Nov 7 (AP) Villagers found the bodies of three civilians, apparently shot and then dumped, in eastern Sri Lanka Tuesday, police said, while deadly clashes between the military and Tamil rebels further stoked fears of a return to all-out war. The bodies of fishermen Yogarasa Dayanandan and Mohammad Abdul Mansoor were found by villagers in government-controlled Kanniya in Trincomalee district, more..

Nov 7 (AFP) Five civilians were wounded after Tamil rebels and troops in eastern Sri Lanka traded mortar fire, the defence ministry claimed and police found three bullet-riddled bodies in the region. Mortars fell near a temple, church and a railway station in the Morakotanchenai village and wounded at least five civilians, the ministry said on Tuesday. more..

Nov 7 (HT) Prime Minister, Ratnasiri Wickramanayake, told parliament on Tuesday, that the controversial issue of the merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces to constitute a single Tamil-majority North-Eastern Province would have to be decided "by the people" through a referendum. The prime minister said that there were two options open to the government following the Supreme Court's judgement that the merger effected in 1987-88 had been "illegal": more..

Nov 7 (CI) Malinda Warnapura and Kaushal Silva staged an improbable comeback through a 137-run seventh-wicket stand to help Sri Lanka A beat South Zone by three wickets in their final Duleep Trophy match played at Kolkata. The victory was enough for the visitors to make it to the finals where they will meet North Zone, who qualified from the other group. more..

Nov 7 (AFP) Sri Lanka announced an internationally-monitored investigation into charges that troops and Tamil Tiger rebels killed hundreds of civilians. Among the high-profile cases to be immediately probed are the massacre of 17 aid workers employed by a French charity, the killing of 68 bus passengers and the slaying of foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar last year. more..

Nov 7 (AP) Villagers found the bodies of three civilians, apparently shot and then dumped, in eastern Sri Lanka on Tuesday, police said, while deadly clashes between the military and Tamil rebels further stoked fears of a return to all-out war. Also on Tuesday, Sri Lanka's Parliament overwhelmingly voted to extend an emergency law to deal with the surge in violence. more..

Nov 8 (BBC) Six people were injured in a firing incident inside the Baduriya - Mosque office at Kathankudy in Batticaloa on Tuesday night. The gunmen had fled away in a van after the shooting, police said. An armed group entered the office building which is situated opposite the mosque and destroyed equipments by shooting, Moulavi Abdul Majik of the All Ceylon Islamic Council said. more..

Nov 8 (AT) Mediation in the Sri Lankan conflict goes back to decades. Intervention of the foreign countries came to the surface as the Tamil and Sinhalese politicians could not find a common ground to settle the dispute. It was the 1983 riots that enabled the Tamil people to internationalize their conflict in order to win the sympathy of the international community. more..

Nov 8 (AT) The Australian High Commissioner’s office in Sri Lanka says contrary to recent newspaper reports, there have NOT been any changes made for Sri Lankans applying for the Australian Government’s Humanitarian Programme, including under the in-country Special Humanitarian Program. Australia’s Humanitarian Programme is a global, non-discriminatory programme. more..

Nov 8 (AT) The News Update of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Colombo Office indicated that the 23rd International Food and Beverage exhibition, organized by Japan Management Association will be held at Makuhari Messe (Nippon Convention Centre) in Japan from March 13 to 16, 2007. FOODEX JAPAN is the Asia’s biggest and the leading Food and Beverage trade fair held annually since 1979. more..

Nov 8 (FMM) The commander of Army 512 Brigade in Jaffna summoned the editors of three Jaffna dailies on 6th November 2006 and warned them against publishing any news critical of the military in Jaffna, reliable sources informed the Free Media Movement (FMM) today. The three dailies are Uthayan, Walampuri, and Yal Thinankkural. more..

Nov 8 (ML) While the Supreme Court decision Monday invalidating the expulsion of UNP Member and Government Defence Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella was a foregone conclusion and came as no surprise, it had its own political ramifications. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sarath Silva, Nihal Jayasinghe and N.E. Dissanayake unanimously ruled the expulsion of the Minister from the UNP invalid and that he had not ceased to be a member of the UNP. more..

