Jan 22 (BBC) Four Sri Lanka police personnel were wounded in an attack on their patrol in the eastern Sri Lankan town of Akkaraipattu. The Special Task Force (STF) personnel were admitted to Ampara hospital. Sarath Jayasundara, Senior Superintandant of Police (SSP) accused the Tamil Tigers of attacking the police petrol. more..

Jan 22 (Reuters) Two blasts rocked rebel-held territory in Sri Lanka's northwest and may have been aimed at a convoy carrying senior guerrilla leaders, newspapers and military officials said on Sunday. The Tamil Tiger rebels said, however, that the blasts had occurred during a training exercise and no one was hurt. more..

Jan 22 (AP) The military has discovered a suspected rebel cache of anti-personnel mines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition hidden in a bush in eastern Sri Lanka, the Defense Ministry said Sunday. e Tamil Tiger rebels were probably planning to use the mines against Sri Lankan forces deployed in eastern Ampara district, more..

Jan 22 (Reuters) Manickam Paneerselbam doesn't know how many generations ago the British brought his family from India to labour on Sri Lanka's tea plantations, but he vows to be the last of them to work there. more..

Jan 22 (AP) Tamil Tiger rebels accused the army of sending commandoes to assassinate top guerrilla leaders after an apparent explosion was heard in rebel-controlled territory. Separately, two suspected rebels were killed and a police officer was injured Saturday in a shootout at a checkpoint in the country's north, more..

Jan 22 (LM) The LTTE will call off the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) if Norway's International Development Minister and chief facilitator Erik Solheim failsto convey the government's positive response to the Tigers' call to hold the first round of peace talks in Oslo, informed sources in the Wanni told. more..

Jan 22 (Reuters) Off Sri Lanka's east coast, navy fast attack boat crews nervously eye local fishermen through heavy machinegun sights, worried they may soon be fighting Tamil Tiger rebels for control of crucial sea-lanes. more..

Jan 22 (LM) Norwegian peace facilitators are likely to suggest the Swiss capital of Geneva for the resumption of talks between the Government and the LTTE. Norwegian International Development Minister and Special Envoy Erik Solheim, who arrives in Colombo tomorrow is expected to sound the LTTE over this proposal. more..

Jan 22 (SAMN) The UNP and JVP are on a collision course over the mandate of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) investigating Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). "We won’t allow the JVP to engage in a witch hunt," PSC member John Amaratunga, MP told The Sunday Island yesterday. more..

Jan 22 (SAMN) As a result of a court serving notice on her, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga was likely to backtrack on accepting the block of land at Madiwela. Presidential sources said Ms. Kumaratunga was yet undecided whether to accept the one and a half acres of land at Madiwela which was allocated to her on a Cabinet decision months before she relinquished the presidency. more..

Jan 22 (SAMN) President Mahinda Rajapakse has said yesterday that the government had no intention to hold a General Election before the due date. The President had said this during the meeting with the Editors of leading newspapers held at Temple trees. more..

Jan 22 (LNP) Amidst fears of terrorist attacks in Colombo, education authorities are planning to provide intensified security in schools located in the city. Western Province Education Director D.A.D.L.Hemachandra said that they would summon Zonal and Divisional Education Directors next week to discuss ways of providing additional security to schools. more..

Jan 22 (LNP) Amidst growing confusion over the abrupt non-registration of its vehicles, Sri Lanka`s first-ever, multi-million rupee BOI-approved project assembling automobiles locally with used imported parts, said last week that all attempts to clear the air have so far `run into a wall of official apathy`. more..

Jan 22 (LNP) In a bid to provide quality drugs at fair prices an Independent Drug Authority (IDA) legislation will be presented to Parliament by Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva shortly. more..

Jan 23 (LeN) A new Sinhala armed organization called 'The Eastern Armed Lion Front' has circulated a leaflet in Trncomalee threatening traitors to leave the area before February 4th and warning that they would be executed without any further notice If they failed to comply with the order. more..

Jan 23 (LeN) The United National Party has decided not to extend any support to the government peace bid and walk away from the agreement reached with the government if it tried to coax UNP parliamentarians to join the government by offering minister posts and other perks. more..

Jan 23 (DM) Some Rs. 182 million allocated to the provincial education authorities for the payment of allowances to teachers working in difficult areas, have been utilized for other purposes, the Ceylon Teachers’ Union charged yesterday. more..

Jan 23 (DM) With the Cease Fire Agreement facing its most critical period since it was signed four years ago, the Government will be pinning its hopes on Norwegian Minister Erik Solheim, US under secretary of state for political affairs Nicholas Burns and LTTE ideologue Anton Balasingham to revive the peace talks and create some sort of stability in the country. more..

