The UK government announced on Tuesday that it would unblock about half of its £15million aid to Rwanda, following progress on solving a conflict in Congo.
Along with states such as the US, Sweden and the Netherlands, Britain had suspended support to Rwanda after a June report by the United Nations accused Rwandan officials of supporting armed rebels in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A spokesperson for Congo’s government described the decision as “disastrous” with rights groups blaming Rwanda for fuelling bloodshed in the Congo.
The UK’s outgoing International Development minister Andrew Mitchell praised Rwanda’s ‘constructive’ efforts to resolve the crisis and said in a statement,
"Given this progress and recognising that the government of Rwanda has continued to demonstrate its strong commitment to reducing poverty and improving its financial management, Britain will partially restore its general budget support to Rwanda.”
Rwanda relies on foreign aid for half of its budget.
Gotabhaya Rajapakse has said that the rights of Sinhalese to purchase land in the North cannot be suppressed.
According to Uthayan, Gotabhaya also declared that no province belonged to any race.
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Still smarting from India's vote at the UNHRC, Sri Lanka has informed India of the decision not to devolve police powers to the provinces.
Retaliating to allegations that Sri Lanka was retreating on its promise to implement the 13th Amendment,
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The Secretary to the Sri Lankan President, Lalith Weeratunge has claimed that the people of Jaffna have made “fervent appeals” to keep the army on the peninsula.
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The TNA delegation in India met with the Prime Minister on Wednesday, after having previously called on the External Affairs Minister and the National Security Adviser.
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Following the violent scenes of Tamil 'Boycott Sri Lankan Cricket' activists being assaulted by Sri Lankan cricket fans, on Monday night outside the Oval in London, Tamil Guardian spoke to one of the organisers, Thusiyan.
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University Tamil societies from across the UK have released a statement condemning the racist attacks outside the Oval on Monday.
21 Tamil societies joined together to denounce the attacks and commend the peaceful campaign of the activists,
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A Tamil doctor, who was arrested in December 2012 after attempted to release a Tamil woman from a Sri Lankan military base, was released on Monday morning.
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The British Council will hold a global education forum in Colombo, with attendees from several countries coming together to discuss international higher education issues.
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