State should not become a hunting ground for LTTE: Elangovan

Tamil Nadu should not become a hunting ground for terrorist organisations, especially the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and it should be an oasis of peace. For this, the State Government should be firm in preventing intrusion of LTTE cadres into the State, Union Minister of State for Handlooms and Textiles E.V.K.S.Elangovan said here on Saturday.

Presiding over a Congress party meeting, organised in connection with Sonia Gandhi birthday celebrations , the Minister said if there was any slack in taking action against the LTTE, the worst sufferers would be the innocent people. He wanted the State Government to give a free hand to the police in curbing LTTE activities .

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http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/24/stories/2007122455020400.htm

Nepal backs MR’s battle against LTTE

Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that Nepali Premier Girija Prasad Koirala backed President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s decision to retaliate against LTTE terror, during a recent meeting he had with Koirala in Kathmandu.

The Nepalai Premier appreciated the action taken by the Sri Lankan government to neutralize the LTTE threat, he said.

The minister said that the government did not believe in war to settle the ethnic issue, but had no option but to meet the LTTE’s military challenge.

Extracted from,
http://www.island.lk/2007/12/24/news3.html

India discounts Prabhakaran injury in air raid

The Indian government has no credible information that Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran was injured in a Sri Lanka Air Force raid on his bunker in the last week of November.

Indian security agencies believe that reports that Prabhakaran was injured and that he may seek medical treatment abroad are part of psychological warfare against a beleaguered Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

An informed source dismissed as "ridiculous" a report on Friday in a Sri Lankan newspaper that the supposed air raid on Prabhakaran killed 116 bodyguards of the LTTE chief.

Officials told on condition of anonymity that the Indian security establishment, which keeps a close tab on the Sri Lankan conflict, would have in all probability learnt by now if Prabhakaran had indeed been injured.

"All we can say now is that we have no credible intelligence to believe that Prabhakaran was wounded in any raid," the source said. "While we never rule out anything completely, we find these reports difficult to digest."

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http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14579596

Labour's Keith Vaz in inquiry over Tamil rally

A senior Labour MP has become embroiled in an investigation by anti-terrorism police after speaking at a rally in which suicide bombers were praised, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
# Labour's Keith Vaz is no stranger to trouble

News of the inquiry has put pressure on Keith Vaz, the former Labour minister who heads the all-party home affairs select committee, to defend his decision to speak at last month's rally at London's ExCeL exhibition centre in support of the Sri Lankan breakaway movement, the Tamil Tigers.

Mr Vaz, the MP for Leicester East, whose Commons committee is in charge of scrutinising all anti-terrorism legislation, has been contacted by police investigating the event.

The Sri Lankan high commissioner, Kshenuka Senewiratne, has written to Gordon Brown to express her "serious concerns" at Mr Vaz's presence at the rally.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=

SL seeks outsourcing tie ups with Indian IT firms

Sri Lanka has invited Indian ITES and BPO companies to invest in the island nation claiming that the country would provide competitive edge with its large talent pool of trained personnel available at lower costs.

“Indian companies can invest in Sri Lanka to outsource their projects here. We have a large talent pool of trained personnel available at lower costs. Outsourcing of projects here will significantly help Indian companies reduce operational costs as well as offset the effect of rupee appreciation against the dollar, G L Peiris, Sri Lankan Minister for export development and international trade said. He was addressing a conference organised by Ficci in Chennai.

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http://www.business-standard.com/iceworld

Nano tech now at our doorstep

The Ministry of Science and Technology is ready to launch the nano science project together with industrial private sector early next year, Secretary to the Ministry A.N.R. Amarathunga told the Sunday Observer.

Under the project two institutions, NANCO and SLINTEC will be set up. NANCO will be the holding company that will own the nano park proposed to be established in Homagama. State of the art laboratories will come up in the park to facilitate private sector companies and other research institutions.

Sri Lanka Institute of Nano Technology (SLINTEC), the research institute will be a joint venture with the private sector. Private sector will invest 50% to set up the SLINTEC which will decide on the salaries and other emoluments to the professionals who will join the institution.

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http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2007/12/23/fin01.asp

Malaysian cricket looks for Lankan coaches

The Malaysian Malay’s cricket academy is currently touring Sri Lanka to participate in the Nelson Mendis Junior Cricket tournament which is non-school club private club event organized by CCC school of cricket. The Malaysian Malay’s cricket Academy team is managed by Rosmanizam Abdullah.

The Sunday Times caught up with Rosmanizam Abdullah for an interview.

We started by asking him about his background he said that he had played club cricket for Kuala Lumpur Club side in the 70’s and 80’s and was the Malaysian cycling federation competition secretary.

Although he said that cricket is playing second fiddle to sports like Badminton and Squash in Malaysia their Malaysian Malay’s cricket association is working hard to see that cricket will get the necessary popularity among the public.

The Malaysian government is trying hard to get their people interested in sports and is doing some programmes to get people involved in sports. Abdullah said School cricket in Malaysia is not all that popular However because Sri Lanka school cricket is one of the best in the world they were planning to go according to Sri Lanka school cricket.

