LTTE trying to smuggle out injured Prabhakaran: Report

The LTTE is trying to sneak its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran out of Sri Lanka for treatment abroad following severe injuries he is said to have sustained in an air raid last month, a government-owned newspaper claimed on Friday.

The Daily News also claimed that 116 of the 200 guards protecting the LTTE Supremo had died in the recent attack by the Sri Lankan Air Force, in which Prabhakaran was said to have been injured.

The LTTE, which has denied reports of injury to Prabhakaran, could not be contacted for its comments on the latest Daily News claim.

A senior Defence Ministry official said that since intelligence reports have "confirmed" that Prabhakaran sustained injuries on November 26, there could be an attempt by the Tiger leader to go to India for treatment if the medical facilities in Killinocchi or Mullaithivu were not sufficient to treat him.

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

Lanka confirms LTTE chief hurt

The Sri Lankan government has confirmed a media report that Tamil Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran was injured in an air raid late last month.

The Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) website said that Prabhakaran was injured when the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) hit the bunker complex at Jayanthinagar in Kilinochchi at 5.25 pm in the last week of November.

The government said the SLAF had specifically targeted Prabhakaran on the basis of intelligence that he would be at the Jayanthinagar complex, which he visited frequently.

On why the event was not publicised, the government said that although the air force believed the Tiger chief had been hit it could not be confirmed by ground intelligence.

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http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?

India, Lanka to co-produce Sinhala film

In a bid to boost ties further between the two countries, National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka has entered into an agreement with India's Gemini Film Corporation to co-produce a Sinhala film, Sanda Diya Salu .

"This is a historic occasion and Sri Lanka would immensely benefit from the move as it creates a platform to gain from India's expertise in the film industry," Minister of Cultural Affairs Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said at the inauguration ceremony on Thursday.

The film to be directed by Channa Perera will be dubbed in Tamil and Telugu.

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Media__Entertainment_/

British press hammers 'spineless' England

After a dismal performance at the crease in Galle overnight, Sri Lanka, England's cricketers will not want to eye the British newspapers.

England was bowled out for just 81 in the final match in the three-Test series.

Described as "pathetic" and "spineless", England were blasted in Friday morning's editions with one commentator writing that "as someone once famously put it, England had only three problems: they could not bat, bowl or field".

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene hit an unbeaten 213 and Chaminda Vaas ripped through the top order to leave England, trailing 0-1 in the series, in tatters after the rain-hit third day.

Left-armer Vaas followed his 90 in Sri Lanka's 8 for 499 (declared) with four wickets as England collapsed in just 30.5 overs and were forced to follow-on 418 runs behind.

England's total fell well below their previous innings low against Sri Lanka of 148 in Colombo on the previous tour in 2003.

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/21/

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.

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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.

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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/