By coming out openly in the state Assembly that the DMK had always kept its distance from the LTTE and viewed it with trepidation due to its penchant to bump of fellow Tamil leaders, Mr. Krunanidhi has made his strongest statement against the Tigers. More..

According to highly-placed Government sources, some Tigers have breached the Sri Lankan defence line in a few places around Jaffna in the last couple of days, and could be present in small numbers inside the town. Consequently, the presence of the LTTE in populated areas is negatively affecting Sri Lanka's military options. More..

But, she said, her Government was ready for talks with the militant group provided LTTE supremo V Prabhakaran was brought to the negotiating table. More..

Briefing reporters here today about his India visit, Kadirgamar said the Sri Lankan Government welcomed the Indian decision to extend the ban on LTTE. "At the same time, the ban would in no way prevent India from playing a role to end the Sri Lankan conflict." More..

The news release added that fresh fighting broke out when terrorists simultaneously fired a barrage of artillery and mortars on troops and the heavy fire was directed from north of Ponneryn, an area now under control of Tigers.

"Due to the concentrated artillery and mortar fire, the senior ground commanders shifted the defences to prepared positions towards the northeast".

Elsewhere at Wanni separatist Tiger rebels in their clandestine radio, the Voice Of Tigers requested the civilians not to enter the army-controlled areas until May 19.

"There had been reports of heavy concentration of rebels in Wanni during the past few days and it may be the reasons as to why the civilians have been barred from entering the control areas", a military officer told this correspondent.

Meanwhile reports reaching Colombo said that the Sri Lankan air force planes were dropping leaflets ordering civilians in Mullitivu district to vacate the areas immediately.Mullitivu is the stronghold of Tiger rebels.

As his Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eetam hammer away at the beleagured Sri Lankan army troops cut off in the city of Jaffna, Prabharkan looks closer than ever to achieve his lifelong dream of an independent Tamil ethnic state carved out of Sri Lanka, the former British colony of Ceylon.

But many fear that his dream could become his own people's nightmare. More..

Kadirgamar told reporters here that he did not expect Israelis to get involved in any combat role in the government's battle against Tamil Tiger rebels, but technical help could be obtained.

"But I must say that there will be no combat role for them." More..

The defence budget for 2000 was set at 52.4 billion rupees ($701.6 million), or just less than five percent of gross domestic product. More..

Santhanam Kandeepan, a member of the Jaffna city council, was killed yesterday in Jaffna's Arasadi neighborhood in the first political assassination since Tamil rebels intensified their offensive last month to recapture their former capital. More..

State media reported in Colombo on Tuesday that President Chandrika Kumaratunga told a meeting of all political parties that her government was prepared to negotiate peace with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

But she reiterated that the government would not withdraw its troops from the country's north and east, where the LTTE has been fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils since 1983. More..

It said in a statement that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched the attack on Monday and fired a barrage of artillery and mortar fire at the troops. More..

Kadirgamar meanwhile re-affirmed government claims in the last 36 hours, which states that heavy fighting in the north has abated, with the LTTE suffering heavy loss of cadre. The Minister confirmed that international assistance has been gained in order to purchase arms for Lankan troops but declined to define the type of arms being received by the government.

Minister Kadirgamar reiterated that the government is committed to finding a political solution to Sri Lanka's present crisis, but maintained the LTTE is not interested in a negotiated settlement.

The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) objected to a suggestion that all political parties should unite to defeat the LTTE. The President however welcomed this proposal put forward by the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and the Sinhala Mahasammata Bhoomiputra party.

In order to meet additional expenditure of Rs. 12 billion for the armed conflict, a restructuring of priorities with regard to the economy and foreign relations is necessary, he said. Non-essential capital expenditure would not be incurred. A sense of balance had to be achieved with regard to safeguarding human rights in the context of extraordinary measures under emergency regulations essential for national security. Prof. Peiris also said that while the government would prosecute the war that was thrust upon them, it was also committed to the fundamental values underpinning the devolution process, strengthening civil society and empowerment of the minorities.

The government, he said, was also conscious of the need to extenuate the adverse effects of political polarization and to this end the talks with the United National Party (UNP) would continue with an expanded ambit.

The Minister stressed that an integrated strategy was needed with regard to the peace process - the military strategy, the process of discussions with political parties and the role of other nations in the capacity of facilitator to help negotiate talks with the LTTE.

The Sri Lankan government imposed tough public security regulations on May 4, putting both local and foreign media under a blanket censorship. It has also banned live broadcasts of all television and radio programmes. The laws, which also ban public meetings, trade union action and criticism of the president and allow the government to seize property and vehicles, were introduced as the country was put on a war footing to battle a guerrilla offensive. More..

Diplomatic sources said the two countries were not expected to open embassies but that Sri Lanka's ambassador in Jordan would also be accredited to Israel, while Israel's ambassador to India would be accredited to Sri Lanka. More..

