In brief
Arrest
Twenty eight people attempting to go to Italy, were arrested by Negombo police on 13 April in a ship. The police are looking for another 96 persons who escaped from the ship. They had each paid Rs 400,000 ($4,545) to an agent. Reports say that 25 Sri Lankans were among 600 refugees who entered Italy on 22 April.Fuel
The price of fuel in Sri Lanka rose by 12% in mid-April. The cost of kerosene increased from Rs 18.40 to Rs 19.40 a litre and diesel from Rs 24.50 to Rs 27.50. Fuel prices rose by nearly 13% last November.Asylum
On 18 April, Australian police took into custody 24 Sri Lankans who entered the north-west coast. The refugees had arrived in an Indonesian ship. They were detained in a refugee centre at Port Hedland, 820 miles north-east of Perth.Dispute
There is a demand in the north-east Indian state of Orissa for the removal of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, following an alleged assault on some local people. Over 1,000 cadre and family members of the Tamil group EPRLF, including former north-east Chief minister Varadaraja Perumal, were taken to Orissa when the Indian Peace Keeping Force left Sri Lanka in March 1990. Mr Perumal returned to the island in January 1999.
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