May 3 (BBC) Child protection authorities in Sri Lanka have begun an investigation on whether child abuse has been occurred while making a Sinhala film. Colombo magistrate Sarojini Kusala Wijewardhana ordered Sri Lanka Film Corporation to provide copies of “Samanala Thatu” (Butterfly Wings) to Children’s and Women’s affairs department. more..

May 3 (BBC) No war-no peace situation prevailing in Sri Lanka is threatening journalists especially in the north and the east, international media watchdog has said. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says the “dormant war” between the government forces and the Tamil Tigers has had “harmful consequences” for the safety of particularly Tamil journalists. more..

May 3 (Reuters) Tamil Tiger rebels said they were shelled on Tuesday morning by government artillery, but the army denied taking any action as violence threatened a 2002 truce and planned talks remained deadlocked. Local police said it might instead be a clash between the Tigers and breakaway faction the Karuna group, which the rebels say is government backed. more..

May 3 (AP) Gunmen stormed into a newspaper office in northern Sri Lanka on Tuesday and opened fire, killing an editorial manager and seriously wounding two others, the editor said. "Some men dressed in black broke into our office and opened fire, and our editorial manager died in the shooting," said N. Vithyatharan, editor of the Tamil-language Uthayan newspaper based in the northern town of Jaffna, more..

May 3 (AT) The estate management companies now train school leavers of estates in various self-employment projects. At present a number of school leavers follow vocational training courses to become skilled workers, says Col. Ranjith Ellegala, Director General of the Plantation Human Development Trust [PHDT]. more..

May 3 (LBO) Indo-Lanka trade talks hit a roadblock last week with dialogue on trade in goods shelved for later this month, though talks on services made headway. "We could not complete the talks on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) as scheduled. We were able to hold discussions on financial services and other service areas," more..

May 3 (LBO) A lower than expected valuation of prime commercial property belonging to Sathosa may delay its sale to a state bank, a top official said. The chief government valuer has assessed the 225 perches property at Union Place at a much lower price than originally expected by the trade ministry, an official said. more..

May 3 (BBC) Two media workers were killed and three injured in a shooting in a newspaper office in Jaffna while journalists celebrating the World Press Freedom day in Colombo. Sri Lankan and international journalists demonstrating in front of the Fort railway station called for the authorities to bring the killers of previously slain Sri Lankan journalists into justice. more..

May 3 (AT) Local scientists and the environmentalists proposed that the government must take stern action to eliminate poverty among the villagers who reside close proximity of the conserved forests and the catchments areas of the major reservoirs. more..

May 3 (AT) An opinion poll that the Asian Tribune conducted has confirmed what sensible, honest Sri Lankans have always thought about the Tigers and the Sri Lankan State. It is that the latter which genuinely wants peace and not the Wanni Mafia. This is the view of 960 people (83.33 percent) out of 1152 who voted in the poll. more..

May 3 (ML) While immediate threat of a resurgence of the war receded over the weekend with the Norwegian facilitators tentatively fixing a date for the resumption of talks, the low intensity war continued to claim lives in the north and east. On May Day, the LTTE attacked three Karuna camps in the Welikanda area, more..

May 3 (ML) President Mahinda Rajapakse has informed the UNP he is prepared to look at the Indian model of devolution to solve the country’s ethnic conflict. The President indicated his current thinking when he met a UNP delegation comprising Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya and MPs G.L. Peiris, Milinda Moragoda and Jayalath Jayawardena. more..

May 3 (ML) Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on Monday told the media he had examined the transcripts of the BBC reports under attack and found nothing objectionable. Minister Samaraweera made his comments to a section of the media both local and foreign after the inauguration of the World Press Freedom Day ceremony at the BMICH. more..

May 3 (ML) The ecological cost of coal based energy projects is a topic that often gets buried in the sand due to the increasing global demand for energy. Unable to deal with the increasing demand, the entire world has turned to coal energy which is gaining more acceptance since the advent of the ‘clean coal’ concept. more..

May 3 (IO) The guide books say the beach at Uppuveli is the finest on Sri Lanka's east coast. The setting is the stuff of tropical island paradise, a graceful curve of white sand with palm trees leaning over it, and emerald water as far as the eye can see. But today the beach is covered in discarded rubbish. more..

May 3 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka's main opposition party said here Tuesday that peace process was the only way to resolve the country's separatist armed conflict orchestrated by the Tamil Tigers, but the party would back the government if it opted for a military solution. more..

May 3 (CSM) As Sri Lanka teeters on the brink of civil war half a world away, Canada is cracking down on a rebel group that has long relied on expatriate funding to fuel its fight for an independent homeland there. With the largest concentration of Sri Lankan Tamils living abroad, Canada has been a key revenue source for the separatist Tamil Tigers. more..

