Sri Lanka tea prices seen heading for correction

Sri Lankan tea prices appear to be heading for a correction with many grades from the estates easing at this week's Colombo auctions where a larger volume was on offer, brokers said.

Bartleet Produce Marketing said the quantity of tea arriving at the Colombo auction this week increased to 8.08 million kg from 6.89 million kg traded the previous week.

There was lower demand for teas from the estates compared with last week while the ex-estate crops were also lower.

"In the Ex-estate segment, the market witnessed an overall lower demand as compared to last week," it said in a market report.

But low grown teas, cultivated mainly by small holders in the southern districts, continued to sell well.

The stronger-than-usual buying in recent weeks that had kept prices high was expected to end, the brokers said.

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http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?nid=1212020835

Public vigilance averts disaster, hand grenade found inside a bus

A major disaster was averted this evening(June 18), when a timely detection of an improvised hand grenade was made by a passenger on a public transportation bus plying from Awissawella to Colombo, route no: 122 near Salaka, close to Ibbanwela junction.

The hand grenade was detected by a Navy sailor P.K.V Rathnasiri who got suspicious of an unattended box. As no individual claimed ownership of the parcel Rathnasiri along with the bus conductor immediately informed the Police calling for bomb disposal squads while, assuring safety of the passengers and commuters nearby.

The hand grenade was set inside a box and improvised, the Slave Island Police OIC said speaking to our correspondent. The Slave Island Police is conducting further investigations.

Extracted from,
http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080618_09

Italian police arrest 28 suspected Tamil Tigers

Twenty-eight suspected members of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers rebel group have been arrested in Italy, anti-terrorist police said on Tuesday.

A police statement said the 28, all from Sri Lanka, were detained in several cities.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel movement is fighting for an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka.

More details of the operation, which involved about 200 police agents, were expected to be issued later on Wednesday.

Extracted from,
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1862171920080618

Sri Lanka rebels reject laying down arms for talks

Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels have rejected a request to lay down or decommission their weapons before peace talks, saying they can still win the war against government forces.

The government said last week it would only reconsider re-starting a peace process if the rebels agreed to lay down or decommission their weapons and issued a clear timetable for negotiations.

But Balasingham Nadesan, the rebels' political head, said laying down arms could weaken their bargaining power at any talks.

"Any approach that disturbs the balance of power and parity of status (between the government and rebels) are counter-productive to the peace process," Nadesan said in an email interview with Reuters.

"The balance of power and the parity of status are very crucial for any meaningful negotiations."

The government request came after the rebels said last week they wanted to meet Norwegian peace brokers to resume a stalled peace process.

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL308029.htm

LTTE mellows down Tamil Eelam demand Seeks credible alternative proposals

Assuring that their demand for Tamil Eelam is not against India's interest, the LTTE has said that it sought "credible alternate proposals" to resolve the 25-year-old ethnic conflict.

"We believe firmly, our strong cultural ties to our brothers and sisters in India will help their policy makers to select a just and fair path towards our people," senior LTTE leader, Mr KV Balakumaran said.

"We have said clearly Tamil Eelam is not against India; we will uphold Indian welfare as our own. There was a time, when India looked after our welfare as her own. India will change its current policy towards us one day," he told the Australian Tamil Bro adcasting Corporation (ATBC).

He said the LTTE was guided by the ideal of a separate homeland since its inception. "However, the movement has articulated clearly that it is open to examining credible alternate proposals. We regret that this request has not received the attention it deserves," Mr Balakumaran said.

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http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/60161706.htm

Tamil victim is named

Detectives have named the Tamil man whose body was discovered in a disused cash-and-carry building frequented by rough sleepers.

Investigating officers believe Thiyagarajah Thiyananthan, 40, was murdered at the premises behind a retail park in Atlip Road, Alperton, last week.

A post mortem report ascertained he had died from had injuries but detectives have refused to say whether there was a weapon involved.

Mr Thiyananthan is believed to have lived in the UK for a 'substantial' amount of years after leaving Sri Lanka.

Det Insp Tony McKweon, who is leading the investigation, said he was keeping an open mind on the motive but had ruled out any gang-related connection to Mr Thiyananthan's death.

