Aug 26 (TW) The Indian daily �The Hindu� on August 17 in its editorial titled �The LTTE�s war trap� said: �The LTTE has used one provocation after another to draw a military response from the Government. It has no interest in a just, federal settlement for Sri Lankan Tamils in a united Sri Lanka. more..

Aug 26 (TW) In spite of bombings and heavy rain, over 5000 people from Colombo took part in a demonstration and rally calling upon the two parties to stop the war. The rally also demonstrated the largest coalition of forces to join the National Anti-War Front (NAWF) � mass mobilization campaign for peace. more..

Aug 26 (TW) Democracy has been defined as a form of government in which the people govern themselves or elect representatives to govern them. Today in Sri Lanka one wonders as to who governs. Is it the president, president and parliament, the parliament, president and part of the government or the president and courtiers of close associates? more..

Aug 26 (AT) Newly appointed Chief Operating Officer of the Reconstruction and Development Agency (RADA) Shanti Fernando has declared that all tsunami-affected families entitled to housing replacement will be provided with houses, in time for the second anniversary of the tsunami, which falls in December 26th this year. more..

Aug 26 (AT) Pakistan is playing an increased role in Sri Lanka's counter-insurgency operations against the Tamil Tigers -- and this new development is worrying India. Indian intelligence sources claim that a group of Pakistani officers were drawing up plans jointly with the Sri Lankan Air Force for "a decapitation strike from the air, with bunker-buster bombs, to kill Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran." more..

Aug 26 (AT) A fresh crisis has engulfed the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEBEU), owing to heightened tensions between engineers and the Board's vice chairman B.R.O. Fernando, with insiders cautioning that the crisis could even lead to a strike, thereby leading to a country-wide blackout. more..

Aug 26 (AT) Sri Lanka's cordial relationship with its big neighbor will be on the rocks in the event of President Mahinda Rajapakse conceding to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) pressure and decides to de-merge the North and East. more..

Aug 26 (Reuters) Government soldiers on an armed vehicle guard the city centre in Jaffna. The Red Cross evacuated foreigners from Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna peninsula and delivered aid there on Saturday after a two-week siege, but the army said a bomb left by withdrawing rebels killed six soldiers. more..

Aug 26 (AT) Ceylon Cold Stores Limited will go wild with its beverage portfolio, with its latest addition "Wild Elephant" - an energy drink containing vitamins and minerals that enhance physical and mental activity. The newcomer to the Elephant House beverage range, "Wild Elephant" promises to revolutionize the energy drink market, with an all new formula that combines the goodness of Taurine, Inosital and Vitamins B3, B5 and B6. more..

Aug 26 (Stratfor) The periodic waves of violence that envelop Sri Lanka prevent it from realizing its full strategic potential, suggested by its location at the confluence of the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka will continue to depend on India for as long as the Sri Lankan government's war with Tamil separatists continues. more..

Aug 26 (AFP) The United Nations said Friday food was running out in strife-torn parts of Sri Lanka with the government stalling the entry of the organisation's aid convoys into rebel-held areas. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it was unable to get to northern parts of the country held by the LTTE and warned the food situation there was becoming critical. more..

Aug 26 (TN) Batticaloa district volunteer teachers who have been on a hunger strike and picketing in front of the zonal education office on rotation basis for the last three weeks demanding permanent appointment held a protest procession Friday to draw the attention of religious leaders of all faiths, politicians, government officers in support of their demands. more..

Aug 26 (AT) Aerial bombing of targets within the areas under the control of the LTTE has exposed the vulnerability of Tamil rebel outfit. Sri Lanka Government embolden by its initial success with precision bombing on several targets, continued to pound yesterday the LTTE base located in the east of Iranamadu. Reports reveal that bombings have destroyed several camps there. more..

Aug 26 (Hindu) An ideal post-card town, across a lagoon which separates it from the Trincomalee town, Kinniya has all the trappings of a war zone. Every day residents wake up and sleep to exchanges between the military and the LTTE. Life has come to a virtual standstill and people are bracing themselves up for more bad news. It is no longer a question whether they would be victims of a full-fledged war but when. more..

