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by Allison JACKSON Agence France-Presse Hong Kong, China (AFP) — From Australia’s Bondi Beach to the streets of New Delhi, authorities across Asia have ramped up efforts to stem the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus amid fears of a second wave of infections in places where outbreaks had appeared under control. Tighter travel restrictions were imposed in several countries as the number of cases in the region soared past 95,000 — a third of the […]
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka(AFP) — Two foreign trawlers packed with over $33 million worth of heroin and crystal methamphetamine were seized in Sri Lanka’s biggest-ever drugs bust at sea, a navy spokesman said Thursday. Troops found 400 kilograms (about 880 pounds) of heroin and 100 kilograms (about 220 pounds) of the drug “ice” on board the two vessels, spokesman Isuru Sooriyabandara said. The street value of the seized narcotics was estimated by officials to be 6,000 […]
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Suicide bombers cornered by security forces in a hideout in eastern Sri Lanka blew themselves up in a raid which left 15 people dead, including six children, police said Saturday. A civilian was also killed in crossfire during the night-time raid near the predominantly Muslim town of Kalmunai, with hundreds of families later fleeing their homes. Kalmmunai is in the home province of the jihadist suspected of organising the […]
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Sri Lankan police have been left red-faced after wrongly identifying a female American Muslim activist as a suspect in the deadly Easter bombings. On Thursday, police issued a flyer with the names and photos of six people — three men and three women — wanted in connection with attacks that killed over 250 people. Among those listed was a woman identified as Abdul Cader Fathima Khadhiya, accompanied by a photo […]
by Amal Jayasinghe in Colombo and Ammu Kannampilly in Batticaloa COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Authorities in Sri Lanka on Thursday lowered the death toll in a spate of Easter bombings by more than 100 to 253, admitting some of the badly mutilated bodies had been erroneously double-counted. The toll revision will boost the pressure on a government already under fire over its apparent failure to act on intelligence about the attacks, and follows the […]
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) – All of Sri Lanka’s Catholic churches have been ordered to stay closed and suspend services until security improves after deadly Easter bombings, a senior priest told AFP Thursday. “On the advice of the security forces we are keeping all churches closed,” the priest said. “There will be no public mass said until further notice.” Security has already been stepped up at churches across the country, government officials said. A […]
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — The Islamic State group on Tuesday claimed responsibility for a devastating series of suicide attacks against churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that killed more than 320 people. The claim, accompanied by a photo and video of the men the group said had unleashed the carnage, emerged more than 48 hours after the near-simultaneous blasts ripped through three high-end hotels popular with foreigners and three churches packed with Christians marking […]
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — The toll from a string of deadly suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka has risen to 310, with several people dying of their injuries overnight, a police spokesman said Tuesday. Around 500 people were wounded in the blasts, Ruwan Gunasekera said in a statement. He added that 40 people were now under arrest in connection with the attacks, which Sri Lanka’s government has blamed on a previously little-known local Islamist […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump called Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday to express condolences over the killing of nearly 300 people in suicide bomb blasts at churches and hotels. The attacks on Easter Sunday, which Sri Lankan authorities believe were carried out by a local Islamist group, were “one of the deadliest terrorist events since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States,” White House spokesman Hogan […]
by Poornima Weerasekara in Colombo and Peter Hutchison in Negombo COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Sri Lanka on Tuesday imposed a state of emergency hours after the government blamed a local Islamist group for a series of suicide bomb blasts that killed at least 290 people, including dozens of foreigners. Twenty-four people have been arrested over the Easter Sunday assault on three churches and three hotels in the capital Colombo and elsewhere, authorities said. The […]
by Ishara Kodikara in Colombo and Lakruwan Wanniarachchi in Batticaloa At least 290 are now known to have died in a series of bomb blasts that tore through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, in the worst violence to hit the island since its devastating civil war ended a decade ago. Eight apparently co-ordinated explosions targeted Easter worshippers and high end hotels popular with international guests. The horrific death toll, which has risen dramatically […]
(Eagle News)–The Palace has condoled with Sri Lanka over the deadly blasts in hotels and churches that killed over 200 people on Sunday, April 21. “As we recall our recent commitment to boost ties with Sri Lanka and the warm relations between the leaders our of countries, we express our sincere solidarity and offer our heartfelt prayers to the citizens of Sri Lanka,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement. Panelo reiterated “expressions of […]
