GA-Mullaithivu laments the plight of the people under her care

The latest influx of IDPs from Oddusuddan and Keppapulavu are occurring in the Mullaithivu district.
Though the IDPs newly arriving bring whatever shelter material they can to put up a temporary shelter, the restrictions on shelter material imposed by the Sri Lankan Government is starkly visible in the new IDP settlement in Puthukudiyiruppu. Most of the newly arrived IDPs say that they have so far not received any assistance from anyone. Imelda Sukumar, Government Agnent for the Mullaithivu District describing the recent increase in IDPs in her District said that 216, 195 people are displaced in her district. She added that the displaced people are staying in very crowded areas and that the roads are in very poor condition due to the recent floods. People are facing great difficulties even in undertaking short journeys to the shops and schools she said.

She expressed concern that the IDP size is going to get bigger worsening their plight.

4 civilians killed, 14 wounded in air strike, hospital reports blood shortage

Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked a civilian settlement near Murugananda school in Murasumoaddai on Paranthan - Mullaiththeevu Road killing two females of a family and a male on the spot.
Another man, who was seriously wounded, succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. 14 civilians, including a couple, were wounded. The attack has targeted three civilian settlements in Murasumoaddai Wednesday around 8:00 a.m. Meanwhile, Medical Superintendent of Vanni s main hospital at Tharmapuram, Dr. S. Sathiyamoorthy, has placed the hospital and the surrounding area on red alert for blood shortage as Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched artillery attack on the village after the carnage by the SLAF.

The Sri Lankan air strike targeted civilian houses behind Murugananda school, two settlements of refugees, one at Chelliah Shop Junction and the other behind Cheaththukkandi Amman temple at Murasumoaddai.

24-year-old Juda Margarat Aseervatham, 55-year-old Asservaatham Maryamma and Markandu Sivanandan were killed on the spot.

52-year-old Chandrabose, one of the 14 wounded who were admitted at Tharmapuram hospital, succumbed to his injuries at the Intensive Care Unit.

The wounded were identified as I. Nirmalan, 15, S. Ragulan, 21, Arumaiththurai Jesinald, 26, Ramachandran Kumanan, 30, Selvarajah Kulendran, 33, K. Jeyasri, 38, Somasundaram Chandrakumar, 43, Annakkodi Chandramary, 45, Vellaichamy Annakkodi, 49, S. Balasundaram, 51, Palaniayappan Subramaniyam, 52, Ranjithamalar, 58, and Saravana Bavananthan, 62.

Forget the 'unfortunate' past: Rajapaksa tells people of Jaffna

Vowing that his government would restore "all that was lost due to terrorism", Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa has asked the people of the northern Jaffna peninsula that it was time to forget "the unfortunate developments of the past".

President Rajapaksa made these remarks Monday night while addressing the people of Jaffna via satellite transmission on the occasion of an "educational and industrial exhibition" organised by the Sri Lanka Army.

"It is time for us to forget the unfortunate developments of the past. We shall take action to restore to the people of Jaffna and the north, all they have lost in the past," Rajapaksa said.

The president's office here said it was for the first time that a Sri Lankan head of the state has spoken "to the Tamil people in their own language".

"All that was lost to you due to terrorism will be restored. It will not be long before your brothers and sisters who are trapped in areas such as Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu can be happy. That is when, just like the new dawn in the east, there will be the new spring in the north," Rajapaksa was quoted as saying.

The ruling coalition of President Rajapaksa is determined to capture the rebel-held districts of Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi and the government troops are said to be operating on the outskirts of Kilinochchi town, 350 km north of here.

Despite shrinking territories, the LTTE has been putting up heavy resistance against the advancing troops, slowing down the progress of the government troops.

President Rajapaksa last week threatened to outlaw the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist group if it did not allow Tamils living in its control to move to government-held areas with the dawn of 2009.

The LTTE has been fighting against the Sri Lankan government for a quarter century to carve out a separate state for Tamils in the northern and eastern parts of the island.

Thousands have died in escalating fighting since late 2005.

Australia celebrates the New Year

Celebrations are beginning around the world to usher in 2009.

A record crowd of up to 1.5 million people watched a huge, multi-million dollar fireworks display centred around Sydney's iconic Harbour Bridge.

Not to be outdone, New Zealand staged a pyrotechnics display from Auckland's Sky Tower.

Kiritimati, or Christmas Island, in the Pacific Ocean became the first inhabited place on Earth to celebrate the new year at 1000 GMT.

Organisers of the Sydney festivities - the biggest New Year event the city has yet staged - said they were hoping it would offer revellers a brief respite from the economic gloom of 2008.

"There's so much misery around," fireworks director Fortunato Foti told reporters.

"If we can get people to forget all that and think just about the fireworks for 15 to 20 minutes, we will have done our job."

Sri Lankan rebels open to peace talks

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger separatists are open to restarting peace talks with the government, despite the continuing military offensive aimed at crushing the group, a senior rebel official said.

The two sides have been fighting for more than 25 years over the rebels' demands for an independent state for minority Tamils in the north and east of this Indian Ocean island nation.

A new military push deep into the rebel heartland in recent months has forced the Tamil Tigers to retreat from vast swaths of land they once controlled, and the government has said it expects to finish off the group in the coming months.

Rebel political chief Balasingham Nadesan told The Associated Press the rebels did not believe they were facing imminent defeat.

"We have made several strategic withdrawals in order to save the lives of our people and maintain the strength of our forces. When the time and place is conducive, we will regain the land we have lost," he said in an e-mail sent to the AP late Tuesday.

The two sides agreed to a truce in 2002 and held internationally brokered peace talks aimed at resolving the bloody conflict. The talks stalled, however, and violence erupted again three years ago. The government officially pulled out of the cease-fire in January.

Nadesan said the rebels had not abandoned hopes for new peace talks.

"We have always been ready for peace talks, but the Sri Lankan government has been always insisting on a military solution," he said.

The government said it would only consider new peace moves if the rebels agreed to disarm.

"For three decades we were trying to convince (rebel leader Velupillai) Prabhakaran and his terror group to come to some sort of reasonable arrangement, but they failed," Cabinet minister Keheliya Rambukwella said.

If the group refuses to lay down its weapons, "we will not move an inch from our position," he said.

The rebels have been fighting since 1983 to create an independent homeland for the minority Tamils, who have suffered decades of marginalization by successive governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority. The conflict has killed more than 70,000 people.

Fighting across the north continued Wednesday, and the rebel-linked TamilNet Web site reported that air force jets bombed a village about 8 a.m., killing four civilians and wounding 13 others.

Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said there were no airstrikes Wednesday morning.

The latest government offensive has squeezed the rebels into an increasingly shrinking area in the northeast. Fighter jets have relentlessly pounded their strongholds and the military has closed in on the rebels' administrative capital, Kilinochchi

Nadesan said the rebels remained confident they would not be driven out of their heartland, but implied that if they were, the conflict would continue anyway.

"We are used to all types of wars," he said, adding that the Tamil Tigers began as a guerrilla group. "We will struggle on with the help of our people until their political aspirations are met."