Aug 26 (TG) Sri Lanka's high commissioner in Ottawa yesterday denied he's spreading "dirty propaganda" by saying charitable fundraising by Canadian Tamils ends up supporting terrorism back home by the banned LTTE. "There are funds generated through contributions, donations and also money obtained through extortion," W.J.S. Karunaratne said in an interview from his downtown Ottawa office. "It's very necessary to take action against this." more..

Aug 26 (ANN) The EU ban on the LTTE appears to have become a thorn in the side of the Nordic monitors. Head of the Monitoring Mission Brigadier General Ulf Henricsson, who is leaving Sri Lanka together with other EU monitors whom the LTTE has shown the door in retaliation for the EU ban, has, in an interview with AFP, faulted the EU for its ban, which he claims, has aggravated Sri Lanka's conflict. more..

Aug 26 (AP) Junida Majed kisses her 1-year-old baby Sanfa Imran at a welfare camp for displaced Muslims in Kantale, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) northeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2006. more..

Aug 26 (LT) The consultation committee appointed by the All Party Conference to find a solution for the national question will meet again next week says Minister Tissa Vitharana, Chairman of the committee. He said both parties should discuss ways to bolster the mental state of the Tamil people who have been displaced due to the atrocities committed by the tiger organization. more..

Aug 26 (LT) Mr. Wimal Weerawansa, Parliamentarian of the JVP, has thanked the Government of the USA for taking into custody, by FBI, the thirteen terrorists who were engaged in procuring anti air craft missiles to carry out attacks against Sri Lankan security forces that would endanger the national security of the country. more..

Aug 26 (LT) The Commerce and Consumer Affairs Ministry has prepared the parliamentary bill �Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties Bill� which will have a disastrous impact on the local producers, parliament sources for Lankatruth reported. This bill documented under the guidance of World Trade Organization was presented as a draft last 4th of April by the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle. more..

Aug 26 (LeN) The Jathika Hela Urumaya alleges that the mandate received by President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been besmirched by roping in the support of the Ceylon Workers Congress and the Upcountry People's Front to the government by offering ministerial and deputy ministerial posts and calls on the President to immediately declare to the country whether these two parties joined the government by accepting Mahinda Chintana policies. more..

Aug 26 (SAMN) Soon after luring the Ceylon Workers� Congress (CWC) and Upcountry People�s Front (UPF) and a positive dialogue with the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) a seemingly politically strong President Mahinda Rajapaksa Friday renewed his invitation for the UNP to support the Government in taking forward the peace process. more..

Aug 26 (SAMN) A serious food shortage is developing in the LTTE-controlled Vanni areas as a result of the closure of the entry-exit point at Omanthai, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned Friday. The WFP said more than 350,000 people including some 37,000 displaced people would starve if immediate action was not taken to reopen the A9 highway, shut owing to ongoing hostilities between government forces and the LTTE. more..

Aug 26 (SAMN) General Secretary of the SLFP Maithripala Sirisena has decided to call for explanations from the members of the party who did not take part in the Government parliamentary group meeting held this week. This decision was taken by Minister Sirisena in keeping with the instruction issued to him by President, Mahinda Rajapaksa to take serious disciplinary action against Ministers and party parliamentarians for breach of party discipline regardless of their rank and position. more..

Aug 26 (SAMN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa was in for a shock Friday when a clash broke out at the Presidential Secretariat between Western Province Governor Alavi Moulana and Petroleum Resources Minister A.H.M Fowzie over who should lead the official Haj pilgrimage delegation to Mecca this year. Trying in vain to calm them down, President Rakapaksa said he had enough problems and did not want anymore. more..

