Apr 27 (CA) An escalation in violence between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka is placing people in danger and threatening Christian Aid’s tsunami reconstruction and long-term development work. Partner organisations in the worst-affected area of Trincomalee, in the east of the country, have been unable to carry out any work for the past few days because of the volatile security situation. more..

Apr 27 (IBN) Even as air strikes continued against the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India on Wednesday hinted that ground operations could also be carried out against the Tigers, if necessary. Reports coming in from Sri Lanka's violence-torn northeast indicated an escalation in fighting on Wednesday. And there is a possibility that the island nation might return to the civil war of the recent past. more..

Apr 27 (TW) Sri Lankan air force planes resuming aerial bombardment of the Muthur region in Trincomalee district on April 26th have in a colossal blunder dropped bombs on Muslim populated areas coming under Government control. At least three people were killed and eight injured in the incident where all victims were Muslims. more..

Apr 27 (ISL) Over twenty-five LTTE cadres had been killed and many LTTE cadres and auxiliary cadres too had been wounded by the aerial bombing of the Sri Lankan forces during the last forty eight hours. There are increasing number of casualties for child soldiers who had been deployed for bunker constructions and other LTTE auxiliary and military activities by Tigers. more..

Apr 27 (CI) A ninth-wicket stand of 38 from the British Universities denied Sri Lanka a likely victory on the final day of their opening match at Fenner's. Having reduced the students to 92 for 8, Sri Lanka tried everything at their disposal to remove Paul Harrison and David Balcombe, but their resiliance saw the university home to safety. more..

Apr 27 (NDTV) The LTTE relies on its fiercely loyal cadres who would rather end their lives than face capture. An NDTV team had traveled deep into the Tiger territory in 2002, where armed group of fighters, including women, take their oaths to lay down their lives for Eelam. Many of the freshly-recruited cadre are in their early teens, and the only ornament that adorns them is a cyanide capsule that hangs around their necks. more..

Apr 27 (LeN) Security forces have thwarted an attempt by a Tamil woman posing as a doctor from entering the Intensive Care Unit where Army Commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka is being treated. Upon questioning she had said that she is a doctor attached to the Jaffna hospital while adding she came to the hospital to discuss a matter related to her leave. more..

Apr 27 (LT) All parties should shed their petit differences and come forward to defeat tiger terrorism which is the greatest challenge before the country at present and establish dignified peace to all people in the Motherland said Mr. Tilvin Silva, General Secretary of the JVP. more..

Apr 27 (AT) Ministry of Social Services and Social Welfare has devised a project aims to set up a statutory body for the promotion of volunteerism and will transform it into a dynamic tool for social development and peace building in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the UNDP and the Ministry of Social Services and Social Welfare have entered an agreement to promote volunteerism [VOICE] in Sri Lanka. more..

Apr 27 (TN) The LTTE, on Wednesday, called on the International Community to strongly condemn the "genocidal attempt" on the Tamil people in Muthur east in Trincomalee district. "The International Community is turning a blind eye," while Colombo has openly declared a war and is carrying out "reprehensible murders" of Tamil civilians in the Tamil homeland. more..

Apr 27 (AT) Policy Development and Implementation Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, speaking at a press Conference held at the Government Information Department’s Auditorium on Wednesday, pointed out that although the Government was fully committed to continue the Geneva Talks, the LTTE continues to violate the agreement reached in Geneva. more..

Apr 27 (ISL) A Muslim man was killed and several others were wounded when LTTE mortar attacks retaliated attacking GOSL control areas of Muttur, according to sources. Eastern LTTE sources told The Independent that the casualties are accidental and attacks were aimed at Sri Lankan government forces. more..

Apr 27 (AT) The government playing with the current fertilizer subsidies is threatened to be affecting the entire gamut of agriculture and cash crops like tea rubber and coconut. At the time the coconut growers have been calling upon the government a further extension of the subsidy existed by another Rs 5,000 per metric ton of fertilizer, more..

Apr 27 (AT) President Mahinda Rajapakse briefed the Cabinet Day before yesterday and yesterday on the latest developments following the suicide bomb attack at the Army Headquarters. At both the Special Cabinet meetings he emphasized that the military operations were to target the LTTE positions which were firing on the Sri Lankan forces. more..

Apr 27 (TN) Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and Police arrested 97 Tamils from residences in Colombo suburbs of Bambalapitiya, Collpetty, Dehiwela and others Wednesday night through Thursday morning, and have detained them in Police stations across Colombo, said Deputy Inspector General of Police, Poojitha Jeyasundara. more..

Apr 27 (SLA) ONE MORE BRUTAL LTTE (TAMIL TIGER) claymore mine attack on the Security Forces this morning (27) at about 10.00 a.m. in JAFFNA, close to the Holy Cross junction, KAYTS perished the lives of two Sailors of the Navy while moving on a motorbike. more..

Apr 27 (SLA) AN LTTE (TAMIL TIGERS) PRE-DAWN ATTACK on another Army camp in KOKKUTHUDUVAI, WELIOYA off VAVUNIYA area around 1.30 a.m. on Thursday (27) using small arms, was successfully repulsed by the Security Forces after forcing the terrorists to flee. more..

