May 27 (ANI) Norwegian peace envoy Eric Solheim is arriving in the capital tonight, and is expected to brief Indian officials about the latest developments in Sri Lanka. Confirming Solheim's visit to New Delhi, a Government spokesman said that the Norwegian envoy is expected to have a meeting with National Security Adviser M.K.Narayanan on Saturday. more..

May 27 (BBC) The World Bank has extended condolences to the family of murdered engineer Ratnam Ratnarajah. Ratnarajah, 48, Deputy Project Director of the North East Irrigated Agriculture Project II (NEIAP II), was shot dead at his home in Batticaloa on Friday. more..

May 27 (CI) Kevin Pietersen's breathtaking 142 and a productive final session in the field put England within sight of a swift victory at Edgbaston. Pietersen produced an imperious onslaught, his second consecutive century, but Muttiah Muralitharan's six-wicket haul, and a lower-order collapse of 5 for 5, restricted the lead to 154. more..

May 27 (CI) They say summer attracts the extraordinary: be it annual riots, the interminable Big Brother or leaving John Prescott in charge of the country while the Prime Minister goes on holiday. At Edgbaston today, two extraordinary cricketers - Kevin Pietersen and Muttiah Muralitharan - starred in the first freak show of the season. And what gripping viewing it was. more..

May 27 (BL) Apprehensions raised by the Indian spices trading community about the illegal imports of certain spices appears to be true following a reported crackdown by the Sri Lankan Customs on a racket involving exports of Indonesian cloves and arecanuts to India under the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA). more..

May 27 (LeN) Two separate funerals had been held in Kilinochchi and Mulaitivu to pay tribute to the slain Tiger leader Ramanan. One of the funerals, LTTE commanders Colonel leyam and Special Commander Balraj were reported to have made threatening comments about the resumption of war. more..

May 27 (AT) The ceasefire between the Sri Lanka government and the LTTE remained in place despite numerous violations and a deteriorating relationship between the two parties. Escalating political killings, child recruitment, abductions and armed clashes created a climate of fear in the east spreading to the north by the end of the year, more..

May 27 (AT) Visiting French trade and charity delegation says people of Grand Lyon need to serve local tsunami victims and also hopes to strengthen their trade ties with Sri Lankan entrepreneurs. Addressing media in Colombo on Friday, President of CGPME Mr.Francois Turcas said that their delegation is now holding one to one meetings with the local entrepreneurs, more..

May 27 (AT) In an effort to overcome various difficulties and issues in the sphere of housing reconstruction and to address the needs of the tsunami affected masses, President, Mahinda Rajapaksa has revised the housing policy to expedite relief to the people who have lost their homes to the tsunami. more..

May 27 (SLA)
* Troops Foil LTTE Infiltration Attempt
* Another Claymore Recover By Troops
* Troops Repulse Terrorist Attacks
* Tamil Tigers Fire Mortars At Troops
* Transport Of Essential Items To Un-Cleared Areas Continues more..

May 27 (ISL) The killing of Nava Rathnarajah, the Deputy Director of Irrigation and a senior government official by the LTTE in Batticaloa highlights the plight of government officials in the East who are vulnerable for LTTE paramilitary unit attacks in the government controlled areas. more..

May 27 (ISL) Sri Lanka’s mendacious marionettes otherwise known as the Tamil parliamentarians salaaming a crazy gang of grisly criminals otherwise known as the Cyanide Killers who, hitherto has been performing mock funerals in the country’s House of Representatives among other activities such as monkey dancing to tiger grinding, have now embarked on a new activity. more..

May 27 (LBO) Investors off-shoring business to Sri Lanka will get special tax breaks from the Board of Investment, under a revamped incentive list out in a few weeks. Sri Lanka is trying to pry away some of the business for Business Process Outsourcing(BPO) and other Information Technology enabled services away from neighbouring India. more..

