May 4 (TW) A female journalist arrested on suspicion at the UNESCO WPFD conference in Colombo on 1st of May 2006 was remanded by Colombo chief magistrate Kusala Weerawardana on 2th upon produced by the cinnamon garden police. Police has told the court that the case has been handed over to the National Intelligent Service and Terrorist Investigation Division for further investigation more..

May 4 (BBC) The UNP is accusing the government of having double standards on the peace issue. “While the government says to the international media that it’s committed to peace the local media is told that government is even ready for war " said Tissa Attanayaka, Deputy General Secretary of the UNP. more..

May 4 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's army said it killed seven suspected Tamil Tigers after an attack on a checkpoint, while the rebels raised new objections to a government plan aimed at ending a deadlock over planned peace talks. International truce monitors say around 200 people have died since early April in the bloodiest month since a 2002 truce halted two decades of civil war. more..

May 5 (M&G) The last time Sinnathurai Kandasamy saw his wife, Thiraviyam, was a little more than two weeks ago, when she left home for a hospital check-up in the east coast Sri Lankan town of Trincomalee. Hours later Kandasamy found his wife dead in a mortuary. A bullet had blown her left cheek away. Her eye was missing. more..

May 5 (AP) Sri Lanka's government on Thursday announced a ban on the open display of meat in markets to coincide with the 2,550th anniversary of Buddha's death. "We have decided to stop the selling of animal flesh in stalls openly displaying it to the public," government spokesman Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said. more..

May 5 (AI) Dr Manoharan, whose son was killed in January, allegedly by the security forces, has received death threats, believed to be from the security forces. He and his family, who live in Trincomalee town in the east of the country, are now in fear for their lives. There are grave concerns for their safety. more..

May 5 (Xinhua) The Sri Lankan government said here Thursday that it was still hopeful of engaging the Tamil Tigers in the aborted second round of Geneva talks to discuss the Norwegian backed truce. Keheliya Rambukwella, minister of Plan Implementation, told reporters that the government was in the process of making contactwith the LTTE rebels on the possibility of reviving talks. more..

May 5 (BBC) The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Free Media Movement (FMM) have expressed their concern over the decision by Sri Lankan authorities to arrest and remand a female journalist on suspicion of association with terrorist activities. Sivaramya Sivanathan a SLBC Journalist was arrested at a UNESCO conference on World Press Freedom Day on the first of May at Colombo. more..

May 5 (AT) The government of Sri Lanka together with the Board of Investments of Sri Lanka [BOI] instructed the officials to ban export of scrap batteries and Lead from Sri Lanka. After a heavy tug-of-war between the local battery manufacturers and the state officials, the decision was taken by the BOI, more..

May 5 (TW) In an ironic incident illustrating the climate of grave insecurity amidst which Tamil journalists are working in Sri Lanka a young Tamil woman journalist was arrested when trying to attend a conference in Colombo to mark the World Press freedom day. more..

May 5 (TW) The LTTE have through terror tactics caused a prominent Tamil academic and Jaffna University Vice - Chancellor Dr. Ratnajeevan Hoole to flee Sri Lanka with his family members. Dr. Hoole’s decision to seek refuge in a foreign country was due to a consistent campaign of threats and intimidation by agents of the LTTE. more..

May 5 (TW) In what appears “prima facie” to be a flagrant travesty of justice all Police Special task force members,detained as suspects in the murder of five innocent Tamil youths in Trincomalee on Jan 2nd this year, are to be released next week. Eleven STF members and two Policemen were arrested as suspects in the incident that occurred at the Dutch Bay beach near the old Gandhi statue roundabout. more..

May 5 (AT) A person suspected to be an LTTE suicide bomber was arrested on Wednesday, when he was loitering around the BMICH area situated at Colombo 7. Officials attached to the Criminal Investigations Division claimed that upon questioning the Tiger cadre he had revealed that he was in Colombo to assassinate several politicians and heads of the security forces. more..

May 5 (AT) Provoked by the Tamil Tiger attacks on TamilEela Viduthalai Makkal Pulikal (TVMP) in the east Colonel Karuna’s group has withdrawn from its unilateral declaration of ceasefire announced on January 30, 2006. TVMP states that after the attacks on their cadres on April 30 the ceasefire is no longer valid. more..

May 5 (LBO) Sri Lanka plans to test the limits of smart digital mesh boxes to connect 30 rural homes onto the World Wide Web, officials said. Costing just under 30,000 dollars, this pilot project is initiated by the ICTA – the government’s key IT agency – is due to kick off in July, giving free internet access to children in the village of Mahavilachchiya, 50 kilometeres off Anuradhapura. more..

May 5 (ICN) The Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, presided by Cardinal Paul Poupard, who is also the head of the Pontifical Council for Culture has sent to the Buddhists of all the world, the traditional message for the occasion of Vesakh. more..

May 5 (CI) Angus Fraser was not the cheeriest operator at the best of times. But little got him grumbling like the idea of expensive-but-supposedly-threatening "wicket-taking bowlers". "I always thought it was just an excuse to bowl expensive crap," he once harrumphed. more..