He added: "We have a line of enquiry we are currently looking into."

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http://www.wktimes.co.uk/

Home Ministry Probes Allegation On Malaysian Link To Intended Bomb Attack In Colombo

The Home Ministry has begun investigations into an allegation that some Malaysians planned to give instructions to a group of Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger terrorists to launch a bomb attack in Colombo.

This followed the arrest of six members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ellam (LTTE) on Saturday in Wattala, Sri Lanka, with the seizure of 2.7kg of high-powered C4 explosives.

According to a news report in the Sri Lankan online daily, 'The Mirror', the suspects under interrogation by (Sri Lankan government troops), said they were waiting for instructions from some Malaysians - via the telephone - to launch the attack.

Commenting on the news report, Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the government would investigate the matter thoroughly, and take severe action against any Malaysian with links to the LTTE.

He said his ministry had contacted the Sri Lankan government to clarify the allegation in the news report, and seek its assistance to obtain information on the alleged links between some Malaysians and the LTTE.

"I have checked the news report personally...Malaysia will never tolerate any type of terrorism. If it is true that some Malaysians are involved with the LTTE, we will take severe action.

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http://web7.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news.php?id=340029

Sri Lanka to establish a council to prevent LTTE attacks on civilians

Sri Lanka is planning to establish an all party security council under the directions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, to prevent LTTE attacks on the civilians in the country, the government said today.

The council is based on a proposal put forward by the by the members of the newly formed breakaway Marxist party National Freedom Front (NFF).

NFF leader MP Wimal Weerawansa handed over its proposals for setting up of an All Party Defence Council to President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday at the Temple Trees.

MP Weerawansa offering his party’s support to reach an all party consensus to establish the council pointed out that the party could play a pivotal role in empowering the civilian masses to protect themselves from the LTTE threats.

Preliminary talks pertaining to the establishment of this Council will commence in next week, government announced.

Extracted from,
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_08/June17114536CH.html

Serbia shuts down LTTE broadcast

After nine days of broadcasting, the Serbian government pulled the plug on a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam radio transmission.

Officials say a license granted to retransmit a broadcast from a Serbian-owned satellite to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East has been exposed as being linked to LTTE , an organization in Sri Lanka listed by the United States and most Western countries as a terrorist group, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense reported.

The discovery that the broadcast called the Voice of Tigers was linked to LTTE led to the immediate shutdown after nine days of transmission on a Serbian satellite. "LTTE, though influential contacts in the Middle East, obtained the services of EU TELSAT in Serbia for the transmission," the release said.

Sri Lankan officials say LTTE radio and television transmissions also have been removed recently from the U.S. INTELSAT-12 satellite and the AsiaSat, a satellite for Hong Kong.

Extracted from,
http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats

Sri Lanka's eastern election challenged in court

Sri Lanka's Eastern Provincial Council election held on May 10 has been challenged in court for the second time in a row, officials said Tuesday.

The Appeal Court last week decided to take up the hearing of a petition filed by the main opposition United National Party, challenging the legality of the election.

The Appeal Court on Tuesday ordered the newly-elected chief minister of the Eastern Province, Sivanesaturai Chandrakanthan and 17 others file answers in court.

The May 10 election in the Eastern Province has been dubbed as seriously flawed by the opposition groups, citing large scale impersonation, intimidation and ballot stuffing.

The election was held after 20 years in the province which the government claimed had been completely cleared of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

The Eastern Province came to be merged with the Northern Province in 1987 as part of an Indian brokered solution to end the armed conflict in the island.

However, the two provinces were separated in 2006 by a Supreme Court order which declared the 1987 merger of the two provinces invalid.

Extracted from,
http://calibre.mworld.com/m/m.w?lp=GetStory&id=310869461

President Gayoom thanks the President of Sri Lanka

The President has thanked the President of Sri Lanka Mr. Mahindha Rajapaksa following his recent visit to Sri Lanka to attend the final match of the 5th SAFF Championship.