S.Lanka's cbank dissolves Seylan board for stability

Sri Lanka central bank on Monday said it had decided to dissolve Seylan Bank's SEYB.CM board of directors with immediate effect to maintain the stability of the financial system after a liquidity crunch arose from a credit card scam.

The decision came as a large number of Seylan's depositors withdrew their money, creating liquidity problems in the market, after its parent company Ceylinco Consolidated reported a credit card scam at one of its non-listed companies.

"The difficulties of Seylan Bank presented a potential danger to the stability of the financial system," the central bank said in statement.

As part of measures to stabilise the financial system the monetary board at the central bank has decided to discontinue the services of all current directors of Seylan Bank, it said.

The central bank said it had also decided to appoint the state-owned Bank of Ceylon (BOC) to carry on the business of Seylan Bank, while requesting BOC to appoint the new board of directors at Seylan Bank.

"This is an interim measure to help build depositor confidence," said Channa Amaratunga, director at the Colombo-based investment analysis firm CT Capital.

Ceylinco, a corporate leader with more than 300 companies in Sri Lanka, announced a credit card scam last week at the Golden Key Credit Card Company.

Ceylinco did not give a figure for the scam but analysts estimate its value to be around 26 billion rupees ($228.8 million).

On Saturday, the group said it had decided to sell its stake in Seylan to pay Golden Key depositors. The trading in the bank's shares were halted on Monday.

Shares in Seylan Bank are valued at around $6.04 million as of Monday, bourse data showed. ($1=113.65 rupees) (Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)

Fighting rages in northern Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan military says several battles have broken out between troops and rebels in the nation's northern war zone.

A military statement Monday says the two warring sides fought pitched battles along the front lines in the Kilinochchi, Jaffna and Mullaittivu districts throughout the day Sunday.

The military says it has recovered the bodies of three Tamil Tiger fighters.

Rebel spokesmen could not be reached for comment. The two sides have been fighting for more than a quarter century over the rebels' demand for a separate state for the ethnic Tamil minority.

Sri Lanka Navy sinks rebel logistics boat

Sri Lankan Navy has destroyed a Tamil Tiger supply boat off the northern coast, defense officials said Sunday.
"We spotted a supply boat for the LTTE 12 nautical miles east off Point Pedro around 2 this morning (1850 GMT)", Navy spokesman Commander DKP Dassanayake said. At least 4 LTTErs were believed to have been killed, he added.
He said the Navy's fast attack craft had then engaged the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) boat, completely destroying it.
Point Pedro in the northern Jaffna peninsula locates a port a key supply point for some 35,000 government troops stationed in the peninsula.
Jaffna peninsula has been under government control since 1995.

Suicide bomber kills 5 in Sri Lanka capital: military

A suicide bomber struck a civil defense force post in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo on Sunday, killing at least five people, the military said.
"A suicide cadre has gone inside a civil defense force post in Wattala and exploded himself. Due to the explosion five civil defense force people were killed and four others injured," said military spokesman brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara.
No further details were immediately available.
The attack comes at a time of intense fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels around the self-proclaimed rebel capital of Kilinochchi in the north.
Sri Lanka's military has been closing in on Kilinochchi since September, but in the past two weeks has been assaulting heavy defenses encircling the town's outskirts.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam started fighting the government in 1983. It says it is battling for the rights of minority Tamils in the face of mistreatment by successive governments led by the Sinhalese majority since Sri Lanka won independence from Britain in 1948.

People displacing to safer areas -- Prabha

LTTE leader Velupillai Pirapaharan claims in an exclusive interview with this newspaper that the LTTE is not keeping Tamil civilians trapped in the Wanni as human shields, but admitted that people were moving to safer areas to protect themselves.“We totally reject this allegation,” Pirapaharan said, when asked to respond to accusations by Amnesty International and others that the LTTE was using civilians as human shields. “We have never used our people as human shields. Concerned people must understand the truth that we are struggling for the rights of our people.”He claimed that Tamil civilians were behind the LTTE, and that they have waged their ‘struggle’ for the last thirty years with their backing. “It is the desire of the people that Kilinochchi should be defended and they are also working hard in the background to achieve this,” he maintained. He said the government was enraged by the support Tamil people have given the LTTE and is fuelled by “hatred towards the Tamil people.’’ Consequently, the government was carrying out aerial bombing and shelling on the people, while also imposing an economic blockade, he said. “Our people know the truth,” he asserted. “That is why the people are displacing to safer areas to protect themselves.” Though he says clearly that ‘pople are escaping government bombing’’ when they ‘displace themselves” it’s the closest to an admission -- if it can be seen that way at all --- by the LTTE leader that the LTTE is fighting back to the wall -- but elsewhere in the interview he categorically says the LTTE is strong.Asked whether the LTTE has reached the end of the road, Pirapaharan said the LTTE had faced “much bigger military operations and one-sided Sri Lankan Government propaganda.” “Even now, Sri Lankan Government is carrying out propaganda that we will soon lose Kilinochchi,” he scoffs. “Recent heavy losses faced by the Sri Lankan military in Kilinochchi battles, however, foretell the future LTTE victories.”Of the East, Pirapaharan says all the people of that region support the LTTE. “Members of our political wing are doing political work there even now,” he claimed. “They are protected by the people. The Sri Lankan Government is maintaining people like Karuna with the help of its military and it is conducting excessive propaganda using them through its state media. This is the ground reality.”

Pakistani, Indian leaders Say They Do Not Want War

India and Pakistan say they do not want war, as tension mounts between them. There has been a sharp deterioration in ties between the South Asian neighbors following last month's terror strikes in Mumbai, which India blames on Islamic militants based in Pakistan.
Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani said Saturday that Islamabad does not want war with India, but is prepared to defend itself from aggression.
Mr. Gilani said, "Only if someone acts, we will react. We will not take any action on our own." He said Pakistan wants friendly relations with its neighbor.
His comment came a day after Pakistani officials said that the military has moved some troops from the western border with Afghanistan to the eastern frontier with India.
Tension has mounted between the two countries since the reported troop movement.
In New Delhi, Indian leaders urged Pakistan not to create what they termed "war hysteria."
India's junior foreign minister, Anand Sharma, said the government wants Islamabad to crack down on Pakistani-based terror groups, which New Delhi blames for last month's terror strikes in Mumbai.
"The war mongering by Pakistan is unwarranted and irresponsible. Instead of indulging in this and creating tension in the subcontinent, it would be in the interest of the region and in Pakistan's own interest to take action against the two organizations which have been named, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jamat-ud-Dawa," he said.
Pakistan says India has offered no evidence that the attacks in Mumbai were conducted by anyone in the country.
The Mumbai attacks, in which at least 170 people were killed, have brought old hostilities between the two countries into sharp focus.
While Pakistan has canceled leave for army personnel, New Delhi has advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Pakistan, saying it was unsafe for them to be in the neighboring country. The Indian Prime Minister also held a strategy meeting with the country's defense chiefs on Friday.
The international community is trying to calm the situation between the nuclear armed neighbors. The United States has urged both countries to avoid escalating tensions. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their independence from Britain.

