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Karuna plans Euro tour Sunday, 22 April 2007 - 8:43 AM SL Time Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, alias Karuna, is preparing to embark on a European tour covering Britain, Germany and France, The Sunday Times learns. His visa application to travel to Britain was forwarded last week to the British High Commission in Colombo. The purpose of the visit is said to be aimed at popularizing his movement among his supporters in the three countries and organizing propaganda events. When contacted, Karuna faction spokesman Azad Moulana declined to confirm or deny the Karuna plan. A British High Commission spokesman said they could not comment about a visa application of an individual in view of confidentiality governing visas. This is the first time, since Karuna broke away from the LTTE in April 2004 that he is planning to undertake an overseas visit publicly. 
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Sri Lanka steps up air strikes on Vanni Saturday, 21 April 2007 - 9:43 PM SL Time Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) has stepped up bombardment on Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) territory in Mullaitheevu and Kilinochchi districts during the past week. A civilian was wounded Friday, when Sri Lanka Air Force bombers hit Puthukudiyiruppu 9th Division twice Friday. SLAF MiG and Kfir bombers were observed over Kilinochchi Saturday. Ilankeswaran Pavusnila, 32, a female, was wounded Friday when SLAF bombers bombed Puthukkudiyiruppu 9th Division, according to Tamileelam Police officials in Kilinochchi. SLAF bombers dropped bombs on Puthukkudiyiruppu twice, at 8:20 a.m. and 8:50 a.m.
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Norway resumes talks to revive peace process Saturday, 21 April 2007 - 7:15 AM SL Time In what is seen as another Norwegian attempt to get both the government and the LTTE to return to the negotiating table, the peace facilitators yesterday met government chief peace negotiator Nimal Siripala de Silva to discuss the future of the peace process. However the government said there had not been any new moves to resume talks although the LTTE had a fortnight ago told the SLMM it was willing to return to talks if the ceasefire agreement was implemented and used as the basis for negotiations. Following his meeting with Minister Siripala de Silva the Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar was due to meet LTTE chief negotiator S.P. Thamilselvan in Killinochchi on Monday. Embassy spokesman Eric Nuerenburg told the Daily Mirror this was a `routine` meeting between the Norwegians and the LTTE.
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| Security
Security Forum
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Govt. will fully support UK credit scam probe Monday, 23 April 2007 - 10:58 AM SL Time The Foreign Ministry yesterday said it would extend its fullest cooperation to the ongoing investigations by the British authorities into a multimillion-pound British credit card scam which may be funding the LTTE. `On our part we will extend our fullest support to the ongoing investigations by the British authorities into the scam,` Foreign Ministry, Public Communications Director General Ravinatha Aryasingha told the Daily Mirror yesterday. However he refused to give any details about what `kind` of support the Sri Lankan authorities would extend. Mr. Aryasingha also said this was the first tangible direct action by British authorities against LTTE activities in the UK, since the banning of the terrorists group in 2001.
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SLA deploys elite forces in Northern Front Monday, 23 April 2007 - 5:44 AM SL Time Sri Lanka Army has moved more than two thousand heavily armed Special Forces (SF) towards the Forward Defence Line in Thenmaradchi along the Northern Front, military observers in Thenmaradchi said Sunday, speculating a Sri Lankan offensive at any time from Jaffna`s FDLs. Sri Lankan troopers were also engaged in intensive night training missions for the last three days in Jaffna`s High Security Zone surrounding the SLA`s Palaali garrison, in Thondamanaaru and Valalaai areas. As SLA troopers were training in the north with targeted mortar and artillery attacks and gunfire for a night mission, more than 2000 Special Forces were deployed in the southern Thenmaradchi region, in villages Kappoothu, Manthuvil and Sarasaalai, were moved to FDL position during the last night. Meanwhile, SLAF helicopters frequented the FDL areas from Palaly airbase throughout the day.
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Motorists in UK hit by LTTE card clone scam Sunday, 22 April 2007 - 8:48 AM SL Time Thousands of motorists who use a bank card to buy petrol are thought to have lost millions of pounds in a scam allegedly linked to Tamil rebels. It is believed cards are being skimmed at petrol stations, whereby the card details and pin numbers are retrieved and money withdrawn from the account. About 200 of the UK`s 9,500 petrol stations are thought to have been hit. The Sri Lankan government has claimed its opponents, the Tamil Tigers, are behind the scam. Police are investigating complaints made in Edinburgh, Norwich, Bury St Edmunds, Peterborough, Nottingham, Leeds, Bristol and Hull. In Hull, the economic crime section of Humberside Police are checking thousands of receipts for fuel bought with credit or debit cards at one petrol station.
