Nov 3 (HT) SP Tamilselvan, the Head of the LTTE's political wing, who was killed in Kilinochchi on Friday in an air raid conducted by the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF), was a political moderate, LTTE watchers say. "Though he had been a military man for very many years since joining the LTTE in 1984, Tamilselvan could be considered a political moderate in the context of the LTTE's overall militant orientation," a source who had interacted with him closely told Hindustan Times. more..

Nov 3 (GDI) The Government has already provided 45,000 employment opportunities for the unemployed graduates and another 17,667 graduates will be recruited to Government service by March 2008,” Minister of State Revenue and Finance, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, said at a media briefing held in Colombo today (02) to clarify the issues raised yesterday (01) when a group of graduates conducted a protest march and demonstration in Colombo demanding immediate jobs. more..

Nov 3 (IANS) Sri Lanka's dramatic killing of S.P. Thamilchelvan, who many diplomats saw as the 'friendly face' of the Tamil Tigers, is a huge blow to the rebels and is bound to cause more bloodshed in the island. Although he joined the LTTE as a fighter while in his teens, it was his growing importance as a negotiator in peace talks that fetched Thamilchelvan a larger than life image. Western diplomats and Indian officials who spoke to IANS warned that his death could complicate an already complex situation in Sri Lanka, more..

Nov 3 (TN) Sri Lanka’s largest Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Friday expressed its shock at the killing in a government airstrike of Mr S. P. Thamilchelvan the LTTE’s Chief Negotiator and head of its Political Wing and five other LTTE officials. The TNA said the targeted killing of the LTTE’s Chief Negotiator underlined President Mahinda Rajapakse’s insincerity towards a negotiated solution, the TNA also said. more..

Nov 3 (AFP) The political head of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels who was killed in an air strike on Friday was the guerrillas' public face for scores of visiting dignitaries and media personnel. S. P. Thamilselvan, 40, known as the "Smiling Tiger" operated out of the LTTE political capital of Kilinochchi in the island's north. Nursing a war wound, he walked with a stick and was also the group's chief peace negotiator. more..

Nov 3 (TC) S. Cheeran, Secretary-General at the headquarters of the LTTE, has announced the death of S. P. Thamilchelvan, the head of the Political Wing of the LTTE and five others in a decapitation air strike by the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) on the residential complex of the members of the political wing at Kilinochi at 6 AM on the morning of November 2, 2007. The news of their death in an air strike was uploaded in the web site of the LTTE (www.tamilnet.com) at 1 PM Indian time. more..

Nov 3 (BBC) SP Thamilselvan - who died in a Sri Lankan air force raid on Friday morning - is the most senior Tamil Tiger leader to have been killed in recent years. The death of their media-savvy political wing leader at the age of 40 means the rebels have lost an experienced and suave political negotiator. For many years SP Thamilselvan was the public face of the LTTE. Both the Tigers and the military have been accused of gross human rights abuses throughout Sri Lanka's long-running civil war. more..

Nov 3 (HT) P Nadesan, the chief of the LTTE's police, has been appointed head of the political wing also, following the killing of SP.Tamilselvan in an air raid early on Friday. A communiqué from the militant group's military spokesman, Rasaiah Marshall, said that Nadesan would head both the police and the political wings. Nadesan, who raised the LTTE's police force to maintain law and order in the areas controlled by the LTTE in North and East Sri Lanka, was earlier in the Sri Lankan police. more..

Nov 3 (AP) Sri Lanka is sending home 108 of its soldiers in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti after a preliminary investigation found that they paid for prostitutes, including some that might be underage, the United Nations said Friday. U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said the peacekeeping mission "received allegations of incidents of sexual exploitation and abuse by members" of the Sri Lankan battalion stationed in a number of locations in Haiti. more..

