May 10 (AP) Organizers have canceled an international surfing competition in Sri Lanka because of security concerns after a Japanese peace envoy was unable to convince the government and Tamil Tiger rebels to resume peace talks, officials said Wednesday. more..

May 10 (AP) Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels triggered an anti-personnel mine that wounded at least two Sri Lankan sailors Wednesday, a navy spokesman said, as spiraling violence threatened a return to civil war. Twelve sailors were on patrol on the northern island of Kayts when the mine exploded, navy Commander D.K.P. Dassanayake said, more..

May 10 (AP) Relations between Sri Lanka's government and Tamil Tiger rebels have plunged to the worst level since their 2002 cease-fire, a Japanese envoy said Wednesday after failing to persuade insurgents to restart peace talks. Yasushi Akashi, Japan's special envoy to Sri Lanka since 2002, has met with the Sri Lankan president and rebels since arriving Saturday more..

May 10 (Reuters) Victoria Wijeyarajah, 60, sits in her house in rebel Tamil Tiger-held northern Kilinochchi. In rebel Tamil Tiger-held Sri Lanka, residents already scarred by decades of war are putting rebuilding on hold more..

May 10 (Reuters) Japan's peace envoy warned on Wednesday Sri Lanka's strained peace process was at its lowest ebb since he took the job in 2002, and called on Tamil Tiger rebels to resume talks amid fresh violence in the restive north. Yasushi Akashi, who sees a risk of a return to a two-decade civil war that killed over 64,000 people before a 2002 truce, more..

May 10 (AFP) A Japanese envoy has warned that the international community cannot restore Sri Lanka's faltering ceasefire and urged the government and Tamil rebels to decide for themselves on war or peace. Tokyo's special peace emissary Yasushi Akashi ended his four-day visit calling on both Colombo and the Tiger rebels to reduce the latest spate of violence, more..

May 11 (LBO) The government planning to re-surface the runway of the main international airport of the country, an official said. Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority, H M C Nimalsiri said that a team of Sri Lankan engineers was working on the project to re-surface the runway. more..

May 11 (LBO) Sri Lanka authorities have initiated a major crackdown on illegal foreign labour in the country, starting with workers in foreign owned factories. Last weekend investigators from the Department of Immigration and Emigration raided a factory in the Kalutara district and arrested seven Indian nationals. more..

May 11 (LBO) Domestic airlines say soaring fuel costs may force a hike in ticket fares, but any increase may also scare away dwindling numbers of travellers to the North. "We are in discussions to raise fares, but we are worried about the situation in the market. We are concerned that by raising fares we may lose the market altogether," more..

May 11 (CI) The reconstruction of Galle International Stadium commenced this week with a ceremonial laying of a foundation stone on Monday morning. The new stadium will be ready in 2007 and could stage a Test against England in December, the first since being hit by the Asian tsunami. The reconstruction bill for the new stadium is approximately US$3million more..

May 11 (EC) It took time for the wheels to turn as he had been out of the country, but former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga, now deputy tourism minister, is known to have instigated the downfall of the selection panel that terminated Sanath Jayasuriya’s Test career last month. more..

May 11 (BBC) The government of Sri Lanka has urged the internationals community to exert more pressure on Tamil Tigers to come to the negotiating table. Plan Implementation Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told BBC Sandeshaya that Sri Lanka’s major donors should help the country to get the LTTE back on the talks “instead of making fresh demands”. more..

May 11 (Reuters) Sri Lanka will consider playing seven specialist batsmen in the first test starting at Lord's on Thursday to counter an England pace attack likely to be operating in ideal conditions for swing and seam. The Sri Lankans lost their final warmup match by 10 wickets to England A with openers Michael Vandort and Upal Tharanga collecting three ducks between them in four visits to the crease. more..

May 11 (AFP) Investigators have yet to find any evidence that a woman suicide bomber who tried to assassinate Sri Lanka's army chief was really pregnant as some local media reports had claimed, police said. Logs at the army headquarters showed the bomber entered the military compound and staged the attack last month after posing as a soldier's pregnant wife to take advantage of "maternity day" at the army hospital. more..

May 11 (HT) While India fully agrees with the Sri Lankan government's assessment that the LTTE is not serious about the peace process and is itching for war, it also wants Sri Lanka to work on a consensus-based political package to solve the Tamil problem. This view was conveyed to the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera when he met top Indian leaders in New Delhi on May 8 more..

May 11 (HT) Japan has invited India to join the co-chairs of the Tokyo Donors' Conference, the Japanese Special Peace Envoy for Sri Lanka, Yasushi Akashi, told newspersons in Colombo on Wednesday. On the response from India to the invitation, Akashi said that the "indications were positive." more..

May 11 (LeN) Ten bullet proof Benz cars that could withstand blasts caused by claymore and similar mines are to be brought down for the use of Ministers. It is understood that each of these vehicles exceeds 100 million rupees. So the ten cars would cost colossal one billion (100 million) rupees. Reports said that two of these cars have already been imported to the country. more..

