defence preparedness reviewed in India

With Sri Lanka saying that LTTE's air power was a threat to India's nuclear installations, the country's (India) defence preparedness was reviewed today at a high-level meeting.

The meeting, chaired by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, was attended by Defence Minister A K Antony, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt.

The meeting comes a day after Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona said there was a possibility of LTTE carrying out air strike on nuclear installations in India besides the shipping interests in the Indian Ocean.

"There is an air threat which has a range of 200-300 nautical miles and this range brings within it not only cities within Sri Lanka, shipping in Indian Ocean but also the nuclear installations of India," Kohona said.

Noting that LTTE is a terrorist organisation that had not hesitated in assassinating former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Kohona said "so the possibility is always there".

Read more,
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200705081925.htm

British mediation bid runs into stormy weather

Britain's bid to mediate between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE has run into stormy weather. There are enough indications that the Rajapaksa government will eventually bow to nationalist pressure and keep the British at bay in a diplomatic way.

As the Sri Lanka Patriotic Front led by the Buddhist monk Elle Gunawanse demonstrated in front of the British High Commission in Colombo on Tuesday, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader Wimal Weerawansa made a thundering speech in parliament asking the government and the people of Sri Lanka to ask the British to stay off Sri Lanka.

"The British create a problem and come back saying they have solution!" Weerawansa said.

Read more,
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=
75c2227c-49b3-48ec-a75f-904936728efe&&Headline=
British+mediation+bid+runs+into+stormy+weather

Two new faces in Pakistan squad

Uncapped duo Fawad Alam and Najaf Shah are the new faces in the Pakistan squad for a three-match one-day international series against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi later this month.

Retired former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq leads an absentee list including Younus Khan - on duty with county team Yorkshire, Azhar Mahmood, Danish Kaneria, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Yasir Arafat, all of whom are dropped.

Alam, a young all-rounder, has been selected on the back of an outstanding domestic season, while left-arm seamer Shah also impressed for PIA and Rawalpindi during the last campaign.

Read more,
http://www.ananova.com/sport/story/sm_2321265.html?menu=

Colombo UN officials tried to cover up LTTE abduction of two UN employees -The Island

National English daily said in its top story today that the UN officials in Colombo deliberately tried to cover up the abduction of two UN employees by the LTTE terrorists.

The incident was made known to the public by the newspaper itself on 20th April 2007 despite the attempts made by certain UN employees and NGO activist to cover it up. The island further says that the UN officials have had clandestine negotiations with LTTE the terrorists to solve the issue underhand without getting public attention. It is obvious, that such public attention will expose the true nature of the terror outfit and will be certainly disadvantageous to the LTTE propagandist.

Read full text of the headline news report published in The Island today (8th)
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20070508_06

California judge withdraws her own judgment favoring PKK and LTTE in a 16 page verdict

A federal judge in Los Angeles, California has withdrawn her own judgment favoring Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Partiya Karkeran Kurdistan (PKK) terrorist group in Turkey delivered last November.

Last November, the federal judge said President Bush acted unconstitutionally when she designated 27 groups and individuals including the Tamil Tigers as terrorists in 2001. The judge reconsidered the issue at the government’s request.

Mr. Cole, a law professor at Georgetown University, said the statute invoked by the president's order, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, gives him t too much authority. "It's very much like the blacklists of the McCarthy period. The president can designate anybody he wants for any reason or no reason at all," Mr. Cole said.

Read more,
http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/5629

Sri Lanka To Acquire Russian MiG 29 Fighter Jets

Sri Lanka’s air force is shortly to take delivery of five advanced fighter aircraft from Russia to counter the threat posed by the LTTE’s air wing, The Nation newspaper reported Sunday. In addition to buying the five MiG 29 interceptors, Sri Lanka is looking to upgrade its ground attack Kfirs to interceptor role by adding radars and missiles, the paper said.

The MiG 29 fighter aircraft designed in the former Soviet Union, for an air superiority role entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983. It is now in use with the Russian Air Force (which reportedly has over 450), as well as in many other nations, including India (which has over 60).

Read more,
http://www.india-defence.com/reports-3145
and
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/
2007/05/sri-lanka-fulcrums-lions-to-battle-tigers/index.php

Photo,
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/images/AIR_MiG-29_lg.jpg

Norwegian Ambassador’s Kilinochchi tour cancelled again

The Kilinochchi tour of the Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Hans Brattskar was cancelled again today.

He was to leave for Tamil Tiger rebel held Kilinochchi this morning and to hold talks with the head of the political division of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) S.P. Thamilchelvan and other LTTE leaders with the hope of revitalizing the collapsed peace process of Sri Lanka.

The Norwegian Ambassador’s visit, scheduled for two weeks ago, was postponed on security grounds at the Sri Lankan government’s request.

Extracted from,
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_07/May7142604SL.html

university non-academic staff strike ended

It is reported that the non-academic staff strike in universities of sri lanka has been ended.