Nov 1 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's air force bombed Tamil Tiger targets in the island's restive east on Wednesday, the military said, as fears rose of an escalation in violence three days after peace talks collapsed. The air raid in the restive eastern district of Batticaloa comes amid renewed artillery and mortar fire in the north and east. more..

Nov 1 (AFP) Sri Lanka's military has accused Tamil Tiger rebels of carrying out artillery and mortar attacks against troop camps in the east of the island, despite a pledge to stick to a truce. A military spokesman said a government soldier was hurt overnight Tuesday in three hours of strikes by the LTTE on positions at Kajuwatta, Mankerni and Mahindapura near ceasefire lines. more..

Nov 1 (HT) Artillery, mortar and air action took place in Eastern Sri Lanka on Wednesday, even as envoys of the European Union, Japan and Norway were having discussions with the LTTE at the Colombo international airport. Officials were tight lipped on the meeting between the LTTE's peace delegation and the envoys of the Co-Chairs of the Tokyo donors' conference, who are the "international community" in the Sri Lankan peace process. more..

Nov 2 (ISL) THE 25 LTTE RECRUITS from the East who surrendered to the Security Forces within the past few days expressed their desire to reunite with their family members and continue their lives sans LTTE harassment. The recruits in various age groups yesterday spoke of their aspirations in their lives in a peaceful society where they can continue their normal life as they met journalists in Colombo yesterday afternoon. more..

Nov 2 (AT) Tamilselvan must stop beating the war-drum says V. Anandasangaree, President of the Tamil United Liberation Front. "If the LTTE has any love for the Tamil people whom Mr. Tamilselvan often refer to as 'our people,' they must without delay openly declare their willingness to give up their demand for separation and to agree for a federal solution within a United Sri Lanka, emphasised Anandasangaree. more..

Nov 2 (AT) Amidst her new busy schedule as senior UNESCO Consultant on Education for S. Asia, the former president of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Kumaratunga, has been shopping frantically in London to make elaborate and expensive preparations for her daughter's wedding. She walked into the department store of the John Lewis Partnership in Brent Cross (North London) recently and paid out almost £12,000.00 (Sri Lankan Rs. 2.3 million) in cash for curtains for her premises. more..

Nov 2 (AT) Addressing a media conference in Geneva after the talks collapsed, S. P. Tamilselvan , Head of the Political Division of the LTTE and the Chief negotiator, said that the Tamil Tigers are prepared to face a war if the Sri Lanka Government tries to force a war on the Tamil people. Excerpts of his statement are given below: more..

Nov 2 (AT) Of course my bosses had counterparts in every country -including the USA.. Two CIA agents from Langley, Virgina were given a tour to the 'Eastern parts' of the world. One of my British bosses accompanied them on the fact-finding mission for a few days… When their conversations changed to the need of an 'experienced hand in undercover ops' my boss promptly introduced my name and the quality of my work to them. more..

Nov 2 (AT) SriLankan Airlines has once again been adjudged to have some of the finest inflight entertainment systems in the world, being selected Second Runner-up in Best Overall Inflight Entertainment, the prize honour at the World Airline Entertainment Association's annual Avion Awards. Peter Hill, Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan, said: "We at SriLankan Airlines take pride in being world class in every aspect of our product, and our efforts have been rewarded with many accolades. more..

Nov 2 (AT) On the invitation of the Government of Sri Lanka Manfred Nowak, Special Rapporteur on torture will visit Sri Lanka from 27 January to 2 February 2007. Manfred Nowak's mission in Sri Lanka is to prepare a report on the prevailing human rights conditions in the country and submit it with his recommendations to the United Nations Human Rights Council. more..

Nov 2 (CI) Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, has defended the team management's selection during the Champions Trophy and blamed Sri Lanka's early exit from the tournament on the top-order batsmen. Expectations had been high in Sri Lanka after the team's recent good form and the shock knockout before the semi-finals has triggered heavy criticism from some quarters. more..

Nov 2 (TNI) Central bank said on Wednesday it would allow foreign investors to trade in rupee-denominated treasury bonds for the first time to help develop the local capital market. “This measure will increase the freedom in capital account transactions and thereby enhance the development of the capital market by broadening the investor base and increasing the competition in the bond market,” more..