May 11 (AT) Defence authorities continued to be indecisive over plans of shifting the Army hospital situated at the Army headquarters complex in Colombo, despite last month's bomb blast which saw a total of eleven dead and more than twenty injured including Army Commander Lt. Gen Sarath Fonseka. more..

May 11 (TW) When I wrote some weeks ago about the crisis caused by the Buddha statue in Trincomalee there were many responses by e - mail from people whose names seemed Sinhala. (I mention this because I have found many Tamils writing under Sinhala names and Sinhalese writing under Tamil names on the internet). more..

May 11 (TW) The diplomatic tussle between Ottawa and Colombo over the appointment of a new Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Canada has ended satisfactorily said diplomatic sources yesterday. The Sri Lankan foreign ministry announced formally on Tuesday May 9th that former presidential secretary W.J.S. Karunaratne is the new envoy to Canada. He is expected to assume duties shortly. more..

May 11 (Hindu) Japan's special envoy for the Sri Lankan peace process Yasushi Akashi on Wednesday said India had been invited to attend this month's donors' conference in Tokyo. The "soul-searching" conference is to "take stock" of the international efforts and to evaluate the efforts made by the international community. more..

May 11 (MoD) Pro LTTE media in their most shameless attempt to discredit the security forces reported a totally fabricated protest campaign, said to be conducted by the Tamil civilians in Manthuvil area today (10th). The news has been published as another episode of their disgusting drama of eight missing or allegedly killed youth in Manthuvil area. more..

May 11 (NYT) President Mahinda Rajapakse casts himself as a man ready to walk the road to peace, but equally prepared to face down his enemies in battle, as his country dives into open civil war. "I'm not a warmonger," he said in an interview Tuesday evening in his heavily fortified residence. "I am ready for talks, I'm ready for peace. But we will also be ready to defend our country. This is not a weakness. Our patience is not weakness." more..

May 11 (GN) The Ministry of Agricultural Development has signed an MoU with the Canadian Agro Sustainability Partnership (CASP), a Canadian Government organisation to support the agricultural sector in Sri Lanka. CASP is involved in developing farming technologies internationally. more..

May 11 (TN) Supreme Court ordered the Jaffna District Government Agent to prepare a preliminary report and submit to court on July 24 on the question of resettling about seven thousand displaced families in the Palaly high security zone in the Jaffna district giving priority to the displaced sheltered in refugee camps and welfare centers more..

May 11 (GU) No matter how much Sri Lanka emphasised that their only interest was in the first Test, which starts today, they would not have been human had thoughts not strayed from NW8 to the power struggle unfolding in Colombo. Sanath Jayasuriya, pushed into retirement from Test cricket only last month, has accepted an invitation to reverse his decision and will join the squad before the end of the Lord's Test. more..

May 11 (GI) Captains Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka and Andrew Flintoff of England pose with the Npower trophy during the England nets session at Lords Cricket Ground on May 10, 2006 in London, England. more..

May 11 (SLA) LTTE (TAMIL TIGERS) DEVISING VARIOUS INTRIGUES in order to project that civilians resident in MALIGATHIVU, BHARATPURAM, MAINKAMAM, LB 3 and other suburbs bordering MUTTUR,TRINCOMALEE were being turned refugees as a result of security arrangements, are calling out the public to vacate their homesteads and assemble in areas earmarked by the LTTE. more..

May 11 (SLA) LTTE CADRES, WITH NO REGARD to the provisions of the Cease-Fire Agreement (CFA) whatsoever, have in another instance, begun to construct a new bunker line close to the Forward Defence Line (FDL) at NAGARKOVIL, JAFFNA. The bunker line, being constructed at a height of 3–4 feet using heavy earth moving machinery was observed by the troops on Wednesday (10) who in turn kept the SLMM informed. more..

May 11 (TN) Retired Major-General of Norwegian army and the first chief of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Trond Furuhovde, has passed away at 67, in Norway on Wednesday. Maj. Gen. Furuhovde made an outstanding contribution to the establishment of the SLMM and gave leadership to the monitoring mission through its crucial first year of operations. more..

May 11 (TN) Three-day general shut down began in Trincomalee town and its suburbs Thursday in response to the call made by Pongu Tamil Forum (PTF) of Trincomalee district condemning the genocide and extra-judicial killings of Tamil civilians in the North East and the recent three-pronged air, sea and ground attack on Muttur east killing fourteen Tamil civilians including children, sources said. more..

May 11 (DJ) The course of Sri Lanka's peace process has become crucial to the country's economy, as high oil prices threaten double-digit inflation. High oil prices may also force the central bank to hold back an anticipated cut in interest rates, which could have spurred the economy and offset some of the pressure caused by the escalating ethnic conflict, economists say. more..

May 11 (LBO) The government has given state oil giant Ceylon Petroleum Corporation the go ahead for a feasibility study to double capacity at its Sapugaskanda refinery. "We have got Cabinet approval for a feasibility study as well as a million dollars to fund the study," M H M Fowzie, Minister for Petroleum Resources told LBO on Thursday. more..

May 11 (LeN) The Children and Women's Bureau is conducting investigations into Asoka Handagama's film "Aksharaya" on the claim that child abuse had taken place while filming. The child actor and his mother who appeared through their counsel in court yesterday were asked to give statements to the Children and Women's Bureau before 11.00 am more..