Apr 27 (LBO) Seven persons who were caught promoting the GoldQuest network marketing scheme have been arrested in southern Sri Lanka, police said. The seven who were having a GoldQuest promotional scheme were arrested under the new anti-pyamiding provisions of the Banking Act, police in the town of Karandeniya in the southern provincial, Galle district said. more..

Apr 27 (LBO) Colombo stocks snapped a three-day losing streak Thursday, supported by bargain hunting and soothing vibes by peace broker Norway that the battered truce pact is still intact. The key All Share Price Index rebounded 70.96 points or 3.31 percent to 2,215.16, according to data posted on the Colombo Stock Exchange website. more..

Apr 27 (AT) The female suicide bomber who carried out the bomb attack on the Sri Lanka Army Commander on Tuesday 25 April, has been identified as a Tamil women from Vavuniya. Police recovered the head of the of the women suicide bomber which was found hanging on a nearby tree, after it must have been severed from the rest of her body on the impact of the self-activated explosion. more..

Apr 27 (ANN) Evoking its prerogative to preserve national security, the Sri Lankan govt yesterday (April 26) said there will be ‘coordinated retaliation or defence’ if the LTTE persisted in its attacks. Govt spokespersons admitted that the 2002 cease-fire agreement was "in a bit of a low" but said the state continued to hold the deal as valid. more..

Apr 27 (ANN) Like the pigs in Orwell’s Animal Farm, the Tigers have apparently become more equal than other animalistic terror groups. We are being told that the on-going global war against terrorism applies to all terror outfits equally. But nothing is further from the truth. more..

Apr 27 (PTI) Describing it as a "grave provocation", the CPI(M) today said the suicide bomb attack on the Sri Lankan army chief would "jeopardise" the ceasefire and resumption of the peace process, but asked Colombo to deal the situation with restraint. more..

Apr 27 (PIS) The Government said yesterday the ceasefire was still in place despite the ‘retaliatory’ aerial bombing of selected targets in LTTE-controlled areas in the Trincomalee district that followed Tuesday’s suicide bombing in Colombo targeting Army Commander Sarath Fonseka. more..

Apr 27 (PIS) The United States yesterday vowed to organise an international pressure campaign against the LTTE in the aftermath of Tuesday's suicide bombing in Colombo. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said the State Department was in touch in Washington and abroad with other countries "to bring to bear whatever pressure we can on the Tigers to abandon this course of action" and to look for ways to support the Government of Sri Lanka. more..

Apr 27 (IT) Russia “denounces a terrorist act committed in Sri Lanka and expresses sincere condolences to terror victims, their relatives, the Sri Lankan people and the government,” spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Mikhail Kamynin said over a terrorist act committed by a suicide bomber in the headquarters of the Sri Lankan Ground Troops on April 25. more..

Apr 27 (LNP) In a breakthrough in the investigation into Tuesday`s bomb explosion at Army headquarters, the National Intelligence Bureau yesterday arrested the manager of a Dam Street lodge where the suspected LTTE female suicide bomber was said to have stayed. more..

Apr 27 (LNP) The Government has afforded yet another opportunity for Army deserters to rejoin the service, the Operational Headquarters announced yesterday. For this purpose a general amnesty period from 2006 April 25 to May 10 has been set aside. Those who report to their respective regiments during this period will not be punished for deserting more..

Apr 27 (LNP) President, Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday visited the Colombo National hospital where Army Commander Sarath Fonseka and the others injured in the bomb blast are warded. President was accompanied by the Health Minister, Nimal Siripala de Silva, presidential secretary Lalith Weeratunga, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and parliamentarian Dalas Alahapperuma. more..

Apr 27 (SAMN) Amidst growing fears of an LTTE retaliatory attack to the military air strike, head of the cease fire monitors, Ulf Henriksson, is scheduled to go to Trincomalee today to mediate with both parties and prevent the situation from escalating out of control. more..

Apr 27 (SAMN) President Mahinda Rajapakse at a meeting on Tuesday requested the main Opposition UNP to support the Government to overcome the present crisis situation notwithstanding political differences. UNP Assistant General Secretary Tissa Attanayake who attended the meeting, said that the UNP had never tried to gain political mileage in crisis situations in the past, nor would it try to do so in the future. more..

Apr 27 (SAMN) Police have taken steps to close the main road running in front of the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy for security reasons. Around 3pm. on Tuesday iron road barriers were placed at Queen Hotel and iron gates in front of the Diyawadana Nilame’s official residence were fastened. more..

Apr 27 (DN) The time has come for the Government to act as a responsible Government in the face of blatant acts of terrorism unleashed by the LTTE, Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thera said yesterday. Commenting on the security situation in the country, Ven. Wimalarathana Thera said there was no point in the Government further placing its trust in the Ceasefire Agreement, more..

Apr 27 (Xinhua) The Chinese government has condemned the bomb attack that killed nine people in Sri Lanka. "China condemns all forms of violence," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. The Chinese government hoped Sri Lanka could realize national peace and stability soon, Qin said. more..