Nov 2 (UN) With an estimated 333,000 Sri Lankans affected by floods, landslides and displacement, United Nations agencies are gearing up to help the Government in its relief efforts. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stands ready to immediately provide 6,000 sets of kitchen utensils, 3,000 sleeping mats, 200 water tanks, 10,000 bed sheets, 10,000 towels and 10,000 bars of soap, more..

Nov 2 (Hindu) The ninth India-Sri Lanka Joint Business Council meeting being held on November 3 at Colombo will deliberate upon the India-Sri Lanka Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), bilateral investment opportunities, possible cooperation in the services sector and tourism promotion between India and Sri Lanka. It is expected to recommend early signing of the agreement. more..

Nov 2 (PTI) Describing the recent peace talks between Sri Lankan government and LTTE rebels as "very positive", Norway today said it was prepared to continue reconciliation efforts between the two sides aimed at ending ethnic conflict in the island nation. "It is upto the parties themselves to show restraint... We are prepared to continue to cooperate," visiting Vice Foreign Minister Raymond Johansen told reporters more..

Nov 2 (LBO) Central bank met senior executives of the country’s financial community this week, in a bid to de-mystify recent monetary policy measures taken to stabilise the economy and reinforce its resolve to fight inflation. Governor Nivard Cabraal said measures taken to contain credit growth were aimed at curbing inflationary pressures, so that growth could be sustained over the longer term. more..

Nov 2 (LBO) Sri Lankan rupee briefly sank to a lifetime low on Wednesday, but the Central Bank says they are not worried about it, despite regularly pumping 390 million dollars to defend the currency. The Central Bank has been playing a game of tug-of-war with foreign exchange traders, intervening in the currency markets, selling dollars to prop up the rupee against the U.S. dollar. more..

Nov 2 (GDI) The Ministry of Education decided to held scholarship examination on next Saturday (04) for year four students, who live in Mulathive Trincomale, Killinochchi and Jaffa area. Although this examination was held on 12th of August in other areas in the country, it was unable to hold above districts in cause of LTTE violations. more..

Nov 2 (GDI) Decision has taken to establish SAARC Cultural Centre in Matara Navimana area within next two years. It was confirmed at the Second Meeting of the SAARC Cultural Minister Meeting held at Colombo yesterday. It was disclosed by Mr. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana, the Minister of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage at a press briefing after discussion of SAARC Cultural Ministers. more..

Nov 2 (TP) Terrorism is the enemy of democracy, a delegate said here yesterday on the final day of the ‘Sixth International Conference on New or Restored Democracies’. Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament, W J M Lokubandara, told The Peninsula: “The biggest opponent of democracy is terrorism. So many have been killed in my country. Terrorism is an unprecedented danger.” more..

Nov 2 (IANS) The number of Sri Lankan Tamils fleeing to India to escape violence in their country has crossed the 15,000-mark despite a dramatic drop in arrivals in October. The refugees are still coming in, carrying their meagre belongings, and their total in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu is now 15,912, said S.C. Chandrahasan, a Sri Lankan Tamil heading Chennai-based NGO Organization for Eelam Refugee Rehabilitation (OfFER). more..

Nov 2 (RW) Three-year-old Kisharthan doesn’t quite know why he’s lying on his back on a wooden board. His father’s hand is on his head and a nurse is holding his feet. He looks alarmed and seems about to cry, but before he can start he is whisked up onto his feet again. A midwife notes down a figure on her form, and the next child is brought along to the measuring board. more..

Nov 2 (BP) Almost his entire life, his country had been tormented by civil war. Laksiri, 36, was only a toddler when the violence began in his South Asian homeland. Yet living in Sri Lanka's southern port city of Galle, he'd only read about war in the newspapers. Never had it come to his doorstep - until now. Fighting between Sri Lankan government forces and the LTTE, militant Tamil separatists, increased dramatically in October. more..

Nov 2 (SP) The otherwise soft-spoken and mild-mannered Deputy UNP Leader Karu Jayauriya has taken up a tough stand. He is calling for intra party democracy and the inclusion of those other than a privileged few in the decision making process. He wants the party restored to its pristine position as a party of the people. He is believed to be on a campaign to have the party recast in the image of the Senanayakes, who commanded respect across the political spectrum. more..

Nov 2 (HT) A second round of negotiations for a peace accord between the government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil rebels ended in Geneva without agreement between the two sides, who have been involved in a civil war for over three decades. The talks, convened by the Norwegian government and hosted by Switzerland, were considered a failure by diplomatic sources because the parties in conflict separated without even agreeing a date for a future meeting. more..