May 27 (AT) The LTTE, Sri Lanka’s separatists’ outfit, has created a state of anarchy in the North-East part of the country. Part of this province is under their de-facto administration. Extortion goes on un-abated. Every single activity is subjected to a levy. Those, including Government officials, who refute their orders, are treated mercilessly. more..

May 27 (AT) Navaratnarajah of Deputy Director of Irrigation was killed yesterday afternoon by pistol wielding suspected gunmen of the LTTE. He was killed in front of his official quarters near the Kalliyankadu Railway Station, North of Batticaloa, when LTTE pistol fire struck him. more..

May 27 (GN) For the first time the Department of Cultural Affairs has taken steps to hold a Te1e Award ceremony under "State Te1e Festival" to recognize and award the best professionals in the field of Te1e productions at the state-level, to be held on May 29th, at the John de Silva Memorial Hall. more..

May 27 (GN) Mrs. Shriyani Fernando, Chairperson of Thurasaviya Fund said that Rubber Small Holders produced about 68,250 Metric Ton, out of Rubber production of 105,000 Metric Ton in 2005. This was 68% of the total production. Therefore, the Chairperson said, that she has taken initiative to promote the standard of living and financial position of the Rubber Small Holders by more..

May 27 (Hindu) It is entirely in keeping with the character of the LTTE that, faced with the real prospect of a ban by the European Union, it has threatened to take "a hard-line individualist path." For much of the period since the ceasefire agreement was signed in February 2002, the extremist organisation's negotiating stance has been: "negotiate with us on our terms, or else... more..

May 27 (PIS) Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday assured Parliament that war is not imminent and that the Government will not return to war despite provocations by the LTTE. "The first priority of the Government will be the talks that will lead to a negotiated settlement, the second priority of the Government will be the talks that will lead to a negotiated settlement and more..

May 27 (LT) The statement made by Mr. Rajithe Senaratne on behalf of UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe was an “irresponsible and treacherous statement that could be labeled as betrayal of national interests even worse than the infamous act of treason three years ago of betraying away the national interest by exposing the deep penetrating unit of the security forces,” more..

May 27 (F2F) Board Of Investment (BOI) Sri Lanka releases statement by Mr. Hasitha Tillkeratne, Chairman, National Gem & Jewellery Authority stated that Sri Lanka’s total gems & jewellery exports in the first quarter, has increased by 39 percent over last year’s corresponding period. He further added that during the first quarter of 2006, the country exported Rs. 3,262.5mn worth gems & jewellery. more..

May 27 (PTI) The US has said it was engaged in an "active dialogue" with India on the developments in Sri Lanka where the stepped up attacks by the Tamil Tigers were particularly "very troublesome", but stressed that it was up to New Delhi to decide the kind of role it wanted to play. more..

May 27 (TW) Kandiah Ulaganathan known to the world as “Col” Ramanan of the LTTE was killed on Sunday May 21st. Ramanan fell victim to a sniper or hidden gunman as he was inspecting the forward defence lines (FDL’s)at Vavunatheevu in the region known as “Paduvaankarai” (Shore of the setting sun) on the west of Mattakkalappu Vaavi or Batticaloa lagoon. more..

May 27 (TW) Mahendra Percy Rajapakse now known as Mahinda Rajapakse is perhaps the first Sinhala head of state with a clear and coherent idea of how to resolve the National question also called the ethnic crisis, Tamil issue and Tiger problem. This assertion may run contrary to many assessments that describe Mahinda as being confused and indecisive on how to handle this issue. more..

May 27 (ANN) In an effort to overcome various difficulties and issues in the sphere of housing reconstruction and to address the needs of the tsunami affected masses, President, Mahinda Rajapaksa has revised the housing policy accordingly to expedite relief to the people who have lost their homes to the tsunami. more..