At least 210 dead as Israel hammers Hamas-run Gaza

Israel hammered Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least 210 people in retaliation for rocket fire in one of the bloodiest days of the decades-long Middle East conflict.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said "Operation Cast Lead," which has also left some 300 wounded, would continue "as long as necessary."
"The battle will be long and difficult, but the time has come to act and to fight," he said.
Following the mid-morning attacks, in which some 60 aircraft struck about 50 targets over the span of just a few minutes, Hamas swiftly responded by firing several dozen rockets into the Jewish state, killing one Israeli.
The Islamist movement that rules Gaza warned Israelis living near the Palestinian enclave to "prepare the funeral shrouds."
Air strikes continued sporadically throughout the day and into the evening, with no immediate reports of further casualties.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate halt to the violence , as did the European Union, Russia, Britain and France.
The United States said Israel should avoid causing civilian casualties , while several Middle Eastern states and the Arab League, which is considering a Qatari call for an emergency summit, slammed Israel for the strikes.
In Gaza, thick clouds of smoke billowed into the sky. Mangled, bloodied and often charred corpses littered the pavement around Hamas security compounds, and frantic relatives flooded hospitals.
Ambulances and private cars rushed the wounded and dead to Al-Shifa hospital, where the morgue was filled to capacity and bodies were piled on the blood-stained floors in the corridors as the wounded screamed in pain.
"My brother was still alive when he arrived here, and was talking to me but no one could help him. He died," said Ahmed al-Gharabli, his voice shaking and tears streaming down his cheeks. His brother Baha was a policeman.
Medics said civilians had been hit, but the majority of the victims appeared to be members of Hamas, branded a terror group by Israel and the West.
At least 210 Palestinians were killed and some 300 others wounded, said Dr Moawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services.
Hamas said the strikes destroyed its security structures across Gaza and killed three senior officials -- the Gaza police chief, the police commander for central Gaza and the head of the group's bodyguard unit.
The bombardment -- which marked one of the bloodiest single days in the 60-year Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- came after days of spiraling violence, with militants firing rockets and Israel vowing a fiery response.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told AFP from Saudi Arabia that he was in "urgent contact" with numerous countries urging them to press for an end to "the cowardly aggressions and massacres in the Gaza Strip."
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak , who brokered a six-month Israeli-Hamas truce that expired on December 19, slammed the "Israeli military aggression on the Gaza Strip and blames Israel, as an occupying force, for the victims and the wounded."
He ordered the opening of the Rafah crossing -- the only one that bypasses Israel -- to help with the evacuation of the wounded.
The bombardment set off angry demonstrations in Israel's Arab towns and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
It came less than two months ahead of Israeli elections on February 10.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, the head of the governing Kadima party and one of the front-runners for the premier's chair, said that "today there is no other option than a military operation."
Adding that the strikes were targeting "the terror infrastructure in Gaza," she told AFP that "right now what we are doing is changing the reality on the ground and sending Hamas a message."
Violence in and around Gaza has flared since the truce ended and it escalated dramatically on Wednesday, when militants fired more than 80 rockets and mortar rounds in response to a deadly air strike on Gaza.
Israel has generally responded to attacks by tightening the blockade it imposed after Hamas seized Gaza from forces loyal to Abbas in June 2007. But on Friday it allowed the delivery of dozens of truckloads of humanitarian aid.
Hamas is sworn to destruction of the Jewish state and has warned that it would retaliate to a major Gaza operation by resuming suicide bombings inside Israel. The last such attack claimed by Hamas was in January 2005.

21,000 tsunami families still homeless

As the world commemorated the fourth anniversary of the Asian tsunami yesterday, an observation report by the United Nations said nearly 21,000 Sri Lankan families rendered homeless by the disaster still remain without permanent housing.
The Sinhala language Ravaya quoting the report, said only 99,414 houses, as against a requirement of 120,389 houses, have been built in the districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara.According to the report, 3,956 more houses than the required number were built in Hambantota - the political stronghold of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. while Kalutara, the seat of Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, has a surplus of 1,085 houses constructed.It also said 13,913 houses do not have proper sanitary and other basic facilities, while 15,561 are without an electricity supply and added that 21,296 houses lack an access road and 14,342 are not supplied with pipe borne water.It has been estimated Rs.116,713 million is required to complete the remaining construction work and Nation Building Ministry Secretary said the work could be finished by March next year.Meanwhile, Sri Lanka on Friday observed two minutes silence on schedule at 9.42 am in memory of those who were killed by the tsunami disaster. The national ceremony was held at Dharmaraja College, Kandy, declared as the National Safety Day by the government.

Sri Lanka moves into Middle Income Status - WB

The emerging economic development in South Asia is propelling Sri Lanka into the Middle Income Status, states the World Bank Annual Report for 2008.
Other South Asian countries similarly moving up are India, Bhutan and Maldives.
This progress is a result of the rapid economic growth, declining poverty and progress in human development in these countries for more than a decade.
The World Bank report states: "South Asia has experienced rapid economic growth, declining poverty and progress in human development for more than a decade. As a result, for the first time in its history, the region with the world's largest concentration of poor people has a real chance of ending mass poverty in a generation.
Thanks to the economic reforms of the past two decades, annual GDP growth in the region has averaged six per cent since 2000. This growth has translated into a significant drop in poverty rates across the subcontinent.
In the next decade, South Asia is expected to contribute more to global poverty reduction than any other region. If it can accelerate growth to 8-10 percent a year and sustain it, it can reduce income poverty to the single digits.
The Bank's program also reflects an emerging new reality. South Asia can no longer be characterized as a uniformly low-income region. Growth is propelling in India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka into middle income status".

Suspected Santa Shooter Had Bomb, $10K in Cash

Police Suspect Bruce Pardo Entered Ex-In-Laws' home, Killed 8, Burned Home and Later Took His Own Life
Investigators seeking further information about Pardo's motives have begun searching his home in the suburban Los Angeles community of Montrose.
Police say Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, 45, dressed in a Santa Claus costume, opened fire inside a crowded Christmas Eve party before starting a fire at the Covina, Calif., home of his former in-laws.
Pardo was reportedly distraught over his recent divorce. Police have begun searching his home in the nearby Los Angeles community of Montrose, looking for more clues to a motive, The Associated Press reported today.
Police said witnesses told them Pardo began shooting as soon as the front door opened. "An 8-year-old female was running toward him at which time she was shot in the face," Lt. Pat Buchanan of the Covina Police Department said in a press conference. "He fired multiple rounds into the people attending the party and multiple people were struck."
When officers first arrived at the still-burning house, "they were met with a scene that was just indescribable," Police Chief Kim Raney said Wednesday.
They found three charrred bodies in the living room. Five more bodies were found later. None had been identified but Pardo's ex-wife and her parents are unaccounted for.

