"In light of the limited lead time available" and because UN protocol requires a mandate from the General Assembly or Security Council, "the UN informed the (elections) commissioner and the government of Sri Lanka that it could not provide observers," said Martin Nesirky, the spokesman for the UN secretary-general.

On Jan. 26, incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa will run against 21 challengers. It will be the first since the government won a bloody 25-year conflict with Tamil Tiger separatists in May.

Rajapaksa and former army chief Sarath Fonseka, who is also running for president, have been wooing Tamils for votes, according to local media reports. They have helped ease travel restrictions in Tamil areas while releasing tens of thousands of displaced civilians from UN-funded detention camps. More...Discuss this story Published: Wed Jan 6 19:43:09 EST 2010

A consortium of ethnic Tamil parties known as the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) announced in parliament that they were asking their community to vote for Sarath Fonseka who is seen as the main challenger to President Rajapakse.

Both Fonseka and Rajapakse are members of the majority Sinhalese community and if their candidacies split the Sinhalese vote, then support from the island's ethnic minorities, which usually vote en bloc, could tip the scales. More...Discuss this story Published: Wed Jan 6 09:07:25 EST 2010

The deficit may reach as much as 130 million kg (287 million pounds) by April, compared with the 110 million kg forecast in September, and prices may rise to a record again this year as shortages persist, Aditya Khaitan, managing director, of McLeod Russel India Ltd., said in an interview. The deficit was estimated at 100 million kilograms last year. More...Discuss this story Published: Wed Jan 6 19:48:29 EST 2010