Mar 11 (ISL) The LTTE’s leadership’s portrayal of their selfless sacrifices to fight for the Tamil cause is tearing apart with the revelations about their selfish mission to safeguard their children from participating in the Eelam war. more..

Mar 11 (ISL) The towering figure of Mr Vivekananthan, an ex-LTTE activist from Germany stood at the public entrance to the Palace of Westminster last Tuesday, 7th March 2006 at 5.30 pm. He thoroughly checked the identities of those who were arriving for unquestionably the most important and influential Tamil campaign meeting since the proscription of the LTTE as a terrorist organisation by the British Government. more..

Mar 11 (TN) Sixty percent of the nearly 8500 children currently sheltered in 168 children homes in the NorthEast were driven out of their homes due to poverty, a conference held Thursday in the provincial education ministry auditorium, revealed. more..

Mar 11 (TN) Trincomalee District Scouts Association held a scout camp in memory of their former District Scout Commissioner Mr.G.A.de Almeida who passed away at the age of 87 last January. Scouting was introduced in Trincomalee district eighty-seven years ago in the year 1920. more..

Mar 11 (TN) The 153rd birthday of Tamil scholar Poet and writer V.Akilesapillai was observed in Trincomalee town where he was born on 7th March 1853. He wrote a book in the year 1889 on the history of historic Koneswaram temple in Trincomalee under the title 'Thirukonasala Vaipavam' more..

Mar 11 (SLRC) The Ven. Wimalarathana thera was entered into priesthood as a student bhikku of the Ven. Bellanwila Somarathana thera and he marked his 50th year in priesthood on the 25th of February. He received his basic degree from Vidyalankara university and the Ph.d from the London university. more..

Mar 11 (TN) A meeting held Friday between the representatives of Consortium of Jaffna Welfare Associations and the Sri Lanka Military officials at 51-2 Brigade Headquarters in Jaffna to explore ways to simplify procedures allowing civilian owners of SLA occupied private buildings and houses to collect rents, ended without any agreements, more..

Mar 11 (TN) A Tamil youth who was abducted by three armed men from his home in Erlalai East, Jaffna Thursday at 11 p.m. was found near a cemetary in Chunnakam with serious cut wounds to his body inflicted by a sharp instrument, sources in Jaffna said. more..

Mar 11 (SLA) 1,646 lorry loads of food and other essential items had been dispatched to un-cleared areas in the northern province during the period between 03 March 2006 and 09 March 2006. Those consignments had reached areas in KILINOCHCHI and MULLAITIVU districts via OMANTHAI and UYILANKULAM Entry/Exit points. more..

Mar 11 (SLA) A GROUP OF ARMED TAMIL TIGERS (LTTE) stormed the shop of a Muslim businessman in VALAIVETTIKULAM, CHEDDIKULAM on 10 March 2006 around 8.45 p.m., have robbed cash and jewellery after threatening him at gunpoint. Information further claimed that they have further threatened the businessman to pay a ransom of one million Rupees by 11.00 a.m. on 11 March 2006. more..

Mar 11 (ISL) Tamil media and concerned Tamils brought to surface the terror campaign carried out by the LTTE’s website Nitharsanam.com and Neruppu.org operated by the notorious Nadarajah Sethurupan known as Dirty Sethu from Oslo, Norway. Information published in the free emedia and taken up by concerned Tamils more..

Mar 11 (wsws) Every time a new Sri Lankan president is elected, it is customary to promise “a new approach” will be undertaken to solve all political and social evils. When Mahinda Rajapakse narrowly won the election in November, he pledged to immediately implement his grand plan—Mahinda Chinthana or Mahinda’s Vision. more..

Mar 11 (LBO) Fresh moves to expand regional feeder services could contribute to a capacity crunch at Sri Lanka’s main commercial port, say industry watchers. A positive move by Ceylon Shipping Corporation (CSC) to charter two 1000 TEU (twenty foot equivalent units) from April this year, could accelerate growth at the Colombo Port, more..

Mar 11 (LeN) Presidential advisor Ajith Neward Cabral has explained during an interview with a journalist that Sweden has not been appointed as Chairman of the SLMM despite repeated claims by the JVP that Norway was replaced by Sweden as the head of the SLMM due to its intense protest campaign against Norway. more..

Mar 11 (LeN) The breakaway faction of the LTTE led by renegade leader Karuna too is engaged in fund raising campaigns overseas like the LTTE. A Sri Lankan residing in Norway has provided details to 'Lanka e News' that the Karuna faction is raising funds in Norway, the darling of the LTTE according to parties like the JVP and the Hela Urumaya. more..

Mar 11 (LT) “According to Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) statistics, the LTTE committed 14 cease-fire violations for every 1 committed by the government,” states a report on ‘Human Rights Practices – 2005 issued by Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor on American State Department on 8th March, 2006. more..

