May 22 (AT) One of the senior Commanders of the LTTE was killed under mysterious circumstances at Vavunathievu, on Sunday around 5.30 p.m. According to reports reaching Colombo, Ramanan a former Military Intelligence Chief under Colonel Karuna before the break up was killed. So far no one has claimed responsibility for the killing of Ramanan. more..

May 22 (TN) A Senior Commander of the Liberation Tigers in the East, Commander Ramanan, the Deputy Head of the LTTE Military wing of the Batticaloa district, was assassinated by a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) sniper at Vavunathivu Forward Defence Line (FDL), 5 km southwest of Batticaloa, Sunday around 5:30 p.m., sources in Batticaloa said. more..

May 22 (AP) A breakaway Tamil faction said Sunday that their forces had attacked a mainstream Tamil Tiger camp near the eastern city of Trincomalee, killing at least 10 rebel soldiers. T. Thuyavan, a spokesman for the breakaway Karuna faction said their forces attacked the Tiger camp with mortars and RPGs before overrunning the site and killing the Tamil fighters. more..

May 22 (BBC) The independent group that won the Colombo Municipal Council says that the group will hand over their seats to United National Party (UNP). S Rajendran, leader of the Independent Group 3, told BBC Sandeshaya that 20 seats will be offered to the UNP who supported their campaign. “Our victory was assured because of the UNP support,” he said. more..

May 22 (TW) Walk the World is an Annual Event hosted to raise awareness about child hunger. This campaign carried the theme of “Peace and Equity to Fight child Hunger” and culminate in a walk on the 21 st May 2006 in Colombo.bOnce a year hundreds of thousands of people all around the globe participate in “Walk the World”. more..

May 22 (TG) Huddling under the slats of the players’ balcony, Chaminda Vaas forced a cap over his David Seaman-style mullet and cast his thoughts back to that final day at Lord’s. Not even the rain lashing down on a drenched Hove could dampen his spirits as he mentally replayed his 50 not out – an innings he rates as his fi nest in 12 years of Test cricket. more..

May 22 (ANN) Lanka IOC Ltd. (LIOC) which operates 160 filling stations in the country warns of possible bankruptcy in 42 days due to the non-payment of fuel subsidy by the Sri Lankan Government. LIOC Managing Director K. Ramakrishnan reconfirming the company position told The Island Financial Review that the total fuel subsidy dues have reached Rs. 7.67 billion (US$74 million) as of April this year. more..

May 22 (ANN) The hurly-burly’s done and the battle’s lost and won. The last round of the mini polls bout in the South is over. Both heavyweights are nursing their black eyes, bleeding noses and split lips in their respective corners. The winner will have to be determined on the basis of the points scored in the previous round. And that will be done by the people who are the best referees. more..

May 22 (AFP) The European Union's "shocking" move towards blacklisting Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers will push the peace process to a critical stage, the head of the rebels' political wing has said. The EU agreed in principle late Thursday to ban the LTTE as a "terrorist" group, possibly as early as this week, diplomats said. more..

May 22 (SLA)
* Terrorist Leaves Behind Weapon & Flees
* Search Finds New Motorbike
* Gunmen Storm House & Kill Civilian
more..

May 22 (LBO) Sri Lanka’s largest tyre manufacturer CEAT will commission its 350 million rupee radial tyre plant in July, supplying the local market by August this year. Housed alongside the existing CEAT plant in Kelaniya, this will be the only radial tyre project in the country, the company said in a statement on Monday. more..

May 22 (AT) The UNP-backed group that won the Colombo Municipal Council elections last Saturday is another feather in the cap of Sirisena Cooray who led the campaign of Independents contesting under the symbol of spectacles. The Independents Group 3, sponsored by the UNP, polled 82580 (40.24% ) winning 23 seats while the UPFA polled 57158 (27.85%) winning 14 seats. more..

May 22 (GN) The long awaited Colombo-Katunayake Expressway project got off the ground yesterday with the signing of the contract between the Government and the Chinese Company Metallurgical Construction for the 25.8 k.m. four lane expressway which will shrink travel time between Colombo and Katunayake to 20 minutes. more..

May 22 (GN) The Japanese Government pledged its fullest support to Sri Lanka in realising sustainable peace, through its continuing engagement as a co-chair of peace, reconstruction and development. This assurance was given by Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso when Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera met him in Tokyo on Friday. more..

May 22 (GN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday directed the Ministries of Vocational and Technical Training and Skills Development and Public Enterprise Reconstruction to draw up a joint programme to provide further vocational training to members of youth brigades coming under the Yovun Diriya Programme by admitting them to Vocational Training Centres, throughout the country. more..

May 22 (GN) The Government will shortly introduce the 20th Amendment to the Constitution aimed at sweeping audit reforms in a bid to ensure good governance and transparency in the state sector. Auditor General Sarath Chandrasiri Mayadunne told the Nation - Economist in an exclusive interview that the proposed constitutional amendment has already been approved in principal by the Cabinet of Ministers more..

