British Tamils hold sports festival in North London

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 April 2008, 11:47 GMT]
British Tamil youths from many parts of Great Britain assembled at the major new training and competition venue, Lee Valley Athletics Centre located in Enfield, North London, for a sports festival that began at 10:00 a.m. Saturday. Edmonton Deputy Mayor, Lee Chamberlin inaugurated the event, raising the British flag, followed by the raising of the British Tamil sports federation flag by its President.
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Two Tamil civilians abducted in Kotahena

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 April 2008, 03:35 GMT]
Unidentified men operating in a white van abducted two civilians along New Chetty Street, Kotahena (Koddaagncheanai), Colombo Friday noon in front of Our Lady of Sorrow church, the relatives of the abducted men told Kotahena police.
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Tamil New Year

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 April 2008, 02:30 GMT]
The Tamil New Year day falls on Sunday, 13th April, since 2008 is a leap year. On other years, it is 14th April. It is not only the Tamil New year, but also the New Year of Sinhalese and Malayalis. It is not appropriate to call it a Hindu New Year since vast majority of Hindus in India don't celebrate it a New Year. It is only an auspicious day called Mesha-samkraanti for them. But, the Sikhs celebrate it a New Year. It is equally inappropriate to call it a Buddhist New Year, as Buddhists don’t celebrate it universally. The calculation for the commencement of this New Year and the calendar based on it are entirely astronomical.
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2 Tamil youths abducted in Puththa'lam

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 April 2008, 17:45 GMT]
Two Tamil youths Subramaniam Sathiyakumar, 27, and Govindan Nagarajah, 27, were abducted by unidentified armed persons from their houses in Karadipooval village in Puththalam-Vannaathivillu police division Thursday night around 9 p.m., media reports said.
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Upcountry Tamil youth arrested in Matale

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 April 2008, 17:03 GMT]
Ratota Police Thursday arrested an upcountry Tamil youth, a resident of Pitakantha estate in Matale district on receipt of information that he has connection with the LTTE, media sources said.
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30 SLA killed in 4 fronts in Mannaar - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 April 2008, 17:00 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said at least 30 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and 75 wounded when LTTE defensive formations in Mannaar confronted a four-pronged SLA attempt to advance west of Giant's Tanks in Mannaar. Tigers lost 3 cadres in the fighting that lasted from 5:30 a.m. till 1:30 p.m. The SLA continued to target Madu area with artillery and mortar fire and sporadic clashes were reported west of Thadcha'naamaruthamadu, according to Tiger military spokesman.
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12,000 Madu IDPs redisplaced, says report

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 April 2008, 12:34 GMT]
More than 12,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from Madu have moved out to safer areas along villages located close to A-32 Mannar-Pooneryn highway north of Madu, a situation report from Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) issued this week said.
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Prime Minister of Canada greets Tamil New Year

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 April 2008, 01:59 GMT]
In a warm greeting message, the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, wished the Canadian Tamil community on the occasion of the Tamil New Year falling on 13th April 2008. "This New Year celebration affords us the opportunity to reflect upon the notable contributions members of the Canadian Tamil community are making to our great nation," he noted. The Solar cum Stellar New Year is calculated astronomically to mark the entry of the Sun in the first degree of the fixed zodiac. It is a Dravidian legacy, especially observed in the extreme peninsular India and Sri Lanka, by the Tamils, Malayalis and Sinhalese, while most of the Indians observe another New Year called Yugadi (Lunar New Year).
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International Community should learn from experience, Vaiko tells Norway

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 April 2008, 23:03 GMT]
Expressing that the lack of implementation by the Government of Sri Lanka on the agreed principles of the February 2002 Cease Fire Agreement (CFA), especially disarming of army backed paramilitary groups, led to the ultimate breakdown of the peace process, Vaiko, the General Secretary of Marumalarchchi Dravida Munneatta Kazhakam (MDMK), told Norwegian International Development Minister Erik Solheim and Jon Hanssen-Bauer, the Norwegian Special Envoy, that the International Community should prevail upon the GoSL to reinstate the ceasefire in order to engage in a meaningful process for a negotiated settlement.
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SLA shell kills family man in Poonakari

