By C. Bryson Hull

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's military said troops seized the entire western coast of the Indian Ocean island on Saturday, capturing the key Pooneryn area where Tamil Tiger rebel artillery had kept soldiers at bay since 1993.

With the military controlling Pooneryn, a strategic spit of land that runs parallel to the neck of the northern Jaffna Peninsula across a narrow lagoon, it will be in a position to strike the rebel capital of Kilinochchi from three sides.

Kalana Senaratne reflects on the life and work of a remarkable Sri Lanka and a truly global citizen. 

I had picked up a small book on 'The World Court' from a dusty shelf of a bookshop close to my home, in Nugegoda. I had flipped through it, realized the importance of its content, and decided to purchase it. I had heard much about the author and even read some of his previous publications. But I didn't know where he was or what he was doing, then. The small print in the book referenced to a 'Weeramantry International Centre for Peace Education and Research (WICPER)' established in Colombo - the existence about which I had not known until then. The author must have returned home from The Hague, I thought.

By KRISHAN FRANCIS, Associated Press Writer 

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lankan troops dismantled the last rebel defense on the island's west coast Saturday, securing a land route to the northern peninsula in a key victory against Tamil Tiger separatists, the government said. 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a televised speech hailed the capture of the town of Pooneryn and urged the rebels to lay down their arms and surrender, saying it would be the "greatest service" they could give the people living in areas of armed conflict. 

Rajapaksa said the latest military success meant the troops were now able to access the previously isolated, government-controlled Jaffna peninsula by land, instead of depending on boats and aircraft.

NEW DELHI:  President Mahinda Rajapaksa Thursday told Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh the Sri Lankan Government was ready to talk peace with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at any time if the latter lays down arms. In bilateral talks with the Indian Prime Minister on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit, President Rajapaksa said his primary aim was to eradicate terrorism and create a country where all communities can live in peace. The President said his government is fully committed to fulfil the humanitarian needs of the Tamil community living in the North and East. The President told the Indian Prime Minister the Tamil people are very much part of his responsibility as Head of State and Government and he would take all measures for their safety, security and welfare. "The Tamils are our people; we have been taking care of them and we will continue to take care," Rajapaksa said.

By Dayan Jayatilleke

Watching the live coverage of the US elections on as many channels as possible—but mainly on Al Jazeera International—I discovered I had mixed emotions, corresponding perhaps to the various aspects of my identity. I was delighted as an individual, a political analyst and academic, a friend of the United States (though a critic of its foreign policy) and a citizen of the world. Some of these were for political and ideological reasons, reasons of values, others for egoistic ones. Former US Asst Secretary of State for South Asia, Christina Rocca, now US ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament here in Geneva refers to me jokingly as a “registered Democrat”.

This much is true: I have always known that had I been a US citizen, I would have been one, just as I would have been a Labour voter or Social Democrat, had I been European or Australian. In 2004, I wrote in support of John Kerry, whatever the implications of a Kerry win for Sri Lanka. (When in Australia, I supported Kevin Rudd even before he took over the Labour Party). So in terms of ideas, I was inspired by Obama just as my father had been by JFK. I mourned at morning prayer with the rest of my school when JFK died, and shed a tear in a Belgrade hotel when Bobby was shot in 1968.

The BOI granted investment approval to Statesman Hats (Private) Limited for a project to manufacture hats, caps, headwear and head dresses for export. Mr. Dhammika Perera, Chairman / Director General signed the agreement and formally presented the BOI Certificate of Registrations to the investors.

The company will establish the production facility in Wattala and is expected to export their products to markets in Europe, United States, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Image: Satellite imagery illustrates the evolution of Sri Lanka's Iranamadu airstrip. (Digital Globe)

Satellite imagery has revealed a number of runways in LTTE-controlled areas of Sri Lanka. This could either show civilian aspirations towards statehood or a desire to fly in weapons. Jane's looks at the evidence and suggests the latter is more likely. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is losing its war for an independent state in Sri Lanka.

Since the effective resumption of the conflict in 2006, it has lost control of the Eastern Province and seen its forces slowly pushed back in the north. The LTTE's priority must now be to ensure a continued supply of arms and ammunition to prevent further defeats.

New Delhi (PTI): Sri Lanka today unequivocally stated that terrorist activities of the LTTE have to be dealt with militarily and any underlying causes, exploited by such outfits, should be addressed politically.

"For over two decades, Sri Lanka has been facing a tremendous challenge to our democratic way of life through barbaric actions of a terrorist group, the LTTE.”