May 22 (NS) How far will it go? That's what many nervous civilians in Kilinochchi are wondering as they brace for what is showing signs of becoming the biggest war in decades. If the atmosphere prior to the Allaipitty incident in Jaffna, where a family of four was killed by the government armed forces, was calm and had a hope for peace, the situation after the incident is tense. more..

May 22 (NS) Sri Lanka today is a nation of contradictions. The country is supposedly engaged in fighting an "un-declared war" while professing to still embrace a tattered truce agreement. We have today a President who typically represents a South Asian politician. Similar to his counterparts he adopts contradictory stances on key issues. more..

May 22 (BBC) A group of Sinhala fishermen have rescued members of three Tamil families in the deep sea off Mannar. 20 men, women and children, all Tamils, were drowning in a boat in deep sea when the Sinhala fishermen came to their rescue. The group, including two two-month old infants, were handed over to Chilaw police. more..

May 22 (PIS) A 12-year-old child was brutally shot dead by an LTTE pistol gang member on Saturday at Mavadivembu in Batticaloa, police said. Eravur police said the victim S. Sathyam of Mavadiodai, Mankerni, was with his grandmother at her residence at Mavadivembu when the LTTEer gunned him down in the presence of his elders. more..

May 22 (LNP) Following last month`s suicide blast inside Army Headquarters, the Army has prohibited relatives of military personnel from obtaining treatment at the military hospital situated within Army Headquarters, with immediate effect. A senior military official said that under the new security plan, 'hereafter relatives cannot obtain treatment from the military hospital'. more..

May 22 (LNP) The SLMM was yesterday studying the LTTE response to the requirements put forward by the monitors in order to resume sea monitoring while the government said it was still evaluating the SLMM request and was also considering putting forward some proposals of its own. more..

May 22 (LNP) Sri Lanka has invited the Cochin International Airport Ltd to develop a new airport at Colombo according to Indian media reports out of Kochin. They said that an invitation in this regard was received by CIAL last week, the company`s Managing Director V J Kurien told reporters here. more..

May 22 (SAMN) The Government has taken steps to safeguard community life and implement development programmes to improve the economy in the Trincomalee district, said North Central Province Chief Minister Berty Premalal Dissanayake who has been appointed to supervise political and administrative activities in the district. more..

May 22 (SAMN) Minister of Environment Maithripala Sirisena has sought to preserve the biodiversity in the dry zone to safeguard the country's environmental balance. Minister Maithripala Sirisena has released a message to mark the World Biodiversity Day, which is observed today, May 22. more..

May 22 (SAMN) Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) chief Ulf Henricsson has flown to Norway to meet with the Mission's co-partners to discuss matters pertaining to strengthening ceasefire monitoring in Sri Lanka. SLMM spokesperson Helen Olafsdottir said that Henricsson was in Norway to discuss matters pertaining to security of SLMM members. more..

May 22 (OW) The number of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) positive patients reported within Sri Lanka has increased during last year and more than three HIV positive cases are reported each week now, STD/AIDS control programme regional facilitator Dr. Champa Aluthweera opines. more..

May 22 (ET) Tata International Ltd on Monday announced setting up of a joint venture with Dutch Lanka Trailer Manufacturers (Pvt) Ltd (DLT), Sri Lanka to manufacture trailers in India. The 50:50 joint venture, to be named Tata International DLT Pvt Ltd, will set up set up a trailer manufacturing facility at Chakan, a company release said here. more..

May 22 (UPI) Indian intelligence agencies have expressed concern over the increase in the influx of Sri Lankan refugees to southern Tamil Nadu. In the last five days, more than 300 refugees have arrived at Rameshwaram and reported at police stations on the island because of the escalating LTTE-Sri Lankan government conflict, The Hindu newspaper said Monday, more..

May 22 (HT) Today, in the context of the raging Tamil-Sinhala conflict in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka are seen as being adversaries. The history that is remembered now is the history of invasions from the Tamil country across the Palk Strait, and the threat the Tamil invaders posed to Buddhism in the island. more..

May 22 (LBO) Sri Lanka Monday called for bids to set up a next generation or third generation mobile phone network, with aim of offering high speed wireless services, the telecom watchdog said. Third generation or 3G licenses will be available on the 2GHz (gigahertz band) and the initial spectrum allocation will be limited to existing mobile operators, more..

May 22 (AFP) An elderly Sri Lankan fisherman described how gunmen shot dead six members of his family on a navy-controlled northern Sri Lankan islet and left him wounded in both legs. The man, 61, lies on a hospital bed at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital with white bandages around both his thighs. A doctor said he had been shot twice. more..

May 22 (AP) About 100 women protested in Sri Lanka's capital on Monday against the use of female suicide bombers by separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. "We condemn the use of women, especially pregnant women," said Dulcy de Silva, a spokeswoman for Sri Lanka's All Party Women's Congress. more..

May 22 (TN) Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Hans Brattsakar, arrived at the Palaly military airport Monday morning in a special Sri Lanka AirForce flight for discussions with Jaffna administrative officials, Sri Lanka Military officials and also with families affected by recent violence in Manthuvil, and Allapiddy, sources in Jaffna said. more..