Nov 8 (ML) The government has decided not to accept the six agreements arrived at with the LTTE in previous rounds of talks held between 2002 and 2004 as well as the agreements reached at Geneva 1 early this year. Government Defence Spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella said that the government was not prepared to accept the agreements arrived at earlier and said that it would come up with a new approach to resolve the ethnic conflict. more..

Nov 8 (ML) The announcement of the Presidential Commission on Human Rights Violations with an International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) is the government’s response to local and international criticism regarding the state of human rights protection in the country throughout 2006 in particular. more..

Nov 8 (ML) Back room negotiations were underway in the UNP yesterday with two compromise proposals under consideration by the warring parties to avert a clash at today’s working committee meeting. UNP’s outgoing Chairman Malik Samarawickrama and Deputy Chairman D.M.Swaminathan met with Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya who is heading the ginger group opposed to the appointment of Kandy District MP, Tissa Attanayake yesterday afternoon to thrash out a compromise settlement. more..

Nov 8 (AT) Prime Minister, Ratnasiri Wickramanayake, told parliament that the issue of the merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces to constitute a single Tamil-majority North-Eastern Province would have to be decided "by the people" through a referendum. In the meantime the TNA, charged Tuesday that it was the duty of President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government to uphold the merger as it constituted a recognition of Tamil grievances. more..

Nov 8 (PISL) Sri Lanka’s Ambassador Bernard Goonetilleke says international pressure on the need to hold talks with the LTTE, a view expressed by the US government, is contradictory to the US stand on terrorism, the Washington Times reported. more..

Nov 8 (PISL) The problems of the Tamil speaking people and those of the Tiger leadership under no circumstance have been the same. They are far wide apart, two pronged and diverse, EPDP Secretary General and Social Services and Social Welfare Minister Douglas Devananda said yesterday. more..

Nov 8 (PISL) The Government launched the Trincomalee Divisional Livelihood Development Plan (DLDP) to uplift living conditions of the tsunami-affected in Kuchchaveli, Muttur, Eachchilampattai, Kinniya and Town and Graverts of the Trincomalee District. more..

Nov 8 (AFP) C. Sathishkumar was one of thousands of Sri Lankan youngsters who invested in an Internet promotion to evaluate products online in return for quick cash — and like the others, he lost all his money. Police said this week that the scam, allegedly run by two Indians from afirm named Seagull Softwares, netted more than five million dollars in the past year, making it the biggest Internet fraud case in the country’s history. more..

Nov 8 (wsws) In a major ruling on October 16, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva declared invalid the merger of the North and East provinces. The decision is a blow to the internationally-sponsored peace process because the merger of the provinces, which Tamil nationalists claim as their “traditional homeland,” has long been considered the basis for a political settlement of the country’s civil war. more..

Nov 8 (TN) Nineteen of the twenty two Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Tuesday met with Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), at the latter's request and held discussions on the urgency of bringing normalcy in the North East, legalising the merger of the two provinces, and the opening of the land route A9 to Jaffna peninsula, political sources in Colombo said. more..

Nov 8 (TN) Rear Admiral (Retd) Mohan Wijeyawickrema, Governor of the North East Province (NEP), rejected Tuesday an appeal made by government employees including teachers from the LTTE held areas, now trapped in the Jaffna peninsula with the closure of A9 route since August 11, to let them stay in the peninsula due to unsafe conditions in their places of work, said civil sources from Jaffna. more..

Nov 8 (ISL) The often-used terms like Tamil Hindu and Sinhala Buddhist are no more in currency. They disappeared long ago even though it seems to stay like a cancer in some people’s mind. The problem today is terrorism and the victims are Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims. The perpetrators are fascists with a smuggling heritage that has nothing to do with the Tamils. They only hijacked the Tamil cause to take centre stage to set up a fascist state. more..

Nov 8 (LBO) Sri Lankan share prices closed at a lifetime high on Wednesday, boosted by strategic buying, while the rupee closed flat against the U.S. dollar, dealers said. Colombo's All Share Price Index gained 0.98 percent or 24.92 points to hit a high of 2,558.13, erasing the previous all time high record of 2,551.4 set on Nov. 16, 2005. more..

