Significant number of urban Tamils back Rajapksa's policy: Poll

Contrary to popular beliefs, a significant segment of Tamilians living in urban Sri Lanka has endorsed President Mahinda Rajapaksa's policy to deal with LTTE and maintain law and order, according to an opinion poll.

Twenty-one per cent of the non-upcountry Tamils and 42 per cent of the Muslim community, the main minority ethnic groups, are satisfied with the law and order situation in the island country, the opinion poll by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), an autonomous body, reveals.

Around 49.8 per cent Muslims and 20 per cent non-upcountry Tamils are also pleased with the way the government is fighting the battle against terror, it says.

The survey shows that the overwhelming majority of the Sri Lankan people are satisfied with the way the President is conducting the war.

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http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200712181862.htm

LTTE denies Prabhakaran was injured in air raid

Sri Lanka's LTTE on Monday denied reports that its leader V Prabhakaran sustained injuries during an air raid in rebel held areas of Kilinochchi last month.

"It is a lie. Nothing of that sort happened," an LTTE spokesman said, reacting to a newspaper report which said the rebel leader sustained minor injuries during a raid by Sri Lankan Air Force planes on November 28.

When asked if Prabhakaran was in good health, the spokesperson said "Yes".

The Nation Newspaper reported on Sunday that Prabhakaran was treated for minor injuries sustained during the air raid.

"Although the nature of the injuries is minor, he had been treated in an underground facility in a secret location in the Wanni by the LTTE's Thileepan Medical Unit, the official emergency care unit of the LTTE," the report said quoting sources.

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Rest_of_World/

Sri Lanka to have joint air exercises with India: Newspaper

Sri Lanka will take part in joint air exercises with India to gear up for the challenge from the LTTE's air force, a newspaper said here today quoting informed sources.

'Daily Mirror' said the issue came up during talks between Sri Lankan Defence Ministry officials and the Indian defence delegation which visited the country earlier this week.

When contacted, a senior official said no decision has been taken on the issue so far

Extracted from,
http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptis

Tamilnet.com unblocked

Pro LTTE web site http://www.tamilnet.com which has been blocked by all major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Sri Lanka since June 2007, is now once again freely accessible.

Users from Sri Lanka who were trying to view the site on the 17th of June were presented with server timeouts. It was initially suspected that the error was a technical fault with Tamilnet's hosting provider. However,later it was evident that Tamilnet was blocked on government orders. It is doubtful whether the ban had any effect as majority of the users seemed to have found a workaround to in the form of 3rd party proxy servers.

Tamilnet, which has been online since 1997, acts as a major propaganda machine of the the Tamil Tigers. Earlier, it was hosted in Norway but the site has now moved to the United Kingdom. UK based ISP "Rackspace Managed Hosting" acts as its current hosting provider.

Extracted from,
http://defencenet.blogspot.com/2007/12/tamilnetcom-unblocked.html

LTTE explodes a claymore mine targeting a train carrying hundreds of civilians - Kantale

LTTE terrorists triggered off a road side claymore mine targeting the night mail train which carrying hundreds of civilians in Kantale around 8.45 p.m today (December 18).

According to the available information explosion hit the engine of the train which was plying from Trincomalee to Colombo defence sources said .

Extracted from,
http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20071218_11

Karunanidhi directly supporting LTTE: Jaya

Accusing Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi of directly supporting the LTTE, AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa on Tuesday asked the Centre to take stern action against him for having ''facilitated the release of an LTTE supporter'' on bail.

Her charge comes at a time when Karunanidhi is visiting New Delhi to take part in the Chief Ministers Conference on Internal Security on December 20.

''On a tip-off from central agencies, one Vanniyarasu, belonging to ruling DMK's ally Viduthalai Chiruthaigal (VC), was arrested by police for allegedly supplying boats to the banned outfit,'' she said in a statement.

Within few hours of the news got spread, VC Chief Thol Tirumavalavan called on Karunanidhi and Vanniyarasu was released on bail on the same day, she claimed.

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http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=

Nearly 30,000 marooned in eastern Sri Lanka floods

Nearly 30,000 people in eastern Sri Lanka have been displaced by floods caused by incessant rains over the weekend, disaster relief officials said here Monday.

Most affected were people from the Ampara district where 22,339 people from 5,824 families were displaced, officials said.

In the Batticoloa district, about 1,500 families have been relocated to schools due to flooding, officials said, adding that most of them are those living in camps after being displaced by the conflict between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.

Some of the main motorways in the east are impassable while some paddy fields have gone under water, said the police.

Extracted from,
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/18/content_7269657.htm

Government expresses concern on UNICEF Rep's visit to Kilinochchi

Philippe Duamelle, the Country Representative of the United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF) was called in to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday to express concern over his recent visit to Kilinochchi and his meeting with LTTE leaders.

Foreign Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona emphasised that the UNICEF had not followed the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when diplomats and high ranking officials sought to visit the uncleared areas in the Northern Province.

These guidelines which have been issued to ensure the safety and security of the visiting officials, require them to obtain prior clearance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Foreign Secretary conveyed to the UNICEF Country Representative that non-compliance with these guidelines was unacceptable given the propensity of the LTTE to exploit such visits for propaganda purposes.

Duamelle who assumed duties as the Country Representative of UNICEF in Sri Lanka in September this year, stated that, unfortunately, he was not familiar with the Foreign Ministry's guidelines. But he said he had consulted the Ministry of Defence.

Read more,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/12/18/news03.asp

LTTE warned of possible ban by Prez

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has said a political package for ending the 25-year-old ethnic conflict in the island nation will be put forward soon even as he warned the LTTE of a ban if it continues with attacks in the country.