Apr 27 (BBC) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels have accused the government of carrying out "genocidal" attacks on people in areas in the north-east under their control. And they criticised the international community for failing to condemn the two days of airstrikes by the military, in a statement on a pro-rebel website. more..

Apr 27 (AP) Norway, the peace mediator in Sri Lanka's civil war, advised its citizens Thursday against traveling to parts of the country because of increased violence. Norway has been mediating in a 22-year conflict between the island nation's government and the Tamil Tigers, rebels seeking a separate ethnic homeland. more..

Apr 27 (CI) Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka's captain for the tour of England, has expressed his pleasure at his side's impressive start to the English summer. Though Sri Lanka failed to press for a win against the British Universities at Fenner's yesterday, Jayawardene said he was determined to build on the experience later this week. more..

Apr 27 (SI) Swiss-funded post-tsunami reconstruction projects in northeastern Sri Lanka have been suspended amid fears that the country is sliding back into civil war. Aid workers have been withdrawn from the district of Trincomalee, which on Wednesday saw renewed air and artillery strikes against rebel Tamil Tiger positions. more..

Apr 27 (IANS) Standard and Poor's Thursday reduced its credit outlook on Sri Lanka to negative, citing war fears due to escalation of hostilities between the government and the LTTE. The global rating agency said a resumption of full-scale hostilities could have negative implications for the country's already stressed fiscal and debt position, and may impair its previously adequate level of external balances. more..

Apr 27 (IANS) The more than 1,000-km long coastline in Tamil Nadu is on high alert following escalating strife between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger guerrillas. The Coast Guard has been asked to step up patrols along the narrow strip of sea known as Palk Strait that divides Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka. more..

Apr 27 (IANS) Switzerland has condemned the terror attack on Sri Lanka's army chief as "an unacceptable escalation of violence" and urged Colombo and Tamil Tiger guerrillas to break the cycle of violence. In a statement released in Bern, the Swiss foreign ministry denounced Tuesday's suicide bombing in Colombo that almost killed the Sri Lankan army chief, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka. more..

Apr 27 (AFP) Five headless corpses were found in central Sri Lanka but police said Thursday the incident was not linked to the island's conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels. The bodies were found in two places about 80 kilometres (50 miles) east of the capital, police said. "We suspect they may have been killed due to a private dispute," a police official said. more..

Apr 27 (AFP) Sri Lanka's Tamil separatist conflict is rooted in the nation's history, but the past three decades have been the bloodiest on an island colonised by Europeans and invaded by Indians. At least 60,000 people have been killed since minority Tamils took up arms in 1972, about 24 years after the Indian Ocean island won independence from Britain. more..

Apr 27 (BBC) Truce monitors have travelled to Trincomalee in north-east Sri Lanka to try to ease tension after two days of government air strikes on Tamil rebels. The strikes were called after a suicide bombing on army headquarters in Colombo on Tuesday left at least eight dead and the army chief seriously wounded. more..

Apr 27 (HT) The co-chairs of the Tokyo Donors' Conference will be meeting in Oslo urgently to address the issues thrown up by the LTTE's bid on the life of the Sri Lankan Army Chief and the subsequent air, sea and land operations against LTTE positions in Trincomalee district. The co-chairs represent the International Community (IC) in the Sri Lankan peace process. more..

Apr 27 (wsws) After weeks of escalating violence in a murky, undeclared war in the North and East of Sri Lanka, the government and the LTTE have resorted to open hostilities. While the immediate trigger was a carefully-planned suicide bombing at army headquarters in central Colombo on Tuesday, the responsibility for the conflict rests squarely with successive Sri Lankan governments more..

Apr 27 (HT) The suicide bomber has been the LTTE's most potent weapon in its struggle to establish an independent "Tamil Eelam" in the North and East of Sri Lanka. The LTTE is also the pioneer, and to date, the only practitioner of the method of suicide bombing in the troubled island. Terror groups like the LTTE, see suicide bombing as the best means to get close to the target and ensure that he or she is killed. more..

Apr 27 (Reuters) Sri Lanka stopped bombing Tamil Tiger targets and reopened borders with rebel territory on Thursday but a fragmentation mine blast killed two sailors, police said, as the island teetered on the brink of war. Both sides have vowed to retaliate if attacked again after heavy firing on Tuesday night and on Wednesday caused thousands to flee their homes and raised fears a 2002 ceasefire could collapse. more..

Apr 27 (AP) Mine attacks killed two navy sailors and wounded two commandos in northern Sri Lanka on Thursday in the latest in a barrage of violence that is posing the biggest danger yet to the country's 4-year-old cease-fire. Meanwhile, police found five headless corpses near the capital, Colombo, and said more..

Apr 27 (AFP) Thousands of frightened people have been left homeless in northeastern Sri Lanka after government air strikes on suspected Tamil Tiger rebel positions, the guerrillas and a UN official said. "More than 40,000 people have been displaced and are languishing as refugees," the LTTE said in a statement on Thursday. more..