Nov 8 (LBO) Sri Lanka is lobbying for more investment in infrastructure like roads and building projects, but is facing a shortage of skilled labour over the next few years to do the job. A study carried out by the Department of Building Economics at the Moratuwa university forecasts a skilled labour requirement of over 150 million labour days (an eight hour working day) for building projects, from 2005 to 2008. more..

Nov 8 (DJ) The government expects the budget deficit to narrow to 5 percent of gross domestic product in 2007 from an estimated 9 percent this year due to higher tax collections and increased borrowings, the deputy finance minister said. Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said next year's budget will focus on rural development, incentives for small and medium scale industries, and large projects, more..

Nov 8 (AFP) A visa-on-arrival deal aimed at attracting tourists to Malaysia had allowed thousands of foreigners to overstay in the country, reports said Wednesday. Under a move introduced on September 1, Malaysia has allowed tourists from 24 countries to apply for a visa upon arrival, for a fee of 100 ringgit (27.56 dollars), as part of a campaign to promote 2007 as "Visit Malaysia Year". more..

Nov 8 (GDI) It was what the tigers wanted; to cause damages to the innocent Tamil civilians by provoking the Army to retaliate for the tiger's sporadic and indiscriminate shelling at the Security Force's detachments at Kadjuwatte and Mankerni in Baticaloa and MaavilAru and Mahindapura in Trincomalee. more..

Nov 8 (GDI) The Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka says intelligence and knowledge is an essential weapon to defeat the drugs smuggling and profiteering, which usually combined with local and international terrorism. He stated this when participated at the award ceremony of the Diploma Course Control at the University of Colombo. more..

Nov 8 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa pointed out that Sri Lanka is a nation that denounces all forms of communalism. He emphasized that the government would never tolerate communalism. “We must cast aside race, religion and caste differences and be together as one united nation," he said. "We dearly love our Motherland and respect our various communities, but we are in no way racist. We denounce all forms of communalism." more..

Nov 8 (GDI) Ceremonial Inauguration of the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences and Technology was held, today at the Auditorium- Humanities and Social Sciences. The inauguration was attended by Mr. Jerker Thunberg the ambassador for Sweden in Sri Lanka as the Chief Guest. more..

Nov 8 (GDI) The LTTE launched a mortar attack at civilian places at Morakotanchenai village in Batticaloa yesterday. Five civilians sustained injuries in the attack. Injured civilians were rushed to the Batticaloa hospital, military sources said. Military Spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe stated to the government official website this morning that mortars were directed at a place near the Morakotanchenai Hindu temple, church and Devapura railway station. more..

Nov 8 (GDI) A senior UN representative, who arrived in Sri Lanka on Monday, is due to meet representatives of `Colonel` Karuna as part of an ongoing initiative to dissuade the group from recruiting child soldiers. Karuna quit the LTTE in March 2004. Political and military sources said that the UN move would not be to the liking of the LTTE which steadfastly opposed international agencies from having contact with the breakaway faction. more..

Nov 8 (LNP) Security forces have stepped up their red alert in the city following information that the LTTE, having failed in their bid to enter Colombo in the recent past, could use an ambulance with the siren on or even come dressed as a newly married couple in a decorated limousine. Following this information orders have gone out to all check points not to spare ambulances, couples on honeymoon and even hearses. more..

Nov 8 (LNP) Two State Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC) employees have been interdicted for using the wrong formula in preparing a drug for hypertension. The timely detection of the grave mistake is said to have helped avert disaster. The SPC is a respected institution which has stood the poor in good stead and it ought to be extremely careful to avoid such lapses, more..

Nov 8 (SAMN) Three weeks after a landmark court verdict separating the Nothern and Eastern provinces, the government failed to clearly articulate its position Tuesday on the de-merger - prompting the TNA and the SLMC to call for an urgent party leaders’ meeting to decide on the matter. Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake told Parliament steps were being taken to establish the administrative structures in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. more..

Nov 8 (SAMN) Chief Government whip Jeyaraj Fernandupulle said in parliament Tuesday that it was not possible to open the A - 9 as it will help the LTTE to tax those who pass through their checkpoints. Minister Fernandopulle made this point when UNP MP Vajira Abewardene called on the government to open the A -9 high-way unconditionally during the emergency debate in House yesterday. more..

