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What is the Sri Lankan military up to in Vaharai Monday, 5 February 2007 - 10:30 AM SL Time According to the Sri Lankan military two of its men were injured during mine clearance, one in Kathiraveli and another one in Vaharai and both men were admitted to hospital today. Where did these mines come from? LTTE did not lay any mines inside the Vaharai area. There was only a few hours between the time when civilians fled Vaharai area and LTTE pulled back from Vaharai. Any civilian who was in Vaharai at that time will attest to the fact that no mines were laid anywhere near their homes. Within the few hours before LTTE pulled back it is impossible to lay that many mines which would engage the Sri Lankan military in a mine clearance operation. One only needs average intelligence to work out this `mine theory` of the military. 
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Karuna slams Human Rights Watch over latest report Monday, 5 February 2007 - 2:38 AM SL Time A day before the UN Security Council working group was slated to study special envoy Allan Rock`s report on abductions by the Karuna faction, the group led by V. Muralitharan, alias Karuna Amman slammed the New York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) for making similar charges against his outfit in a report released two weeks ago. Karuna Amman however lauded the landmark weekend visit undertaken by President Mahinda Rajapakse to Vakarai saying it gives the Tamil people hope of the commitment of the Rajapaksa regime to resolve the continuing ethnic conflict despite the signing of a cease fire agreement which today remains only on paper.
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TNA invited to `help liberate Tamils` Sunday, 4 February 2007 - 9:08 PM SL Time Rajapaksa said Tamil National Alliance (TNA), widely regarded as a close ally of Tamil Tigers, is yet to enter into `any dialogue or agreement` with his administration. Addressing the nation in front government leaders and foreign dignitaries at Galle Face Green to mark Sri Lanka`s 59 Independence Day, the President said it is essential that all parties put motherland before anything else. Religious leaders and representatives of all communities also attended the ceremony. Making a special appeal on TNA parliamentarians, he said: `The only way to safeguard innocent Tamils in the North from terrorism and violence and to liberate North is to join hands with us`. The President said his address is different to that of other Independence Day speeches.
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| Security
Security Forum
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Tamil Americans pay tribute to Anton Balasingham Tuesday, 6 February 2007 - 1:25 AM SL Time Several hundred Tamil Americans braved the weather to pay tribute to the later Anton Balasingham, theoretician and political advisor of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), at a memorial event held in Manmouth Middle School in New Jersey, 5:00 p.m. Saturday. Mr Balasingham was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in the middle of November, and passed away on 14 December 2006. Attendees to the event observed a minute of silence and then paid floral tribute to the photograph of Mr Balasingham at the start of the event. Mr Visuvanathan Rudrakumar, the legal advisor to the LTTE, speaking at the event said: `Mr Balasingham gave the political and theoretical framework for the Tamil Nation`s legitimate political aspirations. He believed that since the Tamils are denied political space to exercise their right to self-determination they have a right to establish an independent Tamil Eelam as manifestation of the exercise of that right.
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Grandeur and notable absentees Monday, 5 February 2007 - 2:37 AM SL Time Parades demonstrating military power vied with displays symbolising the pride of the country`s great cultural heritage at the 59th National Day celebrations held yesterday. Ceremonies began with a guard of honour by the three forces commanded by Major S.P. Aluvihare of the Gajaba Regiment. It was followed by a parade of the three forces and police commanded by Major General U.B.T. Fernando. The parades which lasted about 45 minutes were a show of country`s military strength. Sayuru, Samuduru, Sagara, Shakti, Udara and Nandimitra along with another six fast attack dvoras performed naval exercises while 36 aircraft held the crowds spell-bound with a display of aerobatics. The off-shore petrol vessel SLN Sayuru, the flagship which was re-introduced into service for the first time after repairs in India led the naval exercises.
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Lanka `taking steps` to cut LTTE`s funding lines Sunday, 4 February 2007 - 9:06 PM SL Time SRI Lanka is taking bold and determined steps to cut the funding lines of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), South Asian country`s Foreign Minister Rohita Bogollegama told the Gulf Times yesterday. Bogollegma, who took over as foreign affairs minister a week ago, was transiting through the Doha International Airport while returning to Colombo after a four-day tour of India and Germany. Sri Lankan foreign secretary Palitha T B Kohona was also accompanying the minister. `We had extensive deliberations with foreign ministers of Germany and India and the two countries have promised their continuous support to Sri Lanka in fighting those engaged in a violent struggle for a statehood on our soil,` said Bogollegama.