Mar 11 (LT) It the elections for local government bodies in the North and the East are postponed unilaterally they would take legal action against such decision say candidates who have submitted nominations to such bodies. The elections should be held without any postponement say these candidates more..

Mar 11 (LT) Vidyanidhi Chadrasiri Niriella, renowned forensic medicine expert passed away on Wednesday at the age of 65. Prof. Niriella was the founder Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Ruhuna and was also the Senior Judicial Medical Officer at the Karapitiya Hospital in Galle. more..

Mar 11 (HRW) The Chairperson of Human Rights Commission Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy launched its web site hrcsl.org on 27th March 2006 to make its activities easily accessible and transparent to general public. All reports and existing documents of Human Rights Commission are easily accessible in a user friendly format via all popular search engines. more..

Mar 11 (PIS) The JVP is increasing pressure on the government to review status of the Norwegian facilitation in the peace process. JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe and parliamentary group leader Wimal Weerawansa last Wednesday met President Mahinda Rajapakse's to emphasise the urgent need to review the tripartite government-Oslo-LTTE relationship, more..

Mar 11 (LNP) The government may soon be compelled to deploy the armed forces to arrest the rape of forests by organised gangs, Environment Ministry Secretary Jayalath Dissanayake said yesterday. He said the country`s forest cover and bio-diversity was in grave danger due to a large number of organised gangs exploiting the natural resources and the gravity of the situation, more..

Mar 11 (LNP) The path has already been cleared for industrialists to bring industries to the remote parts of the country to build the national economy, President Mahinda Rajapakse said yesterday. This will help develop the remote parts of the country without confining to industries only to the Western Province, President Rajapakse said. more..

Mar 11 (LNP) Former UNP MP and veteran actor Ravindra Randeniya is to be appointed as a presidential advisor shortly. The Daily Mirror learns. Mr. Randeniya told the Daily Mirror yesterday he had met President Mahinda Rajapaksa for a discussion on matters related to peace, politics and the cinema. more..

Mar 11 (SAMN) A polls monitoring group said Friday suggested it would be better if the March 30 elections were put of as polls in several areas had been stayed by courts due to legal disputes over the rejection of nominations lists. PAFFREL Chief Kingsley Rodrigo said that with the TNA urging for a postponement of the polls in the North and East, more..

Mar 11 (SAMN) Singapore has expressed a keen interest in signing a general Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Sri Lanka during the recently concluded visit by Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotions Rohitha Bogollagama. more..

Mar 11 (SAMN) The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRC) Friday issued a tough ruling to Sri Lanka Telecom to reduce CDMA connection tariff within 10 days failure of which could subject the national telecom carrier for arrest. SLT offers CDMA services with a connection fee of Rs. 18,400 (including VAT). more..

Mar 11 (DN) The Police yesterday gave private bus operators an ultimatum of one week to ensure road discipline. The ultimatum was issued when high ranking traffic police officers met private bus owners from different parts of the country to discuss fines for traffic offences. more..

Mar 11 (CI) Rain kept the players off the field for seven hours at Bogra, but when the weather did clear, Sri Lanka only needed eight overs to knock off the 43 runs they required to seal a ten-wicket win and wrap up the series 2-0. Upul Tharanga remained unbeaten, and he moved on to 71 by the end, while Michael Vandort, his opening partner, was not out on 40. more..

Mar 11 (HT) Sri Lankan Tamils, who were initially shocked by Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Vaiko's defection from the DMK-led coalition to the Jayalalithaa camp, now feel that the defection may actually be beneficial to them. more..

Mar 11 (TW) Now that we have a President with a magnificient moustache in Mahendra Percy Rajapakse quoting a Tamil proverb about a moustached man who had a fall may not be inappropriate. “Kuppura Vilunthalum Meesaiyil Man padavillai” (no sand on the moustache despite falling flat ) it goes. The proverbial saying is about trying to save face in spite of a defeat. more..

Mar 11 (TW) Many analysts, some partisan, others neutral, from both sides of the Tamil-Sinhala and pro-LTTE - anti-LTTE divides have analyzed the recently concluded talks between the LTTE and the GOSL from various angles. Victory at Geneva has been claimed for both the GOSL and the LTTE by some. This has been described as a win-win situation, where there are no losers. more..

Mar 11 (TW) The most discussed topic after Geneva was not the implementation of the outcome of the Talks, but whether the CFA was amended. Even the JHU and JVP "joined hands" with protests over this issue, hyped by a statement made by Mr. H.L de Silva, based on legalistic interpretations. more..

Mar 11 (Xinhua) A Tamil Tiger proxy political party has called for the postponement of the planned elections to appoint new local administrative councils. K. Shivajilingam, a legislator for the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), said Saturday that they had met President Mahinda Rajapakse to impress upon him the need to postpone the elections in the north and east provinces. more..

