Government officials announced plans to present the report on forced military indoctrination of children at the U.N. Security Council meeting on Thursday. The U.N. recently singled out the terrorist organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam operating in Sri Lanka as among the top human-rights violators in the world, Sri Lanka's Daily News reported. More... Discuss this story Published: Mon Feb 18 23:29:29 EST 2008

Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Nivard Cabraal will hold the repurchase rate at 10.5 percent for a 12th straight meeting, according to all 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The decision is due on Feb. 21 at 7:30 a.m. in Colombo.

Interest rates are ``sufficient'' to control inflation, which will begin to slow in the second half of this year, Cabraal said in a Feb. 4 interview. The central bank is trying to revive the island's $27 billion economy after growth slowed to an estimated 6.7 percent in 2007 from 7.4 percent in 2006. More... Discuss this story Published: Mon Feb 18 23:30:34 EST 2008

“We note that the declaration of independence was made without the consent of the majority of the people of Serbia.

“This action by Kosovo is a violation of the Charter of the United Nations, which enshrines the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States. Moreover, U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10th June 1999 reaffirms commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all States of the region.

“This action is particularly regrettable, since all efforts at reaching a negotiated political settlement on the future status of Kosovo, as envisaged by the Security Council Resolution 1244, have not been exhausted.” More... Discuss this story Published: Mon Feb 18 23:34:01 EST 2008