Apr 28 (AFP) Houses in this rebel-held town were deserted and streets eerily empty Friday, three days after Sri Lanka's military pounded it with a fiery blitz that a Tamil Tiger political officer said killed 15 people and injured 25. Smashed buildings, tangled powerlines and small blood-stained bomb and shell craters gave a hint of the mayhem wreaked more..

Apr 28 (AFP) Displaced by the war, displaced by the tsunami, now Kiyathupillai Mohideen is on the move again - this time after clashes between the Sri Lankan military and Tamil Tiger rebels killed three members of his family. The 66-year-old white-bearded devout Muslim is not the only one who has been uprooted again in the troubled Trincomalee district of northeastern Sri Lanka. more..

Apr 28 (Reuters) Sri Lankan troops wearing motorcycle helmets stormed into a shopping mall in the capital Colombo on Friday, Reuters witnesses said, grabbing a woman who police said they suspected was linked to Tamil Tiger rebels. Police said they had received information that a woman suspected of the links to the Tamil Tigers was in the Majestic City shopping mall, and had arrested her. more..

Apr 28 (HT) Chances of peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE have brightened with the two sides likely to come to an agreement soon on the controversial issue of the transport of the LTTE's top commanders. A well placed diplomatic source told Hindustan Times on Friday, that the government had offered a sea plane of the state-owned Sri Lankan Airlines more..

Apr 28 (AP) The ethnic Tamil bomber who blew herself up targeting Sri Lanka's top general was pregnant, and that helped her to conceal explosives and get inside army headquarters for a maternity check, an investigator says. The brazen, meticulously planned attack Tuesday triggered reciprocal military action by both government troops and the Tamil Tiger rebels, more..

Apr 28 (AFP) Sri Lanka's international donors were meeting in Oslo in a bid to save a four-year-old ceasefire threatened by a suicide attack on the army chief and retaliatory government air strikes. Peace broker Norway said the island's top aid givers -- Japan, the European Union and the United States -- would hold talks with the Norwegian government to review the unrest more..

Apr 28 (LeN) Access to LTTE areas was closed at 15.30 hrs yesterday by Srilankan Army. Barbed wires were put to close the area. Kattaparichchan and Mahindapura borders. LTTE held meetings in Sampoor & Kadatkaraichenai asking people to move away to protected places. When asked from the community what were the protected places, they said away from coastal areas and towards high ground. This shows they never expected air strikes. more..

Apr 28 (PTI) Sri Lanka today accused LTTE of causing a "dent" to the ceasefire by carrying out a suicide attack on the island nation's Army chief earlier this week and sought continued political support from India to ensure a negotiated political solution to the problem. more..

Apr 29 (BBC) The United Nations has warned of an �emerging trend� of intimidation of refugees in welfare centres in Sri Lanka government-controlled areas. According to the Colombo office of UNHCR, Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in a welfare centre in Vavuniya were intimidated by a group of masked men. more..

Apr 29 (AP) The Sri Lanka government and Tamil Tiger rebels have agreed to meet for peace talks in Geneva, but no date has been set, a Norwegian peace envoy said Friday. Jon Hanssen-Bauer said the peace talks would be held after a meeting by the leaders of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE. more..

Apr 29 (TW) The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Professor Philip Alston, today called on the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to take urgent measures to end political killings and to strengthen protection for human rights as conflict looked set to spiral out of control. more..

Apr 29 (RW) If Sri Lankan Tigers are saying patience is running out, Tuesday�s bomb attack followed by military air strikes only means time is running out for those affected by conflict and debilitated by the tsunami in the north and east of the island nation. more..

Apr 29 (AT) Commando forces of the TamilEala Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) have so far carried out four deep penetration missions into the Vanni Tigers' stronghold, according to informed sources. It is learnt that the Deep Penetrating forces of TMVP operates from Vavuniya - Mannar border area. more..

Apr 29 (AT) Presenting an assessment of the current critical situation caused by LTTE violence to President Mahinda Rajapakse the EPDP Secretary General Douglas Devananda states that if the Tigers continue to avoid the opportunities given to them then, as head of state, the President should negotiate "only with those forces who believe in peace and arrange to more..

Apr 29 (AT) The Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference in a press statement announced that they met in Oslo, Norway on 28 April "to assess the serious situation in Sri Lanka and examine how Co-Chairs could most effectively respond to it," but did not disclose what measures they would take to curb violence and save Sri Lanka from the "deteriorating situation." more..

Apr 29 (UCAN) Catholic and Protestant leaders have jointly urged the Sri Lankan government and the rebel LTTE to halt mounting violence and return to the negotiating table. "We strongly appeal to LTTE that is suspected of having committed the latest crime to desist from all acts of violence and create an atmosphere conducive for a negotiated settlement," Christian leaders said in a statement more..

Apr 29 (NIP) The Sri Lankan Government had no other option but to launch strikes on the LTTE bases in the eastern areas on April 25 and 26 as there was immense provocation by the terrorist organisation, according to High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in India C J Jayasinghe. more..

