Kingfisher to fly to Lanka soon

Kingfisher Airlines, India's first and only five star airline, is planning to fly to Sri Lanka at end of the year.

Regional Manager Trade Sales, of the airline, Ritam Saha in an exclusive interview told the Daily News Business that they hope to initially operate three frequencies per week to Sri Lanka.

Business tycoon Dr. Vijay Mallya ranked among the richest businessmen in the world owns the airline and he recently acquired Air Deccan. Saha said the airline has become stronger and has been growing very fast. "We would be flying to Bangladesh, Huston and New York by end of August. Sri Lanka has been in the list of Kingfisher expansion of horizons for a long time," he said.

Asked if they would look for a partner in Sri Lanka he said "We would be going on our own when we fly Colombo," he said. "Sri Lanka has tremendous growth potential since many Indians travel to Sri Lanka," he added. Commenting on speculation that the airline was keen to purchase Emirates airline shares he said this was not something in the pipeline. "We want to consolidate our Indian operations and moving into another country is not in our agenda right now," he said.

Read more,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/05/12/bus01.asp

2 LTTE militants held, explosives seized

The coastal security wing of the Tamil Nadu police has seized explosives shipment meant for the LTTE and arrested two suspected militants off the coast of Rameswaram, 600 km from here (Chennai).

Additional director-general of police (coastal security) Jagan Sheshadri said, “During our operations since last night we came across a boat off the Rameswaram coast in the Palk Bay containing chemicals and detonators. Two suspected militants were arrested”. Rameswaram is the closest point in India to Jaffna, the LTTE stronghold in Sri Lanka.

The state police said following stepping up of vigil in the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar, shipment of arms, explosives and contrabands to the LTTE had been curbed and many boats carrying such materials had been seized.

However, according to intelligence sources, the Tamil Tiger rebels have received at least three shipments of military hardware in the recent months. The arms shipments reached the Tigers despite claims by the Sri Lankan Navy that it had destroyed most of the LTTE's arms ships.

The intense use of heavy artillery shells by the LTTE during the recent conflicts with the Sri Lankan army have raised fresh concern within the island nation’s military establishment about the Tigers’ ability to replenish their dwindling armoury.

Read more,
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080511/main4.htm

UPFA wins the eastern province election

The results of the eastern province election as follows,

UPFA 308886 votes and 20 seats
UNP 250732 votes and 15 seats
JVP 9360 votes and 1 seat
TDNA 7714 votes and 1 seat

For full details of the eastern province election Result,
http://www.news.lk/eastern_election-2008/Eastern_main.html

Sri Lankan Worker’s Charred Body Found in Abha Apartment

Police are investigating the case of a Sri Lankan national whose partially charred body was found in his apartment in the southern city of Abha on Friday.

Mohammed Imtisam Shamsudeen, 28, assistant manager of Home Center in Abha, has been working for Al-Bandar International House for Trading Company for the past four years.

Shamsudeen’s relatives in Sri Lanka said they suspect foul play. “When he called his wife Fathima Feroza three days ago, he told her that he had been receiving death threats from unknown sources,” his father S. Deen told Arab News, speaking from the town of Negombo.

Deen said his son had told his wife that if he were to die in the Kingdom then his last wish would be to be buried in Makkah. “If I had known that this would happen so quickly, I would have asked him to come back for good,” he said.

Shamsudeen is also survived by his one-year-old daughter, Ayesha. Deen said his son visited Sri Lanka two years ago to get married and returned four months ago to see his daughter. During his last visit, Shamsudeen had told his wife that he would take them to the Kingdom.

Read more,
http://www.arabnews.com/

Eastern Sri Lanka poll 'relatively violence-free'

The poll to elect a maiden provincial council in eastern Sri Lanka ended on a 'relatively violence-free note' with nearly 60 percent of about one million voters exercising their franchise, the election commission said Saturday.

'According to reports received at the close of the poll, the estimated voter turnout was approximately 65 percent, 55 percent and 60 percent in Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee respectively. Counting has commenced for postal votes,' the election department said.

An assistant commissioner of the election department at Rajagriya in Colombo told IANS Saturday evening that though there were reports of poll-related violence in all three districts in the eastern province, 'they were not serious in nature'.