43 Tiger rebels killed, LTTE training camp captured

At least 43 Tamil rebels were killed as Sri Lankan army, advancing under cover of fighter jets captured a LTTE training camp and other areas around the last two Tiger bastions of Mullaittivu and Kilinochichi, Defence Ministry said on Friday.
The troops overran the training camp located near Kulamurippu in Mullaittivu area. The camp comprised with 10 Huts, a Lecture hall and series of trench lines.
The advancing troops were also assisted by close-combat air support provided by the fighters and MI-24 helicopter gunships.
Clashes erupted around at least three sectors near the two beleaguered Tiger towns. Troops also captured a number of bunkers and a communication tower on the Christmas day.
The Lankan troops also repulsed moves by Tigers to retake some of the lost positions by a counter attack which failed.
A Defence Ministry statement said army snipers killed 28 rebels in two places, while 15 others LTTE cadres were killed and some wounded in a third clash in areas spread from Jaffna to Kilinochchi.
Forces of the 57 Division continued their offencive on tiger rebels while adjusting their defence lines on Thursday, the ministry said.
59 Division troops entered the Mulliawalai township along the A-34 Oddusudan- Mullaittivu main road claiming claiming some more LTTE casualties after hours of heavy fighting.
According to latest reports received from the battlefield, 16 Sri Lanka Light Infantry regiment troops are now engaged in a fierce gun battle with LTTE in the area.

Sri Lanka says 145 killed in northern fighting

Sri Lankan troops and ethnic Tamil insurgents fought fierce battles around the island's embattled north Tuesday, leaving 145 combatants dead, the military said.
Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said the clashes broke out in two villages in northern Jaffna peninsula and areas surrounding the insurgents' de facto capital of Kilinochchi, south of the peninsula.
Soldiers marched into the rebel territory in Kilali and Muhamalai villages early Tuesday, attacked their positions and returned to their bases, Nanayakkara said. Troops also fought heavy battles in villages surrounding Kilinochchi.
About 120 rebels and 25 soldiers were killed in the clashes and 10 more soldiers were reported missing, he said.
Rebels could not be contacted for comment because communication lines to their territory have been severed.
However, the rebel-affiliated TamilNet Web site reported that the insurgents killed 40 soldiers and 120 others on Kilali front alone. It did not report on rebel losses or details of other clashes.
Military spokesman Nanayakkara denied the TamilNet report.
It is difficult to verify battlefield reports released by the two sides because journalists are barred from the war zone.
Tamil Tigers have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils who have suffered marginalization by successive governments controlled by majority ethnic Sinhalese. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.

To throw or not to throw: The shoes, aimed at Bush, felt round the world

Was it silly of the Iraqi journalist Muntadar Al Zaidi (a reporter for a Cairo-based TV channel) to have thrown his shoes at George W. Bush this past Sunday, when the lame-duck, self-styled "war president" turned up at a press conference in Baghdad alongside Nouri Al Maliki, Iraq's U.S.-puppet prime minister?
In many parts of the Arab/Muslim world, the owner of that high-flying footwear has quickly become something of a hero.

The Dubai-based Gulf News reports: "An Iraqi-government official[,] speaking on condition of anonymity[,] said Al Zaidi was being held for questioning by...Maliki's guards and is being tested for alcohol and drugs. On Sunday,...Bush narrowly escaped [receiving] a shoe to the head while making a surprise visit to Baghdad. 'This is a gift from the Iraqis, this is the farewell kiss, you dog!' Al Zaidi shouted just before he chucked his shoes" at Bush. As he threw his second shoe, he shouted out: "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!" In response, Bush quipped: "All I can report is that it is a size 10...."

Reuters notes: "The hurling of shoes at...Bush on his farewell visit to Iraq strikes many in the Middle East as a fittingly furious comment on what they see as his calamitous legacy in the region. Arab and Iranian TV stations have gleefully replayed the clip, sometimes in slow motion, of an Iraqi reporter calling Bush a 'dog' and throwing his shoes at him - the Middle East's tastiest insults....The affront was a twisted echo of the triumphal moment for Bush when joyous Iraqis used their footwear to beat a statue of Saddam Hussein toppled by U.S. invading troops in 2003." Ahmed Maher, a former Egyptian foreign minister, observed that the shoe-throwing gesture reflects the considerable "antagonism" Bush has stirred up "in the whole region." There, Reuters reports, Bush has "harmed America's reputation and the friendship many had felt for [the U.S.]." Maher also remarked: "Despite past mistakes in [the United States'] policies, there was always a redeeming factor. In this particular case [of and throughout Bush's presidency], there doesn't seem to have ever been a redeeming factor...."

On the significance of footwear in the Arab/Muslim world, whether it high-flying or stationary, the BBC notes: "In Arab culture, it's considered rude even to display the sole of one's shoe to a fellow human being. Certainly, crossing one's legs ankle-on-knee style should never be done in a public place for fear of offending the person next to you. The sensitivity [about feet and footwear] is related to the fact shoes are considered ritually unclean in the Muslim faith." Thus, "[i]n addition to ritual ablutions before prayer, Muslims must take off their shoes to pray, and wearing shoes inside a mosque is forbidden....But beyond the Islamic significance, the dirty and degrading implication of the sole of a shoe crosses all religious boundaries in the Middle East."

Muntadar Al Zaidi's headline-making, shoe-throwing gesture has provoked impassioned reactions in many countries. In predominantly Muslim Iran, which has been on the receiving end of constant criticism from the Bush-Cheney gang for its ongoing work on a nuclear-development program, "ordinary people [have] had no good words for the outgoing [U.S.] president." One 67-year-old, Iranian retiree remarked of Bush: "He left a legacy of disgrace for America. His name will certainly go down in history and be remembered for all bad things forever...." In Jordan, a researcher at Jordan University's Center for Strategic Studies regarded last weekend's shoe-hurling incident "as iconic" and told a reporter: "Arabs will always remember the shoes hurled at Bush as symbolizing their deep frustration with his failed policies."

Obama names Shaun Donovan to head HUD

President-elect Barack Obama today named Shaun Donovan to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The president-elect praises his nominee, New York City's housing commissioner, for his record on expanding access to affordable housing.

Reporting from Washington -- A Harvard-educated architect is Barack Obama's choice to lead his housing agency, which the president-elect says will play a key role in tackling the mortgage crisis and helping families stay in their homes.Shaun Donovan will bring "fresh thinking" to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Obama said Saturday, pledging that his nominee will abandon "old ideology and outdated ideas" that have stymied some of the agency's past efforts.
"We can't keep throwing money at the problem, hoping for a different result," Obama said in his weekly radio address, which was also released on YouTube. "We need to approach the old challenge of affordable housing with new energy, new ideas and a new, efficient style of leadership." Donovan, 42, a former HUD official, is credited with increasing affordable options in New York as head of the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development.The announcement comes as Obama nears his informal Christmas-week deadline for assembling a Cabinet. He is nearly finished; a handful of key nominees are expected in the coming days, including appointees for the Departments of Labor and Education.
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Obama's team takes shape
» President-elect Barack Obama has nominated about half of his 15 Cabinet positions. The nominations must be confirmed by the Senate.A mixture of old a new faces make up the beginnings of the 44th president's administration.

