May 10 (AP) The international community should ban Tamil Tiger supporters from raising funds in foreign countries and take stringent measures to cut off the cash flow to the rebels in Sri Lanka, its foreign minister said Tuesday. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Mangala Samaraweera said the most effective way to get the LTTE to return to peace talks with the Sri Lankan government was to severe their financial sources. more..

May 10 (HT) Talks between the Japanese Special Peace Envoy, Yasushi Akashi, and the LTTE's political wing leader, SP Tamilselvan, held in Kilinochchi on Tuesday, have failed. After meeting the Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, in Colombo on Monday, Akashi had gone to Kiliniochchi to persuade the LTTE to come for a second round of peace talks in Geneva. more..

May 10 (LBO) Sri Lanka Cricket Tuesday said its financial health is back on a strong wicket after securing new commercial sponsorships from the sale of television rights and ongoing tournaments. Net profits for the 12 months to December 2005 stood at 356.97 million rupees over a deficit of 321.54 million rupees. more..

May 10 (LBO) Sri Lanka inked a letter of intent with India's NEB Infrastructure (Pvt) Ltd to carry out a feasibility study to build a rail-road system for Colombo. Funded by India's UTI Bank, the consortium includes Siemens AG of Germany and OPUS International Malaysia, the island's Board of Investment said in a statement. more..

May 10 (AFP) Sri Lanka's government and Tamil rebels sought foreign help to prevent them from returning to full-scale war amid fears that a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire was collapsing amid spiralling violence. The rebel LTTE told a visiting Japanese peace envoy to pressure the government to halt alleged military attacks against them and warned that the island could face "doom" if they decided to retaliate. more..

May 10 (Reuters) Sri Lanka will offer one oil and gas exploration block to India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. on a preferential basis, the country's foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera, said late on Tuesday. Samaraweera, on a three-day visit to New Delhi, told reporters that his country hoped to gain from the experience of ONGC, more..

May 10 (Reuters) Sri Lanka is moving to the fringes of a new civil war, Tamil Tiger rebels said on Tuesday, saying peace talks were off and accusing the government of faking rebel attacks to justify "genocide". Most diplomats say the LTTE kick-started recent violence with attacks on troops and a suicide attack on army headquarters that sparked riots, air strikes and ethnic murders. more..

May 10 (UPI) India has said it will continue with defense supplies to Sri Lanka provided the issue stays out of the public eye. The Indian Express newspaper said Tuesday that the issue of defense supplies arose during discussions between Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee. more..

May 10 (BBC) It is a surprising fact that after almost 14 years in international cricket, Muttiah Muralitharan has never played a Test at Lord's. The Sri Lanka spin bowler will finally put that right on Thursday, but at the age of 34, there is a chance that his first Test appearance at the home of cricket will also be his last. more..

May 10 (Hindu) The Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE have blamed each other for the declining security situation and called upon the international community to halt the slide. The calls were made by Government's chief negotiator Nimal Siripala de Silva and LTTE's political wing leader S.P. Tamilselvan, in separate meetings with visiting Japanese special envoy Yasushi Akashi. more..

May 10 (ML) The situation in the country regarding the key question of war or peace is one of uncertainty expressed more in terms of the probability of a return to full scale hostilities than to Geneva for a further round of talks on the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA). On the governance front, there are developments that are equally downright disturbing in respect of the institutionalisation of good practices. more..

May 10 (ML) JVP Propaganda Secretary Wimal Weerawansa yesterday said that it was time the people decided if they were for or against terrorism. Speaking in parliament he charged that unlike the government, the LTTE had a clear objective when entering into a dialog with the state. more..

May 10 (ML) One would think that the strict application of traffic rules would discipline all drivers alike. Not so according to a letter received by The Morning Leader. According to Manisha Herath who had returned to Sri Lanka for her summer vacation from the UK, she was taken aback by the number of passengers travelling in one motorcar just outside Kandy town, while she was on her way home. more..

