condemns Sri Lanka Tamil evictions from capital
June 8, 2007 (LBO) – The United States Friday condemned the eviction of ethnic Tamils without jobs from Colombo, and asked the government to reveal where they were taken. Sri Lanka’s police say the move was aimed at blocking Tamil Tiger guerillas from infiltrating the capital, setting off explosions and engaging in other subversive activities. […]
Sri Lanka president raps police chief, invites Tamils back
June 8, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president Friday criticised his police chief for evicting hundreds of minority Tamils from the capital and ordered them to be brought back immediately, an official said.Sri Lanka’s main opposition said the move was similar to what Hitler did to the Jews in the early days in Germany.President Mahinda […]
Sri Lanka court halts eviction of Tamils
June 8, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Friday ordered an immediate halt to the eviction of minority ethnic Tamils from the capital, a day after hundreds were expelled at gunpoint, a court official said. The Court issued the order following a complaint by a political activist group that Thursday’s police operation was a […]
Badly mutilated bodies found near Sri Lanka airport
June 8, 2007 (AFP) – Nine badly mutilated bodies were found in a garbage dump just north of Sri Lanka’s international airport Friday, police said, prompting officers to start a bigger search.“We don’t know the identity of the victims,” a local police official said by telephone. “We are now digging the area because there could […]
Japanese peace envoy in talks with Sri Lanka president
June 6, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse held talks in Colombo Wednesday with a top Japanese envoy on the future of the island’s peace process following bloody recent clashes, officials said.Rajapakse held closed-door talks with Japan’s Yasushi Akashi at the president’s tightly-guarded Temple Trees residence and the peace envoy later had discussions […]