Aug 26 (LNP) Everytime the LTTE retreated in defeat after counter attacks by the Armed Forces, it has called for a ceasefire, Government defence spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said yesterday (25). He said the LTTE had shown its hand and the government will not be deceived by its ploys anymore. If at all any future talks were to be held with the LTTE it would have to be without any preconditions. more..

Aug 26 (LNP) President Mahinda Rajapakse and senior members of the Government are considering the placing of a limit on expenditure incurred, by ministers and other members of the Government, on foreign trips following reports that some ministers had spent far in excess by taking a number of officials or aides, each time they had taken trips abroad, senior official sources said yesterday (25). more..

Aug 26 (TR) fourth alleged supporter of the Tamil Tigers terrorist group has been linked to the University of Waterloo. Already reeling from the recent arrests of two former students and one current student in a joint U.S.-Canada probe, officials at UW were told about the fourth man yesterday by the RCMP. "I'm hoping this is the last," said university spokesperson Martin Van Nierop. more..

Aug 26 (DN) The Puttalam High Court complex built at a cost of Rs. 24 million was declared open by Justice and Law Reforms Minister Amarasiri Dodangoda and Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva recently. Speaking on the occasion Minister Dodangoda said the new courts complex would help people of Puttalam and surrounding areas to overcome the inconvenience caused by laws delays. more..

Aug 26 (G&M) It's an American-led investigation, but nine of the arrested suspects are now known to have links to Canada. In fact, New York prosecutors allege Tamil Tiger operatives from north of the border were the driving force behind a host of conspiracies, all aimed at subverting U.S. laws meant to ban support for terrorist organizations. more..

Aug 26 (NP) Suresh Sriskandarajah called the humanitarian work he did on his university co-op term in the jungles of northeastern Sri Lanka a "life-changing experience." Upon his return in 2004, he wrote at length in University of Waterloo publications about the fulfilment he found training the survivors of civil war to construct solar panels, designing computer networks, launching a sponsor-a-child database for a Tamil charity and playing with orphans. more..

Aug 26 (Reuters) Internally displaced Tamil villagers collect food provided by government military forces in Achchuwell refugee centre in Jaffna August 26, 2006. The Red Cross evacuated foreigners from Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna peninsula and delivered aid there on Saturday more..

Aug 26 (GM) Only three months ago, Thirukumaran Sinnathamby was preparing for his wedding to his high-school sweetheart. Yesterday he was identified as the seventh Canadian caught in a joint FBI-RCMP operation this month that led to the arrests of 11 men. Now, the newly married man sits in a U.S. prison with three other Canadians. more..

Aug 26 (Reuters) Being cut off by heavy fighting is nothing new for residents of Sri Lanka's besieged northern Jaffna peninsula. Two weeks into a new siege, they are returning to habits learned over two decades of civil war. Fifteen days ago, fighting between the government and LTTE erupted south of Jaffna, blocking off the road south through rebel territory. Sea and air routes also became impassable. Shops sold out fast. more..

Aug 26 (SP) Last Saturday evening, hours after the FBI arrested several Canadians allegedly trying to buy anti-aircraft missiles in New York, Suresh Sriskandarajah attended a wedding in Scarborough, Ont., under the watchful eye of the RCMP's anti-terrorism squad. With his warm, dark eyes and broad smile, the 26-year-old man left his friends before the reception was over and, as offi - cers secretly watched, climbed behind the wheel of his car. more..

Aug 26 (TS) Ramanan Mylvaganam was the centre around which his family revolved. He was the kind of brother who put off university and worked three jobs so he could sponsor his family to Canada, his relatives say. He was the kind of son who took care of his mother and siblings after his father died young. more..

Aug 26 (AFP) A bomb killed six Sri Lankan soldiers and wounded 11 as they cleared up after fierce fighting with Tamil Tiger rebels in the besieged northern Jaffna peninsula, a military source said. The improvised device exploded as soldiers maintained their defences on the frontline at Muhamalai on the peninsula where 11 days of battles left some 650 rebels and soldiers dead. more..

