Nato secrets USB stick lost in Swedish library

The discovery of a USB memory stick containing classified NATO information in a library in Stockholm has prompted a meeting between the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service and foreign defence officials.

The Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service is a division of the Swedish Armed Forces Central Command responsible for Sweden's military intelligence.

According to Swedish daily Aftonbladet, the stick contained material on NATO's ISAF peace-keeping force in Afghanistan, as well as an intelligence report on the attempted assassination of Lebanon's defense minister and the murder of Sri Lanka's foreign minister.

Colonel Bengt Sandström of the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service says this kind of carelessness is intolerable and can result in up to six months in prison.

It is unclear how the USB stick ended up in the library.

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http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/04/another_stick_with_

PM’s Colombo visit dates not yet finalised

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will not participate in the 60th Independence Day celebrations of Sri Lanka on February 4, the island nation’s Foreign Minister, Rohitha Bogollagama, said here on Friday.

Mr. Bogollagama clarified that though Sri Lanka had extended an invitation to Dr. Singh, the dates of his visit are yet to be worked out.

The disclosure that the dates of Dr. Singh’s visit to the island nation have not yet been finalised was made a day after the Foreign Minister called the Indian High Commissioner Alok Prasad to inform him about the decision of Colombo to abrogate the 2002 Cease Fire Agreement.

According to sources in the Sri Lanka Foreign Office, Mr. Prasad reportedly told the Minister that New Delhi was concerned about the current situation in the island nation and would like to see faster progress on a political package for the resolution of the ethnic conflict.

A few weeks ago, the Minister told Parliament that Sri Lanka had invited Dr. Singh to be the chief guest of the function on February 4 marking the 60th Independence Day.

Read more,
http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/05/stories/2008010556481200.htm

Sri Lanka not looking at February for Indian PM's visit

Sri Lanka said Friday that it was not expecting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit the country in February, to be the chief guest at the 6oth independence day celebrations.

'We are not looking at February or any other specific date for the Indian prime minister's visit. What we would like is a bilateral visit by the Indian prime minister in the course of 2008. No Indian prime minister has paid a bilateral visit to Sri Lanka in the last 20 years,' Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told the media here.

Asked if any other date had been fixed if Manmohan Singh was not likely to be in Colombo Feb 4, the country's independence day, the minister said it was for India to come up with dates.

According to diplomatic sources, the Sri Lankan government had invited Singh to be the chief guest at the Feb 4 independence day celebrations. But the Indian government had not taken a decision in the matter.

Read more,
http://www.indiaenews.com/srilanka/20080104/89687.htm

Vaiko urges Manmohan Singh not to visit Colombo

MDMK General Secretary Vaiko has urged Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh not to visit Colombo to participate in Sri Lanka's Independence Day celebrations, saying that it would send a "wrong signal" in favour of the Mahinda Rajapakse government which was using military might to resolve the ethnic conflict.

Vaiko, a staunch LTTE supporter, appealed Dr. Singh not to accept the invitation extended by Sri Lankan President Rajapakse for attending the National Day celebrations on February 4.

He cited the report of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, who after a visit to Colombo indicted the Sri Lankan military for gross human rights violation.

Read more,
http://www.indiavision.in/article/National/8695/

Is a ban on LTTE Lanka’s next step?

Sri Lanka’s decision to call off the February 2002 ceasefire with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is at one level a logical move as the truce was only on paper.

In the last two years and more both sides have used air power and artillery in what is virtually a full-fledged war between the two sides.

Yet Wednesday’s move signals the growing confidence of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the defence establishment in Colombo that the military has gained the upper hand. The next step could be a ban on the LTTE.

The President’s brother defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had already given a hint in an interview to the government-controlled Daily News last week.

He said the government should officially withdraw from the ceasefire and ban the LTTE for a fresh approach to the Tamil question. The ceasefire agreement brokered by Norway had become a joke in the eyes of the people, he added.

Read more,
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1143105

India slashes customs duties on 4800 items from SAARC

India has scrapped import duty on more than 4,800 items from four neighbouring countries and reduced customs tariff on these products from Pakistan and Sri Lanka as part of efforts to boost trade in South Asia.

"The import duty has been reduced from 16-40 per cent to zero level on items like meat, fish, milk, dairy products, and dry fruits from the neighbouring least developing countries (LDCs) - Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives," a Finance Ministry official said.

However, the duty rates on these items have been reduced to 12-20 per cent on goods imported from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The new rates come into effect from January 1.

All pharmaceutical products and drugs can now be imported at 10 per cent duty from LDCs, as against 12.5 per cent duty earlier. However, tariff on drugs has not been cut in case of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a Finance Ministry notification said.

Read more,
http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14584102

Sanath Jayasuriya goes to Texas

Just what is Sanath Jayasuriya doing in Plano, Texas?

The 38-year-old cricketer from Sri Lanka is visiting USA to help a Texas based non-profit organization raise money for a new community center in Garland.

Helping Hands Inc., founded in 2003 by Kaushalya Siriwardana, is involved with constructing community centers around the world for homeless, orphaned and neglected children. The group has started centers for homeless children in Kurunegala (Sri Lanka), Madoor and Wardha (India).

Helping Hands is now trying to develop a multicultural center that will provide a wide range of programs for children in Garland and other North Texas communities. The programs include after-school recreation; tutoring for the SAT and the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills; a food pantry; and classes for exercise, first aid and foreign languages.

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http://www.dreamcricket.com/dreamcricket/news.hspl?nid=8245&ntid=4

CFA abolished!

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

Terror bomb blast in Colombo kills four including two schoolchildren

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

LTTE facing manpower and ammunition shortage: Official

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

LTTE attempting to set up base in TN: Jayalalithaa

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

SLC chief Ranatunga plans more India-Lanka Tests

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

Airtel set to start Sri Lanka operations

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/

Emirates to start deal renewal talks with SriLankan

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