'There were no immediate reports of 'serious poll-related violence' that could affect the overall outcome of the poll. We, however, have to wait for the zonal reports, which would be out only after the ballot boxes are opened for counting,' he said on condition of anonymity.

'Overall, I would say, the poll is relatively violence free,' he said, adding that the final result for the council would not be released if there was any re-polling due to malpractices.

However, the opposition parties such as the United National Party (UNP), the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) have charged that the poll was largely marred by violence, including rigging, impersonation, assault and intimidation instigated by pro-government mobs.

Read more,
http://www.indiaenews.com/srilanka/20080510/117229.htm

Launch of Wimal Weerawansa's party on May 14

JVP breakaways Wimal Weerawansa and Nandana Gunatilake will launch their political party in Colombo on May 14th, an activist in their political movement said..

There will be 350 invitees when the new movement, which is yet to be given a name, makes its debut at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies at the BMICH.

Messrs. Weerawansa and Gunatilake are due to meet the Elections Commissioner on the previous day to register it as a recognized political party.

May 14, 2008 is of special significance to the JVP, as the day marks the 43rd anniversary of the leftist party founded by the late Rohana Wijeweera.

An events organizing firm has been entrusted with the propaganda and other activities in connection with the occasion, the spokesman said.

Extracted from,
http://www.lankaeverything.com/vinews/politics/20080511012803.php

“Col” Karuna may face deportation

Rebel LTTE leader “Col” Karuna Amman, who was serving a jail sentence here after being found guilty of travelling to the U.K. on an allegedly forged Sri Lankan passport, was on Friday released and transferred to an immigration detention centre pending a decision on whether he should be deported back to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan High Commission sources said they had not received any request to issue travel documents that would enable it to deport ``Col” Karuna. Human rights groups want him to be tried for war crimes following allegations that his Tamileela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) which he formed after breaking away from LTTE in 2004 was involved in murders, torture and abductions.

The BBC quoted the Crown Prosecution Service, responsible for prosecuting criminal cases in England and Wales, as saying that according to the police there was “insufficient evidence” to provide a realistic prospect of his conviction.

Extracted from,
http://www.hindu.com/2008/05/10/stories/2008051055031800.htm

Is president Rajapaksa a terrorist?

President Mahinda Rajapakse stands out as the only president in Sri Lanka who has to face an avalanche of acrimony hatred, demonisation and insult. He is blamed for every trouble that occurs in our strife-torn island for some of which he is not responsible at all.

The J.V.P in their May Day rally referred to Mahinda Rajapakse as the terrorist in the south while Vellupillai Prabakaran was the terrorist in the north. J.V.P’s trade-union leader Parliamentarian K.D. Lalkantha said that the J.V.P. trade unions had a big responsibility at hand in the near future to carry out two general strikes against these two destructive elements.

"The working class of the country has to launch trade union actions against the Eelam terrorist who is hell-bent on snatching away a part of our mother land. We also have to defeat the financial terrorist who was elected to power by the people and plundering public funds. The J.V.P. gave them a chance to correct themselves by exposing various corruptions, financial irregularities and embezzlements.

But they failed to use the chance. Hence it is time to defeat both terrorists, Vellupillai Prabakaran and Mahinda Rajapakse"

Of all the acrimonious charges leveled against president Rajapakse, the one by parliamentarian Lalkantha of the J.V.P was perhaps the worst. Some of the other charges leveled against Rajapakse is the inability of his government to control the cost of living and the galloping rate of inflation, the charges of corruption nepotism wastage, the abuse of human-rights, abductions internal and external displacements and killing of civilians in the on going war.

Read more,
http://www.island.lk/2008/05/10/features3.html

Woman and child wounded in LTTE mortar attack- Bakmitiyawa

LTTE terrorists mounted an indiscriminate 81 mm mortar shell attack at a civilian settlement at Pannalgama general area in Bakmitiyawa, Damana today(may 10), injuring 4 people including a woman and a child, at around 7.15a.m., sources reveal.

According to latest reports received, terrorists have fired 7 mortar bombs at the Pannalgama civilian settlement, what was said to be another attempt of LTTE to flush the settlers from their native lands. The injured child was said to be a 10-year old, informed sources said.

