May 2 (DNA) Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera will be in Delhi on May 7 to meet with the top Indian leadership in the wake of the dastardly suicide-bomber attack on the island nation’s Army Chief, General Sarath Fonseka in Colombo on April 25. The fact that a pregnant woman carried out the attack in Sri Lanka’s highly protected and fortified Army HQ provides more..

May 2 (AT) The Community Led Environmental Awareness Network (CLEAN) implemented by the Industrial Services Bureau (ISB) Environmental Services has been in operation since August 2003 in four cities – Kurunegala, Kandy, Colombo and Nuwara Eliya. The CLEAN project inaugurated its water quality monitoring activities at the Beira Lake recently with Jeffery Lunstead, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka more..

May 2 (CI) Michael Vandort guided the Sri Lankans to a moral-boosting six-wicket win over Derbyshire as the batting finally began to find its feet in the English spring. His unbeaten 90 meant the target was reached with relative ease after Derbyshire had declared following a delayed start. more..

May 2 (WS) Many paddy farmers in the Polonnaruwa District, which is known as the rice bowl of the country wouldn’t cultivate paddy and would abandon their fields in the forthcoming Yala season, as they couldn’t get a good price for their Maha harvest as the government had already stopped purchasing paddy, creating a wave of panic in the agricultural areas. more..

May 2 (AT) Canadian Government should come forward to take appropriate actions to institute investigations into the fund raising carried on by the LTTE controlled Tamil Rehabilitation Organization, the Canadian Tamil Congress and other pro-LTTE groups supposedly for Tsunami Relief Work in Sri Lanka totaling over 2.5 million dollars according to figures published in the media, more..

May 2 (AT) For the first time in Sri Lanka, a local plantation company, Kahawatte Plantation, now serves the tsunami affected families in the Southern province providing shelters and employment under their plantation umbrella. The estate management has constructed 50 houses and financially assisted the Plantation Human Development Trust [PHDT] in Ratnapura branch. more..

May 2 (AT) Mike Daniel Jeya was found guilty by Norwegian court yesterday and sent to prison for 2 years and 9 months for human trafficking and being possession of stolen Norwegian passports. Jeya has also confirmed he has been a member of the LTTE. more..

May 2 (AT) Aaron Lewis, the reporter who put together the telecast program "Sri Lanka’s Shadow War" on Special Broadcasting Corporation (SBS), based in Sydney Australia, has been accused of using his imagination to produce fiction by the TamilEela Makal Viduthalai Pulikal (the breakaway group from the LTTE led by Col. Karuna). more..

May 2 (GN) Minister of Mass Media and Information Anura Priyadarshana Yapa who was the chief guest at the inauguration of the World Press Freedom Day 2006 held in collaboration with UNESCO at the BMICH yesterday said: "Minister Mangala Samaraweera in his speech dealt with Sri Lanka's Media and the freedom it enjoys. I don't think I should further elaborate on this. more..

May 2 (ANN) While Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, who survived an LTTE assassination attempt, is still in ICU, the government is in the Over Drive mode to thallu (jump) start the Geneva talks. It has reportedly given the go ahead for a seaplane to be placed at the disposal of the LTTE, which is bent on avoiding negotiations and has, more..

May 2 (TN) Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Tamil National Alliance parlimentarian for Jaffna district, in a letter to Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse Tuesday, complained of harassment and death threats to domestic staff at his Jaffna residence. His residence in 3rd Cross street is located close two two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camps, more..

May 2 (TN) Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Police cordoned off and searched Chenkalady public market area in the Earvur police division Batticaloa Monday between 9 a.m and 12 a.m, arresting 16 persons, said Eravur police. The search was launched on information that some jewellery robbed in the Eravur police division are being sold in the jewellery shops in Chenkalady, more..

May 2 (ISL) Dirty Sethu’s website, Nitharsanam can be called all sorts of names by all sorts of people for it indulges in all sorts of lies, in all sorts of ways for all sorts of purposes but always based on gross untruth planned with mischievous intent for sickening purposes and conceived to deceive, defraud and destroy despicably whatever that is decent, ingenuous and honest. more..

May 2 (GN) Sri Lanka could achieve the target of US one billion dollars Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for 2006, which would be the highest for Sri Lanka despite the present security situation in Colombo. Sri Lanka succeeded in obtaining foreign direct investment of US $ 290 million last year. more..

May 2 (GN) Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday called upon the media to abstain from sensationalism and devote its energies to help the poor and the down - trodden out of their plight. "The poor have been ignored by the media. I hope they will stop being sensational and help in the cause poverty reduction," more..

May 2 (ISL) A Special Task Force team Akkaraipattu arrested pro-LTTE, T.N.A. Pradeshiya Sabha member with possessing a claymore mine and some accessories related to explosives. According to sources from East, STF team that cordoned off the area after a LTTE gunfire arrested the TNA Pradeshiya Sabha member who had a claymore mine in his house. more..