In a telephone conversation last night with the Sri Lankan President, President Gayoom expressed his profound gratitude to President Rajapaksa and the government of Sri Lanka for the warm welcome and generous hospitality that was extended to him and his wife and to the members of his delegation during his visit to the country.

He also noted the full co-operation and support provided by the Sri Lankan government to the Maldives National Football Team during their stay in Sri Lanka. The President further briefed the Sri Lankan President on the festive welcome given to the team by the Government and people of the Maldives on their return to home.

President Rajapaksa expressed his happiness on the President and the First Lady’s visit to Sri Lanka and congratulated the Maldives National Football Team and conveyed his sincere greetings to the team.

Extracted from,
http://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv/pages/eng_news.php?news:4787:1

UTStarcom Selected by Sri Lanka Telecom to Launch IPTV Services on the South Asian Island

UTStarcom, Inc. today announced a multi-million dollar contract with Just In Time Holdings Pvt Ltd. to supply its industry-leading RollingStream(R) end-to-end Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) solution to Sri Lanka Telecom Public Ltd. Co. (SLT), the country's largest tier-one wireline and incumbent operator.

SLT, a provider of international and domestic voice, Internet, and data services, will use the RollingStream platform to bring IPTV services to its growing customer base throughout Sri Lanka. SLT, with more than 87 percent market share and a wireline subscriber base of more than 1,300,000 customers, expects to grow its residential and commercial business through its increased triple play capabilities now available with this IPTV deployment.

"UTStarcom's market position is unique in that it primarily offers 'end-to-end' IPTV solutions," noted Gary Schultz, president of MRG, Inc., which publishes the semi-annual IPTV Global Market Leader Report that tracks deployments in six IPTV sub-sectors in Asia, Europe, North America and Rest-of-World.* "In terms of the total number of actual IPTV sub-sectors -- and subscribers -- served, UTStarcom is the leading end-to-end supplier in the Asian IPTV market.

IPTV, as an application-enabler, continues to open up new opportunities for revenue generation for service providers. MRG forecasts global IPTV network capital expenditure (CAPEX) to grow at a 16 percent Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) over the next few years, as service providers provision differentiated service offerings to further their competitive edge."

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http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2008/06/17/3502744.htm

Lanka asks ministers to limit foreign trips

Sri Lanka Tuesday asked its ministers to curtail foreign trips and slashed the monthly monetary allocations to all the ministries by 50 percent.

According to a statement from the government information department, Media Minister Laxman Yapa Abeyawardena said the "monthly monetary allocations to all ministries will be reduced by 50 percent as an austerity drive but the budgetary allocations for the year 2008 will remain intact".

"All ministers have been asked to limit foreign travel in order to save foreign exchange. The government has also decided to stop renting expensive building complexes (to house ministries)," Abeyawardena has been quoted as saying in the statement.

Sri Lanka's ruling United People's Freedom Alliance, led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has altogether 102 ministers, non-cabinet ministers and deputy ministers for 57 ministries, with many of them holding more than one ministerial portfolio.

Due to the current security situation in the country, almost all the government ministers have been provided with a fleet of security vehicles.

Abeyawardena said this decision was prompted by "the economic constraints experienced by the country" with the soaring fuel prices in the world market and with the increase in food prices.

Extracted from,
http://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/Business/20080617/976490.html

Non-profit Tamil group added to terrorism list

A Toronto-based non-profit organization has been outlawed by Cabinet under the Anti-Terrorism Act, in what may signal an aggressive new approach to combating terrorist financing in Canada.

The decision to add the World Tamil Movement to Canada's list of outlawed terrorist groups marks the first time Ottawa has used the anti-terrorism law to shut down a Canadian community group for ties to terrorists.

Stockwell Day, the Minister of Public Safety, was expected to make the announcement in Toronto today at 1 p.m. but financial institutions were officially notified at 9 a.m. this morning by Canada's banking regulator.

The directive issued by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions advised banks and insurance companies to notify the RCMP or CSIS if they hold any accounts linked to the WTM.

The announcement may mark the end of the road for the WTM, which has operated in Canada since the 1980s. Earlier this year, the RCMP seized dozens of bank accounts linked to the group's officers and shut down its Montreal branch office.

Read more,
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=591740