''One or two more attacks, then we have no option,'' he said when asked by reporters if the government will ban the Tamil rebel outfit.

''(We will) have to ban. There is a limit to our patience,'' he told foreign journalists last night during a Christmas eve get-together at his residence here.

The President said he was awaiting the recommendations of the All Party Representative Committee (APRC), comprising members of various political parties, for making the proposals regarding a solution to the Tamil issue.

Read more,
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id

Bank of Ceylon to expand India operations

Sri Lanka's largest bank the Bank of Ceylon (BoC) is planning to expand its India operations to attract more foreign investment to the country.

"The Bank of Ceylon is to diversify its operations in India and the UK to attract more foreign investment, especially for the capital markets in Sri Lanka," BoC Chairman Gamini Wickremasinghe has said.

Outlining new strategies of the bank Wickremasinghe said it will introduce new products and financial instruments for South Indian customers through its Chennai branch after fulfilling the conditions required by Indian authorities.

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_by_Industry/

Dilshan Recalled For Final Test Against England

All-rounder Tillakaratne Dilshan has been recalled to the Sri Lanka squad as they prepare for the third and final Test against England in Galle.

The 31-year-old was dropped in favour of Jehan Mubarak for the tour of Australia but he now returns with Mubarak missing out after disappointing in the first two Tests.

Dilshan is a veteran of 42 Tests and will boost a squad looking to consolidate a 1-0 series lead as Galle readies itself for its return to international cricket after being devastated by the tsunami of 2004.

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http://www.cricketworld.com/england_in_sri_lanka_2007/article/?aid=14159

Government wins Budget 2008 by majority of 47

The budget vote which generated much tension finally turned out to be an anti-climax with the Government securing a comfortable majority of 47.

The voting commenced today around 5.00p.m by name for and against the budget. There were 114 votes for the Budget and 67 against it. The JVP abstained from voting.

The UNP (Democratic Group), Jathika Hela Urumaya, Upcountry People's Front, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and the Ceylon Workers' Congress voted for the budget while the UNP (Ranil Group), Tamil National Alliance and the Western Province People's Front voted against it.

Earlier in the day, veteran politician Anura Bandaranaike crossed over to the opposition benches.

Subsequent to the vote, Minister D.M. Jayaratne said that the Government will defeat terrorism and develop the country:

"Today we have emerged victorious on the 2008 budget and we will not hesitate to defeat terrorism and to carry forward our development programme," Mr.Jayarathne told www.news.lk.

Although SLMC’s Rauff Hakeem stirred up controversy with his crossover on Wednesday, with the UNP claiming that others in the Government will break ranks at today's vote, the Government mustered a comfortable 114 votes, sufficient to secure a majority even if the JVP had voted against the budget.

Wijedasa Rajapaksa, who crossed over to the opposition but abstained from voting at the second reading, opted to do the same today as well.

Wimal Weerawansa, Propaganda Secretary of the JVP, addressing parliament said that his party was not ready to be anyone's catspaw and makes decisions in the best interest of the country and the people.

Meanwhile Chief Government Whip, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle told www.news.lk that it was the LTTE and no one else that was behind moves to defeat the budget. "It was obviously an attempt to reverse the victories achieved by the security forces in the Eastern Province,

Extracted from,
http://news.lk/index.php?option=com

LTTE event: Tamil stars face music

A bevy of South Indian film personalities might be heading for controversy after their names were included in a fund-raiser in London that Sri Lankan reports allege is in aid of Tamil Tigers. An article carried by the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry website has alleged that the organiser of the event, White Pigeon, is an LTTE front organization.

In an interview earlier this year to the Washington Post Radio, the Sri Lankan Ambassador in Washington had alleged that White Pigeon was another avatar of a psuedo Tamil charity called Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), which has since been closed.

The article also points out that White Pigeon's founder and present chairman is Dr N Sathiyamoorthy, who was chairman of TRO at the time Charity Commission's regulatory arm ordered its closure. White Pigeon, however, describes itself as a charity focusing on landmine victims in Tamil-dominated north and east Sri Lanka.

The event is scheduled to take place at Alexandra Palace in London in January. The star line-up, going by the advance publicity to the event, includes Sathyaraj, Sibi Sathyaraj, Bhavana, national-award winning singer Chitra, Jeeva, Madhumita and singer Karthick.

Read more,
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE920071213215702&Page=9&Headline=%91

Budget Vote, Patriotism, Lal Kanthas & Wimal Weerawanshas

The second budget vote will be taken on the 14th December. Some predicts it will be the doomsday for the Government. And Mr. Lal Kantha of the JVP had been reported by the media to have given assurance to his audience that the Government will be stopped for good.

Lal Kantha and the likes in the JVP could not have chosen a better time to act the goat and be vociferous in uniting with the opportunistic, anti-national forces to defeat the Government, citing bogus economic negatives of the budget and “Shylock type” worker union demands on which their sole survival is totally dependant.

The battle against the brutal LTTE terrorism has reached new heights. The SL armed forces are being deftly lead by veteran leaders in the battlefront and, like never before in the 25-year-old LTTE menace, the present Government has given the thorough political backing to the army to plan and destroy Velupillai Pirapaharan’s psychopathic Eelam dream.

Pirapaharan is left with no option than to shut all his masquerades on surface and go subterranean in the Wanni jungles pleading with the international community. He is looking towards the heaven for some solace to save his pathetic head.

Read more,
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items07/131207-6.html