Jan 7 (LT) Petroleum Corporation has suffered a loss of three billion rupees due to oil refining at Sapugaskanda oil refinery based on incorrect report. This loss has come during the months of June, July and September.Whether crude oil is imported and refined in Sri Lanka or refined oil is imported to Sri Lanka is based on a report of the experts. more..

Jan 7 (LT) A large number of birds in Nikaweratiya have died of a hitherto unidentified disease. This come to be disclosed for the first time on the last 27th. Nearly 150 dead birds were observed that day. Health authorities are conducting investigations into the phenomenon and say that the cause for the death of the birds is not bird flu. Still 100-150 birds are dying each day. more..

Jan 7 (LNP) The military campaign in the Esat is now in a decisive phase with the Air Force going flat out against Sea Tigers as part of its strategy to protect the Trincomalee-Jaffna sea supply route. The military believes that the LTTE would try to disrupt the sea route to pressure the Jaffna-based security forces. `We are taking pre-emptive action,` an official said. more..

Jan 7 (LNP) The Welikanda police found two high powered claymore bombs in a house in Katuwanwila area on Wednesday night. The owner of the house told police that the bombs were placed there by two home guards. The two home guards were subsequently arrested. They later had admitted that they were on the pay role of the LTTE, OIC Welikanda Police CI Padamasiri Perera said. more..

Jan 7 (SAMN) Speculation in knowledgeable circles is that retired IGP Chandra Fernando would be shortly appointed as Governor of the Northern Province. Fernando represented the Government in negotiations with the LTTE last year. The Supreme Court in October declared the merger of the Eastern Province with the Northern Province under the July 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord null and void. more..

Jan 7 (SAMN) The number of women infected with HIV/AIDS is on the rise, Advocacy Coordinator of the National HIV/AIDS Prevention Programme, Dr. Champa Aluthweera said Friday. Available statistics reveal there is an increase in the total number of reported HIV infected cases. "This increase could be attributed to more patients coming forward to obtain treatment. However, the country is still at the risk of an epidemic which is preventable", she said. more..

Jan 7 (SAMN) The Private Medical Regulation Council was set up on Thursday. The Council was formed under the Private Medical institution (Registration) Act No 21 of 2006 and is vested with the powers of implementing the regulation process, supervise, investigate and penalise the local private healthcare institutions. There are nearly 200 such healthcare institutions in the country and only 80 have been registered. more..

Jan 7 (SAMN) The first rally of the United People�s Movement (UPM) established recently to protest against suppressive laws, the rising cost of living and demanding a wider decentralization of powers, will be held on Tuesday (9) at the Open Air Theatre in Nugegoda, the organizers said on Thursday. The rally scheduled to start at 3. p.m., more..

Jan 7 (CI) Sri Lanka's pace bowlers, galvanised by a supremely skilful spell of left-arm swing bowling from Chaminda Vaas, overpowered New Zealand to level the series 2-2 with one game to play. Set a challenging 263-run target, New Zealand collapsed in spectacular fashion and were bowled out for an abysmal 73 in 26.3 overs, their second lowest ODI score, to record their heaviest ever defeat. more..

Jan 7 (HT) The New Year started off well for Indian business in Sri Lanka with the Lanka Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC), winning a two-year battle to get the promised subsidy from the Sri Lankan government. Earlier, to everyone's surprise, Apollo Hospital had come back to the island after being shunted out through a hostile take over by a politically influential local corporate raider. more..

Jan 7 (HT) Police detained 10 people for questioning overnight after a bus bomb near the Sri Lankan capital killed five. Authorities strongly suspect LTTE's involvement in the blast, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday. The bombing on Friday occurred on a busy highway in Nittambuwa town, 40 km northeast of Colombo. Thirty more passengers were wounded in the blast. more..

Jan 7 (DN) The cause of the death of baby Sudesh Shehan Sandeep would be confirmed after the post-mortem is carried out by the Colombo Judicial Medical Unit on a Court Order, the child's father Susantha Mendis told the Daily News. The sudden death of the child after treatment at the Dambulla Hospital for his damaged tongue has caused concern in the medical field and the public are perturbed over similar incidents in the past few months. more..

