YES, it Burns both our Nations
These posters bearing the pictures of Osama Bin Laden, the Al Queda leader and Velupillai Prabhakaran the LTTE leader , with a message addressed to the US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns, on a visit here, were put up in Colombo yesterday (24).
Pic by Kamal Wanniarachchi

• No stopping operation demolition
  The government will go ahead with its policy of removing all unauthorized constructions in the main towns and Colombo city’s busiest areas like the Pettah, the Acting Director (Law Enforcement) T. A. Perera told The Island yesterday (25).
  
  
• Tigers kill journalist
  A provincial correspondent, of the Tamil newspaper ‘Sudar Oli’, Suhiradaraja was shot dead by a LTTE pistol gang at Trincomalee yesterday (24) morning, police said.
   
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• Strategic planning needed to combat drugs menace – I
  It is indeed heartening to see President Mahinda Rajapakse cracking the whip vigorously on the law enforcement authorities to come down heavily on kasippu mudalalis, the big time drug barons and the ubiquitous small time drug peddlers.
  This is all the more laudable as despite the corrosive social effects of illicit drugs, successive administrations have not had the required political resolve and the unswerving commitment to launch a sustained frontal onslaught on the organized purveyors of these illicit substances whose devastating impact is increasingly felt on the physical as well as the economic well being of the people of this country.
   

• "US will judge the LTTE by its actions"
  It’s a great pleasure for me to be with you. I’m very happy to be here in Sri Lanka to visit this country for the first time.
  I had excellent meetings today with the President and with the Foreign Minister. I was able to meet the Opposition Leader, to see a number of ministers and representatives of civil society, and, of course, fellow ambassadors from friendly countries to Sri Lanka. I had a wonderful lunch given by the Foreign Minister. I also was able to meet Minister Eric Solheim, and we compared notes on our mutual goal, and that is to work with the international community, and certainly work with the government, to try to restore peace and maintain the ceasefire here, and resume negotiations.

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• Turnover boosted by foreign to local crossing in Richard Pieris
  Bourse recovers from mid-morning slump to sustain upward trend
  The Colombo bourse yesterday sustained its upward movement although indications earlier in the day were that the market was losing steam with both indices down. But they recovered by close of trading on a turnover of Rs.296.8 million, down from the previous day’s Rs.530.4 million.
   

• UN projects world economy to grow by 3% this year
  With material threats to smooth the functioning of the world economy, United Nations yesterday announced an unpretentious growth rate of 3 % for this year in its World Economic Situation & Prospects report published worldwide yesterday.
   
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• South Africa clinch a thriller
  South Africa beat Sri Lanka in a nailbiting finish to triumph by nine runs in the triangular series.
  Set 264 to win, Sri Lanka looked on course until an extraordinary run out of captain Marvan Atapattu and an inspired over by Andrew Hall. Wicket-keeper Mark Boucher was involved in Atapattu’s departure and also stumped dangerman Sanath Jayasuriya.
   

• Australians are arrogant: Arjuna
  Sri Lanka’s World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has branded the Australians arrogant and vulnerable after their decision to rest their captain, Ricky Ponting, at a time when their one-day squad is reeling from two losses in three matches.The Australians, who tumbled to a 51-run defeat to Sri Lanka on Sunday while key players Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist were rested, face a real challenge to qualify for the one-day finals, having lost to both visiting teams at the halfway point of the series.

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  Adelaide, South Australia AUSTRALIA : South Africa’s Boeta Dippenaar acknowledges the crowd after making a century during a one day match against Sri Lanka being played at the Adelaide Oval, 24 January 2006.  Dippenaar went on to make 125 not out.  AFP PHOTO/DAVID HANCOCK)

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