may 16 (AP) Sri Lanka's military says it has taken control of the island's entire coastline and cut off any sea escape for Tamil Tiger leaders trapped in a tiny slice of remaining rebel territory. Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara says two army divisions moving along the island's northeastern coast linked up Saturday morning to deny the Tamil Tiger rebels sea access for the first time in its quarter-century separatist insurgency. more..

May 16 (LG) Throughout modern history Britain has created everlasting conflicts, just for their survival, in the so called developing regions of the world, particularly in Asia and Africa. A monumental example is the creation of rivalry, animosity and the hatred between India and Pakistan. It is a unanimous view of the Asians and the Africans that Britain has contributed to make the world a chaotic an unliveable place more than any other nation. more..

May 16 (LG) This weekend or early next week will see the Sri Lankan army hoping to deliver the knockout punch to the remnants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). But President Obama’s timely intervention is a signal to Colombo that its brazen disregard of international humanitarian law – even as it still claims to be mopping up the tenacious LTTE cadres – can no longer be ignored in diplomatic corridors. more..

May 16 (LG) Mao said that political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. In the raging battles in Mullaitivu, the Sri Lankan security forces are liquidating the fighting formations of the Liberation Tigers and hence, the Tamil nation’s bargaining power with the Colombo government is being dissolved in the process. In these circumstances, some fear that the Tamils will have to be content with whatever is given from Colombo. more..

May 16 (LG) We call it “Cainicide” for want of a suitable word in the English Language. Our problem was to describe the dilemma the Tamils in Sri Lanka faced in particular and that is to be killed by one’s own, like how Adam’s son Cain did away with his own brother Abel, a story from the Old Testament of the Bible. How else can we describe what Prabhakaran the aberrant son of Mr and Mrs Velupillai of Valvettiturai did for his community over a period of thirty years? more..

May 16 (LG) Before coming to the subject, I once again reiterate that my love and devotion to my country is in no way second to any other person in Sri Lanka. I had been repeatedly emphasizing on the fact that a patriot is one who loves his country and its people whether they are Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims or from any other ethnic group. The country won the war at high price. more..

May 16 (LG) News of the kind the whole Sri Lankan nation has been expecting for sometime is most likely to break out within the next 48 hours from the No Fire Zone, if not much earlier and with that probably most of the ground operations are likely to come to an end. said Brigade Commander of the 58 Division Brigadier Shavendra Silva in an interview with the Sri Lanka Guardian. more..

May 16 (LG) European foreign ministers are likely to call on the Government of Sri Lanka to hold back from a ‘final assault’ against the Tigers if a draft they have prepared is accepted at their meeting on Monday. This once again emphasizes how foolish if not stupid some of these calls on Sri Lanka are from certain governments of the west. What are they really up to? It is like saying the west can have sauce for the goose but the east must be satisfied with vinegar. more..

May 16 (LG) Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who is currently on an official tour paid a visit to the SL Embassy in Norway which recently came under attack of LTTE supporters. Mr. Wickremesinghe exchanged views with SL High Commissioner in Norway, Mr. Rodney Perera and other officials. Mr. Wickremesinghe who was enlightened on the extent of the damage and how it was caused, inquired about the investigation instituted by the Norway Govt. and more..

May 16 (LG) Sri Lanka is one of Asia’s oldest democracies. Over the past 2,000 years, there had been multiple invasions into Sri Lanka from neighboring India. As with the current reign of LTTE terror, these prior invasions were all successfully overcome by brave Sri Lankans. The LTTE was one of the world's most violent and disruptive terrorist outfits. With careful, meticulous planning and innovative counter-insurgency tactics, more..

May 16 (GDI) Encouraging the creative potential of every child is part of any government’s responsibility. “And, children, especially the war displaced, must be given the pride of place to engage in interactive spheres that encompass a vibrant program of artist-run workshops as it fan them the fun of enlightening their lives,” Deputy Minister Lionel Premasiri said at the opening ceremony of the “Uthuru Mithuru” children art exihibition. more..

May 16 (GDI) A bus carrying children and parents on a trip at Polonnaruwa, North Central Sri Lanka collided with a train when it crashed into a closed rail gate this morning, eye witnesses said. Police said several passengers in the bus were reported killed and many wounded as the bus later caught fire. Police blamed the driver of the ill fated bus for crashing onto a closed rail gate. more..