Current situation

This status report was prepared by the Peace Secretariat in the context of continuing claims of a humanitarian crisis in the North of Sri Lanka caused by the Government. In fact, it is the LTTE that is trying to precipitate a crisis, which the Government has thus far avoided through close attention to the needs of the people.

Norway is the country with the narrowest gender gap in the world, while Yemen has the widest. A new global survey of equality between the sexes reveals that despite near equal access to education and health care, women are still way behind when it comes to political and economic decision-making.

Sri Lanka is placed 12th in the ranking and the UK, Switzerland and France have all been placed below Sri Lanka.

By C. Bryson Hull

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's political will and military planning will defeat the Tamil Tiger rebels, a legislator who fought with the guerrillas for more than two decades said on Thursday.

Ex-Tiger commander Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan last month metamorphosed from ruthless guerrilla into parliamentarian and de facto spokesman for President Mahinda Rajapaksa's plan to devolve power to the Tamil minority.

COLOMBO (IRIN) - More than 150,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned to their former villages in the east over the past year, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

The displacement in 2008 of some 230,000 people in the northern part of the country under the control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has overshadowed the largely peaceful resettlement of significant numbers of IDPs to their villages in the east, the agency said in a statement released on 6 November.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa was among South Asian leaders and foreign dignitaries who attended the swearing in ceremony of the newly elected Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed which took place at Male, today (11). 

Nasheed won the run-off election for the Maldivian Presidency on October 28 with a 54% majority defeating President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom who had ruled the country for 30 years. It was the first election held under new laws that widened the democratic process in the Maldives. President Rajapaksa also made a courtesy call on former President Gayoom.

A National Training programme for Police, Probation and Labour officers will be inaugurated today at the SLFI in Colombo.

This is the second major step taken by the Government to revive the Children and Young Persons Ordinance (CYPO). The CYPO is the child protection law in Sri Lanka which sets out the standards for the treatment of all children in contact with the criminal law.

 Pillaiyan (L) shakes hands with M.L.A.M.Hisbulla .

The eastern provincial council election held a few months ago, was a defining moment in this country’s history. Like the great battle of Kurukshetra in the Mahabharatha, it saw everybody in the east divided into two clearly defined camps. It brought together traditional enemies onto one platform to defeat the common enemy. The LTTE and TNA sided with the SLMC and many independent Muslims sided with the TMVP. In the aftermath of the election, there was a tug of war between Pillaiyan and M.L.A.M.Hisbulla for the chief minister’s position. Now six months into the eastern government that was cobbled together by the president, minister Hisbulla speaks to C.A. Chandraprema of his relationship with the Tamil chief minister and the place of Muslims within the eastern provincial council.

by Shamindra Ferdinando

Security forces yesterday thwarted an LTTE attempt to use the grand daughter of an 84-year-old woman, seeking treatment at the Vavuniya General Hospital, to smuggle plastic explosives into the government-held area in a vehicle belonging to the ICRC.

The army said that troops had checked Ms Ketheswaran’s unusually heavy bag and found about 3.5 kilos of C-4 explosives. The deadly cargo had been kept neatly packed and meticulously stitched inside.

by Dayan Jayatilleka in Geneva

The historic win of Barack Obama can help reduce ethnic prejudices and divides throughout the world, such as those between Israelis and Palestinians and Tamils and Sinhalese. This is the view expressed by Kishore Mahbubani in the Commemorative Issue of TIME magazine on the Obama election.

Mahbubani is described as one of “the world’s top ten thinkers” in the current (Nov/Dec 2008) edition of the prestigious Foreign Policy magazine published by the Washington Post foundation, and asked for his suggestions for the incoming Cabinet of President-elect Barack Obama.

New Delhi (PTI): Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived in New Delhi late Tuesday on a three-day visit during which he is expected to apprise Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the steps being taken by his government to safeguard the interests of ethnic Tamils in that country.

Rajapaksa, who is in New Delhi for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit on Thursday, was received at the airport by Minister of State for Home Shakeel Ahmed.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sri Lankan Holidays, the leisure arm of Sri Lankan Airlines, has come up with four exciting tours to the island nation to attract children and their parents to explore the beautiful country.Valid from November to January, the tours are marketed as ‘Holiday in Colombo,’ ‘Holiday on the beach,’ ‘Holiday in Negombo’ and ‘Holiday in Kandy.’Two children below of the age of 12 can accompany a minimum of two adults purchasing the holiday packages that are on offer out of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Goa, Kochi, Coimbatore, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli and Hyderabad.