May 3 (IE) While India grapples with limited options to somehow save the ceasefire agreement in Sri Lanka, a desperate Colombo is gradually looking away, and has approached Pakistan for defence supplies after India dragged its feet for reasons rooted in domestic Tamil politics. more..

May 3 (TW) Two employees were killed and three injured when armed Tamil youths suspected of belonging to the EPDP attacked the office of “Uthayan” a Tamil daily published in Jaffna. Five armed youths speaking fluent Tamil were involved in the attack which caused casualties among the non - editorial department staff though the assailants had come in search of two journalists working on the newspaper. more..

May 3 (TW) The Co-Chairs have met in Oslo last Friday but have not been able to take the peace process forward and this is not for a lack of effort on their part, neither does it come as a surprise. The composition of the Co-Chairs has as much to do with it as the fact that the LTTE has another agenda far removed from that of the Co-Chairs or the government of Sri Lanka. more..

May 3 (TN) The Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) an organization which represents the interest of expatriate Tamil Canadians, held a press conference Monday in Toronto to declare May 8th through the 14th as "Tamil Solidarity Week for Peace." This week will bring together Tamil Canadians and other peace-loving Canadians to express their solidarity and support for finding lasting peace in Sri Lanka," more..

May 3 (SLA) LTTE PISTOL MEN TUESDAY (02) AFTERNOON around 2.45 p.m. showing their barbaric and brutal nature gunned down one more soldier on roadblock duty near MURUKKANTALE on THANDIKULAM – KALMADU road in VAVUNIYA. LTTE pistol men on motorbike rode past swiftly after directing pistol shots at the soldiers on roadblock duties without any provocation caused to them by the troops. more..

May 3 (ISL) In the first part of this series, I presented an explanation why a considerable part of the Southern polity in Sri Lanka, namely the rural Sinhalese would not welcome a strong political devolution of powers to the provinces, particularly those powers relating to development. more..

May 3 (GN) The Government of Sri Lanka unreservedly condemns the senseless attack on the Uthayan News Paper Office in Jaffna today. This assault on the freedom of expression , a long cherished right in Sri Lanka , is all the more deplorable as it comes at a time Sri Lanka is hosting the World Press Freedom Day events. more..

May 3 (LeN) Major General Vajira Wijegunawardane who retired last 10th as Head of military intelligence is to be appointed new Commissioner of Prisons. He is a close ally of Justice Ministry Secretary Suhada Gamlath and the cabinet paper relevant to his appointment is to be presented at tomorrow's cabinet meeting. more..

May 3 (LeN) Any significant information regarding the suicide bomber who carried out the attack on Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka has still not been unraveled, an officer of the investigating told 'Lanka e News'. When questioned whether media disclosures that the suicide bomber had been identified as Anoja Kuganeththi of Puwarasakulam, Vavuniya, he asked as to how such a conclusion could more..

May 3 (LT) Issuing a communiqué the Patriotic National Movement has disapproved the Government’s move to provide ‘sea-planes’ for the Tigers. It is asking whether the Government has loosed its conscience that it has agreed to provide the Wanni Tigers with ‘sea-planes’ after attempting the Army Commander’s life by a vicious suicide bomber and almost daily killing the security forces and civilians with claymore mines. more..

May 3 (AT) Place: Welikande – Polonnaruwa border at Kandankaadu, located about 8 km from Welikande. Event: About 200 cadres of Velupillai Prabhakaran’s group confront forces of Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (alias Colonel Karuna), Leader of the TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal. A bloody battle followed at Kandalkaadu. more..

May 3 (AT) The special Task Force set up by the President of Sri Lanka on Sampoor Relief revealed that a total of 16 persons died in the uncleared area of Sampoor, 10 injured and 53 houses have been damaged. The task Force according to its assessment has decided to arrange the compensation of all those affected. more..

May 3 (LT) The public was terrified by a false news spread throughout the city this morning. A rumour of a suicide bomb exploded at Chitra Lane, Colombo 5 caused for this alarm. This news was broadcast in the ‘Sirasa’ news station. Narahenpita Police has visited the place on a search operation. more..

May 3 (LT) Army Authorities have vehemently denied that no security personnel were involved in the clashes that took place between Tiger cadres and Karuna group in the East recently. It also said that an officer identified as Lloyd Fernando was dead in the clashes. more..

May 3 (LT) It has been revealed information on about 50 persons who slipped through the gates of the Army Headquarters have not been entered anywhere. The investigation team suspects that consequent to a weakness in security measures they have entered the premises. more..

May 3 (LT) Amidst a party attended by the Media Minister, a group of journalists including Sunanda Deshapriya left the party protesting over the attack on the ‘Udayan’ news paper. The news of the attack was broken out around 8.00 p.m. while the Minister was in conversation with the media personnel. more..

May 3 (LBO) Sri Lankan stocks fell Wednesday after a four-day winning streak in the absence of buying support from institutional investors, traders said. The broader All Share Price Index dropped 20.23 points or 0.89 percent to 2,258.25, according to provisional data posted on the Colombo Stock Exchange website. more..