According to Damana Police, an injured civilian was rushed to the Tottama rural hospital. Security has been tightened in the area as combined Army and Police search teams were dispatched to the scene.

Pannalgama is located approximately 25km South East of Damana

Read more,
http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080510_05

Cargo Vessel sinks due to underwater Explosion at Trincomalee Harbour

A cargo vessel (A 520/ex-MV Invincible) was damaged and sank in an underwater explosion which occurred at the Trincomalee Harbour today (10th May 2008) around 2.15 a.m.

The vessel was berthed at the Ashroff Jetty at the time of the incident and had a skeleton crew on board for routine operational purposes. The crew suffered no casualties and no other properties were damaged due to the explosion.

The old vessel built in 1971 was known as MV Invincible. It was handed over to the Navy by a court order after it had been apprehended and retained by the authorities while it was engaged in smuggling migrants.

News from,
http://www.navy.lk/index.php?id=798
Photo,
http://www.navy.lk/slideshow/gallery/2005/2005_09_25/2.jpg

Congress demands extension of ban on LTTE

The Congress, a key constituent of the DMK-led DPA in Tamil Nadu, today demanded extension of the ban on outlawed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Speaking on the demand for grants for Home Department in the State Assembly, Mr K R Ramasamy of Congress said the ban on LTTE, imposed in the aftermath of the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991, was scheduled to expire soon.

''The State Government should recommend to the Centre and ensure that the ban on the LTTE is extended,'' he added. Earlier, initiating the debate, P K Sekar Babu of the main Opposition AIADMK recalled the recent incidents and alleged that the law and order had deteriorated in the state.

Recalling how the previous AIADMK regime headed by Ms J Jayalalithaa had dealt with extremism with iron hand and rooted out LTTE activities and other Tamil extremist outfits in the state, he said incidents of violence, mercenary killings, burglaries and dacoities were on the rise.

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

11 innocent civilians killed, over 25 wounded in LTTE bomb explosion - Ampara

Eleven innocent civilians were killed while over 25 injured when the LTTE terrorists exploded a bomb inside the "New City Cafe" hotel in Ampara town this evening, May 09.

The explosion took place around 5.45 p.m and the victims who received injuries were rushed to the Ampara hospital, sources said.

This is another cowardly attempt of the LTTE terrorists to disrupt the normalcy in the area as the government scheduled to head the provincial council election tomorrow to establish the democracy in the eastern province.

News and Photos from,
http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080509_07

Sri Lanka to hunt for oil onshore after gas find

Sri Lanka is to start searching for oil onshore after the accidental discovery of gas seeping from the ground, government officials said.
Petroleum minister A H M Fowzie said Friday the government has received technical support from Egypt to start the initial exploration work.

The accidental discovery of signs of gas were near the Munneswaram Kovil, a famous Hindu temple, in the northwestern Chilaw area, adjacent to the waters of the Mannar Basin, where offshore exploration blocks have been offered.

"We have learned that there are signs of petroleum reserves in the onshore areas in Chilaw," Fowzie told a news conference.

"We have asked for and received assistance from Egypt after my talks there in April to do the initial surveys."

Egypt has sent three technical experts from the Egyptian oil ministry who visited the Chilaw area and studied data on previous oil exploration work.

Read more,
http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?nid=1089866813

Armed group releases underage recruits as vital election nears

The Karuna faction, the Tamil Tiger breakaway group, which has been transforming itself from an armed military group into a political party, released 39 underage recruits in April 2008.

The group, officially known as the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP), released 28 children on 24 April after 11 were let go on 11 April.

The TMVP was formed by the former eastern military commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan, alias Karuna, after he broke away from the Tigers in April 2004. It now controls all nine local governing divisions in its native Batticaloa District in eastern Sri Lanka following a clean sweep in elections on 10 March, and is contesting the Eastern Provincial Council election on 10 May as a coalition partner of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance.

The TMVP is now led by Karuna’s chief lieutenant Sivasuntharai Chandrakanthan, alias Pillayan, the party’s candidate for the chief minister of the province, who has taken pains to rehabilitate the party's image.

Read more,
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=78120