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 April 2008, 16:33 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched artillery shells on civilian settlements Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled areas in Aththaai, Poonakari Friday around 2:45 p.m., killing a family man and destroying two houses completely.
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SLA intensifies checks, search operations in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 April 2008, 16:32 GMT]
Following the shooting incident in Nalloor Thursday in which a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier was seriously injured, SLA in Jaffna intensified its checks and searches in areas inside Jaffna Municipality area, subjecting people who were busily engaged in purchases for the Tamil-Sinhala New Year celebrations, sources in Jaffna said.
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Five youths arrested in Gampaha

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 April 2008, 11:01 GMT]
Sri Lanka police took five youths, three Tamils and two Sinhalese, into custody in a cordon and search operation conducted in parts of Gampaha town from Wednesday until Thursday morning. Police said the five were arrested after they failed to prove their identity.
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'My Daughter the Terrorist' producer receives death threat - Norwegian paper

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 April 2008, 10:57 GMT]
Morten Dae, the producer of the award winning Norwegian documentary film, "My Daughter the Terrorist," on two Tamil Black Tiger female cadres in Vanni, has received death threats after the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) failed in blocking the organisers from screening the film at the Full Frame Documentary Festival, in Durham in the United States, reported Dagsavisen, a Norwegian daily, on Thursday.
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As humanitarian crisis unfolds, Diaspora needs to help – paper

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 April 2008, 04:55 GMT]
Warning that, faced with determined resistance to its offensives into the Vanni, the Sri Lankan government, like previous ones, will intensify punitive attacks and measures against the Tamil population there, the Tamil Guardian newspaper this week called on the Diaspora to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis. “The embargo on food and medicine will be tightened further and civilian centers will be targeted more heavily. The Diaspora has long been the mainstay of relief efforts for the people of the Northeastern warzones. It needs to step forward yet again,” the paper said in its editorial.
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America welcomes release of 11 children from Pillayan Group

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 April 2008, 18:08 GMT]
The United States on Thursday welcomed the release of eleven underage personnel of the Pillayan Group, the paramilitary-cum-political party Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP).
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Colombo attempts to create 'health disaster' in Vanni - LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 April 2008, 08:16 GMT]
Health services in Vanni are facing a man made disaster created by the Sri Lanka Defense Ministry, said N. Selvy, LTTE's spokesperson on Human Rights. Sri Lankan forces have blocked supplies to Ki'linochchi Deputy Provincial Director of Health Service (DPDHS) division. The DPDHS office recently said that medicine quota for the district hospital for the first quarter of 2008 is yet to arrive. Meanwhile, Mullaiththeevu DPDHS has told media that only 20% of the fuel supplies needed to operate the district hospital, two sub-hospitals and six pharmacies in the district, has been allowed across the entry point at Oamanthai by the Sri Lankan forces.
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Masked men enter TNA MP's house in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 April 2008, 13:28 GMT]
Masked men in black uniform entered the house of Tamil parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran, a prominent leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), in the early hours of Wednesday, forced the care-taker of the house into a room saying that they were from the CID, and dug several holes at in the backyard. After they left, Police came to the house, went directly to the backyard without talking to the caretaker and finally detained him till Wednesday noon at Wattala police. Mr. Premachandran, expressing suspicion that some elements 'clothed with legal authority' have acted with the 'sinister motive' to cause disrepute to him, has lodged a complaint with the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
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Two new parliamentarians sworn in

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 April 2008, 10:28 GMT]
Solomon Cyril of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) from Jaffna district, and M.Naushad of the United National Party (UNP) from Ampaarai district, were sworn in as new parliamentarians Wednesday in Sri Lanka's parliament. Speaker W.J.M.Lokkubandara administered oaths to them when the parliament resumed its sitting Wednesday morning, parliamentary sources said.
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SLA fires artillery on Northern Fronts

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 April 2008, 01:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) continued to pound Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held territory since Monday night from its artillery bases in Va’ra’ni in Thenmaraadchi with artillery and Multi Barrel fire for the second day, amidst persistent rain, sources in Thenma’raadchi said. Intermittent attacks continued during daytime Tuesday lasting until night, the sources added.
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Mullaiththeevu faces fuel crisis

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 April 2008, 00:25 GMT]
“The quantity of fuel supplied by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) for medical and health related services in Mullaiththeevu district has been drastically reduced creating great difficulties in implementing the various health services in this district," Dr.T.Varatharajah, Director of Health services of Mullaiththeevu region said.
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