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http://www.sundaytimes.lk/071223/Sports/sp2013.html

Anura moves his goods out of Visumpaya

Mr. Anura Bandaranaike has begun moving his goods out of Visumpaya to his house at Rosemead Place built some years and is currently living at his ancestral home in Horagolla.

Both Anura and his sister, Chandrika, built their own houses on the original Rosmead Place compound.

`Tintagel', the Colombo residence of the Bandaranaikes, belonging to the three Bandaranaike children, is now a boutique hotel which was opened earlier this month.

Bandsaranaike left for Horagolla after his crossover to the opposition ahead of the Dec. 14 budget vote. He is expected to continue living there until the transfer of his goods is completed.

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http://www.island.lk/2007/12/23/news1.html

Two suspected LTTE men arrested

Two suspected LTTE operatives from Sri Lanka were taken into custody from a coastal village near here today. Police said they arrested Mahendran alias Thilo (44) and Irudhayaraj alias Kokilan (42), hailing from Kilinochi and Mandaitirappu respectively, when they were moving around in a "suspicious" manner in Irumeni village.

Initial interrogation revealed that the duo had visited several places in Tamil Nadu, including Madurai, Salem and Coimbatore, allegedly shopping for some "sensitive material", police said.

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http://news.indiainfo.com/2007/12/22/0712220017_ltte.html

Sri Lanka aim to promote cricket in northern areas

Former Sri Lankan legspinner Somachandra de Silva has been appointed cricket advisor to the president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapakse, to develop and spread the game in the country's war-hit north and north-eastern regions.

The move was part of the president's initiative to try and increase the representation of players of Tamil-speaking origin in the national team.

de Silva, who played 12 Tests for Sri Lanka and captained in two of them, was appointed on the basis of his experience in coaching school teams in Sri Lanka and England.

Rajapakse was keen on tapping into the talent at the school level in these parts, where no first-class cricket is played.

The Sri Lankan side currently has one player of Tamil origin in offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who recently broke the world record for most wickets in Tests.

A vast majority of the players hail from the southern and central parts of the country and the same regions regularly host international games.

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http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/22122007/28/sri-lanka-aim-promote-

Sri Lanka: Hybrid coconut variety introduced in N'Eliya district

The Government plans to increase coconut export earnings from Rs. 18 billion to Rs. 50 billion within five years, said Plantations Minister D.M. Jayaratne. Jayaratne was speaking at the launch of the coconut planting campaign in the Nuwara Eliya district which is being undertaken for the first time.

A hybrid coconut variety developed by the Coconut Research Institute to suit the climatic conditions of Nuwara Eliya was planted in Haggala and Victoria Gardens on an experimental basis by Plantations Minister D.M. Jayaratne and Sports and Recreation Minister Gamini Lokuge. China provided necessary coconut genes for this purpose.

CRI officials sought Chinese assistance to develop a coconut variety after inspecting the coconut cultivation in Haina island in China where the temperature is below 5 Celsius. He said the people should actively be involved in the Government's campaign to transfer Sri Lanka into a verdant country.

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http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=13404

India to be major player in Sri Lankan oil exploration

India will be a key player in the Sri Lankan oil and gas exploration in the Cauvery Bay of the Gulf of Mannar which is set to begin in March next year.

As many as 18 oil and 11 gas reserves have been identified on the Indian side of Cauvery Bay and exploration will begin in March next year, Media Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa told reporters yesterday.

Experts estimate the sites may contain millions of barrels of crude oil for which both India and China are competing for overseas oil and gas reserves to meet soaring energy demand.

The international arm of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, OVL Ltd, paid one million dollars to Norwegian seismic survey group - TGS NOPE - a few weeks ago for acquiring data in the Mannar Offshore Basin in Sri Lanka, according to Sri Lankan petroleum ministry officials.

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Oil__Gas/India_to_be_major_player_in_S

Sri Lanka vs. Hillary Clinton

Hillary hasn’t managed to wait until taking her part-time husbands old job before creating a major foreign policy incident.

The Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka is incensed with the Clinton campaign because they are working with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE are more popularly known as the “Tamil Tigers.”

The LTTE are #24 on the official U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence has published a statement on their web site outlining their charges against Mrs. Clinton’s campaign: LTTE Heavily Involved In Fund Raising For Hilary Clinton In New Jersey.

The Tamil Tigers no doubt hope to influence U.S. foreign policy in the event that Mrs. Clinton is elected President.

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http://www.fortliberty.org/blog/sri-lanka-vs-hillary-clinton.html

Political package for solving Tamil problem soon: Rajapaksa

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa 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.

"As soon as the APRC recommendations are submitted, I will immediately go ahead with the proposals," Rajapaksa said while refusing to give the exact time period before which the suggestions would be placed by the committee.

"It will be done soon. They are working on it," he said.

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http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?rep=2&aid=414072&sid