Jan 23 (DM) The LTTE yesterday discounted reports that the rebel political head S.P. Thamilselvan was killed in an attack in Mannar on Saturday. LTTE Trincomalee district political head S. Elilan told the Daily Mirror that Mr. Thamilselvan was well and truly alive and had in fact spoken to him on Saturday evening. more..

Jan 23 (HT) Geneva is likely to emerge as a compromise venue for the first round of talks between the Sri Lankan Government and the rebel LTTE, a local newspaper reported on Sunday. President Mahinda Rajapakse had informally said that he was ready to accept Geneva as the venue to break the deadlock on the issue. more..

Jan 23 (ISL) Some years ago, an erstwhile supporter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Professor Sivagnanam Somasunderam alias Chankanai Somu appealed to the United Nations to set apart an island in the Pacific Ocean for the Tamils of Sri Lanka to set up their new land. He cited Israel as an example. more..

Jan 23 (ISL) In the wake of the 1983 racial riots thousands of Tamils fled Sri Lanka especially to Canada, France and Germany and sought political asylum. In the case of many, contrary to what would have been considered as their grounds for refugee claim, a large number of asylum seekers blamed the LTTE as the major threat to their lives, limbs and properties more..

Jan 23 (AT) Ramaiya Subramaniam Krishnakumr ( 21) also known as ‘Karadi’, a resident of No.19, School Lane, Mamangam, Batticaloa, was shot and killed by unidentified persons on Saturday, at about 6.30.p.m, on the Sagaya Matha Temple Road, near Mamangam Pillaiyar temple, located 2 km east of Batticaloa town. more..

Jan 23 (ISL) It had been brought to the attention of our news editors that a man working for Nitharsanam.com named Sethurupan Nadarajah is disseminating concocted reports under the banner “University Teachers for Human Rights – Jaffna”. more..

Jan 23 (AP) A top Norwegian envoy arrived in Sri Lanka on Monday to meet with government officials and Tamil rebels to try to prevent the country from returning to warfare halted four years ago by a truce he helped negotiate. more..

Jan 23 (AP) President Mahinda Rajapakse talks to The Associated Press at his residence in Colombo. President Mahinda Rajapakse on Sunday called for immediate talks with the Tamil Tiger rebels more..

Jan 23 (AP) President Mahinda Rajapakse on Sunday called for immediate talks with the Tamil Tiger rebels to halt spiraling violence threatening Sri Lanka's four-year-old cease-fire and taking this tropical island again toward the brink of war. more..

Jan 23 (Xinhua) More deadly claymore mines used by the Tamil Tigers against the security forces have been discovered in eastern Sri Lanka, defense officials said Sunday. Some eight claymore mines left abandoned by the LTTE rebels in the eastern Ampara district were found by the police Special Task Force (STF) personnel on Saturday night. more..

Jan 23 (AT) A recent Study has disclosed that farmers in the Walawe basin of Embilipitiya used high amount of agrochemicals, especially pesticides and pesticide application. Three scientists say Walawe basin consists of a well-established irrigation system and evenly distributed water canal and cascade tank systems. more..

Jan 23 (AT) After losing 13 elections Ranil Wickremesinghe is fighting the last battle of his life to save his leadership. He is facing a critical crisis with the disillusioned UNP rebels preparing to abandon their failed Leader and join the more approachable Mahinda Rajapakse. more..

Jan 23 (WS) UNP and the ruling party having been racked by disputes in the past few weeks, appeared to be setting aside those problems with compromises and agreements in the past week. The UNP in particular appeared to have patched up their internal power struggle for the party leadership and plodded forward keeping the burning embers hidden from public. more..

Jan 23 (WS) Who really has genuinely striven to address this question? Many for means of political gain come forward to express what the Tamil people desire but is it really the voice of the Tamil people or is it their own notion of what the Tamil people want? more..

Jan 23 (WS) The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is understandably upset over the killing of Joseph Pararajasingham. I suppose there are many ways of mourning, many ways of expressing objection and dismay. The TNA chose to disrupt parliamentary proceedings on two consecutive days. more..

Jan 23 (ANN) The Sri Lankan government is open to holding talks with the LTTE in a non-Asian venue and expects Norway to pressure the Tigers to make concessions on an overseas venue. "We are hopeful the peace facilitator would end the deadlock," an authoritative government official said, more..

Jan 23 (ANN) Who says our parliamentarians don't cooperate with one another? Why should anyone lament that there is no southern consensus and that the North and South cooperation is non existent? And who says the Tiger proxies and the government don't see eye to eye? more..