May 27 (TW) “The low-intensity Eelam War IV launched by the LTTE continues”. Defence Correspondent Iqbal Athas in Situation Report ‘The Sunday Times’ 21 May 2006. “The truce monitors in Sri Lanka will not pull out even though they are now monitoring a war rather than a ceasefire”. - The head of the SLMM, Ulf Henricsson told the BBC interview 18 May 2006. more..

May 27 (TW) A highly respected religious prelate warned yesterday that the northeast was on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe and called for an immediate return to the next round of peace talks at which the principle of devolution should be addressed.Colombo’s Anglican Bishop the Rt. Rev. Duleep de Chickera after a vist to the North and Trincomalee said, more..

May 27 (TW) Bishop of Colombo, Rev Duleep De Chickera was, earlier this week, in Jaffna, to look into the affected communities in the peninsula and the islands. He expresses his concerns for the people and the need for greater accountability and for the Government and the LTTE to move back to the negotiating table. more..

May 27 (TW) In recent weeks there have been several references in local newspapers to the possible imposition by the international community of a Cyprus-style solution to our ethnic problem. I myself have had in mind the possibility of such a ‘solution’ being imposed by India, with that country playing a role analogous to that of Turkey in Cyprus. more..

May 27 (TW) Why was the film ‘Da Vinci Code’ banned? Whose idea was it? The book is freely available and has been for some time and now the film based on the book is banned! This decision does not do the Church or Christianity any good. Not even the US, which commences all State occasions with a prayer, and have the motto “In God we trust” has thought it necessary to ban the film and here is Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist country, the film is banned. more..

May 27 (TW) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi received Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse’s Special Envoy Arumugam Thondaman in Chennai on Thursday. The Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) chief called on the veteran Indian Tamil leader and personally conveyed to him President Rajapakse’s felicitations on becoming the southern Indian state’s chief minister for the fifth time early this month. more..

May 27 (LNP) Nine members of wanni tiger organization have been killed in a clash with members of Karuna faction. The incident had happened at an un-cleared area at Kanwadikulam in Trincomalee District. According to Eastern sources the nine wanni tigers had been killed in an attack launched by members of Karuna faction targeting a wanni tiger camp. more..

May 27 (LNP) Chairman of Transparency International`s Sri Lanka Chapter, M. D. A. Harold said that demanding a sexual favour is an offence punishable under the Bribery Act. Making a presentation, at a workshop held at Intercontinental Hotel on Tuesday, he emphasised that bribery is not confined to payment in money. more..

May 27 (LNP) Trade unions are frowning on pay hikes for parliamentarians as we reported yesterday. One of them has said the pay increases in the pipeline constitute a drain on the national economy and serve no purpose to the public. We couldn`t agree with them more but can`t help wondering whether it is not a case of the pot calling the kettle black. more..

May 27 (SAMN) Parliament on Friday debated war and peace with the parties calling for a peaceful settlement except the JVP, who had reservations on the disruption of civil life in the North-East blaming it on the LTTE.In a lukewarm debate in Parliament on the disruption of civil life in the North-East, most members of the political parties called for a cessation of violence to make way for the early resumption of dialogue with the Tamil tigers. more..

May 27 (SAMN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa emphasised that it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Fisheries to uplift the economy and social status of thousands of fisher families scattered throughout the island while ensuring their occupational security. The President made this assertion at the Progress Review Meeting of the Fisheries Ministry held at Temple Trees last Thursday, more..

May 27 (SAMN) The Parliamentary Select Committee on NGO activities on Thursday agreed to examine the NGOs which did not use funds worth millions of US dollars, provided for them as tsunami aid.The Committee met at the Parliament complex yesterday with JVP MP Vijitha Herath chairing the meeting. more..

May 27 (BC) Malaysia can help persuade the LTTE to resume negotiations with the Sri Lankan government to resolve the 30-year civil war that has claimed more than 64,000 lives, a Sri Lankan envoy said Saturday. "A friendly country like Malaysia can send a message to LTTE to ask them to come to the negotiation table and I'm sure Malaysia has some influence and that will definitely help," more..