May 2 (LT) The Armed forces repulsed an attack on the front security cordon at Kukkuthuduwai and Kokilai in Welioya launched by the Wanni Tigers on the 30th instant. It is believed that nearly forty Tiger cadres were killed when the Army fought in retaliation. This has been revealed by the transmission messages of the Wanni Tigers, a security personnel said. more..

May 2 (LT) For security reasons no peddling cycles and motor bikes will be allowed to enter Trinco city. SSP Nihal Samarakoon said that special permits will be issued to the residents within the town and the media personnel who enter the town. He added a severe damage planned on the lives and property in the city was prevented by the security forces yesterday (01). more..

May 2 (LT) Considering the Intelligence Sector reports the Presidential Security Division will take every attempt to limit President Mahinda Rajapakse’s visits. According to a Senior Official of the PSD, this decision has been taken since the President is one of the main targets of the Wanni Tigers. more..

May 2 (LT) Security personnel have recovered a head of a vendor who was selling apples at the public market in Vavunia near the EPDP Office at Karumankadu, Vavunia. A security team engaged on a search operation came across the head concealed in a polythene bag around 7.15 a.m. on the 30th instant. more..

May 2 (LT) The CID team conducting investigations on the suicide attack on the Army Commander suspect that the woman posed as a wife of a soldier when entering the Army Headquarters to accomplish her mission. It is said that a system is carried out to enter details of the Identity Cards of those who enter the Camp. more..

May 2 (SLBC) The ministerial Sub committee appointed to look in to whether the present office and school hours should be revised starts referring ideas of all sections in this regard. Additional secretary to the ministry of Public Administration H. Udakennage says persons in various departments and business institutions will also be consulted. more..

May 2 (KT) AS I drove past Colombo’s Hyde Park Corner on the May Day morning, the place, which was once synonymous with the struggle of Sri Lanka’s labour movement, was desolate. Our Hyde Park is a far cry from its namesake in the capital of imperial Britain — the 615 acres (249 hectares) park which was originally a part of a manor and later the royal deer park before it was open to the public in the 17th century. more..

May 2 (IANS) It's called an eTUKTUK, a project that could help 'take Internet and radio to the village' in Sri Lanka. The eTUKTUK is a self-contained mobile telecentre and radio broadcasting unit housed within a tuk-tuk, or three wheeled motorcycle, a favoured form of transport common throughout South and Southeast Asia. more..

May 2 (SLBC) The Association of Traders and Meat Processors says meat stalls in all parts of the island will be closed from the 9th to 15th of this month due to the Wesak festival. Secretary to the Association Al Haj Haji told the SLBC that they took the decision following a request by the government. more..

May 2 (IO) Barely recovered from the 2004 tsunami, Sri Lanka appears to be sliding inexorably back towards civil war. There has been a drastic increase in violence between government forces and the Tamil Tiger rebels since December, culminating in government air strikes on Tiger positions just outside Trincomalee. more..

May 2 (SLA) THE DEATH TOLL IN SUICIDAL BOMB BLAST at Army Headquarters premises rose to eleven by late Monday (01) evening as one more injured soldier of the Sri Lanka Army succumbed to injuries while being treated at COLOMBO National Hospital. more..

May 2 (SLA) COMMANDER OF THE ARMY, Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, who survived Tuesday’s LTTE suicide attempt at Army Headquarters COLOMBO, is fast recovering, according to Director, COLOMBO National Hospital. Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka narrowly escaped death on Tuesday (25) when an LTTE woman suicide bomber rammed into his car and blew her up. more..

May 2 (SLA) IN ANOTHER HIJACK DRAMA, LTTE (Tamil Tigers) had forcibly taken away a state bus Monday (01) around 10.00 a.m. while it was moving in KODUWAMADU area after it started off from KATTANKUDY, BATTICALOA bound for BADULLA. Passengers on the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) bus (62-7189) belonging to KATTANKUDY SLTB bus depot more..

May 2 (SLA) THREE ROCKET PROPELLED GRENADES (RPGs) that have been planted near an entry/exit point in VALAICHCHENAI by LTTE terrorists with a view to causing mayhem and destruction were spotted by vigilant troops on Monday (01) around 7.30 a.m.. more..

May 2 (SLA) ONE MORE SOLDIER of the Sri Lanka Army sustained injuries Monday (01) evening at about 5.00 p.m. in NELLIADY, JAFFNA when an LTTE terrorist, hidden inside a house threw a hand grenade at him. Injured soldier was admitted to Military Hospital in PALALY for treatment. more..

May 2 (PIS) Though violence continued in the North East, there were signs yesterday of a near breakthrough in the deadlocked peace process between the Government and the LTTE. The SLMM informed the government that there were positive indications of the LTTE accepting the government’s sea plane offer to transport its eastern leadership to the Wanni, but it said late last night talks might not resume soon. more..

May 2 (PIS) Many an eyebrow has been raised here by the rhetoric of some LTTE supporters in the local government election fray, who promise preferential treatment for the Tamil community, in a multi racial society that believes in social integration. more..