May 22 (DN) Science and Technology Minister, Professor Tissa Vitarana said the President has released more funds for research on science and technology and measures should be taken to prevent scientists from leaving the country. The Minister was speaking at a media briefing on the progress that the Ministry has achieved in establishing the Vidatha Resource Centres upto now. more..

May 22 (AFP) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels accused government forces of killing a senior field commander in the island's restive eastern region at the weekend, a pro-rebel website said. The LTTE said their chief intelligence operative in the region -- identified as Ramanan -- was gunned down by an army sniper on Sunday, Tamilnet.com reported. more..

May 22 (Time) Anton Balasingham is the chief negotiator for the LTTE, brought into the organization by leader Vellupillai Prbhakaran to provide theoretical depth to Tamil nationalism. In a rare email interview from his London home, he spoke to TIME about the rising tide of violence in Sri Lanka and what hope remains for peace. more..

May 22 (AFP) A United Nations agency Monday condemned the bombing of international aid agencies in Sri Lanka and said it was appalled by the continuing "despicable attacks". The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka said grenade attacks on three non-governmental organisations in the Trincomalee district Sunday injured one international staff member and two civilians. more..

May 22 (AP) The Tamil Tiger rebels on Monday accused the Sri Lankan government of escalating violence in the island country by killing a senior rebel leader and pushing the country closer to a resumption of war. Ramanan, the No. 2 Tamil Tiger leader and intelligence chief of eastern Sri Lanka, was killed Saturday amid spiraling violence more..

May 22 (Reuters) Tamil Tiger rebels accused Sri Lanka's army on Monday of assassinating one of their senior commanders, and said the military was pushing the island towards a "high intensity war". Col. Ramanan, one of the top LTTE commanders in the eastern district of Batticaloa, was killed by sniper fire late on Sunday in what the rebels said was among the most serious violations of a 2002 truce. more..

May 22 (AFP) Sri Lanka braced for a decision by the European Union this week to ban the Tamil Tigers in a move the rebels say could fuel war, but peace broker Norway prepared to launch a fresh salvage effort. Sri Lankan government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said an EU-wide ban on the Tigers should not halt the peace process and rejected rebel warnings that the country could slip back to open conflict. more..

May 23 (HT) The radical Marxist and Sinhala nationalist JVP which was routed in the first phase of the Sri Lankan local bodies elections held on March 30, continued its dismal run in the second phase held on May 20. The JVP, which is supporting the Mahinda Rajapaksa government from outside, secured only one council this time, as against five won by the ruling UPFA and four by the opposition UNP. more..

May 23 (BBC) The main opposition in Sri Lanka has urged authorities not to interrupt the party taking over the control over Colombo Municipal Council (CMC). United National Party (UNP) backed independent group has secured victory over CMC winning 23 seats. UNP deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya said the voters should not be allowed to punish due to “technical errors”. more..

May 23 (UN) A senior United Nations officer in Sri Lanka today called on the Government and rebels fighting in the north and east of the country to ensure the safety of all humanitarian aid organizations there following yesterday’s grenade attacks on three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the earlier shooting dearth of a Norwegian aid worker. more..

May 23 (TN) Pointing out that the "primary cause of the current violence has been due to the refusal of the Sri Lankan State to implement key provisions of the CFA that obligates the State to disarm and dismantle Paramilitary armed groups in the Northeast of Sri Lanka," the Tamil National Alliance in a press release issued Monday, more..

May 23 (AP) The killing of a senior Tamil Tiger rebel leader was intended to drag Sri Lanka into a "major war," the Tigers said Monday as spiraling violence threatened to derail a tenuous truce. The Tigers blamed the government for the killing on Saturday of Col. Ramanan, the No. 2 Tamil Tiger leader and the rebels' intelligence chief for eastern Sri Lanka. more..

May 23 (LeN) Local Jurnalist claims the payment witch is due to him defaulted by the BBC World Service trust from its chairman. The Jurnalist Mr. W.G. Gunarathne has send the letter of demand through his lawyer claimed the due amount failing witch he would be taking that BBC World Sevice Trust the compitent court of law. more..

May 23 (BBC) The government says it has no plans to bring in new legislations on conscription. Chief Government Whip Jeyararaj Fernandopullai told BBC Sandeshaya that the cabinet of ministers has never discussed any such plans. Responding to media reports that the UPFA Government is also planning to introduce a US-style “Patriotic Act”, the minister reiterated that conscription was never on the government agenda. more..

May 23 (Reuters) An armed government soldier watches sunset by the seafront in Colombo. Tamil Tiger rebels accused Sri Lanka's army on Monday of assassinating one of their senior commanders, and said the military was pushing the island towards a 'high intensity war'. more..

May 23 (AT) The CGPME (Confédération Général des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises) is a French national union for small and medium sized business owners. They will be sending their business delegation to strengthen trade ties and find new business opportunities in Sri Lanka and India. The proposed visit of the delegation would bring best trade ties, said CGPME spokesman Tima Lazarus. more..