Ten Members of Parliament (MPs) of the 18 defectors from the UNP including the deputy leader of the party, Karu Jayasuriya, were included in the Cabinet.

A day before the swearing in ceremony the UNP chairman Rukman Senanayaka officially conveyed to Rajapakse that they would be pulling out from the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under which they agreed to support the government's peace process, if defectors were accepted by the government.

The main opposition's cooperation is required to obtain a two-thirds majority in Parliament to pass a new constitution or bring in amendments aimed at resolving the country's ethnic conflict. Despite accommodating the opposition members and six more members from the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress the ruling party has only 111 members in the 225 seat Parliament.

The move to accommodate opposition members came as proposals for a new constitution were being discussed.

Rajapakse retained Defence and Finance portfolios while naming a member of More... Published: Sun Jan 28 17:01:08 EST 2007

With jihadi terrorist outfits like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), having already trained their guns on Maharashtra, the LTTE factor could just add and that “extra fizz” to the deadly cocktail.

The arrest of Miraj Shahib Ismail, on Saturday, for supplying a large number of ball-bearings - often used as bomb splinters (procured in the Null Bazaar area of Mumbai), to the LTTE is a startling revelation. It now appears that Miraj knew that the consignment was headed for Sri Lanka. Sources in the security establishment said that the arrest proved beyond doubt the fact LTTE is casting the net far and wide in its search for raw material (for kneading explosives) and weapons; and Maharashtra/Mumbai could just be a natural choice for them. Mumbai could provide ample raw material (for example, the ball-bearings made in this automobile parts manufacturing hub) and “sympathisers” who can work under the cloak of anonymity.

Intelligence sources said, with the Naxalites getting weapons re-routed to the More... Published: Sun Jan 28 17:03:48 EST 2007

Associated Press Writer

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) _ Sri Lanka's military repulsed a Tamil rebel suicide attack on the capital's port on Saturday when it destroyed three suspicious boats offshore, the Defense Ministry said.

The boats did not stop when ordered to do so, forcing the navy to fire at them, said Lt. Col. Upali Rajapakse, a senior official at the ministry's media unit.

``The navy managed to destroy one of the boats and later the air force came in to help and completed the mission,'' Rajapakse said.

The three suspected rebel boats had entered a ``high security zone'' near Colombo where unauthorized vessels are not allowed, Rajapakse said. They were noticed by a guard at a lighthouse who alerted a naval patrol.

``Navy troops fired at the first boat, suspected to be a suicide craft, with one of them experiencing a large explosion,'' said military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe, who blamed the rebels' sea wing for the incursion.

The shock wave of the explosion forced open the doors of three containers onboard a ship which was about to enter the port, said Rear Admiral Ananda Peiris, in charge of naval security in the area.

There was no damage to the Peloponesian Pride, which was flying a Panama flag, or its crew, Peiris said.

The first boat was destroyed about 10 kilometers (6 miles) off the coast, another 18 kilometers (11 miles) away, and the third 23 kilometers (14 miles) at sea, Rajapakse said, adding that no naval vessels suffered damage.

Casualty figures for the sunken ships were not immediately known, he said.

Colombo's port is an important lifeline for the island country and is heavily guarded by the navy.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have carried out previous suicide boat attacks against navy vessels and bases. In October last year, Tamil Tigers posing as fishermen blew up two boats in a suicide attack on a naval base in Galle, 110 kilometers (70 miles) from Colombo on the southern coast, killing at least one sailor and 15 rebels.

The rebels have been fighting since 1983 to establish an independent homeland in the north and east for Sri Lanka's ethnic minority Tamils, following decades of discrimination by the Sinhalese-dominated government.

Discuss this story Published: Sat Jan 27 04:09:25 EST 2007