Jan 7 (DN) Sri Lanka is to start work on its newest tourism product-the Kalpitiya Lagoon, which is located on the northwest coast. Minister of Tourism Anura Bandaranaike said that the government is going ahead with project. Announcing the government's decision, Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) chairman Udaya Nanayakkara said, "We have received the green light from the government to embark on the project." more..

Jan 7 (DM) The JHU yesterday stressed the importance of Indian support to resolve the national question. A JHU delegation met Indian High Commissioner Alok Prasad at his office yesterday to brief him on the present situation of the ethnic conflict and highlight the need to maintain the longstanding goodwill between the two countries. more..

Jan 7 (DM) Fifty live LTTE rocket shells were netted by fishermen from the Palk Straits in waters off the Tamil Nadu coast in the past 15 days, Indian police said. The Israeli and German-made shells, packed in wooden boxes, were believed to have been abandoned by the Sri Lankan militants, they said. "The shells could have been jettisoned by militants while being transported to Sri Lanka after they were spotted by some Coast Guard officials," more..

Jan 7 (PTI) Seasoned Sri Lankan campaigner Sanath Jayasuriya established a world record for most career sixes during his superb half century knock against New Zealand in their fourth one-day international cricket match on Saturday. The 37-year-old Jayasuriya sent five deliveries beyond the fence during his 44 ball 70 to take his tally to 222 sixes, overtaking Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi's figure of 217. more..

Jan 7 (AP) A bomb on a Sri Lanka passenger bus killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens more Saturday, officials said, blaming Tamil Tiger rebels. The blast, which police suspect was triggered by a female suicide bomber, was the country's second bus bombing in as many days � a sign of escalation of the bloody ethnic conflict ravaging the tropical island nation off southern India. more..

Jan 7 (Reuters) A suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber blew up a bus in Sri Lanka's south coast resort area on Saturday, killing herself and 10 passengers and wounding 50, police said of the second bus attack in as many days. The blast near the coastal town of Peraliya, around 45 miles south of Colombo -- where around 1,000 people were killed when their train was swept off its tracks by the 2004 tsunami -- comes after suspected rebels killed six civilians in a bus blast north of the capital on Friday. more..

Jan 7 (AFP) Fifteen people have been killed and 40 wounded when a suspected female suicide bomber blew up a bus in Sri Lanka, the second deadly bus attack in two days. The suicide bomber was believed to have detonated explosives that she carried onboard the crowded vehicle, which was travelling along a tourist strip in southern Sri Lanka, police said Saturday. more..

Jan 7 (AT) The Tiger attempt to disrupt the unloading of 3500 metric tons food and essential items at the Point Pedro port was thwarted when a joint operation of aerial and naval attacks targeted a cluster of 31 Sea Tiger boats in the seas off Vettilaikerni at 3.50p.m., yesterday (Saturday), said a Ministry of Defence press release. more..

Jan 7 (AT) The signs are unmistakable � Sri Lanka will be compelled to prosecute the Fourth Eelam War in an increasingly non-conducive international environment. 2006 ended badly with the unpropitious meeting between the Indian Prime Minister and the TNA. Hard on the heels of that came another shock � the hostile stance adopted by the new EU chairman, Germany towards Sri Lanka. more..

Jan 7 (AT) The appeal of the Chairman of the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) Prof. Tissa Vitharana to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) to submit its proposals to end the national problem is likely to be ignored by the Marxist party which still demands the government to not to consider the proposals prepared, based on decisions of the experts panel. more..

Jan 7 (AT) All the people of this village are Buddhists. They know not of any other religion. They strongly believe in pin (merits) and pav (sins). No are they sophisticated and exposed to the outside world either. Other than a Muslim vendor or a high government official like a white Government Agent that visit the village very rarely, no person belonging to another denomination has ever trodden this village. more..

Jan 7 (AT) The Government of Sri Lanka yesterday accused the Tami Tigers of "targeting civilians in the south with the intention of instigating a communal backlash due to military setbacks in the north and east." Tigers facing severe military set backs have been threatening to hit back. On Friday and Saturday two bombs were set off in the south killing civilians. more..

Jan 7 (AT) Sri Lankan police suspect the body of a decapitated woman recovered from the site of Saturday afternoon's bomb blast as the suspected LTTE suicide bomber. "The arms and head of the woman were detached from the body and we suspect her to be the bomber," police sources claimed. Saturday's blast aboard a private bus south of Sri Lanka, incidentally a critical tourist destination killed 15 and injured more than 25 more..