But the announcement Saturday effectively completes the team of advisors whom Obama intends to rely on most heavily to shape his administration's response to the economic crisis, an agenda dwarfing all others as he prepares to take office in January.Obama made assembling his economic team among his first orders of business after the election, naming his Treasury secretary, budget director and economic council director and setting them to work in recent weeks. In naming Donovan, Obama said he wanted his HUD secretary to take a lead role in stemming the tide of foreclosures and increasing the number of families able to remain in their homes amid the crisis."This plan will only work with a comprehensive, coordinated federal effort to make it a reality," Obama said. "We need every part of our government working together -- from the Treasury Department to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the agency that protects the money you've put in the bank. And few will be more essential to this effort than the Department of Housing and Urban Development."Donovan has worked in both business and nonprofit sectors and at HUD during the Clinton administration, serving as deputy assistant secretary for multifamily housing. He later worked at Prudential Mortgage Capital Co. as managing director of its Federal Housing Administration lending and affordable housing investments. In 2004, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg named him commissioner of the city's housing department.Today, Donovan leads the largest municipal affordable housing plan in the nation. The agency's $7.5-billion effort to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing reached its halfway point this fall.He has been a visiting scholar at New York University, researching the preservation of federally assisted housing, and has written about housing policy at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard. He holds master's degrees in public administration and architecture from Harvard.If the Senate confirms the nomination, Donovan would assume his post amid the worst economic climate in decades. American homeowners are reeling from plummeting home values and rising unemployment. One in every 488 households faced some form of foreclosure filing last month, and more borrowers are delaying mortgage payments for longer periods of time than in recent history.Obama has made it clear that he thinks HUD can do more than it has in the past. "Since its founding, HUD has been dedicated to tearing down barriers in access to affordable housing," he said Saturday. "Too often, these efforts have had mixed results."Experts say Obama's choice -- along with the job description he has offered -- may signal a more sweeping role for HUD."What he may be speaking of, which would certainly be interesting and welcome by many sectors of the housing industry, would be a more direct role in the oversight of the affordable housing industry," said Jim Parenti, a former HUD official and now associate dean at Georgetown University. Donovan would bring "street credibility" to that effort, Parenti predicted, because of his work in the public and private sectors.Donovan has a record of boosting affordable housing options, particularly rentals, said John Garvin, who until recently worked as deputy assistant secretary for HUD's multifamily housing programs."I'm impressed to see somebody with a multifamily focus in the job," Garvin said. "There's a huge need out there. . . . As people are losing homes, it's important that they have an affordable option."Parsons is a writer in our Washington bureau.

Clashers Continue in All Fronts

TROOPS operating in the general area of PONNAR in JAFFNA attacked LTTE positions on Friday (12) and early morning today (13) causing heavy damages to the LTTE terrorists. Meanwhile, army troops advancing towards KILINOCHCHI town confronted the LTTE terrorists north of AKKARAYANKULAM, ADAMPAN and NIVIL areas on Friday (12). Terrorists suffered heavy loses during those confrontations. A few soldiers also sustained injuries due to enemy mortar and small arms fire. In the meantime, brave soldiers advancing towards the terrorist strong holds in MULLAITTIVU area continued their attacks on LTTE positions in OLUMADU west, KUMULAMUNAI, KODDALIKULAM, KUNUKKERNI and GAJABAPURA west in MULLAITTIVU and inflicted heavy casualties among LTTE terrorists on Friday (12). Several soldiers also injured during those confrontation.Twelve more IDPs Reach Kanakarayankulam VAVUNIYA: A GROUP of twelve Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) arrived in KANAKARAYANKULAM Army Entry/Exit point in VAVUNIYA around 5.10 p.m. Friday (12). The group consisted of seven men and five women were sent to IDP centers after preliminary inquiries.
Air Strikes Continue in Support of Ground Troops KILINOCHCHI: IN SUPPORT of the advancing ground troops of 57 Division and Task Force I, fighter jets of Sri Lanka Air Force conducted six air strikes on Saturday (13) morning from 6.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m.. The attacks targeted LTTE positions spreading from south of KILINOCHCHI to west of PARANTHAN. Pilots confirmed that the air strikes were successful.

Consensus with regard to power devolution reaches by APRC.

After nearly three years of talks, the All Party Representative Committee has reached a consensus with regard to power devolution between the Center and the nine provinces, Chairman and Minister Tissa Vitharana said yesterday.
"We are drafting a document for perusal by the main opposition UNP for any inputs, before presenting it to President Mahinda Rajapaksa," Professor Vitharana said. The key proposals on power devolution were discussed in detail and in-depth in a spirit of cordiality before arriving at a consensus on clearly defined areas for each level of government. Prof. Vitharana said he expected the APRC proposals to meet the aspirations of the minority communities without prejudice to the majority community, and there would be no concurrent list with powers between the province and the Center clearly defined and demarcated. The provinces will be ensured of no interference by the centre. The government will set up a second chamber-an Upper House – comprising of eight representatives from each of the provinces. They will as a safeguard ensure that no legislation seeking to take away-devolved powers is enacted. Any such legislation has to be passed at a joint parliamentary sitting, Professor Vitharana said adding that the Local Government, the Village Committee system would be restored. He said the provincial administration was seriously handicapped by the failure to fully implement the devolved powers under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. But he said the success of working out a political solution, which fulfills the aspirations of the Tamil community would depend on the inputs of the two major political parties - the SLFP and the UNP.

3 civilians, including child, killed in SLA shelling in Vanni

A 5-month-old child, sleeping inside an IDP hut near Thakarap-Pillaiyaar temple on Hudson Road in Vaddakkachchi, was decapitated by a shrapnel of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery shell Saturday morning around 9:30. 26-year-old mother of the child was wounded in the artillery barrage that targeted the IDP settlement.
Meanwhile, two males who went to their agricultural lands in Kanakapuram, a suburb of Kilinochchi town, to unearth cassava roots, were killed in SLA shelling around 11:45 a.m. A 17-year-old youth narrowly escaped death with injuries from the shelling. The child killed was Jeyarooban Ajanthan. His mother wounded in the shelling was identified as 26-year-old Jancy Rani Jeyarooban. The victims had displaced from Periyapandivirichchaan to Vaddakkachchi. One of the males killed in Kanakapuram was identified as 41-year-old Paalaiya Pulendran, a native of Kilinochchi who was displaced to Visuvamadu. The other male killed in the shelling was yet to be identified. The victims had gone to their agricultural lands to unearth cassava roots in their attempt to earn money to safeguard their families. The youth who sustained injuries at Kanakapuram was identified as Jeyakaran, from Periyakulam in Pulyampokkanai. He was being treated at Kilinochchi hospital. The dead bodies of the two males killed in Kanakapuram were brought to the hospital in Kilinochchi town and transferred to Tharmapuram. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) fighter jets bombed 6 times in Vaddakkachchi and Paranthan areas.