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| Politics
Political News Forum
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US tried to save MoU, but failed Sunday, 4 February 2007 - 7:03 AM SL Time The United States Government made a last ditch attempt last week to ensure the Memorandum of Understanding between the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party majority Government and the main opposition United National Party (UNP) remained intact but its efforts failed. The attempt came on Saturday (January 27), hours before President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was to swear in a new Cabinet that included dissidents of the UNP. The US move came in the form of a telephone call from Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary in the State Department. The detailed response from President Rajapaksa is not known. However, he is learnt to have held the view that his political moves should not endanger the SLFP-UNP Memorandum of Understanding since he was only accepting opposition parliamentarians who had wanted to cross over on their own.
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Govt. had no need for crossovers: Nimal Saturday, 3 February 2007 - 4:54 AM SL Time Senior Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said on Thursday there had been no real need for the Government to accommodate crossovers from the UNP, but it could not reject them democratically as they wanted to join hands with President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Speaking at a function to mark the handing over of 25 buses to Bandarawela Depot, the Minister said despite allegations made in this regard, the President had not wanted to create a split in the UNP. The Minister said at the time of signing the MoU, President Rajapaksa had impressed upon the UNP leadership the need to treat party MPs properly to avoid discord in the party.
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Acute shortage of newsprint in Jaffna Saturday, 3 February 2007 - 4:40 AM SL Time International Independent Journalist Organization and Sri Lanka Organization for Freedom of Expression in Jaffna have sent letters to the Ambassadors of donor countries and International media agencies, informing the severe shortage of news print and ink in the Jaffna peninsula. The shortage has forced the publishers of Tamil dailies to reduce the number of pages and the number of copies published, the publishers said. The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) closure of the A9 route in August 2006 and the reluctance of the Commissioner of Essential Services to ship these printing material, have been the causes of the current acute shortage of news print and ink, the newspaper publishers in the peninsula said.
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| Business / Economy News
Business News Forum
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Over 1 billion barrels of oil off Sri Lanka coast Monday, 5 February 2007 - 2:40 AM SL Time Seismic data shows more than 1.0 billion barrels of oil lie under the sea off Sri Lanka`s northwest coast, the island`s petroleum minister said on Friday, adding exploration bids would be called in early April. If proven, such a find would be a major boost for a land which produces no crude oil of its own and must import all of its needs to the tune of between $1.0 billion to $2.0 billion a year -- which in turn hammers the island`s budget deficit. `There are more than 1.0 billion barrels,` Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development Minister A.H.M. Fowzie told Reuters in a telephone interview. `We are already making arrangements to call for bids ... in early April.` Fowzie said eight blocks would be licenced, with China and India promised one each.
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Virtusa going public in US Sunday, 4 February 2007 - 7:04 AM SL Time Virtusa Incorporation, the leading US IT firm, will go down in history as the first Lankan run US firm to list on the NASDAQ Stock Market in the United States, according to company officials. `Virtusa is planning on a possible listing in the NASDAQ,` a senior company official told The Sunday Times FT, adding that this move is being discussed by the top management and it is highly likely that Virtusa will go for an initial public offering (IPO) this year. `They were contemplating an IPO for sometime and now they feel it is the right time,` he said. He said that with this move, Virtusa will be the first company that was founded by a Sri Lankan to be listed in the US and even globally.
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Sri Lanka signs cultural pact with Egypt Sunday, 4 February 2007 - 6:59 AM SL Time The governments of Sri Lanka and Egypt signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cultural Cooperation during an official visit to Egypt by Sri Lanka`s Minister for Culture Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana. The agreement was signed by Minister Abeywardena on behalf of Sri Lanka and Farouk Hosni, Minister of Culture, on behalf of the government of Egypt, at the Cultural Ministry in Cairo. This MOU directs the two countries for expanded cultural relations. It proposes cooperation between the fields of Museums, Libraries, Archaeological Protection, maintaining and restoration of cultural heritage. Exchange of cultural troupes, artistes, ballet and theatre on a reciprocal basis, exchange of books, traditional and folk arts, cinema and delegations to film festivals are also proposed.
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| Editorial News
Editorial News Forum
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The bloated obscenity Sunday, 4 February 2007 - 7:01 AM SL Time A reader`s letter we carry in today`s issue of this newspaper reflects public opinion, certainly urban middle class public opinion, on the size of the jumbo cabinet that President Mahinda Rajapakse has loaded on the backs of this country`s taxpayers to ensure the stability of his government. The president and his strategists may take comfort from the belief that rural people in the distant countryside are not as infuriated as the urban middle class about such political profligacy. They may be right. But the fact is that nobody anywhere will applaud this kind of circus. Talking to national editors and heads of the electronic media early in the New Year, Rajapakse tried to gloss over the then impending cabinet expansion saying that ministers and MPs are now paid the same and the reshuffle will enable rationalization of subject allocation. Nobody took him seriously when he said, `viyadama aduwenava misak vedi venne ne,` (the expenditure will go down rather than up.)
