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Westminster Bridge closed after Tamil ceasefire protest
[ The Guardian ] Police closed Westminster Bridge in London and attempted to contain thousands of Tamil protesters who surrounded parliament last night demanding an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka. One man was rescued after jumping into the Thames. Four RNLI lifeboats were on standby in the river after reports that demonstrators had threatened to…
Read MoreSri Lanka says EU diplomats may visit war-torn north
[AFP] Sri Lanka said on Wednesday it would open up its war-torn north to international scrutiny, days after the UN said it suspected war crimes were being committed in the fight against Tamil rebels. A foreign ministry official said talks were under way to give a European Union fact-finding mission access to the area, which…
Read MoreDisease risk in Sri Lanka war zone: Red Cross
[AFP] Tens of thousands of people trapped by fighting in Sri Lanka’s north are facing serious risks of disease due to shortages of clean water and sanitation, the Red Cross said Tuesday. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the humanitarian situation was deteriorating fast as civilians still living in the rebel-held territory…
Read MoreTamil community forms human chain
[Toronto Sun] Tens of thousands of Toronto Tamils took to the streets today to protest attacks by the Sri Lankan military in that country’s bloody civil war. Waving the red and gold flags of the Tamil Tigers alongside Canadian flags, the protesters mixed chants for a separate Tamil homeland with calls for the Canadian government…
Read MoreFifth World Water Forum: war victims need better access to water and sanitation
[ICRC] “Water, sewage and electrical power systems, along with medical facilities, are usually the first things to be disrupted when a war breaks out,” said Robert Mardini, who heads the ICRC’s water and habitat unit. “They can be damaged or shut down completely by shelling and explosions, or overwhelmed by influxes of displaced people. Such…
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