May 3 (GN) Work on the Norochcholai coal power plant will be launched this month as a matter of national priority to overcome the current energy crisis, Power and Energy Minister W.D.J. Seneviratne said. He was addressing a meeting at Norochcholai on April 29 following an observation tour during which he met 74 families to be resettled in another location to make way for the coal power project more..

May 3 (ANN) There has been no breakthrough in the investigations into the brutal assassination of IP Douglas Nimal together with his wife in a Colombo suburb last week. Douglas was no ordinary police officer. He served in the elite STF in the conflict zone for ten years. After his return to Colombo, he was instrumental in seizing a large quantity of heroin and arresting many underworld kingpins. more..

May 3 (CI) The Sri Lankans lost their lowest-profile warm-up game, against Sir Paul Getty's XI, by 16 runs. Amid such beautiful surroundings - even on a cold and grey May day - the cricket, for the last time on the tour, was almost of secondary importance. The headlines belonged to the youngest player in the match, 16-year-old Sam Northeast, a Harrow schoolboy who top scored for Getty's XI with an unbeaten 62. more..

May 3 (PIS) Navy Headquarters Tuesday denied Sea Tiger claims that they moved a group of cadres from Mullaitivu to Trincomalee on Sunday despite the presence of several Navy vessels. A senior navy spokesman insisted that there was no truth in claims that Sea Tiger vessels returned to Mullaitivu on the same day. more..

May 3 (Reuters) A family member of people killed in a recent blast grieves during the burial ceremony in the port town of Trincomalee in eastern Sri Lanka May 3, 2006. more..

May 3 (LNP) Some prominent women intellectuals have strongly condemned the suicide bomb attack by a pregnant woman on Tuesday, April 25 aimed at the Army Chief Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka. The comments made by them to the Daily News` more..

May 3 (LNP) The LTTE yesterday warned it would be forced to wipe out the Karuna faction militarily in the east if the government failed to live upto its pledge to disarm the group. LTTE Batticaloa political head Daya Mohan told the Daily Mirror the attack on the breakaway LTTE faction in the Welikanda area on Saturday night was only the beginning of what would be in store during the next few weeks. more..

May 3 (LNP) `Although there were setbacks for the UNP after the general election, today the people have a high regard for the policies and concepts of the UNP. There was efficient administration during the UNP government which is lacking today`, said Karu Jayasuriya, Deputy Leader of the UNP more..

May 3 (DN) The Provincial Irrigation Director Hambantota N.S. Wijesekera said that he is opposed to the setting up of proposed Airport at Weerawila for several reasons. He said so addressing the monthly District Agriculture Committee meeting held at the Chief Minister's office at Hambantota presided over by G.A. Hambantota M.A. Piyasena. more..

May 3 (IANS) Japan's special envoy to Sri Lanka will visit India next week to discuss the rapidly deteriorating situation in the island nation and ways to avert a possible resumption of a full-scale war. Yasushi Akashi, who last came to New Delhi in November 2004, is expected to meet Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan on May 11. more..

May 3 (AP) Sinhalese traders were willing to talk about the campaign of intimidation by Tiger rebels against Sri Lanka's Tamil minority that has left their stalls deserted in this northeastern port. But few were prepared to give their names. The demands for anonymity were a sign of the fear that has spread along both sides of Sri Lanka's ethnic divide, more..

May 3 (AP) Police said Wednesday they found the bodies of three blindfolded, stabbed men on a Sri Lankan roadside, as the country teetered on the edge of a return to civil war. The three bodies, found in the northern district of Vavuniya, have not been identified, said senior police superintendent Jagath Abeysirigunawardena. more..

May 3 (AFP) President Mahinda Rajapakse expressed "profound regret" at the killing of two workers at a pro-rebel Tamil newspaper and vowed the culprits would face justice. Gunmen stormed the offices of the Uthayan newspaper in Jaffna, Tuesday night, killing a manager and another employee, journalists and officials said. more..

May 3 (AFP) Journalists holding a candlelight vigil in Colombo. Gunmen stormed a Tamil newspaper office in Sri Lanka's Jaffna peninsula killing two people more..

May 3 (Reuters) People stayed off the streets in Sri Lanka's north on Wednesday after gunmen killed two in an attack on a Tamil newspaper, prompting calls by journalists for greater protection. Unidentified attackers stormed the office of Tamil daily "Uthayan", or "Dawn", in the northern town of Jaffna late on Tuesday, witnesses said, more..

May 3 (AP) Sri Lanka's government, trying to salvage a fragile truce, said Wednesday it has offered the separatist Tamil Tigers seaplanes to use for the insurgents' internal meeting ahead of planned government-rebel peace talks. The Tigers have said they must hold a meeting among themselves before they agree to attend the planned peace talks in Geneva. more..