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[Nov 26]Major strategic location on Mankulam-Mullaitivu road, Tigers suffer heavy damage: Army's Task Force-3 operating on the Wanni front captured Olumadu, a major Tiger stronghold in the Mullaitivu district. Olumadu is four kilometres northeast of Mankulam along the Mankulam-Mullaitivu A34 road via Oddusudan. The Task Force-3 which is engaged in a mission to liberate the Mullaitivu district had entered the Olumadu area after a fierce battle that lasted several days.Olumadu is considered as a strategic location of the Tiger outfit. The Task Force-3 inflicted heavy damage on the LTTE cadres while marching forward facing stiff resistance. -Isuru Abeykoon

Former Indian Prime Minister V.P. Singh, who formed a non-Congress coalition government at the Centre dethroning the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress in the 1989 elections, died in New Delhi on Thursday after a prolonged illness. Battling blood cancer since 1991 and suffering from renal failure, 77-year-old Singh died at the Apollo Hospital in the afternoon around 2.45. Singh leaves his wife Sita Kumari and two sons Ajeya Singh and Abhay Singh.

The Commissioner of Elections has approved a name change for the Western People´s Front (WPF) led by Parliamentarian Mano Ganeshan. The new name will be Democratic People’s Front (DPF), party sources said. Contesting the Provincial Council elections under United National Party (UNP) led coalition, the WPF won a seat in the Sabaragamuwa Province as well raising the need of identity change as a national front, a party spokesman said today

Ram Sethu, the mythical bridge which got embroiled in a controversy over the Sethusamudram project, is back in the news, for the trade of coral rocks, considered a part of the holy structure. Droves of pilgrims in India are buying the coral rocks sold by agents and tourist guides who claim that the rocks were a part of the bridge built by the ´Vanara Sena´ for Lord Ram to crossover to Lanka to rescue Sita, reports PTI. "Pilgrims visiting this temple town buy these stones thinking that they are from the Ram bridge. But they are actually coral rocks," an official of the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park said. As coral rocks tend to float naturally, pilgrims believe that the rocks are the ones used by Rama´s army and buy it, he said.Despite a ban on the trade of coral rocks under the Wild Life and Marine Life Protection Acts, they are being sold at five places -- ´Seetha Theertham,´ ´Ram Theertham,´ ´Lakshman Theertham,´ ´Kandhamadhanaparvam´ and at an ashram -- in the island

The Government Medical Officers´ Association (GMOA) during a media briefing this morning (Nov. 24) forwarded four demands to the Health Ministry. The doctors’ association said it would withdraw all doctors from hospitals in the North and East if the demands are not met. These demands include a Rs.10 million insurance policy, appointing of a director for each hospital to oversee security and welfare of doctors, a risk allowance and STF or Army protection for all hospitals in the North and East. GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Upul Gunaratne said that if the government failed to give the assurances in writing they would pull out from the North and East hospitals, and added that until the security situation improves all its members would pull out of the peripheral hospitals. He also said if the problem is not solved within two weeks all GMOA members in the north and east would return to Colombo causing the closure of the hospitals there.The GMOA also claimed that the risk allowance paid to d

Veteran villain actor from Kollywood, Manjari Narayan Nambiar aged 89, died today (Nov. 19) after a brief illness. Popularly know only as Nambiar he is considered a legend in Indian cinema. He made a name for himself acting the role of villain in most of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran’s films. Born on March 7, 1919 in a Nambiar family of Kannur, Kerala, his interest in acting started when he was 13, when he joined Nawab Rajamanikkam´s troupe. From then on acting became the only thing that occupied him. His first film was ´Bhaktha Ramadoss´, shot in 1935 in Hindi and Tamil, where he played a villain. Though he started as a hero he started donning the role of a villain - so much so that today his name is almost eponymous with the Kollywood villain. Nambiar has worked with seven generations of actors from Balaiyah to Manoj (Bharathiraaja´s son).His first pay was Rs. 3 in the "Boys Company." He would retain Re. 1 and send Rs. 2 to his mother. A man of very lim

Sri Lanka Army troops have brought the entire Mankulam area under government control by this morning, says Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka.

Of two fishing boats that had set out to sea this morning (Nov. 16) one had capsized in due to the rough seas off the northern peninsula. The crew had been saved by the other and the overloaded boat had appealed for help, sources from the north said. The Sri Lankan authorities have appealed to the Indian Navy to rescue the fishermen.

The second reading of the Government’s 2009 Budget proposals was passed in Parliament wit a majority of 41 a while ago with 127 members voting for and 85 against.

he APRC is a farce of the Sri Lanka government. It was always used to impress India and the International Community. The basic premise of the APRC not to go beyond the unitary constitution of Sri Lanka will not bring in any meaningful results. India and the IC know it well. Yet, if they continue to tolerate the farce, they will only be abetting the genocidal programme of Colombo, says Suresh Premachandran of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), in an interview with the pro-LTTE TamilNet. Premachandran, a senior leader of the EPRLF, was a key person behind the functioning of the North-eastern Provincial Council during the IPKF presence in Sri Lanka some 20 years ago. He is now the Secretary General of the EPRLF (Suresh wing) and is an elected Member of Parliament and a member of the parliamentary group of the TNA.

Troops advancing towards Poonaryn gain control of Palavi area in western Kilinochchi, west of A32 road-Defence Ministry

State institutions owe the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation a staggering Rs. 57 billion for fuel purchased. CPC chairman Asantha de Mel stated during a media briefing just a while ago that this was also one of the reasons for the corporation being in the red.

The Supreme Court has directed the Colombo SSP Traffic to make arrangements for the flow of traffic on both sides of Galle Road to and from Kollupitiya to Vajira Road junction, says police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekera.

The approach roads to Parliament will be closed for traffic for half an hour from 9.00 to 9.30 in the mornings and after sessions close for the day in the evenings. Crossing will be allowed only at main junctions from November 6 to December 8 due to the 2009 Budget reading in Parliament, says Colombo Traffic SSP V.T. Sundaralingam. The dates and affected roads are: Nov. 06 to Nov. 08, Nov. 10 to Nov. 15, Nov. 17 to Nov. 21, Nov. 24 to Nov. 28, December 01 to Dec. 05 and December 08. Liberty round-about at Kollupitiya to Parliament, Buller’s Road-Model Farm Road junction to Buller’s Road-Stanley Wijesundera junction.Motorists are advised to use alternate roads to avoid inconvenience. Share this article with a friend

The main Opposition United National Party (UNP) will table an alternate budget in parliament tomorrow, UNP sources say. UNP MP Ravi Karunanayaka will present the party’s alternative budget proposals during parliamentary proceedings tomorrow (Nov. 04). Mr. Karunanayake said it will be divulged to the media in the morning at the parliamentary complex and the UNP proposals would reflect what the budget would be if the party was in power now.He said Messers John Amaratunga, S.B. Dissanayake and he were responsible for the drawing up of the proposals while he will present it to parliament.

Sri Lanka Army troops captured a 2 kilometre stretch of LTTE bunker lines at Paddaruyalvillu, six kilometres north-east of Madam between 10.00 am to 12.30 pm today (Nov. 01). Among the 15 bodies recovered by the Army, two were in a decpmposed state. Troops also recovered 11 weapons.