Aug 30 (FT) Leaders of India’s 60m-strong Tamil population on Wednesday warned New Delhi that it risked creating a “southern Kashmir” in the state of Tamil Nadu if it sided further with the Sri Lankan government in its renewed conflict with Tamil separatists. more..

Aug 30 (NIQ7) Filipinos traveling to Sri Lanka have been asked by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to postpone their plans because of the escalating violence in that country and its capital, Colombo. The DFA issued the advisory on the recommendation of Philippine Ambassador to Sri Lanka Norberto Basilio, more..

Aug 30 (AFP) Flowers and candles are offered for the 17 slain workers from the French charity Action Against Hunger during an emotional memorial sevice in the town of Trincomalee, August 11. Nordic truce monitors in Sri Lanka have said that government forces were responsible more..

Aug 30 (UCAN) For the three Catholic families living among Buddhists in a remote Sri Lankan village, the feast of St. Anne is special. Catholics from Colombo have gone to Kalawewa, 210 kilometers northeast of Colombo, to celebrate the feast in honor of Mary's mother annually since St. Anne's Church was built in the village 20 years ago. more..

Aug 30 (AT) An attack-sea-craft manufacturing facility of the LTTE was destroyed recently when Sri Lankan air force planes bombed a boatyard in Tiger-held territory. The Sri Lankan Defense Ministry has said that 30-40 of the boats were destroyed in the attack. The pro-LTTE Tamilnet website rejected the claim, arguing that the planes had hit a civilian boatyard. more..

Aug 30 (STT) The return home of Finnish ceasefire observers based in Sri Lanka has been delayed due to technical problems with flights, the Finnish government said in a statement Tuesday. The observers were originally to return to Finland Wednesday. Finland's foreign ministry decided at the end of July to withdraw the Finnish contingent participating in the joint Nordic civilian crisis management operation. more..

Aug 30 (IANS) A top Sri Lankan sports official said Wednesday he was "fully satisfied" with the just-concluded South Asian Games that passed off peacefully despite security fears. S. Wirithamulla, secretary in Sri Lanka's sports ministry, said that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajpakse was happy with the organisation of the games, held under the shadow of a bomb blast on the opening day on Aug 14 that killed seven people. more..

Aug 30 (Xinhua) The Indonesian police claimed Wednesday it has arrested 13 suspected members of Sri Lanka's separatist group Tamil Tiger during a recent raid in the southern Java coast. The raid targeted a group of 20 men who stayed at a small hotel in Pandeglang regency, Banten province, about 100 km southwest of Jakarta, reported the national Antara news agency. more..

Aug 30 (Xinhua) Sri Lankan defense authorities here said Wednesday that civilian flights would resume to the northern Jaffna peninsula after a 3-week layoff due to heavy fighting which raged between the Tamil Tiger rebels and the government troops. Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe the military spokesman said Wednesday "the defense ministry has approved the resumption of civilian flights to Jaffna". more..

Aug 30 (TS) A Canadian recently arrested in California on terrorism charges has been ordered released on bail. Thirukumaran Sinnathamby, 27, became the first of seven Canadians to be ordered freed on a $400,000 (U.S.) bond following a joint investigation by the RCMP and FBI into Tamil Tiger activities in North America. more..

Aug 30 (AP) Schools in Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna Peninsula reopened for the first time in nearly three weeks on Wednesday, an official said, as the military continued to pound rebel-held areas in the east, sending hundreds fleeing from the shelling. more..

Aug 30 (AP) An ethnic Tamil journalist whose abduction raised an outcry over press freedom in Sri Lanka was released Wednesday after 20 hours, and said he was traumatized but unharmed and that he doesn't know who abducted him or why. Nadaraja Guruparan, 39, disappeared while on the way to work at a privately owned Tamil-language radio station, more..

Aug 30 (AP) European truce monitors said Wednesday they were "convinced" that Sri Lanka's security forces were behind the slaying of 17 aid workers in the east, but the government vehemently denied the allegations. The government had no reason to prevent them from reaching the area to investigate the killings, except to "conceal the matter," the monitoring mission said in a statement. more..

