Politics

Military option rejected as donors warn Sri Lanka against war

May 30, 2006 (AFP) - Sri Lanka's president Tuesday ruled out military action against the Tamil Tigers as international donors warned the two sides to halt a …

War fears shake Sri Lanka as Tigers face EU ban

May 29, 2006 (AFP) - Sri Lanka was Monday banking on the European Union to ban Tamil Tiger rebels this week, but analysts and officials warned that …

Tigers agree to Oslo talks amid EU ban

May 29, 2006 (AFP) - Sri Lanka Monday banked on the European Union to ban the Tamil Tigers even as the rebels said they would agree to more talks to shore up …

UN agency warns Sri Lankan refugees against fleeing to India

May 29, 2006 (AFP) - The United Nations agency for refugees warned Sri Lankans on Monday against fleeing troubled areas and making a "perilous journey" to …

Donors take stock as dead bodies pile up in Sri Lanka

May 28, 2006 (AFP) - Sri Lanka's key foreign aid donors will meet to reevaluate the troubled nation's faltering peace process this week at a meeting in Tokyo …

Mine blast inside Sri Lanka wildlife park kills seven

May 28, 2006 (AFP) - Sri Lankan authorities Sunday found the mutilated bodies of seven local tourists believed to have been killed by an explosion in a …

Sri Lanka seize 18 vehicles in Jaffna area carrying explosives

May 28, 2006 (AFP) - Sri Lankan police Sunday detained the drivers of 18 vehicles trying to smuggle explosives across a de facto frontier post into the …

Sri Lanka peace hopes dim as Norway fails to clinch talks deal

May 28, 2006 (AFP) - Hopes of ending Sri Lanka's ethnic bloodshed have hit rock bottom after peacebroker Norway failed to arrange talks on saving a collapsing …

EU likely to put Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers on its terror list Monday

VIENNA, May 27, 2006 (AFP) - The European Union is expected to put Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers on its list of terrorist groups next week, a spokesman for the EU's …

Norway seeks fresh talks in Sri Lanka to save truce

May 27 (AFP) - Peace broker Norway Saturday asked Tamil rebels and the Sri Lankan government to attend a meeting next month to discuss the role of Scandinavian …

Norway peace envoy says ‘major crisis’ looming in Sri Lanka

NEW DELHI, May 27, 2006 (AFP) - Norway's top peace envoy to Sri Lanka, Eric Solheim, said Saturday a major crisis was brewing in the tropical island and that …

Sri Lanka could be heading for war: Norwegian envoy

May 27, 2006 (AFP) - Sri Lanka could be heading back to all-out war, the top Norwegian envoy to the island warned Saturday, saying the peace process was more …

Norway in fresh bid to avert full-scale war in Sri Lanka

May 26, 2006 (AFP) - Norway's top peace envoy held lengthy talks with Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse Friday in a fresh bid to stop the island from …

Sri Lankan rebels say children freed from their ranks

May 26, 2006 (AFP) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers have released 16 youths who lied about their age to join the guerrilla movement, the rebels said in a statement …

Tamil people preparing for war: Sri Lankan rebel commander

May 25, 2006 (AFP) - The Tamil people are preparing for war and nobody can defeat them, a top Sri Lankan rebel military commander was quoted as saying …

EU ban on Tamil Tigers will help peace talks: Sri Lankan president

LONDON, May 25, 2006 (AFP) - An impending European ban on the Tamil Tiger rebels will leave the group with little choice but to engage in peace talks, Sri …

Sri Lanka’s World Trade Centre bans cars on bomb fears

May 25, 2006 (AFP) - Sri Lanka's twin-tower World Trade Centre banned vehicles Thursday fearing a car bomb attack by Tamil separatist rebels, police and …

Bomb scare in Colombo as Oslo mounts peace salvage bid

May 25, 2006 (AFP) - Deadly mine attacks and a bomb scare in Sri Lanka's capital Thursday brought home the challenge faced by a Norwegian envoy who was set to …

Three die as international concern mounts over Sri Lanka violence

May 24, 2006 (AFP) - Three security personnel died in a mine blast Wednesday, the Sri Lanka military said, as a Norwegian peace envoy arrived to salvage a …

Narrow strip of land is Sri Lanka’s flashpoint

MUHAMALAI, Sri Lanka, May 23, 2006 (AFP) - A narrow strip of land in Sri Lanka's northern peninsula of Jaffna is a flashpoint that could ignite a new war in …