May 16 (DN) The Supreme Court yesterday refused to declare that Sunday Times Columnist J.S. Tissanayagam had been illegally detained exceeding 90 days in the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID). Delivering its Order, Court noted that it was unable to hold that the petitioner had been kept in the detention exceeding 90 days illegally without being produced before a Court of competent jurisdiction. more..

May 16 (GDI) Increased exposure to mosquitoes is not the only factor that causes dengue outbreaks, but virus-specified factors also influence the spread of the disease. Speculations on future events in the epidemiology, evolution, and biological expression of dengue will also be counted, said Dr. Paba Palihawadana. “Number of dengue fever deaths has been steadily increasing, and it’s time to focus our attention in identifying scientific changes in the dengue virus. more..

May 16 (GDI) Dambana village of Adivasi people (Veddah), a separate self-contained community, in Mahiyangana will be offered a new lease of life under the Jathika Saviya Gama Neguma Program. Dambana will be transformed into a model village. Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa will launch the project at a ceremony held at the village today (16). Nation Building Minister Jagath Pushpakumara will also be present on the occasion. more..

May 16 (CT) SLFP Mahajana Wing leader Mangala Samaraweera, who is a former minister of foreign affairs, has accused the present regime of having destroyed all the friendly relations with foreign countries that had painstakingly been developed over the years. He noted that foreign emissaries were calling on the government to differentiate between Tamil civilians and LTTE terrorists, and not trying to protect Prabhakaran. more..

May 16 (DW) By the time this report is being compiled, the LTTE are preparing for its last attack. A meeting was called a few hours ago by Soosei who literally handed-over his family to the Navy (appears to the public as a capture by the Navy) calling on Black Sea Tigers to launch a series of attacks targeting the 58 and the 59 Divisions. The two Divisions are expected to link-up shortly thus sealing shut the coastal zone and completely land locking the Tigers. more..

May 16 (GDI) The Jetavana Stupa, considered the largest stupa in the world, will be unveiled for public worship on June 4. President Mahinda Rajapaksa will commission the newly reconstructed stupa by switching on the lighting system at the auspicious time. “This customarily calls for a moment of religious and cultural revival, and, SL Air Force will sprinkle jasmine flowers from the air in reverence,” more..

May 16 (GV) Isn’t it horrible to watch people being killed like this? Pictures of dead bodies strewn all over the place flood my mind. What a damned war this is! What a curse on our poor little country full of such nice people. With thousands of innocent civilians, brave soldiers and valiant cadres already killed in this bloody war, now this huge group of people caught in the middle, struggling with every breath, for their lives and for their loved ones. more..

May 16 (LT) Two committees have been appointed to select candidates for the Uva and Southern PC elections says Secretary General of the SLFP Minister of Agriculture and Act. Minister of Defense Maithripala Sirisena. The minister also said the interviews to select the candidates will be held on the 30th. Minister of Power and Energy will head the committee to select candidates for the Uva PC while Secretary General of the UPFA and more..

May 16 (CT) The Sri Lankan embassy at The Hague in the Netherlands has come under attack again for the second time within a week. LTTE supporters attacked the embassy and hurled a petrol bomb at the building. However, no major damage has been reported. On May 11, a pro-LTTE group broke some windowpanes and caused damage to the Sri Lankan mission at The Hague. Sri Lanka condemned the attack and more..

May 16 (DN) The Sri Lankan office of the World Health Organization (WHO) has provided Rs.50 million worth drugs (Oceltamivir capsules) for use in case Swine Flu ((A) H1N1) breaks out in the country. The consignment of drugs is sufficient to treat 7,000 patients. A few Asian countries have been affected by Swine Flu. He also said WHO Representative Dr.Firdois Rustam Mehtha handed over the consignment of drugs to the Medical Supply Division (MSD) more..

May 16 (DN) The Government on Thursday decided to cancel the construction of the Baseline Road development project phase III and return lands acquired by the Government to its original owners with immediate effect. Minister said the Cabinet approved a memorandum submitted by President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Highways and Highways Development Minister to cancel the Baseline Road Development project phase III and release lands acquired by the State to its former owners. more..

May 16 (DN) Sri Lanka’s premier fish retailer, the St. John’s fish market at Pettah is being converted into a state-of-the art complex at a relocated site Peliyagoda adjacent to the Colombo Katunayake expressway on a 3.17 hectare block of land. More than 30 percent of the fish production in the country will be distributed through out the country centering St. John’s fish market which is being built at a cost of Rs. 1500 million. more..