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Political foxes and ministerial grapes Saturday, 3 February 2007 - 4:52 AM SL Time A common ruse employed by a pickpocket in trying to escape a mob giving him the chase, calling for others` help to catch him, is to deceive the onlookers by repeating the pursuers` cry, `Pickpocket! Pickpocket!`, and run for dear life, holding on to the stolen wallet. Some government ministers seem to have taken a leaf out of pickpockets` book in a bid to escape the public wrath over the jumbo cabinet. On Tuesday, Minister and General Secretary of the SLFP Maithripala Sirisena said he was ashamed of the over-sized cabinet of President Mahinda Rajapakse. In our editorial on Wednesday, Masses aren`t asses, Mr. Sirisena!, we dwelt on his hypocrisy and asked him to resign from the cabinet, if he was really ashamed of being a member thereof.
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Of the Sri Lankan Animal Farm Friday, 2 February 2007 - 4:57 AM SL Time The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused, by a majority decision, leave to proceed with a fundamental rights violation application filed by the Public Sector Salary Review Trade Unions Committee (PSSRTUC), as regards a parliamentary resolution to grant MPs, Ministers and the President pay hikes. The Chairperson of the Bench, Justice Shirani Tilakawardene, dissented. Today, we report that the PSSRTUC, not deterred by the Supreme Court ruling, is planning to move the Judicial Committee of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) against the parliamentary decision. Whether they will succeed in their endeavour remains to be seen but their courage and determination need to be appreciated. The learned judges of the Supreme Court know the law and how to interpret it best and we don`t seek to dispute the basis of their decision. But, the fact remains that parliamentarians have no moral right to grant themselves pay hikes, as we pointed out in a previous editorial. Their action is tantamount to a judge hearing his or her own case! (Lawmakers become judges when they sit on the privileges committee only to make a mockery of democracy.)
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| Sports News
Sports News Forum
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When Ranatunga outwitted Warne Sunday, 4 February 2007 - 7:02 AM SL Time Fiery fast bowlers, smart captains, childish skirmishes, pay back times... the World Cup has had them all. Jeff Thomson (Australia) v Sunil Wettimuny (Sri Lanka) Group match, The Oval, June 11, 1975 Stung by the criticism of his constant overstepping in Australia`s previous match, Thomson was at his ferocious best. He first put Duleep Mendis in St Thomas` Hospital by hitting him on the head with a bouncer. Thomson was also ruthless with Sunil Wettimuny. The Sri Lanka opener withstood several blows to the body, and Thomson unsportingly tried to run him out as he hopped around after being struck on the foot. Wettimuny battled on to a game 53 but eventually decided to call it a day and join Mendis in the injured list after chopping the ball on to the same battered foot for a second time.
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Rajapakse ton for Royal Sunday, 4 February 2007 - 7:00 AM SL Time In form batsman Banuka Rajapakse hammered a 145 ball 132, laced with 19 fours and three sixes as Royal scored 249 on the first day of their Inter School Elephant Lemonade Trophy Under-20 match against St. Peter`s College which commenced at Bambalapitiya on Friday. In reply, Krishal Magage top scored with 71 runs for St. Peter`s who were 168 for 5 at close. In the morning, paceman Umar Samsudeen impressed with a five wicket haul. Scores: Royal 249 all out in 66.4 overs (Banuka Rajapakse 132, Charith Fernando 29; Umar Samsudeen 5/75, Vinod Perera 3/39) St. Peter`s 168 for 5 at close in 28.5 overs (Krishal Magage 71, Anuk Silva 38 n.o, Srimantha Wijeratne 26) S. Thomas` 250, Joes 70/4 Tournament favourites St. Joseph`s College were four wickets down for 70 runs in reply to S. Thomas` College`s 250, which came on the back of a valuable half century by Ashan Peiris and an unbeaten half ton by R. Nirushan on the first day of their Inter School Under-20 match played for the Gilmour Jayasuriya trophy at Darley Road, on Friday.
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Tharanga, Kaushal stun Tamil Union Saturday, 3 February 2007 - 4:46 AM SL Time Tharanga Paranavithana and Kaushal Silva, who made his first first-class ton only last week in the same tourney, shared a marathon 248-run second wicket partnership together for SSC as the Maitland Place club stunned a hapless Tamil Union with a reply of 509 for only three. Tamil Union made only 199 all out in their first innings. The 24-year-old Tharanga from Kegalle, a left-handed opener, scored a scintillating 205 not out, in 318 balls with a streak of 23 boundaries, in an innings that lasted the entire day-2 of the four-day encounter on Thursday. Silva was run out after scoring 155 in 148 deliveries of which 26 were sent back to the lines as fours. Opener Avishka Gunawardene, who resumed from 43 n.o., made a quick 98, which came in only 89 balls, inclusive of 15 fours and a six. SSC now leads by 307 runs with seven wickets in hand.
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