Apr 29 (BBC) The BBC's Soutik Biswas is one of the first journalists to reach the Tamil Tiger-held territory of Muthur - bombarded by Sri Lankan forces after Tuesday's assassination attempt on the nation's army chief - where he met both Tigers and residents. The Tamil Tigers do not seem unduly worried over the decimation of a beachfront training camp by this week's air strikes more..

Apr 29 (DG) The LTTE finances itself by contributions from the Tamil diaspora around the world, including North America, Europe, and Australia, and by imposing local ''taxes'' on businesses operating in the areas of Sri Lanka under its control, US State Department Country Report on Terrorism 2005 said in a release today. more..

Apr 29 (ZN) Sixteen Sri Lankans have sought refuge in India following the recent spate of violence in the island, the UNHCR said today. Sri Lankan refugees began arriving again on 22 April in India and as a result of the latest incidents in Sri Lanka, 16 people have landed on the shores of southern India since this time, the UNHCR said in a statement. more..

Apr 29 (PTI) The Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) will conduct roadshows in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore to attract more number of Indian tourists to the island nation. Fifteen top-end travel companies from Sri Lanka, comprising hoteliers and tour operators, have targeted to interact with more than 600 companies in India during the roadshows. more..

Apr 29 (IANS) The European Union is sharply divided over outlawing Tamil Tiger guerrillas, and indications are a ban is not immediately in the offing despite this week's suicide bomb attack blamed on the insurgents. The 25-nation grouping is debating whether or not it should declare the LTTE a terrorist group, a public request for which was made only on April 23 by the Sri Lankan government. more..

Apr 29 (Hindu) President Mahinda Rajapakse on Friday convened an all-party meeting to discuss "the future course of action" to be adopted in the peace process. The meeting is also to evolve a position seeking international support for Sri Lanka's peace moves, a senior Presidential source said. more..

Apr 29 (BBC) Major political parties in Sri Lanka have expressed their fullest support to President Mahinda Rajapaksa after a suicide bomb blast injured the country�s top military commander. The fourth session of the All Party Conference (APC) held on Friday offered support to the Head of State �at this decisive moment,� a government statement said. more..

Apr 29 (TW) While Mr. Geneva II is slipped into the Bay of Geneva from the boat �S.L.Northeast�, here the much talked about or criticized Hon. CFA, the Minister in charge of enforcing peace in the country, is admitted into the intensive care unit of ill- equipped Kilinochchi Hospital. Not surgery, but God only could save him. We pray. more..

Apr 29 (TW) I remember it well and I remember it poorly - the conversation at the Arts Centre Club. It was quite remarkable, actually, in that bar where more than half the regulars were my friends, in that bar where I am sure I had my first drink - either a rum and coke or a gin and lime, certainly, but again I don�t know for sure, more..

Apr 29 (TW) It is not the sweeping victory of the UPFA that the people in general are talking about, but what happened to the JVP which boasted of taking over 25 councils finally ending up with one, and that too the only one they already had under them. The sound beating the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) got was a foregone conclusion and more..

Apr 29 (IO) Whizzing along a stony path past a school of waving pupils in the Sri Lankan jungle, you could be forgiven for feeling like a visiting dignitary. Everybody in this neck of the woods - from paddy-field workers to Jeep-driving estate owners - wanted to befriend us. Only the many dogs lolling around seemed indifferent to our presence. more..

Apr 29 (TW) Responding to heavy international pressure, President Mahinda Rajapakse has suspended the retaliatory attacks that commenced in Trincomalee district after the assassination attempt on Lankan Army commander. Representatives of major donor nations as well as India exercised quiet yet intensive diplomacy on the Sri Lankan government to suspend all reprisal actions harming innocent civilians of the North - East. more..

Apr 29 (TW) Police Investigators probing the assassination attempt on Army chief Sarath Fonseka have in a bizarre twist alleged that the woman suicide bomber was actually oregnant and not pretending to be pregnant as believed earlier. While sleuths are trying to ascertain the truth about the woman political observers feel that if such allegations are proved true it would more..

Apr 29 (TW) With the attack on the Sri Lankan Army Chief by a suspected LTTE suicide bomber on the 25th , followed by attack on the Naval crafts of Sri Lankan Navy and the retaliatory air strikes in the Sampoor area off Trincomalee by the Sri Lankan Air force, the question arises whether the Cease-fire agreement brokered by Norway four years ago is coming apart? more..

Apr 29 (TW) If some one fools any one the first time and gets away with it, he is cleverer than the one fooled. The one fooled may have been trusting and thus become vulnerable to being fooled. If the same person succeeds in fooling the same victim a second time, the victim is definitely a fool. However, if this person tries to fool the same victim a third time, he is the fool, unless the victim is an imbecile. more..

Apr 29 (AT) The United States releasing its annual Country Reports on Terrorism on Friday, 28 April, notes in its Sri Lanka section that "the LTTE has not targeted the U.S. citizens or assets, limiting attacks to Sri Lankan security forces, political figures, civilians, and businesses". more..

Apr 29 (AT) In his observations on Trincomalee & Sampoor Major General Ulf Henricsson, Head of Mission of the SLMM pointed out, "Sri Lanka Air Force and Navy had definitely targeted military positions and offices of the LTTE". He further observed that some collateral damage to property had taken place as some of the LTTE offices were situated in populated areas. more..