Nov 3 (Hindu) The Air Force on Friday said it carried two raids targeting the “gathering of LTTE leaders” and a base of the suicide squad also known as Black Tigers. A brief statement by the LTTE however made reference only to the air raid in which S.P. Thamilchelvan and five others were killed. “With deep sorrow we announce to the people of Tamil Eelam, the Tamil people living all over the world and the international community that at 6.00am today, Friday 2nd November 2007, Head of our organisation’s Political Division, Brig. S P Thamilselvan was killed by the Sri Lankan Air Force aerial bombing. more..

Nov 3 (AT) A 100 years after the British enacted animal welfare laws (The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance No.13 of 1907), a new draft legislation to protect animal rights made its way to the Parliament today (Nov.2) in the form of a private member's motion, largely due to the reluctance of the two major political parties to spearhead such a move. Their reluctance is attributed to the low priority extended to animals in Sri Lanka’s political agenda. more..

Nov 3 (AT) “With regard to investigation and prosecution, the Government has actively engaged with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in seeking technical advice and support in order to re-invigorate and strengthen capacities of our local institutional framework for the better protection of the human rights of all Sri Lankans. more..

Nov 3 (AFP) Colonel Karuna, the leader of a breakaway faction of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers rebel group, has been arrested in Britain and is being held in immigration detention, the interior ministry said Friday. Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, better known as Colonel Karuna, was arrested in an operation carried out by Britain's immigration authority and the London police, the Home Office said. more..

Nov 3 (TC) Poor governance and shallow visionary thinking of the elected governments leadership are the main causes for Sri Lanka to struggle thus far. Even though the conflict appears to be the greatest obstacle for Sri Lanka to achieve its full potential, it is not the conflict it is only the consequences of poor governance bigoted vision. more..

Nov 3 (GT) Sri Lanka is keen to offer professional consultancy services to Qatar’s construction and related sectors to enhance bilateral trade relations. To start with, Sri Lanka’s Chamber of Construction and Industry (CCI) is planning to set up an office within the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry for which talks are now underway. more..

Nov 3 (wsws) At the last minute, an alliance of five teacher unions in Sri Lanka called off a two-day strike by public school teachers scheduled for Monday and Tuesday this week. Three of the unions openly accepted the government’s worthless promise to resolve the pay dispute by the end of the year. The other two unions quickly fell into line, declaring that it was impossible to continue the campaign. more..

Nov 3 (CI) The Sri Lankans' Test preparations suffered another severe wobble when their top order collapsed for the second time in the tour match against Queensland. After folding to 5 for 45 in the first innings, the visitors were in more trouble at 4 for 55 as they tried to overhaul the 85-run deficit created by Andy Bichel's muscular century. Ashley Noffke continued his fine match when he raced through the openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu more..

Nov 3 (ISL) The killing of LTTE political head S P Thamilchelvan by the Sri Lankan air force is being disputed within the wider Tamil circles. I have been contacted by some concerned individuals and they say the Sri Lankan government has taken advantage of the LTTE claim that Thamilchelvan was killed in an air attack. Both parties have not displayed any serious evidence on the attack and the LTTE in particular had not allowed any independent verification of the news. more..

Nov 3 (LBO) Sri Lanka's clothing industry has revised its five-year targets, trimming forecasts of a 12 percent growth as it re-positions itself as an ethical producer in the global market, officials said. The new target looks at a modest three to five percent annual growth, focusing on intimates, casualwear and woven pants which brings in over half of the industry's export revenues. more..

Nov 3 (FRI) Philip Gunawardhane the Agriculture Minister of the 1956 MEP government introduced the Paddy Lands Act of 1958 to restore the rights of tens of thousands of tenant farmers throughout the island who cultivated the paddy fields of the land owning class. The paddy fields belonged to the rich especially, the absentee land lords who lived in towns. The tenants who tilled the land for generations did not have any hold or right on the land. more..