May 16 (Island) A Sri Lanka Army Colonel was arrested yesterday over his close connections with an LTTE suicide bomber who jumped to his death from the seventh floor of an apartment complex in Wellawatte on Thursday morning. The LTTE cadre was identified as T. P. Sajitharan. On information provided by an LTTE suspect in Police custody, a special Police team visited Sajitharan’s room in the high rise building. more..

May 16 (Island) The Platform For Freedom(PF) yesterday appealed to the government to permit civil society and the media, access to refugee camps in Vavuniya and Mannar, as serious allegations are being levelled with regard to the IDPs. Representatives of the Mothers Front, UNP, SLMC, SLFP(M) and DPF, Nimalka Fernando, Tissa Attanayake, Rauff Hakeem, Mangala Samaraweera and Mano Ganeshan respectively, addressing a joint news conference in Colombo, more..

May 16 (Island) The Supreme Court on Monday will decide on the committee which will value the assets of the Directors and the agents of the Golden Key Credit Card Company Private Limited. Yesterday, names were proposed by the Central Bank and the depositor petitioners. The suggestions are to be finalised on Monday next. Meanwhile the Attorney General told Court that the police should be deployed to protect the sixty acres of Teak at Puttalam belonging to the G.K. Credit Card Company, more..

May 16 (LNP) All indications are that the decapitation of the LTTE is imminent. Ink on this comment may still be wet when the final offensive draws to a successful conclusion. It is not just a civil strife that Sri Lanka has quelled it has won a world war , given the backing the LTTE received from the leading nations on a flimsy pretext. It is a miracle that a small country could withstand such unbearable international pressure without buckling and more..

May 16 (DM) The military said yesterday it was only a matter of time before the humanitarian operations in the Mullaitivu area was completed with the remaining civilians trapped in the ‘new safe zone’ being freed and the area captured in a few hours. A ground official told Daily Mirror that troops of the 58-division were moving from the north to the ‘new safety zone’ and would soon link up with the troops of the 59-division moving in from the south. more..

May 16 (DM) Medical Supplies Division (MSD) officials yesterday found bottles of wine and packets of snacks among a stock of essential drugs handed over by a foreign mission for the treatment of displaced people in Vavuniya. The French Embassy in Colombo handed in the consignment of drugs to the MSD on Thursday to be sent to Vavuniya for the use of French doctors operating a temporary field hospital in the Chettikulum displaced people’s centre. more..

May 16 (DM) “The Human Chain’ a non government organization (NGO) which held protests against the attacks on the Sri Lankan Diplomatic missions abroad and religious places yesterday called on the French government to ensure the safety and security of the Sri Lankan expatriates in France. They made this request particularly on the recent attack on the Buddhist Temple in France while more..

May 16 (NP) The earnest people of Toronto, supported by their politicians and some of the media, are trying desperately to believe that the Tamil protesters are doing nothing wrong. True, they produce chaos on the city's roads, inconveniencing many thousands of drivers. For seven hours last weekend they closed down an east-west expressway, endangering the many children they brought with them, as well as strangers trapped like hostages in their cars and police officers scrambling to avoid disaster. more..

May 16 (NP) My departmental secretary was a Sinhalese woman, except we called her Ceylonese, because this was 47 years ago. No, I wasn't a high-powered executive, but back then even drones had secretaries, and my department had three, one for each drone. Mine was very pretty, wore multicoloured saris most of the time and when something amused her she moved her neck from side to side like a cobra. I called her Juliet, not because it was her name, but because it was her story. more..

May 16 (NP) Billboards celebrating President Mahinda Rajapaksa are everywhere in Sri Lanka's busy capital. Typically, they show him with soldiers, fighter jets or beside the army commander. The charismatic President has won remarkable popularity since marshalling his armed forces to rid the country's northern jungles of the Tamil guerrillas who have waged a three-decade separatist conflict. That war is all but over now. more..

May 16 (NP) Ravi Kumar ran a small grocery store until the Sri Lankan army overtook the town and the Tamil rebels told him and his family to run. They made it to the no-fire zone, an area that had been demarcated for civilians but there was so much fighting, he had to dig a bunker for his wife and two children. For weeks, they lived in that hole in the sand, which Mr. Kumar topped with palm logs to keep out the bullets, mortar rounds and artillery shells flying overhead. more..