Apr 29 (LeN) The number of displaced persons from the recent air and ground attacks by security forces on Muttur ? Sampoor areas are not very accurate according to UNOCHA. The numbers displaced in these areas according to some reports ran to over 40,000 or more. more..

Apr 29 (GN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday appealed to all political parties to work in unison to resolve the current critical situation in the country and to give the real picture of the country to the world which has encountered the wrong image created by certain foreign media internationally on the current situation. more..

Apr 29 (SLA) A SNIPER FIRE DIRECTED BY LTTE TERRORISTS from a near by jungle area of NANADDAN, MANNAR this evening (28) at about 5.30 p.m. took the life of another soldier bathing in a lake with several of his fellow soldiers. The LTTE sniper attack killed the unarmed soldier Private SUNIL WICKRAMASINGHE of KEKIRAWA who was bathing in the lake. more..

Apr 29 (SLA) LTTE TERRORISTS, in what were seen as novel terror tactics to cause violence and havoc against members of the Security Forces unsuccessfully tried to infiltrate the Forward Defence Lines (FDLs) in ALAMPIL and KOKKUTHUDUVAI in WELIOYA on Thursday (27). more..

Apr 29 (SLA) LTTE TERRORISTS as usual repeated their blood-thirsty terror tactics on the troops serving at VANNARPANI, JAFFNA Thursday (27) evening killing one more soldier of the Sri Lanka National Guard (SLNG) Regiment. LTTE terrorists covering behind civilians threw the hand grenade and ran away after creating panic among the public who were busy in the area. more..

Apr 29 (SLA) GUN-CARRYING TAMIL TIGERS (LTTE) after emerging from wayside jungles in PANKULAMA area, TRINCOMALEE ambushed an Air Force vehicle carrying meals to the Airmen on duty in the area at noon on Thursday (27) firing two Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) and a rain of small arms on Air Force troopers. more..

Apr 29 (LT) A Gampaha resident woman has filed a case at Colombo high courts demanding that Ceylon Tobacco Company must pay compensation for the death of her husband. She says that her husband has been a smoker since childhood which resulted in developing a cancer in his body which caused his death. more..

Apr 29 (LT) As a result of special operations done by the security forces after the suicide bomber attacked the Army Commander many suspects were apprehended, reports said. The search operations at Colombo on the 25th night have resulted in acquitting of 97 suspects whereas operations in Kandy and Kalutara security forces arrested another 37 suspects. more..

Apr 29 (LT) Solicitor general Kamalasabesan yesterday (28th) informed the Appeal Court that the government is expecting to pay compensations for the account holders of bankrupted �Pramukha� Bank. Solicitor General declared this when the appeal courts asked him to inform the government position regarding the petition filed by the account holders affected by the crisis of the �Pramukha� Bank. more..

Apr 29 (LT) UNP Parliamentarian Hemakumara Nanayakkara identified �BBC� letters that stand for British Broadcasting Corporation as �Binna, Begal and Keppa� words used in Sinhalese terminology for �slanders, falsehoods and fabrications. He was referring to the falsehoods BBC published regarding the recent incidents in Sri Lanka. more..

Apr 29 (LT) Though all other parties put their signatures for the joint statement approved by all parties at the All Party Conference held yesterday, UNP wanted to remain until today to sign it. The UNP representatives present at the conference said they agreed with the contents of the joint statement. However, they said they would sign it only after consultations with the party leadership. more..

Apr 29 (PIS) With relative calm in the North East yesterday, the Co-chairs of the peace process met in Oslo and agreed to regroup again in Japan renewing hopes that the government and the LTTE will meet for talks sooner than later. Norway's Minister and Chief Peace Facilitator Erik Solheim said the government and the LTTE were in contact with the SLMM 'to establish the groundwork for talks in Geneva,� more..

Apr 29 (PIS) A Report put out by the LTTE on April 28 detailing what it characterizes as �Tamil civilians murdered by, and under the supervision of Sri Lankan Armed Forces since Geneva Talks until April 27, 2006� is an exercise in cynicism at its worst and is not based on fact. more..

Apr 29 (LNP) Madhusi Seneviratne of Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo obtained the best results at last year`s GCE ordinary level examination, according to the results released yesterday. Kasun Fernando of Richmond College, Galle became the next best while Maheshi Sandunika Wijeybandara of Musaeus College, Colombo secured the third place. more..

Apr 29 (LNP) A massive incomplete building, covering a block of about fifty perches of land of the Sunandarama Maha Viharaya, Ambalangoda, headquarters of Amerapura Maha Nikaya, has become a small shrub jungle after being neglected for several decades. All sorts of sorded activities are been carried out even during day time. more..

Apr 29 (LNP) Over one thousand Girl Guides from the nine provinces will meet at the `All Island Girl Guide Camp` at the Central College Grounds Anuradhrpura, from the 26th to the 30th April, 2006. The activities at Camp will give them a lot of fun and the challenges will help them to face a happy and encouraging life, in the future. more..