Jan 7 (GDI) The Government vehemently condemns the brutal and inhuman killing of 15 civilians and injuring 42 others in an explosion of a public passenger bus near Godagama in the Meetiyagoda Police Division this afternoon. This dastardly act has all the hall marks of the LTTE attacks on civilian population. Police investigations are on to find out the perpetrators of this terrorist act. more..

Jan 7 (GDI) The local authorities in Vakarai in the east confirmed that there no food shortage in the area. The officials have refuted the continuous false reports that stated that there is a serious humanitarian crisis has developed in LTTE controlled Vakarai with reports that more than 15,000 people in the area are almost out of food with what�s left enough for just 2 days. more..

Jan 7 (GDI) The Korean Government has taken steps to increase the salaries of the Sri Lankan youth working in Korea and to remove the quota limitations for migrant labourers from Sri Lanka. The Minister of Labour Relation and Foreign Employment, Athauda Senevirathne stated this decision was revealed to him at the meeting held with Mr. Megng of the Korean Labour and Environmental Committee, more..

Jan 7 (GDI) This year's May Day celebrations are most liable to be held on a day other than May 1st. Government will be taking this decision to allocate another day for the May Day celebrations as the Vesak festival falls on the International Labour Day, the 01st o May. The Cabinet, which met on Thursday, approved a memorandum declaring it inappropriate to hold May Day celebrations on Vesak day. more..

Jan 7 (CI) Sri Lankan discards Upul Chandana and Russell Arnold steered NCC to the Premier limited-over title with a six-wicket win in the final against Moors SC at the Sinhalese Sports Club. Chandana, the NCC captain, took 5 for 34 with his legspin and Arnold used his experience to guide them to victory from a difficult position at 34 for 3 by scoring an undefeated 67 off 91 balls with seven fours and a six. more..

Jan 7 (LNP) With the Tamil Nadu government commencing the dredging of the Sethusamudram canal at the Adam`s Bridge on December 11, international legal experts opine that Sri Lanka has provisions to seek legal redress in an international court of law against the Indian government. The project has military, ecological and archaeological implications on both the governments of India and Sri Lanka. more..

Jan 7 (LNP) Worried about increasing crime and violence among Tamils living here, London`s Metropolitan Police have urged the large Tamil community to help them crack down on criminal activity. The Met Police have distributed notices among the community and the substantial number of Tamil-owned or run business establishments seeking assistance in the way of information to get to the bottom of criminal gangs, most of which are said to target young Tamil men. more..

Jan 7 (LNP) There is nothing sunshiny about war; this is a lesson Sri Lankans have learned all over again in the last year and one they are bound to re-learn in the year 2007, if events of the past week speak true. There will always, in times of conflict, be a sidelining of civil liberties and human rights. These are times when the `bigger` picture must override these concerns, or so the reigning administration would tell us. more..

Jan 7 (SAMN) The UN Security Council will adopt 17 resolutions against the LTTE and on child recruitment. It is likely that these resolutions will be taken up on January 15. However there is also one resolution calling for the Government to set up a commission of inquiry with UN expertise based on the Allan Rock report on child recruitment by the Karuna faction, which placed the onus of such recruitment on the Government as the resolution number seven deals with the Government of Sri Lanka. more..

Jan 7 (SAMN) A meeting of all political party leaders is to be called by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss the course of action to be taken with regards to oil exploration in the country in which American, Indian and British companies have expressed interest. A.H.M. Fowzie, Minister of Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development said he formally requested the President to chair a meeting with all political parties. more..

Jan 7 (SAMN) The LTTE media spokesman Daya Master said Saturday that with the de-merger of the north and east, direct talks with the Government has now become � highly impossible� and that the Tigers will �never� consider holding any dialogue with the Government. Daya Master said the UPFA Government, ever since assuming office has gone against the will of the Tamil community. more..

Jan 7 (SAMN) The Government is contemplating on setting up an entirely new cabinet by the end of this month, highly placed Government sources said, adding that the expansion was being planned to accommodate the large number of UNPers expected to join the Government shortly. However, the source said that it would not be a crossover from the UNP to the SLFP but that they would hold a unique identity as a separate political entity in Parliament. more..