Nov 3 (FRI) Thamil poet and socially conscious scholar hailing from the eastern region of the country had not been duly recognised by academics and others from different regions. His name was A. Periyathambipillai. He was widely known as ‘Pulavarmani’, an appellation given to him for his scholarship. A native of Mattakalppu - Sivalingam Sivanirthananda, an assistant director of education has compiled his dissertation on Pulavarmani A. Periyathambipillai as a researched book. more..

Nov 3 (LD) "War brings both victory and defeat. The Anurdhapura attack may have been a relief for the Tamil people. The killing of Thamilselvan may have been good news for the war-minded people in the south. Exalting over war triumphs at a time many people are killed by war is not the responsibility of a developed and civilized society," says United Socialist Party (USP) Leader Sirithunga Jaysuriya. more..

Nov 3 (ISL) That single name above, signifies a great deal for the Tamil nation of Eelam. It denotes a gentle; calm; unassuming man who was always smiling. Tamilchelvan may be gone but his smile will always remain with us Tamilchelvan may be gone but his smile will always remain with us. Tamilchelvan died a victim to the bombs that the Sinhalas have taken to ‘raining’ on civilian targets. more..

Nov 3 (AT) This writer, who is at the other end of the world, was somewhat amused when he saw the well read Internet Daily France 24 – International News that quoted the most saddened Jehan Perera of Sri Lanka’s National Peace Council about the ‘untimely’ demise of his country’s separatist Tamil Tiger spokesman S. Paramu Tamilselvan. Here is what Jehan Perera told Reuters carried in France 24 in its November 02 Online Edition: more..

Nov 3 (RN) Sri Lanka and Nepal will head to the final of the Surya Nepal 9th SAARC Golf Championship. Srilanka's Mithun Parera shot another consistent round of 70 to secure the top position going into the final match play. Srilanka had a total of 6 under par after two rounds. Nepal came stronger today, Rabi Khadka Shot a superb 3 under par, best of the day, which helped Nepal to outplay Pakistan and come into the final. Only top two teams qualify for the finals. more..

Nov 3 (GDI) Paying a tribute to the success of the Sri Lanka Military Forces President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that he is grateful to them profoundly and consider them as the most disciplined Force in the world. President Rajapaksa made this assertion at Seenimodera in Tangalle in handing over the Rana Setha Rana Viru Housing Complex consisting of 88 housing units to families of disabled Rana Viru (War Heroes) who had sacrificed their lives and limbs to protect the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of their Motherland. more..

Nov 3 (GDI) The International Labour Organization (ILO) Forum on Decent Work for a fair Globalisation held in Lisbon Portugal for 31st October to 2nd November had gathered some 300 representatives of the ILO tripartite social partners –governments, workers and employers – as well as representatives of parliaments, civil society and government and opinion leaders to discuss the current economic situation and the promotion of decent work as a key to a fairer globalization. more..

Nov 3 (GDI) The National Grow More Food Campaign launched by President Mahinda Rajapaksa has taken rapid strides through the Ministry of Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services. Minister Maithripala Sirisena made this comment at a seminar organized to educate the officials on the Government’s National Drive ‘Lets Sow and Let’s Grow’ in Colombo yesterday (02). This food drive is a three year plan launched by the Government and more..

Nov 3 (LP) Sri Lanka Telecom, the nation’s communication powerhouse, partnered with the National Olympic Academy (NOA) to better train sports leaders and facilitate more effective operations of the sports movement. SLT said its sponsorship shows its commitment to develop and strengthen relationships through sport with the participation of sportsmen and women in and around the country. more..

Nov 3 (PISL) PLOTE Leader Dharmalingham Siddharthan yesterday said that LTTE cadres, in military fatigues of the security forces, had attacked his members. On Wednesday they ambushed some of his members who were making funeral arrangements for the two senior cadres killed by the LTTE the previous day. The LTTE cadres in Army uniform exploded a claymore mine and directed small arms fire at Kalvettai in Marudankulam Vavuniya. more..

