Credit card fraud kingpin held in Colombo

Counter-terrorism forces arrested the mastermind behind an international credit card racket, which duped unsuspecting cardholders and reportedly funded the LTTE, Sri Lankan officials said today.

Personnel of the Special Task Force nabbed Anandan alias Neshanadan Muruganandan from a super-luxury apartment at Wellawatta in Colombo on Friday, the country's defence ministry said.

Police recovered a large number of Personal Identification Numbers (PIN) and bank receipts, issued by both local and foreign banks, of huge sums amounting to over 100 million Sri Lankan rupees from Anandan's possession, the ministry said.

"He had cloned credit cards using PIN and card numbers obtained from unsuspecting cards holders in the United Kingdom," a police official said, adding that the funds were later believed to be transferred to the LTTE.

"Unlike in the past when the LTTE was mainly extracting funds from the Tamil diaspora in the UK, it is now tapping resources of the British public, who are unknowingly funding the LTTE," the police official was quoted as saying by the defence ministry.

Extracted from,
http://www.ptinews.com/pti/ptisite.nsf

JVP’s doomsday not far away - Nandana Gunatilake

The controversial ex-hardcore JVPer and currently the General Secretary of the newly formed National Freedom Front, Nandana Gunatilake while inviting genuine members of the JVP to join them in their freedom struggle claimed that the present leadership of the JVP has deviated from its original struggle - the struggle to defeat imperialism.

He told the ‘Sunday Observer’ that the JVP, which took a different turn since 1995, is now misleading its members by promising the freedom struggle by trying to defeat the Mahinda Rajapaksa government.

Excerpts

Q: What is the idea behind forming the new political party - the National Freedom Front (NFF)?

A: Although we say Sri Lanka is an independent nation still we do not enjoy real freedom. Since 1948, from the day the country became free from the British, all the successive governments for the past 60 years, have failed to make the country ‘independent’.

The need of the hour is to make Sri Lanka an independent nation with the support of all citizens who love this country. I think this is the responsibility of this generation. That is why we came forward and our main target is to get political, economical and social - cultural independence. That is what we are striving for.

Q: You said that you could not realize that aim when you were with the JVP, which was considered to be the third force in the country. Do you think that the NFF with few members can fill the void?

A: Yes. Forming this party was not solely an idea of ours. Those who love this country and strive for a fully pledged freedom has led us to take this decision. This is a national quest, in which the JVP has failed so far.

Read more,
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2008/06/15/pol05.asp

LTTE sympathiser held; goods seized from boat -india

A suspected LTTE sympathiser was taken into custody and goods, including batteries and medicines, were seized from a high speed boat in the sea off Devipattinam here, police said on Saturday.

The 'Q' branch of the police dealing with militant activities seized Rs 10 lakh worth of batteries, army uniforms, medicines and gloves from the boat around mid-night, the sources said.

Inspector Thiagarajan told PTI that the occupants of the boat jumped into the sea on seeing the police but they managed to catch Vijayan, an LTTE sympathiser from Sri Lanka.

Three others, who hail from Devipattinam, managed to escape, he said.

There were 25 bundles including 18,000 batteries, uniforms, medicines, 'beedies' and other items, police said.

Extracted from,
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200806141653.htm

Govt considering alternative to Sethu project: Swamy (-India)

Janata Party President Dr Subramanian Swamy today claimed that the Tuticorin Port Trust's proposal for facilitating faster container movement between the port and Bangalore indicated that the government was seriously considering alternative proposals to the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel project as suggested by the Supreme Court.

In this regard, the TPT had proposed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Containter Corporation of India (CCI), he told reporters here.

Swamy also said the government would set up a committee to find out whehter Ram Sethu or Adam's Bridge was a monument. The Committee would take at least three years for a detailed survey of the area before coming to a conclusion.

The supreme court, hearing a batch of petitions, including one by Swamy, against demolition of the Ram Sethu, had asked the government to explore alternative routes for implementation of the project.

Read more,
http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp

Sri Lanka returns orphaned baby elephants to the wild

Sri Lanka has released eight orphaned baby elephants into the jungle after rescuing them from near certain death, wildlife officials said.

The eight baby jumbos were freed from the Elephant Transit Home where they had been cared for inside the sprawling Udawalawe wildlife sanctuary.

The jumbos arrived by truck and were let loose in the jungle to integrate with an estimated 400 wild elephants at Udawalawe park.

Their progress will be monitored with the aid of radio collars.

"This is the eighth batch of baby elephants we are releasing since we started this program in 1998," said Tharaka Prasad, the vet taking care of the jumbos at the transit home.

With the eight taken deep into the heart of the wildlife sanctuary and made to fend for themselves, a total of 64 babies have been freed to re-integrate with herds inside Udawalawe, 210 kilometres south of Colombo.

Read more,
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/15/2274912.htm

LTTE Logistics & Combat Vehicle Conversion Plant on fire after air strike by Air Force jet aircraft

Air Force fighter jet aircraft successfully pounded a LTTE terrorist Logistics Base and Combat Vehicle Conversion Plant in the area of PUDUKUDIYIRIPPU , MULLAITIVU this morning (15) around 10.00.

Pilots confirm that the target was successfully engaged on accurate Military Intelligence and the entire terrorist complex was on fire after the air strike.

Extracted from,
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/fullnews.php?id=13192