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| Politics
Political News Forum
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Anti-Indian Tiger operating in S. Africa to undermine Tamil leaders Monday, 23 April 2007 - 11:11 AM SL Time On the invitation of the S. Africa government, two Tamil leaders -- Douglas Devananda, Sri Lanka`s Minister for Social Services and Social Welfare, who is also the leader of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party and V. Anandasangaree, Leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front ? are touring S. Africa right now. This is the first time that two prominent Tamil political leaders from Sri Lanka on a state visit to South Africa. While in South Africa the two Tamil leaders are expected meet a cross-section of the Tamils of Indian origin living in South Africa. They constitute nearly 2 % of the population is people of Indian origins, mainly Tamils, out of the total population of 44 million.
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UN agency OCHA to be booted out Sunday, 22 April 2007 - 8:44 AM SL Time The government will shortly give marching orders to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) asking its representatives to pack up their bags and leave the politically-troubled northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. A letter, to be sent to the UN office in Colombo, says that OCHA is `overstaying` its mandate. The UN`s Office of Humanitarian Affairs came to Sri Lanka primarily for post-tsunami rehabilitation but has continued to stay `under various new guises way outside their mandate`. The government, which is also livid that OCHA wants to play the role of a human rights monitor, has told the UN humanitarian body that this is not acceptable as there are other more appropriate agencies to do this. Stephanie Bunker, a spokeswoman in New York, told the Sunday Times that OCHA originally went to deal with coordinating the response to the tsunami. It is now also involved in helping coordinate humanitarian assistance to people in need as a result of the internal conflict.
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Sri Lanka, fast becoming a Zimbabwe in Asia: Tissa Saturday, 21 April 2007 - 7:27 AM SL Time Sri Lanka is fast becoming a Zimbabwe in Asia with all types of anti-democratic elements firmly taking root in the country, says General Secretary of the United National Party, Tissa Attanayake, MP. Condemning the pressure exerted by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on the independent media he said, `The government hierarchy has a habit of inviting media personnel to the Temple Trees, treating them and then telling them in a subtle way not to write anything critical of the government. Now they have the audacity to warn the independent media with bodily harm`. Referring to what he described as the Government`s propaganda campaign against foreign diplomats and Amnesty International he said, it was Nimal Siripala de Silva the incumbent Leader of the House and Minister of Healthcare and Nutrition who raised a huge cry of protest in Parliament in 1991 at the then government saying it had not allowed AI to come to Sri Lanka.
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| Business / Economy News
Business News Forum
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Chevron`s Sri Lanka unit reveals interest in offshore oil exploration Saturday, 21 April 2007 - 7:22 AM SL Time US oil giant Chevron-Texaco is interested in bidding for offshore oil exploration blocks off Sri Lanka waters, a top official of its local unit, Caltex Lubricants said. `Chevron is interested in the exploration opportunity,` Kishu Gomes, Managing Director Caltex in Sri Lanka told reporters. `There is a delegation going to Houston, Texas to talk to prospective investors on first of May.` Gomes is on the delegation and will talk about the private sector perspective of operating in Sri Lanka`s lubricant market at a breakfast meeting at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) to be held in Houston, Texas USA during 30 April - 3 May. The conference, billed as one of the world`s largest events for the development of offshore resources, will be where Sri Lanka will make a formal announcement to the international community on its offshore petroleum prospects.
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CEB to be strict on street lights Saturday, 21 April 2007 - 7:14 AM SL Time The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has given strict instructions to local bodies to Switch on the Street lights at 7.00 pm and switch off at 5.00 am, a Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) spokesman said. `If we could systematically do the lighting in the evenings we could save a lot of energy and this would assist us to avoid unnecessary power cuts. It would also help the CEB to cater for the Vesak Demand`, the CEB source said. The wastage occurs mainly in Anuradhapura, Kandy and Colombo. The hydropower stations Kotmale, Samanalawawe and Kukule had received a rainfall of 45mm, 24.5mm and 27mm respectively, but this was not sufficient. The major reservoirs like Victoria and Randenigala are still waiting for more rain.
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Government vows to widen income tax net? Friday, 20 April 2007 - 6:30 AM SL Time The Government yesterday vowed to widen its income tax net to counter rising inflation in the country which currently hovers around 19 to 21 percent. Deputy Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya told the Daily Mirror yesterday that inflation was on the rise due to the Central Bank having to print money to meet the demands of the country`s economic growth which registered a healthy 7.4 percent rate last year. He denied the UNP claim that the Central Bank had printed 38 billion rupees to support the jumbo Cabinet and Government promotional campaigns, saying the Bank was an independent body that printed notes solely to cater to the country`s economic demands, and not to suit the whims and fancies of the Government.