May 2 (PIS) The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission yesterday agreed to revise its original statement issued on Saturday after the Government expressed its displeasure over certain sections of the statement, Government Peace Secretariat Chief Dr. Palitha Kohona told the Daily News. more..

May 2 (LeN) Eighty three persons were taken in for questioning in a cordon and search operation conducted in the Chilaw and Wennapuwa areas last night (30). The majority of them were from the plantations and Vavuniya and among them were 2 women. Those who fail to prove their identity will be remanded, the police said. more..

May 2 (LNP) The Prisons Department has become a headless entity after its Commissioner General Rumy Marzook`s term ended on Sunday. Justice and Law Reforms Minister Amarasiri Dodangoda said President Mahinda Rajapaksa would appoint a new Commissioner General in a week`s time. more..

May 2 (LNP) The SLMM is likely to rule the sea movement conducted by the LTTE on Sunday night as a ceasefire violation as the Tigers do not have a right to the sea, the SLMM said yesterday. There was high drama in the Trincomalee seas early last morning hours after the LTTE attempted to transport some of its cadres by sea from the east to the Wanni aboard sea tiger vessels more..

May 2 (LNP) An overwhelming response from Sri Lankan students to Microsoft`s Imagine Cup competition has helped propel Sri Lanka to the 13th position globally in terms of registrations in the software design category. A record 258 registrations were sent for the Software Design invitational as at the closing date of 15th March, more..

May 2 (SAMN) As the security in the East became volatile, Sinhala civilians in threatened villages urged the government to give weapons and to deploy more Home Guards to defeat terrorism. General Secretary of the North and East Sinhala Organisation (NESO) Sunil Aluthgamage said that empowering the Sinhalese in the East is the only way to combat terrorism in the area. more..

May 2 (SAMN) Sri Lanka Captain Marvan Atapattu will leave for Melbourne, Australia today to seek the advice of a top surgeon over his recurring back injury that has kept him out of the game for over a few months. According to Atapattu his back pain is still the same and there has not been much of an improvement despite his rest and rehabilitation over the past few weeks. more..

May 2 (DN) Chief Incumbent of the Gangaramaya Ven. Galaboda Gnanissara Thera yesterday sent out an appeal for President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to work together if the country is to see an end to terrorism and steer it on the path of development. more..

May 2 (Gulf) It seems to be a season of trouble in India's neighbourhood. After Nepal, it is now the turn of Sri Lanka to simmer and boil over. The terrorist attack on Sri Lankan army headquarters in Colombo, in which the army chief was injured, shook the fragile truce between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE to its foundations. more..

May 2 (HT) In a clear bid to escalate confrontation with the Sri Lankan government and avoid going for peace talks in Geneva, the LTTE has decided to use the sea to transport its cadres in its own vessels, and with its own armed escort, in violation of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) of February 2002. more..

May 2 (AP) Tamil Tiger rebels accused the Sri Lankan military of shelling one of their camps on Tuesday, wounding one person, a day after a suspected rebel blast killed five people in the latest violence to threaten the four-year-old cease-fire. The military denied the accusation. more..

May 2 (Reuters) Stock market rose on Tuesday on hopes obstacles to peace talks could be overcome, but was held in check by new violence in the island's northeast while state bank buying helped support the rupee currency. The Colombo All Share index rose 0.66 percent to 2,278.48 points. Turnover was less than the recent daily averages at 188 million rupees ($1.82 million). more..

May 2 (Reuters) For residents of Sri Lanka's already war-battered north, who suffered bombing and fled their homes during two decades of war, recent violence raises fears it could all happen again. Dominated by minority Tamils, now controlled by the almost exclusively Sinhalese army and cut off from the rest of the island by rebel territory, more..

May 2 (AFP) Sri Lanka has stepped up moves to revive talks with Tamil Tiger rebels as eight more guerrillas were reported killed after the bloodiest month since a truce took effect in 2002, officials said. A breakaway faction of the Tamil Tigers attacked a base of the mainstream guerrillas in the northeastern port district of Trincomalee, killing at least eight, more..

May 2 (AFP) Scandinavian truce monitors on Tuesday climbed down from an allegation that Sri Lankan government forces may have been responsible for extrajudicial killings. "The Sri Lankan government has conveyed to us that they are not aware of any such activities within their ranks," the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said in a statement. more..

May 2 (AP) A breakaway rebel faction said Tuesday it attacked a mainstream Tamil Tiger guerrilla camp in northeastern Sri Lanka, killing eight of the group's fighters in the latest violence threatening a return to civil war. "We carried out a successful assault and killed at least eight of them," said T. Thuyavan, a spokesman for the breakaway faction, more..

May 2 (AP) President Mahinda Rajapakse called Tuesday for immediate peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels, saying his tiny tropical island had seen enough violence. "Enough is enough," Rajapakse told The Associated Press in an interview as spiraling violence threatened to undermine a cease-fire with the LTTE, blamed for last week's suicide bombing by a pregnant woman that targeted an army general. more..