Tamil Tigers kill Sri Lankan soldier in army camp

COLOMBO, Dec 20, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels attacked an army camp in northwestern Sri Lanka, killing a soldier, the defence ministry said Wednesday. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) raided an army camp in northwestern Mannar district on Tuesday night, the ministry said in a statement. The military retaliated, but it was […]

Green Business

December 19, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lankan businesses are cashing in on a booming market for carbon finance, selling carbon credits at increasing prices to developed countries struggling to meet climate change commitments. Developed countries who are signatories to the Kyoto protocol have agreed to cut carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming, to […]

Tamil rebel factional fight leaves three dead

COLOMBO, Dec 19, 2006 (AFP) – At least three Tamil rebels were killed in a skirmish between rival factions in northern Sri Lanka on Tuesday, police said. Members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the breakaway “Karuna” group clashed in Vavuniya district. “Three people have been killed and we are trying to […]

Floods swamp Sri Lanka ahead of tsunami anniversary

COLOMBO, Dec 19, 2006 (AFP) – Floods have displaced at least 40,000 people in Sri Lanka as the country prepares to commemorate the second anniversary of the Asian tsunami disaster, an official said Tuesday. The districts of Hambantota and Ampara, two of the worst hit by the December 2004 tsunami, were under water, sadi National […]

Tamil rebels kidnap 23 students in Sri Lanka: military

Dec 19, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil guerrillas seized 23 students and two teachers and took them to a military training facility in eastern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said Tuesday. The teenagers, who were attending a night tuition class in Ampara district were taken on Monday to a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) training […]

COLOMBO, Dec 19, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels kidnapped 23 teenagers and two of their teachers in eastern Sri Lanka, but later freed them and suspended the militants involved, the guerrillas said Tuesday. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said members of their eastern units had taken the children away on Monday night […]

Corruption swallows aid as Sri Lanka marks tsunami anniversary

Dec 18, 2006 (AFP) – Corruption and ethnic violence is blocking a flood of foreign aid for Sri Lanka’s tsunami survivors two years after the massive disaster, according to official records and whistle-blowers. This year, there are no ceremonies to remember the tsunami dead and the destitute, but instead the government has named December 26 […]

Thousands flee Tiger territory amid fears of fighting

Dec 18, 2006 (AFP) – More than 2,200 more civilians have fled rebel-held territory in eastern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said Monday amid fears of renewed fighting in the area.The LTTE is fighting for independence for the island’s minority 2.5 million Tamil community. The conflict has claimed more than 60,000 lives since 1972.The civilians […]

Oil Buddies

December 18, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is scouting for international experts to help the island hedge part of its hefty oil bill next year, Petroleum Minister A H M Fowzie said Monday. A net oil importer, Sri Lanka’s retail fuel market is dominated by state oil giant Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), while Indian fuel […]

A window for Sri Lanka to catch-up and move forward using historical advantages

November 16 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should grasp the opportunities to grow its services sector using historical advantages, as India has already started to do, before that opportunity is also missed, a senior economist and central banker said.“If a country stubbornly and arrogantly refuses to accept this fact, it stands to lose, while others continue […]

Bush frees refugee funds for Somalia, Sri Lanka

WASHINGTON, Dec 15, 2006 (AFP) – US President George W.Bush has freed 5.215 million dollars in aid to help cope with refugee flows resulting from conflicts in Somalia and Sri Lanka, the White House announced Friday. Bush directed US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a memorandum dated Thursday to make the money available “for […]

Tiger chief peace negotiator dies of cancer

COLOMBO, Dec 15, 2006 (AFP) – The senior negotiator for Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels, who vociferously pleaded their cause around the world but never took up arms, has died of cancer in London, a close associate told AFP. “It is an unfortunate personal tragedy,” he said, but conceded that “when compared to the vast […]

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