Nov 8 (SAMN) The latest corruption perceptions index launched by Transparency International (TI) shows a steady increase in public sector corruption in Sri Lanka this year as compared to the last two years. On a scale from zero to ten, with zero indicating high levels of perceived corruption and ten indicating low levels of perceived corruption Sri Lanka has been slapped with 3.1 for this year in contrast to 3.2 last year and 3.5 the previous year. more..

Nov 8 (SAMN) The JHU Tuesday in Parliament requested Education Minister Susil Premajayanth to take action against the principal of St. Lucia’s Navodya School. JHU Parliamentary Group Leader Ven Athureliye Ratana Thera who made a special statement in Parliament said the said principal Jayantha Wickremesinghe who happens to be a Christian clergyman had been accused of working against religious harmony. more..

Nov 8 (SAMN) The motion for the extension of the motion was taken up for debate yesterday in the Sri lanka’s Parliament. The extension for another one month was passed by a majority of 81 votes while 21 voted against the extension. Along with the Government, UNP, JVP CWC and UPF in favor of the extension of the Emergency Regulations. more..

Nov 8 (DN) The Sri Lanka Tourist Board would invest Rs. 380 million to develop the Kalpitiya lagoon as a major upmarket destination said the Minister of Tourism Anura Bandaranaike. Minister Bandaranaike said the ground breaking ceremony for the event would be held on January 1, 2007, and under the first phase infrastructure facilities would be provided. more..

Nov 8 (BBC) Villagers in eastern Sri Lanka have found the bodies of three civilians, who were apparently shot and then dumped, police officials say. They say that the bodies of two fishermen and an unidentified man were found near the town of Trincomalee. The UN has given a cautious welcome to a government move to investigate rights abuses by the army and the rebels. more..

Nov 8 (HT) The pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has said that the Sri Lankan Supreme Court's judgement against the merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces to form a single Tamil-speaking province is a violation of both domestic and international law. more..

Nov 8 (Hindu) The Coast Guard came to the rescue of the crew of a Sri Lankan fishing boat, which developed an engine problem in Indian waters. It located the vessel, Rajesh II, after a distress message was received last Saturday. A maritime reconnaissance aircraft located the boat and a Coast Guard vessel sailed out immediately. more..

Nov 8 (SN) The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress queried in Parliament yesterday as to why the government restricted the mandate of the newly constituted Commission to inquire into human rights violations, to 15 incidents. Party Leader Rauff Hakeem asked Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake whether the killings of Muslims in Mutur in August and Pottuvil the following month, would also be probed into by the commission. more..

Nov 8 (SN) The LTTE last week said they need not beg the government to get back Sampur. LTTE Military Spokesperson I. Illanthirayan told The Morning Leader the LTTE did not bring up the issue of Sampur at the peace talks in Geneva, because they went for negotiations concentrating on the humanitarian issues. more..

Nov 8 (AP) Sri Lanka's anti-terrorist police commando unit has been asked to lend its expertise to a security panel advising organizers of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Representatives of Sri Lanka's Special Task Force have been invited to work with an international panel of experts providing guidelines to Beijing Olympic organizers in handling security for the Games, STF chief Nimal Lewke told the Associated Press. more..

Nov 8 (AP) At least 45 Tamils were killed and 125 wounded Wednesday when government forces bombarded a Tamil rebel-held region in northeastern Sri Lanka where Tamil civilians had taken refuge to escape fighting, a senior rebel official said. "It was a big attack and we have 45 dead bodies," Seevaratnam Puleedevan, who heads the rebels' Peace Secretariat, told The Associated Press by satellite phone. more..

Nov 8 (Reuters) Tamil Tiger rebels said 45 civilians were killed and 125 hurt on Wednesday when army artillery fire hit a camp for internally displaced, as renewed civil war deepens. The military said the Tigers had been firing at military camps in the restive east since early morning, wounding five soldiers, and that troops had retaliated with artillery and mortar bomb fire, but had no details of any civilian casualties. more..