Nov 3 (LD) The UNP calls for a sensible vision for the future, without exalting over the killing of LTTE Political Wing Leader S.P. Thamilselvan. However, the Air Force should be congratulated for its victory in claiming the top Tiger leader, UNP spokesman Lakshman Kiriella told the media. The loss of Thamilselvan will be deeply felt by the LTTE's Political Wing, in a manner similar to the vacuum created after the death of its theoretician Anton Balasingham nearly a year ago, Kiriella said. more..

Nov 3 (LNP) The terms and conditions of the Sri Lankan Airlines agreement with Emirates Airlines, due to be renewed next March, would be to Sri Lanka`s advantage. The present agreement with Emirates signed during President Chandrika Kumaratunga`s government is heavily tilted in favour of Emirates, Deputy Minister of Aviation Sarath Kumara Gunaratne told The Island yesterday. more..

Nov 3 (LNP) The government is blowing hot and cold about censorship on military news. It has cancelled an extraordinary gazette notification announcing censorship since either wiser counsel prevailed at last or it got cold feet. However, the problem is not yet over. That gazette has all the trappings of a trial balloon. It might make a comeback sooner or later. Such vacillation is typical of all SLFP-led governments which signal left and turn right and vice versa. more..

Nov 3 (SAMN) The second submission by the Law and Society Trust (LST) to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Serious Human Rights Violations, states that five persons are either killed or disappear each day in Sri Lanka. “14 humanitarian and religious leaders have been killed and nine humanitarian workers have disappeared between January 1 and August 31, 2007. Three media personnel have been killed and five media personnel have disappeared,” more..

Nov 3 (SAMN) The Socialist Alliance, a key ally of the government requested President Mahinda Rajapaksa to nationalse privatised organisations such as the SriLankan Airlines and the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation once again. Alliance General Secretary Raja Kollure outlined the party’s proposals for the 2007 budget while requesting the government to increase state entrepreneurship by acquiring the ventures which were sold to the private sector at a nominal rate. more..

Nov 3 (SAMN) Under the advice of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, moves are underway to offer permanent jobs in the Government service to 17,767 graduates including all graduates who have undergone training under the Tharuna Aruna Graduates Training third Programme, Deputy Minister of State Revenue and Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said Friday. Accordingly, the Government has taken steps to recruit 17,767 graduates including 2,088 Tharuna Aruna graduates to the Government service. more..

Nov 3 (SAMN) The Health Ministry plans to recruit 10,000 candidates for nurses’ training from among those who pass the 2007 GCE A/L science stream, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said. He said vacancies to the 31,000 strong nurses’ cadre would be filled by the end of next year. “Currently the nurses’ cadre has some 15,000 nurses in service and 4,000 under training at 19 nurses’ training schools,” the Health Minister said. more..

Nov 3 (DN) The Government will import 5,000 MT of wheat flour initially from China stipulating the lowest selling price at Rs.46 per kilo to be distributed through the Sathosa and Cooperatives to provide relief to consumers in spite of the price hike by the Prima Ceylon Ltd. A spokesman for the Trade, Marketing Development, Co-operatives and Consumer Services told the Daily News that the habitual wheat flour consumers especially the urban lower income group and the estate workers have been badly affected with this unfair price increase. more..

Nov 3 (DN) Two comets, though not so magnificent, are visible this week in the night sky, the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technology said yesterday. The most brightest one - Comet Holmes - is a periodic comet which orbits around the sun once in every 6.88 years. Though it faded in September due to a sudden outburst on October 24, it has now become bright. To naked eye observers it looks like a fuzzy ball of light, or a nova. more..

Nov 3 (DM) Despite the growing dissension with the government in the national politics the UNP yesterday voted with the ruling party to pass the budget of the North Western Provincial council by a majority of 16 votes. Over 24 members of the council including UNP and UPFA voted for the budget while the eight members of the JVP voted against it. UNP voted with the ruling party to pass the budget in Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces recently. more..

