Author: LBO
Annan urges Sri Lanka’s warring sides to resume dialogue
UNITED NATIONS, May 12, 2006 (AFP) – UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Friday made a fresh appeal to Sri Lanka’s government and Tamil rebels to end violence and resume Norwegian-brokered peace talks.UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Annan, who is on a visit to Austria, was “disturbed by the news of major sea and aerial […]
Zimbabwe’s inflation rate crosses 1,000-percent threshold
HARARE, May 12, 2006 (AFP) – Zimbabwe said on Friday its inflation rate had crossed the landmark 1,000-percent threshold, arguably the highest in the world, with economists expressing pessimism about any major improvement soon. The Central Statistical Office said the year-on-year inflation rate in April was 1,042.9 percent, up 129.3 percentage points from March, in […]
Sea Tigers: Sri Lanka’s deadly foes
May 12, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s truce prevents Tiger rebels from venturing out to sea, but “Sea Tiger” sailors are openly defying the ban and testing the resolve of the government and Nordic peace monitors, officials say.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) sparked a fresh row over their right to operate their deadly […]
Sri Lanka’s Jayasuriya heads for England
May 11, 2006 (AFP) – Veteran batsman Sanath Jayasuriya will join his Sri Lanka team-mates in England later this week after reversing his decision to quit, chief selector Asantha de Mel said on Thursday. The left-hander, 36, will arrive in England well ahead of the second Test in Edgbaston from May 25 and stay for […]
Sri Lanka still examining ‘pregnant bomber’ claim
May 10, 2006 (AFP) – Investigators have yet to find any evidence that a woman suicide bomber who tried to assassinate Sri Lanka’s army chief was really pregnant as some local media reports had claimed, police said Wednesday.Logs at the army headquarters showed the bomber entered the military compound and staged the attack last month […]
Murali aiming for five-wicket Lord’s haul
LONDON, May 10, 2006 (AFP) – Muttiah Muralitharan wants to mark his first Test appearance at Lord’s by taking five wickets in an innings for Sri Lanka against England and getting his name on the dressing room honours board.“He will be the most important wicket for us as far as I’m concerned because when he […]
Sri Lanka rebels seek Japan’s help to prevent ‘doom’
COLOMBO, May 9, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels Tuesday sought foreign help to halt alleged military attacks against them and warned that the island could face “doom” if they decided to retaliate.The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) appealed to Japanese envoy Yasushi Akashi to persuade the Sri Lankan government to […]
Bunkers and barriers on Sri Lanka’s front line
SAMPUR, Sri Lanka, May 9 (AFP) – A smiling Sri Lankan army soldier lifts a thin metal barrier and you head toward Tamil Tiger rebel territory.Troops from the two sides are surprisingly close, about the length of a football pitch, on this edgy ceasefire line in northeastern Sri Lanka. Violence between government and rebel forces […]
Singapore’s Banyan Tree resort and spa chain plans public listing
SINGAPORE, May 9, 2006 (AFP) – Singapore-based luxury resort and spa chain Banyan Tree has outlined plans for a public listing to raise funds for further international expansion. The company intends to raise more than 100 million Singapore dollars (64 million US) from the proposed listing, it said in a preliminary prospectus late Monday. It […]
Jayasuriya was forced to quit Tests, says Sri Lanka’s selector
COLOMBO, May 8, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s veteran cricketer Sanath Jayasuirya retired from Test cricket last month after being handed an ultimatum to either quit or be sacked, newly-appointed chief selector Asantha de Mel said Monday De Mel, who replaced Lalith Kaluperuma as chairman of the selection committee last week, blamed his predecessor for […]
Claymore mines: ‘Awful’ weapon of Sri Lanka’s rebels
TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka, May 8, 2006 (AFP) – Sweat glistens on the faces of Sri Lankan army soldiers in the early-morning heat as they search the edges of a red-dirt road for the weapon that is increasingly killing them Since December, suspected Tamil Tiger rebels have exploded dozens of Claymore mines, Scandinavian truce monitors say, […]
Secretive, lethal rebel ‘navy’ a big factor in Sri Lanka conflict
TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka, May 7, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers are increasingly taking their fight to the sea thanks to a secretive and lethal rebel “navy”, a rarity among the world’s guerrilla forces, observers say.Founded in the early 1990s, the “Sea Tigers” claim to have sunk dozens of naval vessels over the years […]