May 10 (ML) Japanese Envoy Yasushi Akashi on Monday expressed his concern over the manner in which President Mahinda Rajapakse made appointments to the independent commissions. In a meeting with the UNP, Akashi had said independent commissions were meant to be independent, and for this reason appointments had to be made by the Constitutional Council, UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya said. more..

May 10 (MoD) Due to intensified violence over the JAFFNA peninsula by adverse elements during during the past few weeks, SL Armed forces had taken appropriate measures to stabilize the uncertainty prevailing. As a result curfew and constrained fishing within restricted waters had being initiated purely based upon security concerns by the armed forces. more..

May 10 (Moju) The Ministry, which comes directly under the President, has launched a new website (www.mod.gov.lk) recently. The site has a strong focus on defence news. It also acts as a gateway to the sites of the tri-forces and police. Furthermore information on tenders, and usage and import of restricted goods is also provided. more..

May 10 (LeN) This attempt at embarking on a dialogue to understand our own media, was prompted on the first count by most articles, interpretations and condemnations that appeared in the media, since the brutal attack on the Jaffna based 'Uthayan' news paper, on the eve of the World Press Freedom Day. more..

May 10 (AT) Winding up his visit to the Indian capital, the Sri Lankan foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera dangles the economic carrots. Initial response shows that the offer went down well. In contrast, the visit failed to show any positive movement forward on political and defence arena. more..

May 10 (AT) Japanese peace Envoy Yasushi Akashi flew back yesterday to Colombo with a message from Tiger supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran to the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, after tenuous four-hour negotiations in Kilinochchi. It is however not clear what impact Akashi had on pursuing the LTTE to return to negotiations. more..

May 10 (AT) TNA Parliamentarians will decide their future course of action when its Parliamentary group meets today morning, a top member told the “Asian Tribune“. TNA MPs who staged a Satyagraha yesterday throughout the parliamentary proceedings in front of the parliamentary complex demanded the Government to take all necessary action to stop the attacks launched by security forces more..

May 10 (AT) With work on Sri Lanka's first ever coal power plant scheduled to begin on Thursday (May 11), informed sources told the “Asian Tribune” that the Norochcholai deal which was sealed recently contains many discrepancies including technical irregularities which could lead to many dilemmas when the plant begins operation. more..

May 10 (LT) Sri Lanka has approached at a very decisive stage in its history emphasizes Patriotic National Movement (PNM). This was stated by Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa at the seminar on the theme “How could tiger war frenzy be defeated!” held at National Youth Centre at Maharagama yesterday (8th). more..

May 10 (TN) Two civilian employees of Forestry Resources Protection unit attached to the civil administration in Vanni, were found shot dead in Panikkankulam jungle, 5 km west of A9 road northwest of Mankulam Tuesday. The employees who went to the jungle Tuesday, 02 May, were reported missing on 05 May, Tamileelam Police official of Mankulam Thunukkai area, Mr. Vijayakumar said. more..

May 10 ((Bloomberg) Sri Lanka's government said the LTTE had a "negative" attitude to Japan's peace envoy, after the rebels said civil war may return if the army continues to attack Tamil civilians. "The Tiger leadership showed a negative response towards the commitment over further progression in peace talks," the government said in a statement late yesterday more..

May 10 (TN) The Muttur Pradesiya Sabah (PS) in its first meeting held Monday unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the three-pronged attack by the State armed forces on Muttur villages last month, which killed fourteen civilians and wounded 47. About fifty-four civilian houses and thirty schools were damaged. more..

May 10 (ISL) In our comment titled “Ram, Govinda! A double jeopardy in the Tamilnadu state elections” we had inadvertently referred to Vaiko Gopalaswamy as Govindasamy; our heartfelt apologies to him. We should have known better for after all Vaiko Gopalaswamy has been figuring and fishing in the affairs of Sri Lankan Tamils for quite sometime. more..