Aug 30 (Reuters) A government soldier collects weapons recovered after a fire fight with Tamil rebels at Omanthai forward defence line, in Vavuniya. Sri Lanka's military battled overnight to capture a rebel-held town at the mouth of a strategic northeastern harbour, more..

Aug 30 (AFP) A battle between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels over a key eastern naval port continued with sporadic artillery duels as both sides claimed to have inflicted heavy losses. Sri Lankan defence officials and the rebel LTTE said shelling continued in a government offensive to neutralise guerrilla long-range guns targetting the port of Trincomalee. more..

Aug 30 (Reuters) Sri Lankan troops battled Tamil Tiger rebels on Tuesday in a new offensive, jeopardizing the evacuation of foreign nationals from the besieged north of the island and threatening an escalation of the conflict. The government offensive is aimed at forcing the LTTE to vacate positions around Sampur on the southern edge of Trincomalee harbor, from where they have launched attacks on military shipping and shelled the naval base. more..

Aug 30 (AFP) Nordic truce monitors in Sri Lanka have said that government forces were responsible for the killing earlier this month of 17 local employees of the French charity Action Against Hunger. The Swedish-led monitors of a 2002 ceasefire also said in a statement Wednesday that Sri Lankan troops blocked their access to the northeast town of Muttur in a bid to conceal the mass killing. more..

Aug 30 (TW) Despite the government’s claims to the contrary, Sri Lanka is back at war, in earnest. The theatre of war has shifted from the Eastern province to the Northern Province, to the town of Jaffna and its outskirts. It may now shift to the Eastern Province, again. Two weeks of heavy fighting has caused the loss of life among large numbers of combatants as well as civilians. more..

Aug 30 (AP) The United Nations appealed Wednesday for US$37.5 million (euro29.3 million) to help tens of thousands of people who were driven from their homes or cut off by rebel-government fighting in the north and east of Sri Lanka. The appeal on behalf of a range of U.N. agencies was made at the U.N.'s headquarters in New York and the regional office in Geneva and covers the period from September to December 2006. more..

Aug 30 (IANS) The MDMK, a constituent of India's ruling coalition, Wednesday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to sell weapons to Sri Lanka but to supply food and medicines to Tamil areas in the island. A delegation of MDMK MPs led by party leader Vaiko also urged the prime minister to oust Sri Lanka's top diplomat based in Chennai for criticizing a Tamil Nadu assembly resolution denouncing attacks on Tamils in that country. more..

Aug 30 (BBC) Following is the full text of the statement from Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) head Ulf Henricsson on recent attacks in which civilians have been killed. Noting the facts outlined in the SLMM findings there are very strong indications of the involvement of the security forces in the act despite their denial. more..

Aug 30 (LeN) Mr. Karu Jayasooriya the Deputy Leader of the UNP told 'Lanka E News' that a positive reply would be sent to presidents' Letter of inviting to join the government. He said that talks are being held by party leader Ranil Wickramasinhe with other leaders and a reply would be sent after ideas and proposals of all are taken into considerations. more..

Aug 30 (AFP) Sri Lanka rejected as "outrageous" Wednesday a ruling by independent ceasefire monitors that government forces were responsible for the massacre of 17 employees of a French charity. Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, who was visiting London, told the BBC that the Swedish-led SLMM had made its conclusion ahead of a police investigation. more..

Aug 31 (LBO) The Asian Development Bank has dropped the second loan installment due to Sri Lanka, as the government is reluctant to push ahead with Ceylon Electricity Board's reforms. The Manila based bank had earlier pledged 30 million dollars under a power sector project, with loan installments linked CEB reforms. more..

Aug 31 (GM) Students at the University of Waterloo didn't account for money collected at an event honouring rebels killed in the struggle for an independent Tamil homeland. Held in November 2004, the memorial led to the suspension of the Waterloo Tamil Student Association as a sanctioned group on campus. more..

