Sri Lankan Ship Sinks In Bangladesh

A ship carrying more than 3,000 tonnes of rice from India sank near the outer anchorage of Bangladesh’s Chittagong port officials said. They said the Sri Lanka-flagged vessel MV Batulu was in collision with an empty, anchored vessel and sank in the Bay of Bengal during the afternoon. “The ship sank in the bay with its 17 crew on board,” a port official said. The official had earlier said the vessel was carrying a Singapore flag. Tugboats from the port authority and the Bangladesh Navy rescued 16 crew members, he said, but the fate of the remaining member was unknown. The sea was choppy at the time of the accident because of strong monsoon winds.Violence: Fighting in Sri Lanka left dead at least 11 people, including eight Tamil Tiger rebels, the defence ministry said Thursday. One soldier died in clashes with rebels on Wednesday in three areas in the north, the ministry said. The ministry also accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of gunning down two civilians gathering firewood in the tense northeastern district of Trincomalee on Wednesday. The latest battles raised to 5,993 the number of rebels that the government claims have been slain since January. The ministry admits losing 557 soldiers over the same period. After ejecting the rebels from the east last July, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse said Tuesday that troops were on the verge of a major victory to dismantle the de facto rebel state in the north. agencies