May 10 (ISL) The MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base (TKB), maintained by The National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT), an organization set up after the horrific April 1995 bombing of the Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, and sponsored by, amongst others, the US Department of Homeland Security and the Rand Corporation, has designated Sihala Urumaya, the percusor to the Jathika Hela Urumaya as a terrorist organization. more..

May 10 (SLA) ONE MORE OFFICER, severely wounded in the brutal LTTE claymore mine attack at SINHAPURA, WELIKANDA seventeen days ago succumbed to injuries on Tuesday (09) around 12.30 p.m. while being treated at COLOMBO Military Hospital. Lieutenant J.S.M. HEWAGE of the 8th Gemunu Watch was among five Army personnel who sustained serious injuries when LTTE men activated a claymore mine targeting their vehicle on 22nd April 2006. more..

May 10 (SLA) TWO SAILORS NARROWLY ESCAPED DEATH with injuries Wednesday (08) morning at about 9.15 a.m. when LTTE terrorists triggered a powerful claymore mine close to VELLANI junction in KAYTS, JAFFNA. Both sailors were on routine foot patrol when terrorists from a distant hiding activated the claymore mine with the intention of murdering them. more..

May 10 (SLA) LARGE SCALE LTTE (TAMIL TIGERS) bunker construction work, about 400–500 metres, ahead of the Forward Defence Line (FDL) at VAVUNATHIVU, BATTICALOA, was observed by the troops on Tuesday (09) evening at about 3.30 p.m.. Pockets of LTTE cadres with the help of large earth moving machinery were seen engaged in construction of new bunker lines, more..

May 10 (SLA) A SUSPECTED LTTE MOTORBIKE-RIDER opened fire at another motorbike-rider, near KAYANKERNI Bridge in VALAICHCHENAI and inflicted injuries on him around 10.50 a.m. on Tuesday (09). Troops on sentry duties near the KAYANKERNI Bridge, who were a witness to the shooting rushed the injured motorbike-rider, identified as SINNATHAMBI YOGESHWARAM (25) of PANICHCHANKERNI, more..

May 10 (TN) A special investigating team of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) in Jaffna led by Mr. M. Remedias, Attorney-at-law and Legal Advisor, and Coordinator Mr. Rohitha Piriyadarshana, inspected Tuesday around 11.30 a.m the Manthuvil site where the bodies of eight civilians allegedly killed by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) were said to be lying, after officially visiting Kodikamam police, more..

May 10 (LeN) Main witness for the Rs.85 Mn highest ever damages case in Sri Lanka in lieu of reinstatement, Mr, Devapriya Perera former General Manager and now promoted Regional Business Head, Data Entry International company Ltd admits in the course of the cross examination by Mr, G,D, Kulatilake, Senior Counsel for the applicant that he purchased and approved air tickets for the company executives more..

May 10 (SN) While the Co-Chairs seem to be dozing off in armchairs in the face of Tiger terror, India has apparently once again found herself in a tail-wagging-the-dog position in the wake of the Tamil Nadu election. The proof of it was New Delhi’s envoy in Sri Lanka, Her Excellency Nirupama `Vice’ Rao voicing her `concern’ over the Government’s retaliatory air strikes more..

May 10 (AT) Though it was touted as that he was carrying a message from the Tiger Supremo Prabhakaran, Japanese peace envoy Yasushi Akashi, indeed, did not have a special message of any sort to the government, said a senior official of the government's peace secretariat. more..

May 10 (AT) At a meeting with the Japanese Special Envoy Yasushi Akashi, Leader of the Muslim Congress Mr Rauf Hakeem said that the existing situation in the country is an aggravation for the Muslim community. He stated this when the two met this morning (10) in Colombo. more..

May 10 (GN) The LTTE should bear the prime responsibility for the collapse of the peace process but not the Government as alleged by the LTTE, Leader of the House, and Health and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said yesterday. Presenting regulations to extend Emergency Regulations for another one month de Silva said the Government will not hesitate to take steps vital for the national security. more..