Jan 7 (TN) Sri Lankan Police, without producing any warrant, raided the Colombo office of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation Saturday morning and searched the office, NGO officials at the TRO office in Colombo told media. The raid on Colombo office by the CID, follows after the raids on Vavuniya and Trincomalee offices Friday. more..

Jan 7 (ST) The hardships faced by residents of Jaffna including soaring food prices appear to have seen little relief in spite of efforts by the government. Before the A 9 land route was closed an average of 8000 people travelled via the route to and from the North. Now civilians have to travel via air or sea. The vessel Green Oceanic takes passengers between Jaffna and Trincomalee once a week while two local airlines have a daily service from Colombo to Jaffna. more..

Jan 7 (ST) The dawn of the seventh year in the new millennium, paradoxical enough, seems more significant for what did not happen than what did. For five successive years since February 2002, with a ceasefire in place, Sri Lankans as well as the world outside, had prayed in one chorus for peace to dawn. That was not only from their lips, but through greetings they sent each other as one year ended giving way to the other. more..

Jan 7 (ST) Exactly a month ago, on a sunny morning Army soldiers staffing a check-point at the Courts complex in Batticaloa turned very suspicious about the movements of a pregnant woman. The complex is located adjacent to the District Secretariat or the Kachcheri. They stopped her and informed the Batticaloa Police. A mobile patrol arrived and took her to the police station. more..

Jan 7 (ST) With the ban on lunch sheets, shopping and grocery bags of less than 20 microns, in effect,consumers say they are left with few alternatives in the market, especially for lunch sheets. The Environment Ministry has decided to give a grace period of three months for consumers while suitable alternatives are being looked into. more..

Jan 7 (NS) Many teachers are in a dilemma with regard to the new text books due to numerous lapses including the content of certain text books being different from the syllabus, The Nation learns. Secretary, Association of Educational Professionals, Wasantha Dharmasiri said �In one Sinhala language book more than hundred mistakes were found. This was brought to the Monitoring Committee on December 22.� more..

Jan 7 (NS) The Attorney General is to file indictments in absentia against the run away mastermind behind the rupees 3.5 billion VAT (Value Added Tax) scam, in the Colombo High Court. The assistance of Interpol has been sought to apprehend the prime suspect, shipping tycoon Kamil Kuthubdeen whom officials believe to have siphoned off the money and have invested mainly in Dubai in what is known as the largest scam in South Asia. more..

Jan 7 (NS) Avian flu has been ruled out as the cause of the mystery deaths of hundreds of birds in the Kotuwattewela wetland in Nikaweratiya, according to the Peradeniya University�s Faculty of Veterinary Science. Dean of the Faculty, Dr. S.K.R. Amarasekera said that a team from the university had visited the site and collected samples of the dead birds for laboratory testing. more..

Jan 7 (NS) Government members of the Committee on Public Enterprise (COPE) will meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa tomorrow to discuss the contents of a letter from former PERC Chairman and Business and Management Consultant, Nihal Sri Amaresekere, regarding the sale of Lanka Marine Services to John Keells Holdings. more..

Jan 7 (NT) A Civil suit seeking to restrain the Union government from doing anything which would damage the Rama Sethu bridge of the Ramayana times in the Palk Straits has been filed in a sub court of Ramanathapuram district by Swami Omkarananda of Theni Sidbavananda Ashram and the Ramanathapuram district president of the RSS Kuppuramu. more..

Jan 7 (IANS) External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee travels to Sri Lanka Tuesday amid burgeoning violence that has begun to trigger calls from Tamils for India's intervention in the unending ethnic conflict. Although the main reason for Mukherjee's two-day visit is to invite President Mahinda Rajapakse to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in April, the Sri Lanka situation will figure in his meetings. more..

Jan 7 (HT) Sri Lanka is worried over the possibility of the UN Security Council (UNSC) accepting a report by Allan Rock, Special Advisor on Children and Armed Conflict in Sri Lanka, in which he had alleged that a section of the armed forces was helping a pro-government Tamil militant group led by Karuna recruit children for its combat units. The UNSC is to discuss this issue on January 15. more..

Jan 7 (AP) Police in northern Sri Lanka on Sunday found four bodies, two of which were ethnic Tamils and were apparently executed, as officials probed two bus bombings blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels that killed at least 21 people. Police found two bodies with gunshot wounds to the heads in a house under construction near the garrison town of Vavuniya, said area Police Chief E.M. Dharmadasa. more..