May 5 (FP) Foreign Policy magazines’ 2006 Failed States Index ranks Sri Lanka at #25. At #1 is Sudan. Based on 12 indicators of vulnerability, each country is given a score from 0-120; the higher the score the worse off you are. Sri Lanka for instance is given a score of 92.4; not very far behind the worst country, Sudan, which is at 112.3. more..

May 5 (TN) Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops and Police conducted combined cordon and search operation Thursday morning in the predominantly Tamil areas of the Trincomalee town. Security forces took sniffer dog to detect any explosives and claymore mines concealed in houses. However no explosives were found and no suspects were arrested during the operation, Trincomalee police sources said. more..

May 5 (TN) "Whatever the provocation, targeting Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan Government clearly demonstrates that it does not regard the Tamil people to be part of its population. It thus strengthens, in my view, the Tamil people's case for self determination," said Australian parliamentarion John Murphy, Member for the Federal State of Lowe, in a media release issued Friday. more..

May 5 (ISL) Some of the LTTE’s best fighting units known as Leopards and some of their top commanders seem to be marooned in the East after an unsuccessful attack near Welikanda attacking three camps consisting of ENDLF and Karuna cadres. The LTTE has taken a huge risk by moving two of their high value terrorist leaders, Banu and Sornam to the East hoping more..

May 5 (LeN) Deputy UNP leader Karu Jayasuriya queries as to what the party can do about such violent acts like beheaded killings and gunning down journalists inside the media offices. Jayasuriya was responding to a question raised by 'Lanka e News' representative at a media briefing held last morning at the Opposition Leader's official residence. more..

May 5 (LeN) The Cultural Minister who had poked his hand at 'Aksharaya' is a pupil of mine. I tell him not kindly, not honorably but threateningly to stop this. If not we'll do everything in this connection. If Handagama is to be arrested, arrest us too, if he is to be jailed, put us also in jail, Professor Sucharitha Gamlath said more..

May 5 (LeN) It has now been revealed that media reports which said a woman who came to assassinate Minister Mangala Samaraweera on the World Press Freedom day was a fabrication. The woman arrested near the BMICH is in fact a relief announcer of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. The 26 year old woman identified as Sivaramya Sivanathan has been residing at Sinnawatta Road, Dehiwala since 1996. more..

May 5 (AN) Sri Lanka is negotiating with the Kingdom to train its police officers here. A delegation of Sri Lankan Muslim judges has requested the Saudi government to train some police officers at the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS). “NAUSS has a highly sophisticated training department for training police officers in forensic sciences. more..

May 5 (GN) The programme of providing free nutritious meals to Year One and Two students in selected difficult schools countrywide under the Mahinda Chinthanaya will be further extended to cover all students in selected schools in the Hambantota district. This follows a progress review meeting of the nutritious meals project at Temple Trees yesterday presided by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. more..

May 5 (GN) Amendment to the bail granting provisions of the Immigrants & Emigrants Act. - The Cabinet has granted approval to a memorandum by Justice and Law Reform Minister Hon. Amarasiri Dodangoda to amend section 47 (1), the bail granting provision of Immigration and Emigration Act No. 20 of 1948. This amendment is imperative in view of the findings of the recent judgement of the Supreme Court more..

May 5 (GN) China has granted Rs. one billion to the Government to develop the Beruwela fisheries harbour. Developing this harbour was the request of fishermen in Beruwela for the past couple of years to the Government. Under this project, it would modernise the harbour using latest technologies which will facilitate more vessels into the harbour. more..

May 5 (GN) The UNESCO (United Nations Education, Social and Cultural Organisation) had agreed to support the establishment of Media Resource Centres in Colombo, Media and Information Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said yesterday. The Minister met UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura, Additional Director General Abdul Whaheed and UNESCO Director Miniju Yaan at the Media and Information Ministry more..

May 5 (AT) High drama is reported in the coast in Kudilamai, Kalpitiya as Tamil Tigers brought a truck fixed with two anti-aircraft guns to guard off a flotilla of sea Tiger boats which retreat to the shore amid Navy firing. The Navy has requested the help of Air Force to destroy the truck. more..

May 5 (ANN) As a result of excessive taxes and levy imposed on both large and small scale tea producers the future existence of private tea factories seems to be very slim,according to Private Tea Factory Owners Association. Sri Lanka was one of the principal producers of quality tea in the world and the country had been exporting around 300 million kg of tea to various countries. more..

May 5 (ANN) The Government is in the process of recruiting over 5,000 homeguards to protect remote villages from possible terrorist attacks. The move follows intelligence reports that groups of armed LTTE cadres have been spotted mainly around villages in Kebitigollawa, Horowpathana, Medawachiya and Tantrimale in the Anuradhapura district. more..

May 5 (ANN) The Indian Express reports that Sri Lanka has turned to Pakistan for defence supplies (The Island of May 04) after ‘India dragged its feet for reasons rooted in domestic Tamil politics’. The LTTE is all out to return to war and nothing else the government could have done. It has to better equip the armed forces and bolster their firepower. more..

