It has been reported that the cabinet that met today has decided to abrogate ceasefire agreement.
Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake has proposed that the CFA should be abolished to
the cabinet meeting that met today presided by President Mahinda Rajapakse and it has been approved by the cabinet.
Extracted from,
http://www.lankatruth.com/index.htm
Four people including two schoolchildren and a mother were killed when LTTE terrorists carried out a cowardly bomb blast targeting civilians and an army bus in Colombo this morning (January 2). One soldier who was traveling in the bus was also killed in the explosion. The terrorists triggered off the claymore bomb right opposite the Infant Jesus Roman Catholic church at Slave Island around 9.30.a.m.
According to the defence sources, the bomb was apparently placed under an external unit of an air conditioning unit of Hotel Nippon. The explosion was triggered off as the army bus and another public bus were passing the location. The bus was carrying unarmed soldiers who are undergoing specialized treatments for various illnesses.
According to the sources in the National Hospital Colombo, 24 people including 14 civilians and 10 soldiers suffered injuries in the incident. Four of the injured are in serious conditions, the sources added.
Meanwhile, two victims who died in the brutal bomb blast have been identified as schoolchildren. Pathum Dissanayake , a 19 year old student of Ananda College , Colombo and Malitha Lasindu Bandara , a 16 year old student of Asoka Vidyalaya , Colombo were killed in the incident.
Read more,
http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080102_08
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is wilting under pressure due to a sharp decline in recruiting cadres and acute shortage of arms and ammunition, a top government official has said.
"Faced with a severe shortage of ammunition and dwindling numbers due to growing losses and sharp drop in recruitment, the LTTE is struggling to hold their positions," Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said.
He said bulk of LTTE cadres were deployed across the Jaffna frontline, where skirmishes take place almost every day.
"On the Vavuniya front basically the fighting is taking place in the jungle, while Mannar is a open territory.
Read more,
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/LTTE-facing-manpower-and-ammunition-shortage
AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa on Sunday said the security situation in Tamil Nadu was turning out to be 'alarming' as "the LTTE is now attempting to establish a base" for its operations in the state due to it's military setback in Sri Lanka.
There was an 'alarming situation' in the state, where all political parties except the AIADMK were "prepared to roll out a red carpet" for the banned organisation, she told reporters here at the party headquarters.
"Given the Centre's support for the state government here, only God can save Tamil Nadu," she said.
The banned outfit was looking for a base in the state as it was becoming weak in Sri Lanka following attacks by the military and also since the Tamil Nadu Government was "weak and there is no maintenance of law and order," she said.
"Only I, a popular strong political leader, fully oppose the LTTE, while every party of any consequence is ready to welcome it to Tamil Nadu," she claimed
Read more,
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200712310342.htm
Sri Lanka Cricket's (SLC) newly-appointed chairman Arjuna Ranatunga on Wednesday said he is keen on increasing the frequency of Tests against India and will take up the matter with BCCI.
"I have just taken over. I am going to hold a meeting with the CEO OF SLC Duleep Mendis and other officials and work out the possibility of having regular exchange programmes regarding cricket matches with India," Ranatunga told.
He said it will be on the lines of regular cricket fixtures that India has with Australia and Pakistan.
The 44-year-old Ranatunga said he was keen that the two Asian nations play regular Test matches.
He said after discussing the matter with the cricket board officials of the Island country on the programme he will hold talks with the BCCI officials and put forth the views of the SLC.
Read more,
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1142776
Come 2008 and the burgeoning Sri Lankan mobile phone sector will be seeing a prominent fifth player — the Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel.
With an investment of $200 million, Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Limited would begin its service in the island ‘early next year‘, its CEO Amali Nanayakkara said.
"We are in the process of setting up the network, and getting the necessary approvals from the regulatory authorities. The process, which began in the middle of the current year, should be competed by early 2008," Nanayakkara said.
Asked if Bharti Airtel Lanka had run into any problems, as the services were yet to start though the investment was announced with much fanfare in mid 2007, she said there were no problems.
Read more,
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/business/2007/
Two top executives of Emirates are due in Colombo on Wednesday to negotiate with government officials the renewal of the Dubai-based airline's management contract for SriLankan - the country's flag carrier, a Colombo newspaper reported.
The talks have dragged on for about 18 months but became complicated some days ago when Colombo revoked the work permit of SriLankan airline's British chief executive officer Peter Hill, an Emirates man, in a row over seats for President Mahinda Rajapakse and his entourage on a London-Colombo flight.
Read more,
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/12/31/10178532.html
