Sri Lanka appoints Tamil navy chief

COLOMBO • Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday appointed an officer from the island's Tamil minority to head the navy for the first time since a separatist war erupted more than 40 years ago. Rear-Admiral Travis Sinniah is the first Tamil to head a wing of the military since 1970, even though Tamils make up around 15 per cent of Sri Lanka's population.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Second bird flu outbreak in Philippines

MANILA • The Philippines has discovered a second outbreak of bird flu in another province in the main island of Luzon, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol said yesterday, a week after reporting the country's first case of the poultry disease. The second outbreak was in the Jaen municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, north of capital Manila, where Mr Pinol said two cases of avian flu were detected in quails.

REUTERS