May 5 (NIP) After the historical discovery of Adam’s Bridge between India and Sri Lanka a few years ago, it is time now to explore 11 more destinations connected with Ramayana in Sri Lanka. Three places in Sri Lanka already have historical links to Ramayana. “The Sri Lankan government will focus on exploring the 14 destinations identified by archaeologists as connected with Ramayana. more..

May 5 (PIS) The Government has accepted LTTE proposals with regard to landing sites for the sea plane to transport rebel cadres from the east to the Wanni for a pre-Geneva meeting, the Daily Mirror learns. Modalities and other logistics for the use of the sea plane to transport the LTTE eastern cadres to the Wanni are now being worked out while more..

May 5 (PIS) Ravana Force, a shadow organisation believed to be of the LTTE has warned Tamil media personnel working at the State print and electronic media institutions to refrain from supporting the government's propaganda against the LTTE. The warning has been issued yesterday through the pro - LTTE websites called Sangathi Pathivu, and IBC. more..

May 5 (LNP) The CID is preparing to send abroad blood samples taken from the remains of the LTTE female suicide bomber at the Army Headquarters, since the locally conducted pregnancy tests have failed so far, a senior investigator said yesterday. The CID is currently investigating whether the female cadre was actually pregnant. more..

May 5 (LNP) The proprietor of a reputed Hardware Store in Katugastota was a fortunate man when part of his sales collection amounting to Rs. 1.4 million was retrieved from a garbage dump where it was accidentally consigned along with the common garbage in the area last week. It transpired that the money bundles had accidentally been dumped with the rest of the rubbish more..

May 5 (AFP) A Sri Lankan workers adjusts the framework of a lantern at his temporary shop built ahead of the Vesak Day in Colombo, 05 May 2006. Sri Lanka celebrates Vesak on the full moon of May, this year on 12 May, more..

May 5 (LNP) Denying recent media reports that British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw phoned Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera shortly after the government ordered attacks on LTTE-held Muttur east, the British High Commission spokesperson John Culley Thursday issued the following statement: `I am writing about the article `To Geneva through London and Bombs`, more..

May 5 (SAMN) Three veteran cinematographers, Tissa Abeysekara, Dharmasena Pathiraja and Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, vehemently criticised the National Film Corporation and the Cultural Affairs Minister Laxman Yapa Abeywardena on thursday for interrupting the public screening of ‘Aksharaya,’ (A Letter of Fire), the latest film by award winning director Asoka Handagama. more..

May 5 (SAMN) Colombo mayoral candidate Vasudeva Nanayakkara on thursday accused JVP affiliated student groups of attacking rival groups on university campuses.Nanayakkara, expressing disapproval of their actions, said JVP led students had attacked a group of students at the Peradeniya University in the early hours of Tuesday. more..

May 5 (SAMN) The United States Embassy in Sri Lanka on thursday cautioned Sri Lankans against agencies offering visas to the US. The only legitimate means of obtaining a visa to visit or work in the US is by making an application to the Visa Section of the embassy. more..

May 5 (DN) The Defence Ministry said yesterday certain malicious reports in the media has sought to create mischief relating to the Sri Lankan Government's defence relations with its friendly countries which is vital to the country's national security. more..

May 5 (LBO) More than 50 senior executives of Chinese firms are participating in a business forum in Colombo, as commercial ties between the two countries continue to strengthen. The two day China-Sri Lanka CEO Summit, to be held on May 08th and 09th has been organized with the Asian Capital Forum, a CEO club and conference organizer. more..

May 5 (BBC) Japan's peace envoy to Sri Lanka is to travel there on Saturday for talks with the president, senior officials and Tamil Tiger rebels. Yasushi Akashi's visit comes amid increased violence in Sri Lanka. In the latest incidents, officials say nine people have been killed in two separate clashes in the northern towns of Jaffna and Vavuniya. more..

May 5 (Reuters) Renewed violence in Sri Lanka could push up inflation and interest rates while hitting economic growth, analysts say, and any return to bombings in the capital could prompt serious economic hardship if foreign investors flee. A suicide attack in Colombo's army headquarters and government air strikes on Tamil Tiger targets more..

May 5 (Reuters) Stock ended slightly up on Friday on foreign buying despite uncertainty over the island's peace process and new violence in the north and east, while the rupee currency was little changed. The Colombo All Share index rose 0.50 percent to 2,285.86 points. Turnover was less than the recent daily averages at 153 million rupees ($1.48 million). more..

May 5 (Reuters) First there was the venue argument, then the helicopter, ferry and seaplane disputes. Now, Sri Lanka's peace process is deadlocked over road transport arrangements and, with more than 200 dead in the last month and new attacks by air, sea and land on Friday, diplomats say the real issues are just being ignored. more..

May 5 (AP) Sri Lankan police officers stand guard on a street following a claymore explosion in Vavuniya, May 5, following twin explosions and shooting on Thursday, which killed two neighborhood guards and wounded 14. more..