Sri Lanka goes dark in nationwide blackoutOctober 9th, 2009 Sri Lanka goes dark in nationwide blackoutCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka — An official says a power blackout plunged all of Sri Lanka into darkness for a few hours Friday because of a technical fault at an electricity distribution center. A spokesman for the power and energy ministry says the blackout affected almost all parts of the Indian Ocean island nation for few hours early Friday.
Iran's judicial committee rejects jail rape chargesSeptember 12th, 2009 TEHRAN - A special judicial committee has rejected allegations by the opposition of rape in Iranian jails, Fars news agency reported Saturday. The committee said in a report that Mehdi Karroubi, the leader of the opposition party Etemad Melli, could not present any proof of his allegations of rape being committed against jailed opposition supporters.
UN strongly warns Lanka over continued holding of civilians in refugee campsSeptember 12th, 2009 LONDON - The United Nations has strongly warned Sri Lanka that the world body cannot continue funding indefinitely the huge refugee camps in the north of the country, and asked the authorities to allow the hundreds of Tamil civilians to leave. The senior UN official in the country hardened their stand when they said the camps should be a last resort for civilians with nowhere else to go.
Sri Lanka unlikely to revoke expulsion of UN officialSeptember 7th, 2009 COLOMBO - The Sri Lankan government is unlikely to revoke its decision to expel a UN official from Colombo after he made remarks about the conditions of war refugees, a senior government official said Monday. Unicef spokesman James Elder was ordered to leave and his visa was cancelled.
Sri Lanka's expulsion of UNICEF official is a clear warning to all UN agencies: ACHRSeptember 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI/COLOMBO - A New Delhi-based human rights watchdog has said that the expulsion of a senior UNICEF official by the Government of Sri Lanka "is a clear warning to the UN agencies and all relief workers not to speak out about the situation of 300,000 Tamils who are being interned."
Suhas Chakma, Director of the Asian Centre for Human Rights, said: "It is worse than the way UN agencies are treated by authoritarian regimes and sets a new low. Burma treats aid workers better."
Chakma was referring to Colombo's move to give James Elder, UNICEF's head of communications in Colombo, two weeks to leave the country after he expressed concerns about the plight of Tamils in the government-run "welfare camps".
Unicef slams Sri Lanka's decision to expel officialSeptember 7th, 2009 COLOMBO - The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) said it was extremely "concerned and disappointed" with the Sri Lankan government's decision to expel the organisation's chief of communications in Sri Lanka, James Elder. The Sri Lankan government cancelled Elder's visa without giving reasons, but it was widely believed that he was being expelled for recent remarks about the plight of refugees living in government-controlled camps in the north of the country.
Sri Lanka's expulsion of top UN official condemnedSeptember 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Asian Centre for Human Rights today condemned the expulsion of James Elder, the Communications Chief of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) by the Sri Lankan Government over his remarks about the Internally Displaced People (IDPs), in particular, the conditions of children in camps. Elder was told on Saturday to leave within two weeks.
UNICEF concerned about southern Madagascar, fears political crisis distracts from humanitarianAugust 21st, 2009 UNICEF raises concerns about southern MadagascarJOHANNESBURG — The U.N. children's agency fears Madagascar's political crisis and a freeze on development aid is hurting the most vulnerable.
Jaswant Singh's expulsion shows bias still exists against Pakistan: PML-NAugust 20th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party Thursday criticised the expulsion of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh from the party for his praise of Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah saying India still has prejudice and bias against the country even 62 years after partition. The PML-N said Singh's expulsion shows the real face of India that boasts of great democracy in the world, the Online news agency reported.
Iran does not rule out expulsion of diplomats over protestsJune 22nd, 2009 TEHRAN - Iran Monday did not rule out the expulsion of foreign diplomats following days of mass protests against alleged vote rigging in the June 12 presidential polls. "The issue of expulsion (of some European diplomats) is currently evaluated in parliament and the foreign minister will consult today (Monday) with parliament's foreign policy commission about the exact dimensions of interference," the foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said.
UNICEF official says thousands of children trapped in Lanka conflict zoneMay 14th, 2009 NEW YORK - "Thousands of children remain trapped by the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka, putting their lives at serious risk. It is unacceptable that children continue to be the innocent victims of this ongoing conflict," claimed Ann M.
German court rejects Demjanjuk appeal over deportationMay 11th, 2009 Berlin court rejects Demjanjuk appealBERLIN — A Berlin court has rejected an appeal by suspected Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk aimed at preventing his deportation to Germany. An administrative court says Monday that it rejected Demjanjuk's argument that Germany should be compelled to withdraw its agreement to take him in.
Sri Lankan president rules out cease-fire after plea from French and British foreign ministersApril 30th, 2009 Sri Lanka president rejects truce appealsCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has rejected a cease-fire appeal from French and British officials and said Western diplomats should stop lecturing him. Rajapaksa said Thursday that the government would not accept a truce with "terrorists."
The British and French foreign ministers came to Sri Lanka on Wednesday to try to broker a truce in the nation's bloody civil war to safeguard tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the war zone.
LTTE intensifies forcible child recruitment: UNICEFFebruary 16th, 2009 COLOMBO - The UN Tuesday expressed its 'gravest concern' for Sri Lankan children, saying a growing number of them were being recruited by the Tamil Tigers while scores were being killed or injured in fighting. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said it has 'clear indications' that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had stepped up forcible recruitment of children and 'as young as 14'.
Sri Lanka shines in slashing maternal, neonatal mortality: UnicefJanuary 14th, 2009 COLOMBO - The UN Thursday hailed Sri Lanka as 'a model for other developing nations' for scaling up its health services for mothers and infants, and succeeding in slashing maternal and neonatal mortality rates. The Unicef in its latest 'State of the World's Children' report said Sri Lanka has managed 'to halve its maternal mortality rate every six to 11 years by adopting sound strategies, allocating sufficient resources, providing free healthcare and making education for all a priority'.
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