May 10 (AT) Despite futile attempts by the anti-Sri Lankan Asian Human Rights Commission and the LTTE lobby the packed UN General Assembly elected Sri Lanka to the UN Human Rights Council yesterday. Sri Lanka gained 127 votes to win a seat in this prestigious 47-member Council, exceeding the minimum of 97 votes required to win a seat. more..

May 10 (TW) Young Sivaramya Sivanathan, an employee of Govt.-owned SLBC and a niece of a senior public servant and former adviser to several Ministers and the last President and daughter of a Human Rights Lawyer, suspected of a plot to assassinate Mangala Samaraweera, was ordered to be remanded at the Welikada Prisons. more..

May 10 (PIS) Hon. Mavai Senathirajah, on behalf of the TNA made a statement in parliament yesterday accusing the Government and the security forces of engaging in “state terrorism” and of “creating an utmost situation of genocidal activities”. The statement further lists out various incidents where the security forces and so called Tamil “paramilitaries” have been held responsible. more..

May 10 (CI) Sanath Jayasuriya met with Ashantha de Mel, Sri Lanka's new chairman of selectors, on Wednesday morning to discuss his possible return to Test cricket during the current tour of England which starts on Thursday at Lord's. The 36-year-old is now poised for a recall, possibly in time for the second Test at Edgbaston starting May 24. more..

May 10 (LNP) The UNP yesterday said the predictions it made during the presidential election had come true. Addressing the party`s regular news conference, UNP Colombo district Parliamentarian and former minister Ravi Karunanayake said the party`s warning that the UPFA would lead the country towards war had come true as the country was today marching towards a full blown war. more..

May 10 (LNP) The UNP yesterday charged that the government has fooled the people once more by increasing the price of fuel well above the world market purchase price. Colombo District UNP parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake addressing a media briefing in Colombo, said that the government which purchases petrol in the world market at a maximum of Rs 41 a litre was selling it around Rs 93. more..

May 10 (LNP) The TNA yesterday claimed the killing of Tamil People`s Forum leader Vanniasingham Vigneswaran in Trincomalee recently had triggered the present escalation of violence in the country. The Tamil legislators who vowed to boycott the next two sittings, staged a six hour Sathyagraha outside the Parliament complex yesterday, after boycotting proceedings, against the killing of Tamil civilians more..

May 10 (AP) Candidates run during recruitment tests for new police constables in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, May 10, 2006. Sri Lankan police recruit 4,000 new constables annually. more..

May 10 (SAMN) SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena has written to former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, now abroad, seeking her agreement to introduce an amendment, to the SLFP Constitution, empowering the Central Committee to appoint President Mahinda Rajapakse as the party President, a senior SLFP official told ‘The Island’ yesterday (9). more..

May 10 (SAMN) The investigations into the LTTE suicide bomb explosion at the Army Headquarters have become complicated since the insiders who have reportedly witnessed the suicide bomber and her activities fear to disclose details, the CID claimed yesterday. A senior investigator said though there appeared to be several witnesses both from in and out of the headquarters, more..

May 10 (DN) The Japanese Special Envoy on Peace and Development Yasushi Akashi had a special discussion with the JVP Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe at the JVP Headquarters, Colombo, on Monday. At this meeting they discussed at length the Ceasefire Agreement, the prevailing condition of war in the country, the suicide bombers in action, the power sharing solution, a federal alternative and more..

May 10 (BBC) The Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels must decide whether the island faces war or peace, a Japanese special envoy has said. Yasushi Akashi was speaking after a five-day visit in which he met President Rajapakse and rebel leaders. Mr Akashi said talks were vital to de-escalate recent violence. more..

May 10 (Reuters) In rebel Tamil Tiger-held Sri Lanka, residents already scarred by decades of war are putting rebuilding on hold as they brace for a new conflict they say is now inevitable. Peace talks remain indefinitely postponed, while killings and suspected Tiger rebel attacks on the military have become daily events. more..