Aug 31 (HT) The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday slammed the Nordic truce monitors' report on the killing of 17 aid workers in Mutur in Trincomalee district on August 4, saying that army had been blamed without any factual evidence to substantiate it. A statement issued by the Information Department said the Scandinavian-staffed SLMM had been "irresponsible and unprofessional" and that its conclusions were "speculative". more..

Aug 31 (LeN) Presidential advisor Basil Rajapaksa suddenly took wing to India last night. It is reported that the sudden visit has been precipitated by a notice with some authority given by the Indian government to Sri Lanka. President's brother Basil Rajapaksa has suddenly been sent to India as a special representatives of the President amidst deep concern expressed by New Delhi over more..

Aug 31 (IANS) Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy yesterday demanded the arrest of MDMK leader Vaiko for his support to the LTTE even as the latter met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi and condemned Sri Lanka's attacks on Tamils. Talking to reporters here, Swamy said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government “could not curb terrorism while it had pro-LTTE parties like the PMK and others as its allies”. more..

Aug 31 (AT) Investigations now reveal that a number of politicians in Tamil Nadu are on the regular pay roll of the Tamil Tigers – a banned terrorist organization in India. Payments to these S. Indian political leaders by the LTTE are made either in huge lump sums whenever they organize public meetings and protest rallies or as monthly salaries. Pala Nedumaran is on the top of the list of those receiving payments. more..

Aug 31 (DNA) As tension in Sri Lanka escalates, a few Hindu organisations in Tamil Nadu are trying to give a religious twist to the ‘Eelam cause’. The Federation of Hindu Organisations (FHO) is in touch with Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray and Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Ashok Singhal to form an umbrella organisation for a nation-wide campaign for a separate Hindu nation to be carved out of Sri Lanka. more..

Aug 31 (MoD) The Government's Defence Spokesmen Minister Keheliya Rambukwella says that all NGO's should be able to prove their credibility by registering themselves under the Ministry of Social Services. However, he strongly denied the propaganda being carried out by the tiger terrorists stating that the government is trying to bring about activities of NGOs under its control. more..

Aug 31 (TN) The Internally Displaced People (IDP) staying at the Palsenai Government Tamil Mixed School in Vaharai division in the LTTE controlled area in Batticaloa District have been facing food and accommodation problems, Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), Vaharai branch said on Wednesday. more..

Aug 31 (TN) About two hundred thousand Tamil medium students in the North East have been deprived of their education due to the prevailing tense situation resulted in mass displacement of teachers and students and curfew imposed in the Jaffna peninsula, Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) said in a press release Thursday. more..

Aug 31 (ISL) Information coming from President’s office claims that the JHU and JVP are continuously delaying an agreement on devolution. In fact, JVP is lobbing for the de-merger of Northeast as soon as possible. These moves are aimed at filling the Sinhalese minds with ethnic nationalism while securing vote banks on ethnic lines. more..

Aug 31 (ISL) The present war in Sri Lanka spearheaded by the Tamil Tigers is a war of attrition and has surpassed the boundaries to be recognised as a national liberation struggle. It does not reflect nationalistic aspirations of the Tamil people. Instead, have proceeded to become painful burden to the very same society it depends on. It thrives on the agony of the people. more..

Aug 31 (ISL) A confidential informant identified by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as CI-1 received a telephone call from Nadarasa Yogarasa (Yoga) one day in his apartment in Staten Island, New York, late last month. Yoga did not know that the man, whom The Sunday Times learnt was a Tamil, was working for the FBI. more..

Aug 31 (LBO) Sri Lanka Thursday announced plans to raise another 100 million dollars through a bond issue to pay for ongoing development projects. Prospective investors can send in their applications from Sept 5-12 and those selected have to pay up by Sept 20, the Central Bank said in a public notice. more..