Nov 2 (AP) Tamil Tiger rebels fired artillery at troops guarding a closed highway in northern Sri Lanka on Thursday, killing one soldier and wounding two, while troops shot and killed two rebels during a clash in the east, the military said. The rebels opened fire with artillery at a military post guarding the A-9 highway, a key artery connecting the northern Tamil majority peninsula of Jaffna with the rest of Sri Lanka, more..

Nov 2 (LBO) Sri Lanka posted record tea production in September, as estate worker trade unions thrash out a wage increase for over 250,000 plantation workers. Tea production was up 15 percent to 27.76 million kilos, over last year’s 24 million kilos, driven by better than usual crop intakes from high grown elevations, more..

Nov 2 (LBO) Authorities who are probing the Seagullsoftware Ponzi scam have found that the firm had accounts in at least two commercial banks, while its participants say cheques have cleared through yet another bank. Seagullsoftware ran a pyramid scam variant, which masqueraded as a business process outsourcing company. more..

Nov 2 (LBO) Sri Lanka’s number two mobile operator Celltel said on Thursday it has built 200 new towers in six months, to virtually double its coverage in key towns. Celltel, which launched an analogue network in 1989 to become the first phone company in South Asia to go cellular, is splashing out 100 million dollars this year to add 500 new base stations, more..

Nov 2 (ISL) A family of three has taken full control of the Tamil Tiger operations in the state of Victoria, Australia. Sivarajah Yathavan, his wife Abirami Yathavan and P Senthuran, father-in-law of Yathavan are jointly running the Tiger outfit. The stand over tactics of this family has caused a rift in the Tamil community, according to Tamil sources in Victoria. more..

Nov 2 (GDI) “The upcoming budget will focus around decreasing the prices of consumer goods and reflecting over reducing the burdens of the common man,” stated the Cabinet spokesman, Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa. The 2007 budget is to be presented to the parliament by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is also the Minister of Finance, on November 16th. more..

Nov 2 (GDI) The Cabinet has granted its approval for a Memorandum submitted by Tourism Minister Hon. Anura Bandaranaike on the renovation of refurbishing the Kandyan Cultural Centre. Cultural legacy of Sri Lanka is a unique selling point to promote tourism and the Kandyan Cultural Centre plays a very vibrant role in this. more..

Nov 2 (GDI) "LTTE is earning the harvest on what they reaped and nurtured," said the Cabinet Spokesman, Minister Anura Priyadarshna Yapa addressing media, today at the weekly press conference on cabinet decisions. The Cabinet spokesman stated the above comment referring to the LTTE’s demand to reopen the A9 road while continuing attacks in the North and making it impossible to open the roadway. more..

Nov 2 (GDI) Many civilians, including twenty-three infants crossed over to the Government controlled areas in Batticaloa from the uncleared areas last few days, being unable to bear the discriminations of the Tiger terrorists invading in to their villages. These innocent people were mainly from Kaddimurichchikulan and Kirimichchiya villages of Kadiraveli, Batticaloa. more..

Nov 2 (LT) Swarna Hansa Foundation has taken steps to file action in the court of appeal against the decision of building an airport at Weerawila by govt. stating that the plan is to destroy thousands of prosperous paddy lands at Wegawatta and some huge tanks. Further, it says the attempt of creating a commercial economic environment by destroying our heritage lands that has strong roots to an agro-civilization has to be stopped at any cost. more..

Nov 2 (SN) Mavai Senathirajah , Jaffna district TNA Parliamentarian, has stated that the bomb attack on the residence of Sivanathan Kishore, Vanni district Parliamentarian, was to be intimidate the Tamil national Alliance. He explained that the attack in which a security officer was seriously injured was on the Vauvniya residence of Kishore situated in the town which is in the absolute control of police and the security forces. more..

Nov 2 (SN) TNA Parliamentarian N.Raviraj states that the closure of the A9 high way is a blatant violation of the Ceasefire Agreement and that the refusal of the government to reopen the A9 highway led to the failure of the Geneva Peace Talks. He was giving an interview to the Jaffna based Uthayan newspaper referring to the outcome of the peace talks between the government and the LTTE. more..