May 11 (AT) In the future, Muslims who have obtained a Credit Pass for Islam in the Ordinary level examination can apply for teacher posts in the plantation sector. The Government has agreed to accommodate 600 teaching appointments for Muslims in the plantation sector, Kandy District Parliamentarian Fiaszer Musthapha told the “Asian Tribune.” more..

May 11 (AT) Each year hundreds of Sri Lankans die while working abroad, mainly in the Middle East. Official inquiries are rarely conducted, either in the country where the death occurred or by the Sri Lankan government. According to the Sri Lankan Foreign Employment Bureau, 245 workers died while working in the Middle East in 2004, an increase by 12.9 percent from the 217 deaths in 2003. more..

May 11 (RW) "It goes without saying that in my talks with Mr. Thamilchelvan, I expressed disapproval of any violence on their [LTTE's] part, especially the attack on April 25 at the Army Headquarters in Colombo, where many were killed and the Army Commander was seriously injured," said Mr. Yasushi Akashi, Special Envoy from Japan for the Sri Lankan Peace Process. more..

May 11 (PIS) Amid concerns the Tokyo declaration has not been respected by the government and the LTTE, the Co-chairs to the Tokyo donors’ conference will meet at the end of May to do some ‘soul searching’ on the security situation in Sri Lanka which appears to be fast deteriorating. more..

May 11 (GN) Ex-gratia payments to victims of political violence: The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by H.E. the President Mahinda Rajapaksa to appoint a committee to make recommendation on ex-gratia payments to be made to those affected by the Presidential Election- related political violence that occurred from September 19, 2005 to December 31, 2005. more..

May 11 (GT) As their homeland teeters on the brink of a civil war, Sri Lankan Tamils living in Qatar are finding it impossible to hide from the separatist Tamil Tigers ‘fundraisers’, who come knocking on their doors every month and extort money to fund their fight for an independent country. more..

May 11 (LNP) Secretary to former President Chandrika Kumaratunga will shortly take over the Sri Lankan High Commission in Ottawa. The Foreign Ministry Tuesday announced W. J. S. Karunaratne`s appointment after Canada accepted the new posting. He was proposed as Lanka`s top envoy after Canada dismissed the previous administration`s first choice Chandrananda De Silva, a former Elections Commissioner. more..

May 11 (LNP) The Government assured Parliament yesterday it was taking all necessary measures to create a conducive atmosphere to restart the Geneva talks and wanted the LTTE to respond positively. Making a special statement, Leader of the House Nimal Siripala de Silva urged the LTTE to stop attacks on the security forces and civilians and more..

May 11 (LNP) The situation in Chilaw is tense with President Mahinda Rajapaksa due to kick start the long delayed and controversial coal power plant in Norochcholai today. The Alliance for Protection of National Resources and Human Rights (APNRHR) which is up in arms over the construction of the much debated coal power plant is to hold a mass protest rally in the area to coincide with the laying of the foundation stone. more..

May 11 (SAMN) New Commissioner General of Prisons Major General (Rtd) Vajira Wijegunawardena said yesterday that he would always function within the strict confines of the law and that no political influence will force him to deviate him from this path. Assuming duties in his new post at the Magazine Prison, the Prison chief said he expects to make the Prions a clean and law abiding institution. more..

May 11 (SAMN) The SLMC discussions on joining the government have been suspended following the deterioration of the security situation in the country. SLMC Rauff Hakeem said the party would join the government only if the latter takes the peace process forward. Mr. Hakeem made this point when speaking to journalists after meeting the Japanese Peace Envoy Yasushi Akashi at his residence yesterday. more..

May 11 (Reuters) Finnish policeman and Nordic truce monitor Jukka Heiskanen inspect an abandoned house in village of Salamdan-Kalmady on the outskirts of Vavuniya, northern Sri Lanka, May 11, 2006. more..

May 11 (SAMN) In order to inquire into complaints received against the newly elected SLFP heads and members of local bodies, the local body disciplinary committee of the SLFP will meet on May 18 (Thursday) at the party headquarters. More than 100 complaints have been received by the party headquarters against the heads and members of local bodies. more..

May 11 (DN) The construction of the first ever coal power plant in the country is scheduled to be ceremonially inaugurated by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at 9 a.m. today at Norochcholai, a Power and Energy Ministry Media spokesman told the Daily News. The first phase of the project expected to be completed by the end of 2009 with the 300 MW of power generating capacity, more..

May 11 (BBC) Full ball-by-ball coverage of England's home Test series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, plus all the action from the NatWest one-day series. England have won the toss and chosen to bat first against Sri Lanka. (Eng 86/1 at Lunch) more..

May 11 (LBO) Sri Lanka Thursday launched a series of commemorative coins to celebrate the 2550 anniversary of the Buddha, the Central Bank said. The coin series comprising 2,000 rupees, 1,500 rupees and 5-rupees, were issued at the request of the Religious Affairs ministry, the bank said. The 2,000 rupee gold plated silver coin features the Bodhisathva Siddhartha and seven lotus blossoms. more..