Mar 11 (IANS) Tamil Nadu's close race for power might prove a mixed bag for Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas, rather than the windfall it could have been for the insurgent group outlawed in India. The moves by Vaiko's MDMK and T. Tirumavalavan's Dalit Panthers of India (DPI) to contest the May assembly elections with Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK may provide the Tigers political access to Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha they lacked - if she retains power. more..

Mar 11 (Xinhua) Practical problems concerning Sri Lanka's troubled truce agreement with the Tamil Tiger rebels can be sorted out at the next round of talks in Geneva, an international truce monitoring group said. Helen Olafsdottir, the spokesperson for the SLMM, said that the group remains optimistic about the next round of talks to be held in April for the situation to further improve. more..

Mar 11 (Xinhua) Three Sri Lankan airlines are set to join international aviation in July, with the Sri Lankan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) deciding to open international air routes to new operators. CAA Chairman Paddy Mendis said that the Authority has granted permission to three private airlines to carry out international flights from Sri Lanka. more..

Mar 12 (TN) Tamileelam Transport Board (TTB) Saturday morning inaugurated its first bus service in the territory held by the LTTE in the Trincomalee district. Mr.Sithamban, LTTE Financial Head of the Trincomalee District cut the ribbon at an event held in Ganeshapuram in Muttur east and allowed the first to proceed to Verugal with passengers, more..

Mar 12 (TW) Lambasting The Sunday Leader and its Editor comes naturally to JVP Parliamentary Group Leader Wimal Weerawansa. He does it often and with great finesse, making maximum use of the parliamentary privileges he enjoys. As an advocator of media freedom, Weerawansa if nothing else has been consistent with regard to the allegations he makes against the paper, more..

Mar 12 (TW) The first round of talks on the CFA in Geneva is over. And it is perhaps an opportune moment to place on record some of the gnawing fears and suspicions that Sri Lankan Tamils have towards peace moves advocated by southern political groups. more..

Mar 12 (BBC) The Government has decided to relax restrictions placed on fishing in the Northern peninsula. Speaking to Sandeshaya Defence spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinha said that now fisherman in the North will be able to fish in areas that that were allowed to go as soon as the cease fire agreement was signed. more..

Mar 12 (LBO) The government doubled a cess on nonferrous metal exports in a move to keep down raw material costs of small scale brass and copper based metal based industries in Sri Lanka. The increased cess is as per an August 2005 gazette notification and under the 1979 Export Development Act. more..

Mar 12 (AT) In a hard-hitting statement, D. Sithadthan, Leader of the People Liberation Organization of Eelam has blamed the LTTE, the Tamil rebel outfit for its opportunistic stance and for its contempt and malice towards other rival Tamil groups in the country. more..

Mar 12 (ISL) Kalaivani or Anbu as she was endearingly addressed by her jungle peers was hardly fourteen years old when she became conscripted into the Wanni Tigers cadres. Evidently she made good impressions on her trainers that she was given a moped to run around as some kind of a junior official. more..

Mar 12 (ISL) The LTTE Peace Secretariat website was exposed by its sister Tamilnet.com website on the recent report of the abduction and torture of a of a Tamil youth in Jaffna. Thevaraja Vimalanathan (26) from Elalai in Jaffna was abducted by suspected LTTE cadres. more..

Mar 12 (ISL) Having noted the 8 February declaration at the National Symposium at BMICH made by 1000 participants representing twenty-five organizations calling for a federal solution to solve Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict, followed by Pres. Mahinda Rajapakse’s defense of the unitary state and rejection of Tamil Eelam in his interview with Reuters on 13 February, more..

Mar 12 (AP) A 15-year-old boy whose followers believe he is the reincarnation of Buddha has disappeared after 10 months of meditation in the jungles of Nepal, officials said Saturday. Followers of Ram Bahadur Banjan reported his disappearance and a police team has been sent to the jungles of Bara, more..

Mar 12 (TN) Five South Indian fishermen from Puthuchcheri district in TamilNadu who entered Munai area in the northern waters around 11:00 a.m. Sunday, were taken to the shore by Vadamaradchi fishermen. Tense situation ensued between the Sri Lanka Navy troopers and the local fishermen as they refused to hand over the Indian fishermen to the SLN. more..

Mar 12 (TN) Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Wanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, expressed serious concern over the lethargic attitude of the Mannar District Secretariat for not holding monthly meetings of the District Fisheries Committee (DFC) and the District Agricultural Committee (DAC) more..

Mar 12 (AT) It would be, "one day, after I am dead and gone not only you all, everyone in this country including those Tamils who blindly support the LTTE out of fear and some for personal gains, will regret their mistake of not heeding my advice," Pointed out V. Anandasangaree, President of the TULF. more..

Mar 12 (AT) The best of authorities are tied up in knots trying to figure out what the term "civil society" means. But this has not prevented the National Peace Council (NPC) from claiming to be a part of the "civil society". This is a term used loosely by foreign-funded NGOs to give them a status in society which they have not earned. more..