May 27 (DN) The old Echelon Square Road in Fort leading to the World Trade Centre and the Bank of Ceylon head office was re-opened for vehicles yesterday, Colombo DIG Pujith Jayasundara said. This was decided after requests made by key officials, he added. The road was closed on Thursday as intelligence reports warned that the prime buildings along this road have been targeted by terrorists, said DIG Jayasundara. more..

May 27 (Reuters) Tamil Tigers said on Saturday they were considering a new offer by peace broker Norway for crunch talks in Oslo regarding the security of Nordic truce monitors, but stressed they would not be peace talks. The offer by visiting Norwegian special peace envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer comes after the LTTE attacked navy boats with truce monitors aboard earlier this month more..

May 27 (AFP) Sri Lanka star Muttiah Muralitharan insisted he hadn't tired of taking wickets after adding six more to his vast collection against England here at Edgbaston. The off-spinner's haul of six for 82 was the only thing that stood between England and a mammoth first innings lead on the second day of the second Test. more..

May 27 (AFP) A top Sri Lankan rebel leader met with a Norwegian peace envoy in a bid to salvage a collapsing ceasefire after new shelling was reported along the de facto front line in the country's east. Rebel sources said Jon Hanssen-Bauer, peacebroker Norway's number two peace emissary, held two hours of talks with S.P. Thamilselvan, head of the LTTE political wing. more..

May 27 (AP) Tamil Tiger rebels on Saturday agreed to visit Norway next month and discuss the monitoring of a shaky cease-fire with the Sri Lankan government, a decision likely to ease fears of the island nation sliding back into full-blown war. Norwegian envoy Jon Hannsen-Bauer made the announcement after meeting with Tamil Tiger leaders, more..

May 27 (TN) Liberation Tigers will be forced to reconsider the relevence of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) to the peace process, and LTTE's committment and adherence to the CFA, if the European Union carries out its threat of proscribing the LTTE, Head of LTTE's Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan told TamilNet more..

May 27 (HT) The Sri Lankan government said on Saturday that it had no plans to invite a UN peacekeeping force. "There is no proposal for deployment of United Nations forces," said the Minister of Information, Anura Priyadharshana Yapa in a statement issued here. more..

May 27 (AFP) Sri Lanka could be heading back to all-out war, the top Norwegian envoy to the island warned, saying the peace process is more difficult than he had believed. Erik Solheim made the comments in New Delhi after his deputy, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, met the head of the rebel Tamil Tigers political wing, S. P. Thamilselvan, in the guerrilla-held Sri Lankan town of Kilinochchi. more..

May 27 (IANS) Ahead of a meeting of Sri Lanka's donor co-chairs in Tokyo, Norwegian peace mediator Erik Solheim met Indian National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan Saturday on the escalating violence in Sri Lanka and sugggested a bigger role for India in restoring peace and stability in the island nation. more..

May 28 (CO) People who fled from violence-hit Sri Lanka, narrate tales of woes as they thank the Indian Navy and Coast Guard who rescued and brought them to refugee camps in Tamil Nadu. Sivaranjani from Arichalmunai in Northern Sri Lanka, now at the Mandapam transit camp, narrated her horrifying experience to reporters. more..

May 28 (IRNA) Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Davoud Danesh-Jafari here Saturday said that economic cooperation between Iran and Sri Lanka should increase, particularly in the domain of industries as well as technical and engineering services. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the eighth joint economic commission, which was attended by Sri Lanka's Minister of Trade, Commerce, more..

May 28 (HT) The LTTE is "considering" Norway's invitation to come to Oslo for talks on the role of the Scandinavian truce monitors on June 8 and 9. A proposal for talks on the truce monitors was made by the Norwegian Peace Envoy, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, when he met the LTTE's political wing leader SP Tamilselvan at Kilinochchi on Saturday. more..