Russian student wins Miss World title

Miss Russia Ksenia Sukhinova was crowned this year's Miss World Saturday in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The 21-year old student from Siberia also won the contest's top model award and was third in the swimsuit competition of the 58th annual pageant, RIA Novosti reported.
Miss India Parvathy Omankuttan was picked the first runner-up and Miss Trinidad and Tobago Gabrielle Walcott won third place.
Organizers claimed 1 billion people from 187 countries watched the broadcast of the event.
The first Russian winner of the international beauty pageant was Yulia Kurochkina in 1992.

‘Pranab visit to Lanka unlikely in near future’

Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is unlikely to be visiting Sri Lanka to talk about a ceasefire, in the near future, according to diplomatic sources here.
Reacting to a local news report that the Indian Shipping Minister T R Baalu had said in New Delhi that Mukherjee would be in Colombo on Monday and Tuesday, the sources said that they had no information whatsoever on the visit.
In fact, they discounted an early visit in the context of the ongoing winter session of parliament in which one of the main issues is Pakistan’s role in the Mumbai blasts and other terror activities on Indian soil. Political circles here feel that Sri Lanka would be put on the back burner for sometime.
However, since the Prime Minister had told the Tamil Nadu political parties and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi that Mukherjee would visit Sri Lanka, a visit was on the cards, diplomatic sources affirmed.
US CALLS FOR POLITICAL SOLUTION TO AID REFUGEES: US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Robert Blake, on Thursday called for an “immediate” political solution to help the Tamil civilians trapped in the war zone in the Wanni to come out to the government- held areas in south Sri Lanka.
“A political solution will help reassure the more than 230,000 people in the Wanni, that they can move to the south and enjoy their freedom under the present government,” Blake was quoted as saying by Daily Mirror.
Reaching an “immediate” political solution would also disprove the LTTE’s claim that it was the sole representative of the Tamil people, he said.
The US envoy noted that many in Sri Lanka believed that there was no need for a political solution or that such a solution could wait until the LTTE was militarily defeated. But he himself believed that while the LTTE could not be tolerated, the rights of all Sri Lankans must be protected and promoted through a political solution.
Meanwhile, heavy fighting was on in Puthumurippukulam and the south of Adampan, the Defence Ministry said. Task Force I was successfully operating North of Adampan, and in the Mullaitivu front, troops were meeting sporadic resistance from the LTTE in Olumadu, the ministry said.

Nedumaran holds Indian P.M. responsible for Sivajilingam's safety

Pazhaniyappan Nedumaran,India’s Tamil National Movement (Thamil Thesiya Iyakkam) leader, and well – known staunch supporter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has stated that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be held responsible for the safety of Sri Lankan Tamil Parliamentarian MK Sivajilingam.
[P. Nedumaran-pic:thenseide.com]
Nedumaran made this comment while addressing a protest demonstration near the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission in Chennai.
The demonstration and public meeting was in protest of recent comments made by Sri Lankan Army commander Lt.Gen Sarath Fonseka that political leaders of Tamil Nadu like “Vaiko” (V.Gopalaswamy) and P. Nedumaran were “jokers” bribed by the LTTE.
Sri Lanka’s Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarian MK Sivajilingam was also present when Nedumaran referred to the Jaffna district MP being ordered to depart from India voluntarily or face deportation.
Sivajilingam also addressed the meeting along woth other Tamil Nadu politicians.
Nedumaran 0bserved that the Sri Lankan army commanders comments have insulted all Tamil Nadu politicians as well as all Indian political leader.
He called upon the Indian government to express its strong protest to the Mahinda government on this.
Continuing further Nedumaran announced publicly that Sri Lankan Tamil MP Sivajilingam who had been exposing the genocidal activities of the Sri Lankan government had been told by the Indian Central government to leave India immediately because he was engaged in political propaganda on Indian soil.
But if Sivajilingam were to leave India and return to Sri Lanka the Sri Lankan Tamil MP would lose his life the very next minute he landed in the Island, Nedumaran further said.
Because of the danger to his life , Sivajilingam has sought refuge in his “motherland” Tamil Nadu stated Nedumaran.
If Sivajilingam is compelled to return to Sri Lanka and any danger to his life occurs then Indian Prime Minister Shree Manmohan Singh would be held responsible said Nedumaran.
“The Indian Prime Minister is answerable”he warned.

SLA death toll hits 120, army pushed back to Malaiyaalapuram - LTTE

The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) officials told in Vanni Thursday that the two-pronged SLA offensive on Kiinochchi was pushed back Wednesday after heavy fighting in Puthumurippu in the west of Kilinochchi and Ariviyal Nakar in the south.
The final death toll of the SLA in both the fronts, according to the LTTE claim, was 120 killed in action and more than 280 wounded. Photographs given by the LTTE officials also indicate that there were some young recruits of the SLA among the dead. Meanwhile, the SLA, which admitted heavy fighting, has put the casualties at 20 SLA and 27 LTTE combatants as killed in the latest fighting. Heavy fighting at Puthumurippu ended Wedensday afternoon as SLA suffered high casualties. There was disarray among the SLA troops as an LTTE counter-push was launched by the Tigers. On the other front, the SLA was pushed back from from Ariviyal Nakar to Malaiyaalapuram Wednesday night, according to the Tigers.More than 25 dead bodies of the SLA were still lying in the no-go zone between the LTTE and SLA forces, the Tigers said.

Prohibited, granting doctorates at Private Institutions.

Cabinet granted approval to the proposals submitted to prohibit the private institutions in awarding doctorate titles. A committee on the leadership of Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake was appointed to discuss regarding this, and the said sub committee yesterday handed over a report to President.
According to the recommendations made by the committee, authorized universities only have the privilege to grant doctorates titles was approved by the Cabinet. Meanwhile cabinet decision was also given for "Desapanthu" awards to be recommended, in future only by the President. Such recommendations were made in three languages and implemented, due to former private institutions had been in the practice of granting doctorates titles and Honorary awards.

Tamil tigers kill 89 Sri Lankan soldiers

A Tamil Tiger-affiliated Web site says rebel fighters have killed 89 government troops in heavy fighting in northern Sri Lanka.

TamilNet reported that the fighting took place Wednesday around Kilinochchi, the rebels' de facto capital.

Rebel fighters repulsed an attempt by government forces to advance into rebel territory west of Kilinochchi, killing more than 60 soldiers, the Web site reported, citing unidentified rebel officials.

South of Kilinochchi, another 29 soldiers were killed in heavy clashes, it said.

Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara denied the report.

Karu UNP deputy leader

The main opposition in Sri Lanka has appointed a senior government minister as its deputy leader. The United National Party (UNP) has decided to appoint Karu Jayasuriya as the deputy leader of the party. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake told BBC Sandeshaya that party Working Committee (WC) unanimously approved the appointment. Minister Jayasuriya, a former UNP deputy leader, is currently the leader of the UNP dissident group. He joined Mahinda Rajapaksa government with a group of UNP parliamentarians on 28 January 2007. Mr. Jayasuriya has already accepted the post, Mr. Attanayake told BBC Sinhala Service. Other contenders for the post, Sajith Premadasa, Abdul Cader and Vajira Abeywardene all approved the appointment, he added. The UNP National Organiser, SB Dissanayake, who also wished to be the deputy leader was approved as the UNP Chief Ministerial candidate for Central Province. Mr. Dissanayake did not attend the WC meeting held on Monday, party s General Secretary said. Senior MP, Jayawickrama Perera has replaced party chairman, Rukman Senanayake who was appointed as the assistant leader while John Amaratunga, MP, was appointed as the senior vice president.