Aug 31 (LT) The JVP in a communiqué issued to the media on the statement made by the outgoing Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission chief Ulf Henricson says that the SLMM has once again proved of their favoritism towards the Tigers. The communiqué adds ‘even the judicial reports on the enquiry into the deaths of 17 employees of a non-government organisation has proved that the incident occurred in Muttur area which was under terrorist attack at the time. more..

Aug 31 (LT) The JHU requests the Government to refrain from going for a ceasefire agreement at a moment when the Tigers have been weakened. Ven. Athuraliye Ratana Thero said that the Government should not stipulate a ceasefire agreement on international influence. He pointed out that it will lead only to strengthen the Tiger terrorists. more..

Aug 31 (LT) Both the Petroleum Corporation and the Indian Oil Company have decided to increase the fuel prices effective from midnight (31). The price hike is due to the increase in the world price of crude oil. Meanwhile electricity charges also will be up simultaneously. It is reported that the Cabinet has approved the increase. more..

Aug 31 (LeN) UNP national organiser S.B. Dissanayake yesterday criticized President Mahinda Rajapaksa's letter inviting the party to form a national government alleging it was an attempt to weaken the UNP. Mr. Dissanayake told the media he had serious questions as to why Mr.Rajapaksa addressed the letter to Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuiry ignoring party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. more..

Aug 31 (LeN) The JVP yesterday told the ruling SLFP that the party was in no way prepared to budge an inch from its stance on the four key demands which the SLFP had rejected. The JVP criticised the SLFP for rejecting the four key demands included in the 20 point common programme which was a pre-requisite for supporting the government in rebuilding the country and defeating terrorism'. more..

Aug 31 (AT) The outgoing Maj-General Ulf Henricsson, the Head of SLMM is now facing a barrage of criticism from media analysts, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Peace Secretariat for ignoring the basic evidence related to the killing of the 17 aid workers of a French charity orgnisation in Mutur on August 4, 2006 -an area held by the Tamil Tigers till August 4, according to TamilNet. more..

Aug 31 (DGI) The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by H.E. the President Mahinda Rajapaksa on an agreement between Sri Lanka and Hungary on the establishment of a framework programme for financial cooperation. Hungary has offered a tied aid credit programme to finance supply of Hungarian goods and related services for projects implemented by Sri Lanka. more..

Aug 31 (DGI) The Government is focusing to address immediate challenges in the power sector to face the power crisis in 2009. Funding on power generation, distribution and transmission are important factors to be addressed promptly to face the predicted crisis, Treasury Secretary Dr P.B Jayasundera said. more..

Aug 31 (PIS) Army Commander Sarath Fonseka yesterday hit out at the SLMM head Ulf Henricsson for charging that the security forces were responsible for the killing of 17 aid workers in Mutur earlier this month. “He has no business to say that. We will need to have a chat with him,” Lieut. Gen. Fonseka told the Daily Mirror. more..

Aug 31 (FT) When the last European panellist pulled out of an international conference on "strategies for overcoming terrorism" in Colombo last week, amid renewed fighting between Tamil separatists and government forces, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, a German think-tank, had no choice but to cancel the event. more..

Aug 31 (LNP) The government intends to bring Sampur under its control. The ongoing combined security forces offensive would continue until ground troops achieved their task, a senior official said, adding that they could not allow the LTTE to use the area as a launching pad for artillery and mortar strikes on the strategic Trincomalee harbour. more..

Aug 31 (LNP) It was an ordeal which ended surprisingly. For Nadarajah Guruparan the 24 hour experience since his abduction on Tuesday was something he would not easily forget especially since he feared he was about to face the same fate that a few prominent journalists had faced in recent times ' death for using the pen. more..

Aug 31 (LNP) The JVP has severely criticized the SLFP`s counter proposals, to the 20-point proposal they forwarded last week, on re-joining forces. The JVP`s response, to the SLFP`s counter proposals, is to be handed over to the SLFP General Secretary Maithreepala Sirisena. The JVP`s 20-point proposal, was taken up at talks held between the SLFP leadership headed by President Mahinda Rajapakse and the JVP early this month. more..