"I have four daughters back home in Jaffna, and I am dead scared for them," said Arul Seeli, 56, who was interviewed Friday in Colombo. "I sent my other children abroad to save them from all this. I talked to them on the phone from Germany this morning, but they were afraid to tell me what they've heard, because they don't want to frighten me even more." More.. 4

In Colombo, it seems that most of the people The Straits Times spoke to actually do not really care anymore.

At the Galle Face Green, an open plot of land facing the Indian Ocean, the young and the not so young converge every evening for a game of cricket or just to enjoy the breeze the ocean brings.

To them, life goes on. More..

The government blamed the rebel Tamil Tigers for the shelling but there has been no independent confirmation of this. The shells, which were fired into the Gurunagar area in the south-east of the town, injured nine people. More..

The Sri Lanka Air Force on Friday claimed that it had bombed the LTTE's supply point to the peninsula at the Sangupiddy jetty on Friday, 12 May.

The Uthayan paper, however, said in its columns on Sunday that the SLAF had bombed Pallikudah, a coastal hamlet in the Pooneryn sector, and published the list of civilians who were killed in the Kfir bombing on Friday. More..

TULF leader, V.Anandsangari told TOINS, ``Once again, her resolve to solve the problem through constitutional means was very clear.'' The UNP, is also scheduled to meet other smaller parties separately to discuss the war scenario. More..

The escalation in fighting at Nagerkovil, which was located on the East coast of Jaffna, has added a new dimension as it was still not clear whether the LTTE was attempting to shift its fighting units to open a new front to enter the peninsula, analysts said. More..

Sri Lanka's Buddhist clergy, long an influential force in national politics, are stepping forward to rally the nation in its darkest hour. The string of defeats suffered by the army at the hands of separatist rebels, which has stunned and demoralized this island nation, has also drawn the monks out of their temples to try to hold the country together. More..

The People's Liberation Front (JVP) said that after waiting nearly two hours for Kumaratunga, they decided to table their proposals for ending the country's drawn out Tamil separatist conflict and walk away.

"The government did not even have the decency to explain or apologise for the president's delay at a meeting that was supposed to be of high national importance and urgency," the JVP general secretary Tilvin Silva said. More..

The aim is to 'flush out' Tamil Tiger rebels, who may have 'infiltrated' the besieged city and the army fears they may be there for purposes of sabotage. More.. l

Skimpy details of the offensive reaching here indicated continued offensive between the Tigers and the Government troops on the fringes of Jaffna town. Ground troops, backed by the limited air attacks by the Air Force, have, for the moment, checked rebel advances, which have not seen any major shift in the territorial balance during the past few days. More..

Unanimous domestic support could be a difficult objective, especially since the opposition UNP is now engaged in a political counter-offensive. Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe spent the afternoon trying to convince leaders who had met the President not to support the government's efforts, which he says are leading Sri Lanka to ruin. More..

It said that the civilian casualties took place when the LTTE fired artillery shells into Gurunagar from the rebel controlled areas in Pooneryn, situated across the Jaffna lagoon. More..

Norway has offered to host talks between the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and has appointed Erik Solheim as an envoy to try and find a way to end the 17-year war. More..

Last Thursday, Parliament approved an additional 12 billon for defence expenditure. This increased the defence spending to 64 billion from last year's spending of 54 billion. That's not at all: The government' s all time borrowings increased to Rs 20 billion.

Economists say that increase in the defence spending is likely to create pressure on interest rates and inflation. There were also speculations that Sri Lankan currency rupee is likely to depreciate against dollar.

That's was not all: The chief, the director of government's information ministry later lodged a complaint with his minister who pacified him saying this "they are only testing your patience". The war has a funny side too.

"Terrorists appear to be in a state of disarray presumably due to large number of casualties they suffered during the earlier confrontations", the release from government's special media information center said.

Meanwhile during a confrontation in eastern Trincomalee two police constables were killed and five others wounded when Tiger rebels carried out a raid on a police checkpoint.

In a press release issued from the Tiger's international secretariat in London they said, "Strategically important city outskirts of Ariyalai, Manianthodam, Columbuthurai, sections of Passaiyur, Pungankulam, Nedunkulam, have already fallen to the Tigers making the city centre vulnerable to LTTE assault."

"Heavily armed Tamil Tiger troop formations who have moved in large numbers from LTTE bases in Vanni into the Jaffna theatre of war are gearing up for the decisive battle."

The Tiger press statement further claimed that despite a curfew imposed by the military in Jaffna, civilians are moving out of the battle zones into safer areas.

The LTTE also alleged that "Israeli built Kifir fighter-bombers have launched blind and indiscriminate bombing on civilian areas in the Jaffna peninsula and in Poonagarin. Five civilians, including two children, were killed and ten seriously injured when Israeli combat aircrafts bombed a fishing village at Pallikuda in the Poonagarin area around 5.30p.m. Friday May 12, 2000."

The statement by the Tigers is followed by the government today moving in thousands of ground troops to help armed forces bases in Jaffna. The government also claims that planes have been successful in holding back rebel advances towards Jaffna.