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| Editorial News
Editorial News Forum
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Enlightening public opinion Sunday, 22 April 2007 - 8:49 AM SL Time Nearly two decades or more ago, Mr. A.S. Jayawardene, a former Governor of the Central Bank, persuaded the editor of an English morning daily to publish weekly economic indicators which he said the bank would provide on a timely basis. Previously this data was available in the Central Bank`s monthly Bulletin which was invariably several months late. At that point of time, economic statistics were not `sexy` reading matter from a newspaper`s point of view and a full page once a week was a lot of space to devote to material considered to be of marginal interest to readers. Nevertheless, the experiment was begun and now, several years later, its success is self-evident. People are much more aware today than ever before of economic factors like inflation that erode real incomes and painfully accumulated savings, and affect the quality of their lives.
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Is the LTTE Weak? Saturday, 21 April 2007 - 7:23 AM SL Time `Is the LTTE weak?` This is the question very often raised by those who are interested in the Sri Lankan conflict. The answer could be both `Yes` and `No.` Many people in Sri Lanka are of the view that the LTTE is on the run. Many are eagerly looking forward for capturing of the leader of the LTTE to be tried and hung for the heinous crimes he has committed. They expect it to happen very soon since the media reports emanating from the Sri Lankan press have suggested that the ultimate defeat of the LTTE is eminent. In this context, no one can save the LTTE from the present predicament. Are all these propositions are true? Yes, the LTTE is in crisis and it is on the verge of collapse. No, it is still strong and it has not lost its military capabilities.
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A criminal in deputy minister`s clothing Friday, 20 April 2007 - 6:29 AM SL Time The government has launched a much-advertised crackdown on the underworld. It says it wants to rid the country of crime and narcotics. But, its campaign won`t yield the intended results, unless the links between politicians and criminal gangs are severed first of all. It is not only politicians who have risen above the law. Crime czars, too, enjoy legal immunity, thanks to political patronage. Successive governments have created many criminals. Contract killer, extortionist and convicted rapist Gonawala Sunil (UNP), the baby-faced monster responsible for many murders and assaults Sotththi Upali (UNP), murderer and extortionist Beddegana Sanjeewa (PA), killer and robber Wambotta (PA) and many other underworld kingpins would have been nonentities in the world of crime but for their political connections. (The JVP, too, made use of the underworld during its second insurrection to eliminate political rivals, as that method proved to be convenient and effective.)
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| Sports News
Sports News Forum
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Woolmer murder suspect identified Monday, 23 April 2007 - 11:02 AM SL Time Jamaican Police, assisted by Scotland Yard, have identified a suspect in the Bob Woolmer murder case, according to a report in The Independent. The report further states that digital enhancement of CCTV footage from cameras on the 12th floor of the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica, where Woolmer was staying, has identified at least one suspect in the killing. The cleaned up images from London show at least one individual of considerable interest. However, Jamaican Police declined to comment on the identity of the suspect, said to be a male.
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If Lanka enters final, President will be there Sunday, 22 April 2007 - 8:42 AM SL Time President Mahinda Rajapaksa is set to travel to Kensington Oval in Barbados in the event of Sri Lanka cricket team entering the finals in the ongoing cricket World Cup in the Caribbean. The President yesterday wrapped up a four-day visit to Italy and was due in Colombo and will be travelling to the Caribbean for the finals depending on the outcome of Tuesday`s semi final between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at Sabina Park in Jamaica. Sports and Public Recreation Minister Gamini Lokuge has already left for the Caribbean Islands to witness the semi finals and will be staying on there if the Sri Lankan team enters the finals. President Rajapaksa earlier shot down an attempt by some 60 politicians and sports authorities to go to the Caribbean on state expense to watch the Sri Lankan cricket team playing.
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Wettimuny, Kalu join Tharanga-Atapattu World Cup debate Saturday, 21 April 2007 - 7:26 AM SL Time The wretched form of Sri Lanka`s left-handed opener Upul Tharanga has opened the possibility of former captain Marvan Atapattu making a comeback in the semi-final clash with New Zealand. Tharanga managed just 17 runs in his last three outings and his longest innings lasted no more than 22 balls -- a huge cause for concern. Atapattu is a member of Sri Lanka`s 15-member squad, but has not played in this World Cup. `That`s something we`ll have to think about. He`s hitting the ball pretty well but he`s just not spending time out there in the middle,` Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene told journalists in Grenada. Sidath Wettimuny, a highly acclaimed opening batsman in the 1980s, said showing Tharanga the door to make way for Atapattu was `a very tough call to make.`
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