Jan 23 (SLBC) This Ministry of Power and Energy is now studying possibilities of generating electricity using timber to remedy the rising power crisis. Minister W.D.J Seneviratne says the measure will get under way as an alternative power generating source in parallel to the ongoing hydro, thermal and coal power generating projects. more..

Jan 23 (IE) Around 2.30 am on Friday, Suryakumar landed on the Arichalmunai shores near the ghost village of Dhanushkodi. Fearing a fresh outbreak of conflict between the Sri Lankan Army and the LTTE, he had fled his native village, Thondamannar in Jaffna district, with his wife, five daughters and five siblings. more..

Jan 23 (SLA) UNCONCERNED ABOUT ALL OVERTURES OF PEACE being made by the Government and foreign dignitaries, Tamil Tigers (LTTE) on Monday (23) morning once again repeated their brutal terrorist acts in URANI, BATTICALOA killing three more soldiers and injuring two other soldiers. more..

Jan 23 (ISL) In its news filed January 22, 2006 under the caption ‘Balasingam to arrive in Kilinochchi on Monday’ the Tamilnet website has dropped the self imposed ‘Dr’ title of Anton Balasingam. Instead he was referred as Mr Balasingam throughout the news. more..

Jan 23 (ISL) Once upon a time – not that far away in time anyway – the professional elites of the Tamils inhabiting the spicy gardens of Colombo that had a strong cinnamon fragrance, made a once-in-a-comet-appearance time to the haunts and habitats of their birth or that of their parents and dazzled in their own glory much to the envy of their poor peninsular kith and kin. more..

Jan 23 (ISL) Where are all those politicians whose ‘dedication and commitment’ to the common good and their qualities of leadership we, as children some years ago, were asked to emulate when our turn came to enter the adult world? more..

Jan 23 (ISL) We have reports from Canada that on the eve of the country’s general elections, members of the Canadian Tamil Diaspora were shocked to disbelief to be told that they should get to the polling stations tomorrow, receive their ballot, walk into the booths and spoil it intentionally. more..

Jan 23 (LT) Mr. Hareen Peiris, Media Secretary of the former President Ms.Chandrika Kumaratunga, has requested Mr. Victor Ivan, editor of ‘Ravaya’ to withdraw the petition filed by him pleading from the Supreme Court to declare as illegal the move to hand over a valuable crown land to the former President during her tenure by a cabinet paper. more..

Jan 23 (PIS) Sinn Fein Chief Negotiator Martin McGuiness on Friday expressed optimism that President Mahinda Rajapakse would be able to find a solution to Sri Lanka's ethnic problem. McGuiness who was a prominent figure in the Northern Ireland peace process, called President Rajapakse a 'formidable politician' who is prepared to learn from what has happened in other parts of the world. more..

Jan 23 (SAMN) President Mahinda Rajapakse's move for an All-Party conference to reach a consensus on the North-East crisis was lauded by the the Mahanayake of Malwatte, Tibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thero, who said that the move should be supported. more..

Jan 23 (SAMN) Lawyers for Human Rights and Development will launch a Study Report on Bribery and Corruption in Sri Lanka on Thursday, January 26 at the Garnet Hall of the Ceylon Continental Hotel. Bribery and corruption in public life continues to be a serious problem affecting the governance and administration in Sri Lanka. more..

Jan 23 (SAMN) Guidelines for Post Disaster Housing in Coastal Sri Lanka, published by the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) supported by the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) through a Tsunami Housing Support Project (THSP) implemented on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Corporation and Development, will be launched shortly. more..

Jan 23 (LNP) Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has become very restless immediately after his defeat at the Presidential election because of the pressure from the local and foreign reactionary forces who require his continuous leadership, JVP Propaganda Secretary and JVP, Parliamentary Group Leader Wimal Weerawansa said in Kandy. more..

Jan 23 (DN) A special search operation conducted by the Colombo Police Division in the Borella police area in the early hours of yesterday resulted in the arrest of eleven suspects involved in drug trafficking. The special police squad supervised by Colombo South Senior SP Gamini Seneviratne on the direction of IGP Chandra Fernando had deployed a team to trace the drug dealers in the area. more..

Jan 23 (MO) Sri Lanka has disputed a seven billion rupee subsidy claim put forward by Indian Oil Corp's local unit, treasury secretary P.B. Jayasundara said. The dispute over unpaid bills comes on the back of a bullish report by HNB stockbrokers earlier last week on Lanka IOC's (LIOC) financial future. more..