Sri Lanka: Rajapaksa - Karu clash reaches its climax

Sri Lanka Public Administration Minister Karu Jayasuriya is considering either re join the opposition UNP or quit the politics altogether, according to reliable political sources in the capital Colombo.
He was severely reprimand by the President Rajapaksa recently. In a meeting of the UNP dissidents who crossed over to the government last week, he said, he was similarly reprimanded on several other occasions by President Rajapaksa, and found it demeaning to his dignity and self respect.
He also said that another occasion he was even reprimanded in the presence of a well-known business tycoon. Mr. Jayasuriya said he had no alternative but to re join the UNP if it was willing to accommodate him with a responsible position in the party.
Mr. Jayasuriya also said that the failure to implement the 17th Amendment to the Constitution was particularly painful, in addition to the controversy over the appointment of government agents. He also referred to a press conference the President gave in his presence in the run up to the NCP provincial poll which was extremely embarrassing.
Meanwhile the Opposition UNP leader, Mr. Wickremesinghe told UNP members at the party’s 53rd annual convention, "I request those who left our party to come back, and I ask our former deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya to forget the past and come back in order to defeat the government."
At this convention at Dehiwela Urban Council grounds, the UNP constitution was amended to reintroduce the posts of deputy and assistant leader, and the next meeting of the WC will appoint persons to these posts.
Meanwhile there are speculations in the political circles in the capital Colombo that Mr. Jayasuriya might re join the UNP together with a few others after the budget debate which is to be concluded Monday and their decision is to be announced at a news conference soon.

Srilanka in the process of achieving military victory before the arrival of Piranab Mukarjee.

"The Nation" newspaper in its political column indicates, Sri Lanka government is forced by New Delhi for a solution to the racial conflict, is trying to achieve some military victory. Wimal Weerawansa s National Independent Party, and Jathika Hela Urumaya, the Buddhist monks party, have agreed for a cease fire due to Indian pressure, but government is in the process of obtaining a military victory was quoted in the "Nation" newspaper. It was informed that the Indian Foreign Affairs Minister Piranab Mukarjee would visit Sri Lanka after the Tamilnadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi returned from New Delhi last week, and such activity establishes the Indian pressure towards Sri Lanka government. Meanwhile, the processing war, has given utmost support in the midst of people to the President of Sri Lanka, hence Sri Lankan government does not wish to agree immediately for a cease fire, which is also felt by the Indian government. Hence the government of Sri Lanka is trying to convince to an extent, by achieving some sort of military victory, is in the attempt of initiating fierce military advancements from last week towards Vanni, was quoted by the "Nations" newspaper.

Sri Lanka signs off on record war spending

Sri Lanka's parliament approved a budget on Monday pledging record spending next year on the war with the Tamil Tigers, while troops resumed attacks on the edge of the rebels' headquarters town of Kilinochchi.And in a sign President Mahinda Rajapaksa will use the greatest military success by any government so far in the 25-year war to test the electoral waters, the government said it would dissolve provincial councils shortly to clear the way for polls.The battle for Kilinochchi has picked up pace in recent days after monsoon rains slowed a multi-pronged assault that had been energised by the army's Oct. 15 capture of the entire western coast for the first time since 1993."Troops in Kilinochchi are targeting the town and they are in the vicinity of the town," military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said on Monday.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) could not be reached for comment.Independent confirmation is all but impossible because both sides limit media access to the war zone. The military has been saying it is near Kilinochchi since September.Rajapaksa's 2009 budget, with record defence spending and several populist measures, passed by 126 votes to 84 in parliament on Monday. Defence spending was forecast to grow by up to 20 percent to a record 200 billion rupees ($1.82 billion).It was approved despite a no-confidence motion brought by the main opposition United National Party, which accused Rajapaksa's government of mishandling oil price hedges that could cost Sri Lanka hundreds of millions of dollars.Also in parliament, the government's chief whip, Health Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva, said several provincial councils would be dissolved shortly.Several are due for dissolution by the middle of next year, and elections for them would give a clear sign of how much support Rajapaksa and the war have in the nation of 21 million.On Sunday, the Defence Ministry website www.defence.lk said rebels had put up stiff resistance against soldiers positioned within "kissing distance" of the outer defences of Kilinochchi, 330 km (205 miles) north of the capital Colombo.Troops captured two bunkers and the air force carried out air strikes in the Kilinochchi area at the weekend, the military said. Further east, soldiers were battling toward the other major Tiger stronghold, the eastern port of Mullaittivu.Kilinochchi is a strategic prize for the Sri Lankan military, which is increasingly confident of winning the 25-year war, and is also of symbolic importance to the LTTE's aspirations to create a separate state for minority ethnic Tamils.Tourism officials said on Monday tourist arrivals fell 18.2 percent in November from a year ago as the global financial crisis and intensified fighting kept visitors away.LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran said in his annual address last month Sri Lanka was living in a "dreamland" if it thought it would achieve victory. Analysts say the LTTE, on U.S., E.U. and Indian terrorism lists, is on the defensive.Since 1983, the Tigers have fought to create a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's minority Tamils, many of whom have complained of discrimination by governments led by the Sinhalese ethnic majority for all 60 years since independence

New London Bans Novelty Lighters

The City Council approved an ordinance this week banning retailers within city limits from selling novelty lighters that resemble toys, guns or other items that might appear entertaining to children.
Violators could face a $100 fine when the ordinance goes into effect Dec. 17. It also bans people from giving the novelty lighters as gifts within city limits.
Fire Chief Ronald Samul, who requested the ordinance, said banning the novelty lighters may help curb the number of fires started by juveniles. Fire prevention experts say children often mistake them for toys and play with them, not understanding how dangerous they are.
Municipalities in California, Texas, Washington and Arkansas have passed similar bans.
The National Fire Protection Agency, the National Volunteer Fire Council and the National Association of State Fire Marshals support the effort to curb the sale and distribution of the lighters, Samul said.
U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd and other senators have also proposed a national ban. A spokesman for Dodd's office says Dodd plans to reintroduce the legislation to Congress in January.
"We congratulate New London for this. It's on the cutting edge of what we're trying to do," said Bryan DeAngelis, a Dodd spokesman.
New London is believed to be among the first municipalities in Connecticut to adopt such an ordinance, he said.
A national ban would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to treat novelty lighters as a banned hazardous substance. That would prohibit the manufacture, importation, or sale of the lighters anywhere in the country.
In March, Maine became the first state to outlaw lighters attractive to children.
That came after a 6-year-old shopping with his mother singed his eyebrows and burned part of his face after flicking open a lighter in the shape of a baseball bat.