May 16 (TS) A Buddhist monk believes an early morning fire at a temple in Scarborough is related to the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka. Police and the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office are investigating after the Sri Lankan Buddhist temple's east emergency entrance was found burning around 4:30 a.m. Three monks were in the building, located on Kingston Rd. just south of Military Trail Rd., and escaped uninjured to a smaller building beside the temple after calling police. more..

May 16 (TS) The global has never been more local than now. The prospect of an end to the civil war in Sri Lanka by tomorrow, as promised yesterday by Colombo, raises hopes for a truce in the rhetorical war in Canada – Toronto, in particular. This past week we've had a cacophony of competing Canadian voices, about the Sri Lankan crisis itself and, more vociferously, about what may constitute the limits of multiculturalism. more..

May 16 (AFP) Troops on Saturday captured the last strip of beach held by the Tamil Tigers, leaving the rebels completely surrounded and allegedly planning to commit "mass suicide." Defence officials said the massive offensive against the separatist army would be over "very soon," putting the entire island under government control for the first time in decades. The Tigers are "are preparing for a mass suicide after being effectively cut-off of escape routes, both land and sea, and more..

May 16 (AFP) India's ruling Congress-led alliance swept to a commanding election victory Saturday, crushing its Hindu nationalist rivals and setting up a second term for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. With results still coming in from the Election Commission, the Congress grouping was on track to win around 250 seats against 160 for the main opposition bloc headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). more..

May 16 (AP) Sri Lankan forces took control of the island's entire coastline Saturday for the first time in decades, sealing the Tamil Tigers in a tiny pocket of territory and cutting off the possibility of a sea escape by the rebels' top leaders, the military said. President Mahinda Rajapaksa vowed to defeat the remaining rebel fighters and end the 25-year-old civil war by Saturday night. As the war has entered its final stages, tens of thousands of civilians have fled intense shelling more..

May 16 (IANS) In a dramatic coincidence, Tamil Nadu's political parties sympathetic to the Tamil Tigers were routed in the Lok Sabha elections Saturday as the Sri Lankan military dealt a crippling blow to the rebels, taking control of their last coastal belt. As the Sri Lankan army announced "the total liberation of the island's coastline from three decades of terror", vote count in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu showed that all seven candidates of the PMK and three of the four MDMK candidates had lost. more..

May 16 (AFP) Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Saturday warned Sri Lanka there would be "consequences for its actions" if Colombo did not allow humanitarian agencies access to civilians and end the conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels. Brown also called for the LTTE to lay down its arms and allow trapped civilians to leave, and said he was backing United Nations efforts to end the conflict. "Sri Lanka stands on the brink," Brown said in a statement. more..

May 16 (moD) Sri Lankan soldiers of the Army 58 Division have linked up with the 59 Division soldiers freeing the last remaining coastal stretch under LTTE clutches. The link up marks the total liberation of the Island's coastline(3560.4sq.km) from three decades of terror. Infantrymen of Army 58 Division completed their three-day southbound march along the coast this morning when they linked up with their comrades of 59 Division on the Mullaittivu frontage. more..

May 16 (BBC) The Sri Lankan president has declared a military victory over the Tamil Tigers after 26 years of bloody civil war. Speaking on a visit to Jordan, Mahinda Rajapakse said he would return home to a nation totally free from the "barbaric acts" of the rebel group. There was no word from the president on the fate of the last few rebel fighters and leaders, thought to be cornered in a tiny area of the north-east. More than 70,000 people have died in the bitter war for a Tamil homeland. more..

May 16 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the G-11 Summit in Dead Sea,Jordon today proudly announced that he would be returning to a country that has been totally freed from the barbaric acts of LTTE terrorism and added that such freedom came to his country after 30 long years."The defeat of the LTTE on the ground heralds a new era in Sri Lanka", the President jubilantly added. more..

May 16 (AP) President Mahinda Rajapaksa said Saturday that his country had defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels on the battlefield and emerged victorious from its quarter century civil war. "My government, with the total commitment of our armed forces, has in an unprecedented humanitarian operation finally defeated the LTTE militarily," he said referring to the rebels by their formal name, the LTTE. "I will be going back to a country that has been totally freed from the barbaric acts of the LTTE," he said more..

May 16 (Xinhua) Swarnam and Shashi Master, two senior leaders of the LTTE rebels were killed in the fight, defense officials said Saturday. Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, the military spokesman, confirmed the two deaths. The two leaders were killed at Kariyalamullavaikkal west in the northeastern Mullaithivu district. The rebels who are facing certain defeat are currently trapped in an area of around 2 sq kms. more..