Nov 2 (TN) The Government of Sri Lanka that promised to halt the military offensives at the negotiation table, in front of the International Community, in Geneva has sent a "message of terror," within 24 hours of LTTE delegation's arrival in Kilinochchi by conducting a "gruesome" aerial attack killing an innocent family and terrorising the patients at the General Hopital premises, more..

Nov 2 (IRNA) Visiting Sri Lankan Energy Minister W D J Seneviratne lauded here Thursday the high potential of Iranian experts in construction of power plants and its relative equipment. Speaking to reporters after meeting his Iranian counterpart, he said, "During my visit of factories involved in the construction of power plants and relative equipment in Iran I was fully impressed by the high capabilities of Iranian experts in the sector." more..

Nov 2 (LeN) UNP MP Vajira Abeywardena had called on Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to take stern action against Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya claiming that the latter had breached party discipline. In a letter to Mr. Wickremesinghe, Mr. Abeywardene had accused Mr. Jayasurya of making controversial statements stating that theses were his private view. more..

Nov 2 (LeN) The JVP, which till recently was an ally of the government and to a great extent was responsible for helping President Mahinda Rajapaksa win the Presidency, yesterday warned it would dethrone him if he refused to get off the wrong track. "If he fails to come back to the right track, we will be forced to dethrone him and replace him with someone else," JVP Secretary Tilvin Silva told a public meeting at Dambulla. more..

Nov 2 (IRNA) Iran will build two 300- and 500-megawatt thermal power plants in Sri Lanka, Iranian Energy Minister Parviz Fattah said here Thursday. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart W D J Seneviratne, Fattah said that an agreement on construction of the power plants will be signed by the two sides within the next two days. more..

Nov 2 (Hindu) The air force conducted raids on identified LTTE targets in Batticaloa district on Wednesday. It said the raids were in response to the shelling by the Tamil Tigers on army camps at Kadiraveli. The fighting in the east coincided with the return of the LTTE delegation from Geneva after dropping their planned tour of Norway and Iceland. more..

Nov 2 (PISL) Envoys of the Co-Chairs to the Tokyo donor conference met the LTTE delegation at Katunayake last morning upon its arrival in the country following the deadlock at the weekend talks with the Government held in Geneva. The Norwegian, Japanese and EU ambassadors called on the LTTE political head S.P. Thamilselvan and his entourage which included the head of the rebel peace secretariat S. Pulithevan, military wing spokesman R. Illentheriyan and police chief Nadesan. more..

Nov 2 (PISL) The Air Force yesterday (1) resumed strikes on identified Tiger artillery and mortar positions, and a training camp in the East in retaliation against continuous LTTE attacks on Army camps situated at Mankerni and Kadjuwatte, military sources said. Yesterday’s air strikes were the first since the failed Geneva peace talks between the Government and the Tigers. more..

Nov 2 (LNP) Pakistan`s new High Commissioner to Sri Lanka yesterday dismissed his predecessor`s allegation that an Indian intelligence agency was behind the attack on the latter in Colombo. 'The Government of Pakistan never made such a statement. I do not know why local media gave huge publicity to it,' High Commissioner Shahzad Chaudhry told an informal gathering of media personnel yesterday. more..

Nov 2 (LNP) The Postal Department has made special arrangements for delivering parcels to Jaffna enabling people in the South to send food items and other commodities. Post Master General Sherwin Senadheera told the Daily News that post offices islandwide receive over 1,000 parcels containing essential items from people daily to be delivered to their relatives in Jaffna. more..

Nov 2 (LNP) The government has decided to ban the use of polythene from 1 January 2007. All types of polythene of less than 20 microns and similar substitutes will come under this category. The gazette notification has been issued by Environment Minister Maithripala Sirisena dated 10.10.2006. The prohibition has been made under section 23 of the Environmental Act of 1980, No. 47 amended in 1988. more..

Nov 2 (Reuters) Central bank forecast the island's oil import bill would increase by a third to $2.186 billion this year from $1.655 billion in 2005, and said state oil firm Ceypetco would start hedging to help cap the bill and curb inflation.'Hedging instruments are to be used to maintain stability in a volatile global oil market,' Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said. more..

Nov 2 (SAMN) A campaign was launched at the House of Commons on Tuesday to create a greater awareness in Britain on the plight of the northern Sri Lankan Muslims driven out of the province by the LTTE in 1990. The event which was chaired by the head of the Sri Lankan caucus in the UK parliament, Labour Party MP Andy Love had Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem as the guest of honour. more..