India blasts Pakistan over hoax Mumbai call

India's foreign minister on Sunday accused Pakistan of leaking a story that someone pretending to be him had called and threatened Pakistan's president two days after the Mumbai attacks.
New Delhi has blamed the attacks, in which 171 were killed across India's financial capital, on Pakistani militants, which has imperiled improving ties between the long-time south Asian nuclear rivals.
On Saturday, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported that Pakistan had put its forces on high alert after a hoax caller was connected to Zardari on November 28.
Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a statement that the last and only time he spoke to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was in May.
"It is, however, worrying that a neighboring state might even consider acting on the basis of such a hoax call, try to give it credibility with other states, and confuse the public by releasing the story in part," he said.
Officials from "third countries" called to inform Mukherjee of the hoax call, he said.
He did not name those officials, but Dawn said it was U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was in both capitals this week to ease tensions.
"I can only ascribe this series of events to those in Pakistan who wish to divert attention from the fact of an attack on India from Pakistani territory by elements in Pakistan," Mukherjee said.
Mumbai police have said the gunmen were controlled by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group blamed for earlier attacks in India including a 2001 assault on India's parliament that nearly sparked a fourth war between India and Pakistan.
LeT is on U.S. and Indian terrorist lists and Indian police say two of its operations leaders, who were designated terrorists by Washington in May, coordinated the Mumbai rampage.
New Delhi has demanded Islamabad take swift action over what it says is the latest militant attack launched against India from Pakistani soil.
The latest arrests come amid public anger at intelligence failures in preventing the attacks, which have been capitalized on by India's main opposition party in the lead-up to elections due by May.
India's newly appointed home minister on Friday admitted there had been security lapses.

Second cyclone heads for Sri Lanka and southern India

Cyclone 07B lies in the SW Bay of Bengal on Saturday morning with winds around 40mph (65kmh). It is bearing down on Sri Lanka and will be the second cyclone to hit the country in less than a fortnight. Aid agencies are barely recovering from Cyclone Nisha which struck Sri Lanka and southern India at the end of last month. Nisha brought with it heavy rains, causing widespread floods and the displacement of more than a million people.Northern Sri Lanka suffered particularly badly with a combination of Nisha and heavy monsoon rains causing the worst flooding in 50 years in the Jaffna Peninsula. Coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, were also lashed by torrential rain with up to 330mm (13 inches) of rain reported in some parts. Early Saturday morning Cyclone 07B is lying some 345 miles (555 km) east-northeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) has the cyclone moving west-wards across northern Sri Lanka early Sunday. It will then move on across southern Tamil Nadu during Monday. With Cyclone 07B expected to hit similar areas affected by Cyclone Nisha, further flooding is likely over the coming few days

India-Pakistan composite dialogue "on hold"

With Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari saying no to returning fugitives from Indian law and little sign of cooperation coming from Islamabad in the wake of Mumbai's terror attacks, India has decided to put its bilateral dialogue "on hold" till its concerns are addressed.
"The talks are on hold till the atmosphere is conducive for such an engagement. It's not possible to carry on the dialogue in this atmosphere," highly-placed sources told IANS, indicating New Delhi's exasperation with the lack of an adequate response from Islamabad to its demarche.
"If the atmosphere it not right, how can we carry on the dialogue. The atmosphere has been vitiated," sources added.
The decision to suspend what is called the composite dialogue process has come after more damning evidence emerged, linking not just Pakistan-based elements but its Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), to the Mumbai blasts. New Delhi is convinced "without a shadow of doubt" about Pakistan's spy agency ISI's involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks and is readying to present to Islamabad "a list of ISI handlers" who allegedly masterminded the terror strikes, reliable sources said.
The first casualty of the chill in India-Pakistan ties in the aftermath of Mumbai carnage has been trade talks - an area in which the new civilian government in Islamabad has shown great enthusiasm, echoing India's long-standing position on improving relations through trade ties.
India has called off a trip by a Planning Commission team which was going to Islamabad to lay the groundwork and finalise the dates for a visit by Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Ahluwalia was to return a visit by his Pakistani counterpart Salman Faruqui who came here earlier this month and explored the possibility of cooperation in building Metro and in renewable energy.
India and Pakistan launched the fifth round of composite dialogue in July in the shadow of the bombings outside the Indian mission in Kabul. New Delhi blamed the ISI for the blasts, which put the dialogue process under strain.
In less than two weeks it's a dramatic U-turn in India-Pakistan relations. On the fateful night of Nov 26, less than an hour before the Mumbai mayhem started, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi were talking confidently about boosting trade, people-to-people contacts and combating terrorism. India was also seriously considering sending Indian cricket team to Pakistan after a stringent security review.
But three days later, India was accusing Pakistan-based elements of fomenting terror attacks in Mumbai and speculation was rife about troops build-up on the border.
In the demarche served Dec 1, India made it clear that the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attacks came from Pakistan and asked Islamabad to take "strong action" against those elements New Delhi suspects to be behind the blasts. India also asked Pakistan to hand over most wanted fugitives from Indian law and to proscribe militant outfits. The most wanted list includes Laskhar-e-Taiba leader Mohammad Hafeez Saeed, ex-Mumbai crimeboss Dawood Ibrahim and Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit's chief Masood Azhar.
In response, Zardari offered a joint investigation team, which has been cold-shouldered by India. Subsequently, Zardari rejected the demand for handing over of fugitives asking India to produce evidence so that they can be prosecuted in Pakistani courts. India claims it has provided strong evidence in the past - the list of India's 20 most wanted dates back to 2002 in the aftermath of the Dec 13, 2001 attack on Indian parliament and will decide on its next step after a formal response from Pakistan on this issue.
There is also a growing perception among the US security and intelligence establishment about the involvement of the ISI and LeT in the Mumbai attacks.
With these disclosures as a backdrop, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has sent a tough, no-nonsense message to Pakistan, asking it to cooperate "urgently and transparently" with India in tracking the perpetrators of the Mumbai mayhem that killed 172 people, including six Americans.

Sri Lanka army 'enters rebel town'

The army says that it is on the verge of victory
Sri Lanka's military says it has entered a town in the north-east of the country used as a naval base by the Tamil Tiger rebels.
Government troops have entered Alampil, six miles (10km) south of Mullaitivu, the main town held by the rebels on the north-east coast, the army said.
There has been no comment from the Tamil Tigers.
Fighting has also been reported outside the town of Kilinochchi, site of the the rebels' political headquarters.
Kilinochchi is the rebels' de facto capital in the north and troops have been attacking it from three directions for a fortnight now.

The rebels have been fighting for a separate homeland for Tamils in the north and east since 1983 and 70,000 people have died in the violence
Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara did not give casualty details.
Correspondents say the capture of the town is the latest indication of the government's supremacy in the Sri Lankan war, in which the rebels have been forced to abandon large tracts of land and retreat further and further into their north-eastern heartland.
Last month the army said that the capture of Kilinochchi was imminent.
The defence ministry also said last month that its soldiers were closing in on Mullaitivu, where the rebels are believed to have concentrated their forces following recent army advances elsewhere in the north.
But the Tigers' leader Velupillai Prabhakaran said that the government was living in "dreamland" if it expected outright military victory.