Aug 26 (Reuters) The Red Cross evacuated foreigners from Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna peninsula and troops delivered aid on Saturday after a two-week siege, but the army said a bomb left by withdrawing rebels killed six soldiers. The fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces, the first ground battles since a 2002 ceasefire, has displaced more than 200,000 people and cut off half a million in Jaffna from essential supplies. Shortages are rising. more..

Aug 26 (AP) Tamil Tiger rebels on Saturday released a policeman held for over 10 months in northern Sri Lanka as a "goodwill gesture," monitors of Sri Lanka's crumbling four-year-old cease-fire said. The officer, B.W. Bopetigoda, was handed over to monitors during a ceremony on Saturday morning, spokesman for the Nordic mission, Thorfinnur Omarsson, said. more..

Aug 26 (AP) Police on Saturday found a large weapons cache hidden in a house on the outskirts of the Sri Lankan capital, and arrested 17 people suspected of planning a major attack. The weapons haul came as the government carried out a third day of airstrikes on rebel positions in northern Jaffna Peninsula and six soldiers died in a mine blast blamed on separatist Tamil insurgents. more..

Aug 27 (PTI) Sri Lanka's World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga wants Darrel Hair to be taken off Elite Panel of ICC Umpires in the wake of the revelation that the Australian had offered to quit his post in exchange of money following the ball tampering row. Ranatunga said "bad characters" like Hair were spoiling relations between countries by their conduct and it was time the ICC took a firm action against him. more..

Aug 27 (TNA) Thai nationals in Sri Lanka and those wanting to travel to the South Asian nation should beware of escalating violence in the country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned here on Saturday. Department of Information Director General Kitti Wasinondh, who is also the ministry's spokesman, acknowledged that the violence in Sri Lanka's northern and eastern regions--and even in the country's capital of Colombo, more..

Aug 27 (DNA) Sri Lanka asserted their rising supremacy in the track and field events by picking the gold in the blue riband 100m men's and women's events in the South Asian Games on Saturday. Comeback star Susanthika Jayasinghe picked her third gold of the meet when she won the 100m, albeit with a forgettable timing of 11.32 seconds. more..

Aug 27 (NIP) A total of 412 Sri Lankan refugees, who were shifted from Mandapam camp in Ramanathapuram arrived here on Friday. The group comprising 104 families were accommodated in community halls in various parts of the district and District Collector Rajesh Lakhoni has made necessary arrangements for the same. Among the refugees, there are 148 women and 115 children. more..

Aug 27 (AT) Though I did waste at least half a decade, post-Premadasa, in something of a revivalist sect or cult, I believe that history has validated my political choices, from the EPRLF�s Pathmanabha to Vijaya to Premadasa, as the most progressive and pro-people options of their times. more..

Aug 27 (AT) President Mahinda Rajapakse probably has far stronger views on the advisability of inviting former President Chandrika Bandaranaike to the SLFP congress than he has on the unitary state�or federalism or war or peace or the LTTE� Mr. Rajapakse was a hawk during the 2001 election (he �warned� about the Tigers taking over Hambantota and Kataragama); he became a dove during his tenure as the Leader of Opposition more..

Aug 27 (LBO) Sri Lanka is trying to clinch a free trade deal with Canada to push its apparel exports, with the industry also promised a government goodie bag like cheap land and electricity, to battle China and Vietnam. "We are working with the government for a duty free deal with Canada � it is easier and faster than tackling the United States," more..

Aug 27 (LeN) The President has invited the main opposition UNP its former constituent partner JVP to join the government. The UNP was invited by a letter signed by the President himself. This letter was addressed to UNP deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya. The president has taken much care over this invitation as the letters was hand delivered to Jayasuriya. more..

Aug 27 (TN) President Mahinda Rajapakse on Friday invited the main opposition United National Party (UNP) to join his government, press reports said Sunday. In a letter to the UNP leadership, President Rajapakse had called on the opposition to join his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led government so as to resolve the �crisis� in Sri Lanka, more..