Tag: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka urges diplomatic end to NKorean crisis
Oct 10, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka, which is backing South Korea’s bid to secure the UN Secretary General’s post, Tuesday said it hoped that the “issue” of North Korea’s nuclear tests would be resolved diplomatically.“We express the hope that the issue will be resolved through diplomatic means,” the Sri Lankan foreign ministry said in […]
Sri Lanka vows to hit back amid artillery duels with Tigers
Oct 9, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government vowed Monday to keep up an offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels until they stopped “provocative actions” as both sides traded artillery fire. After two weeks, the military regained territory lost to the rebels following intense fighting that claimed hundreds of lives of both sides. President Mahinda Rajapakse […]
Sri Lankan troops preparing major offensive, Tigers say
Oct 8, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels Sunday accused Sri Lankan government troops of bracing for a fresh offensive around the northern peninsula of Jaffna after both sides suffered losses in a battle elsewhere.The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) also called on Norwegian peace monitors to step and check the frontlines, the […]
Sri Lankan soldiers missing after heavy fighting
Oct 8, 2006 (AFP) – Twelve Sri Lankan government soldiers were missing Sunday following fierce fighting with Tamil rebels in the east of the island that left at least seven combatants dead, the defence ministry said. There were conflicting statements on casualties from the government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) after […]
Ongoing bloodshed paralyses Sri Lanka peace bid
Oct 8, 2006 (AFP) – Foreign aid donors have demanded peace talks in Sri Lanka to avert full-scale war, but the daily bloodshed has reduced broker Norway’s ability to coax rebels and the government to the table, diplomats say.During a visit here last week, Norwegian envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer failed to secure agreement on a venue […]
Sri Lanka troops, rebels keep up attacks as peace bid stalls
Oct 7, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels kept up attacks against each other for a second day Saturday, as the rebels said the new fighting represented a serious blow to peace efforts. Air attacks against the rebels continued amid exchanges of fire in the eastern district of Batticaloa where heavy […]
Fresh fighting erupts as Sri Lanka peace bid stalls
Oct 6, 2006 (AFP) – Heavy sea and land battles erupted Friday in Sri Lanka with the military reporting the recovery of 22 bodies of Tamil rebels after a Norwegian envoy failed to secure a deal to re-launch peace talks.Some 60,000 people have been killed in the separatist conflict since 1972. The military and the […]
Charities demand access to 200,000 in Sri Lanka war zones
Oct 6, 2006 (AFP) – International relief agencies on Friday demanded access to some 200,000 people displaced by Sri Lanka’s worsening ethnic conflict and denounced restrictions on aid workers. A group of foreign non-governmental organisations in a joint appeal asked both the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels to ensure that aid workers had […]
Funny World
October 5, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Thursday cut retail fuel prices, but raised prices for alcohol and cigarettes, as the government disclosed plans to raise defence expenses and hike overall spending by over 40 percent next year. In addition, defence spending is to climb by 45 percent to 139.5 billion rupees, with military procurements […]
Staying High
SINGAPORE, Oct 5, 2006 (AFP) – Oil prices rebounded in Asian trade Thursday, coming off near 8-month lows on continuing unrest in Nigeria and amid reports that OPEC members are ready to cut production in a bid to support the market, dealers said. At 11:25 am (0325 GMT) New York’s main contract, light sweet crude […]
Sri Lanka peace bid hits new snag
Oct 5, 2006 (AFP) – Norwegian peace brokers were Thursday struggling to get Sri Lanka’s warring parties to agree on a venue for talks, with Tiger rebels demanding Oslo and the government Geneva, diplomats said.“The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is going on the basis they want talks in Oslo because that was the […]