sri lanka

Great Floods Hit Sri Lanka

Jan 15, 2011
Massive flooding battering the island nation of Sri Lanka has been described as the worst natural disaster there since the 2004 tsunami, killing at least 27 people and inundating thousands of acres of vital rice fields.

Sri Lanka’s Produce Army

Jan 8, 2011
Watch out Whole Foods. The Sri Lankan army, having triumphed in its long fight against the rebel Tamil Tigers, has now turned to selling vegetables to the country’s poor at reduced prices to help them through hard times.
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20,000 Killed While No One Was Watching

May 29, 2009
The London Times reports that the final weeks of fighting in Sri Lanka's civil war claimed more than 20,000 civilian lives, mostly at the hands of government forces A UN official tells the paper the actual figure is "Higher Keep going" The government kept aid workers and reporters away during a three-week bombardment that ultimately ended the 26-year war.

U.N. Official Calls for Probe of Sri Lanka War Crimes

May 27, 2009
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said both sides in Sri Lanka's civil war "grossly disregarded the fundamental principle of the inviolability of civilians" She has called for an "independent and credible international investigation," although she's up against the notoriously impotent U Human Rights Council and a bristling Sri Lankan government.

U.N. Denounces ‘Blood Bath’ in Sri Lanka

May 12, 2009
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband declared themselves appalled by the “blood bath” that took place over the weekend in Sri Lanka. An estimated 430 civilians -- of whom at least 100 were children -- have been killed in fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces on the country’s northeastern coast. The question of whether Sri Lanka should receive a loan from the IMF is now on the table.

U.N. Warns of Sri Lankan War Crimes

Mar 13, 2009
After an estimated 10,000 civilian deaths or injuries in only two months, the U.N. has called on the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels to immediately suspend fighting, suggesting that actions by both parties may constitute violations of international human rights law.

Sri Lanka’s Civil War Takes a Toll

Feb 13, 2009
The toll in the recent spate of clashes in the decades-long battle between Tamil Tiger rebels and the Sri Lankan government has been officially estimated: 40 civilians are being killed every day, with more than 100 wounded, as artillery shells and gun battles between the two sides devastate the Sri Lankan northeast.