Nov 3 (DM) Political parties expressed varying comments on the killing of LTTE political head S.P. Thamilselvan. While the main opposition UNP stressed on the need to look at the situation realistically the JVP called it a victory for the entire Sri Lankan people. The JVP said this was a major victory for all Sri Lankans and that the Tamil people should understand the situation properly without giving into LTTE terrorism. more..

Nov 3 (CI) Australia and Sri Lanka's two-Test series will be fought for a trophy named after Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. Cricket Australia accepted Sri Lanka Cricket's suggestion that the winner of the contest, which begins in Brisbane on Thursday, should be awarded the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy to commemorate 25 years of Test cricket between the two sides. The trophy is a fitting tribute for two of the world's best spin bowlers. more..

Nov 3 (BBC) The Tamil Tigers have vowed revenge after the man believed to be their number two was killed in a Sri Lankan air force raid. The military said SP Thamilselvan was at a meeting with other leaders in a camp when it was targeted on Friday. There are fears the killing could lead to an escalation of the war with the rebels, who want an independent state for the Tamil minority. Sri Lanka's government has described the killing as a major success. more..

Nov 3 (PTI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has expressed grief over the death of LTTE's Political wing secretary Thamilselvan in an air strike by the Sri Lankan Airforce on Friday. "You had the strength of meeting the opposition with a smiling face.You had the strength of the Himalayas at a very young age and was moulded by Balasingam (LTTE's late political ideologue). Selva where have you gone," he said in a poem penned in memory of Thamilselvan. more..

Nov 3 (Xinhua) Two rebels have been killed in a confrontation between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Sri Lanka, the military said Saturday. The Media Centre for National Security said in a statement that the two women members of the LTTE were killed in a battle triggered off by the rebels at Navathkulam in the northern district of Vanuniya around 2:30 p.m. Friday. more..

Nov 3 (PTI) Tamil Tigers' elusive supreme V Prabhakaran paid respects to the slain head of his outfit's political wing S P Thamilselvan, who was killed along with five other rebel leaders in a raid by Sri Lankan Air Force, an LTTE spokesman said on Saturday. Prabhakaran went to the house of Thamilselvan on Friday evening and laid garlands on his remains, hours after the LTTE's public face was killed in the air raid on a gathering of the outfit's high-profile leaders in the rebel-dominated Kilinochchi in northern Sri Lanka. more..

Nov 3 (PTI) LTTE's breakaway faction leader Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan, better known as Karuna, is likely to be deported to Sri Lanka following his arrest in London for allegedly travelling on a forged passport. "Karuna, who was booked by the London police for travelling under a forged passport could be deported to Sri Lanka," Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry sources said on Saturday. more..

Nov 3 (LNP) President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday asserted that Sri Lanka`s Armed Forces are the most disciplined Forces in the world. President Rajapaksa made this assertion when he handed over the Rana Setha Rana Viru Housing Complex consisting of 88 housing units to families of disabled Rana Viru (War Heroes) who had sacrificed their lives and limbs to protect the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of their Motherland at Seenimodera in Tangalle. more..

Nov 3 (Reuters) More than 100 Sri Lankan U.N. peacekeepers accused of sexual exploitation and abuse in Haiti could face hard labour if found guilty, the military said on Saturday, but said an inquiry was needed first. U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said on Friday 108 of Sri Lanka's 950 soldiers in Haiti were being sent home on disciplinary grounds over allegations of "transactional sex". She said there were also allegations involving underage girls. more..

Nov 3 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's military beefed up security in the capital Colombo on Saturday amid fears Tamil Tiger rebels mourning their political wing leader, slain in a air raid a day earlier, will retaliate. The Tigers announced three days of mourning for S.P. Thamilselvan, the international face and main interlocutor of the separatist group, whose killing analysts say is a major setback for hopes of resuming peace talks any time soon. more..