Navaly St. Peters Church consecrated

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 January 2000, 18:05 GMT]
The consecration ceremony of the Navaly St. Peters Church in Jaffna district was held this afternoon after the shrine was heavily damaged five years ago by a Sri Lankan Air Force strike during the SLA's Operation "Leap Forward".
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CTTU protests poor standard Tamil Texts

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 January 2000, 16:49 GMT]
The All Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) has demanded the resignations of the Chairman of the National Institute of Education and the Director General of the Department of Educational Publications for having failed to prepare and print high standard Tamil medium school textbooks without grammatical, spelling and factual errors.
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Peace package by April - radio

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 January 2000, 13:09 GMT]
Sri Lanka's state radio said Thursday that the government has announced a program to find a political solution to the island's ethnic problem. According to the radio the government is planning to table a new draft constitution in the parliament before April this year.
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Sunday Leader Editor defends article

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 January 2000, 20:18 GMT]
Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge has told the High court that an alleged defamatory article published in his English weekly journal didn't convey the impression that the president was a corrupt person.
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UNP extends support despite "reservations"

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 January 2000, 12:24 GMT]
The United National Party Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe has informed the President Chandrika Kumaratunga that his party would support the government's constitutional proposals despite its reservations.
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Petrol tankers attacked

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 January 2000, 09:25 GMT]
A petroleum tanker driver was killed and two others wounded when unidentified gunmen fired on two tankers owned by the Petroleum Co-Operation around 8 a.m. this morning, police said. The incident took place near a Sri Lanka Army camp at Punanai, 50 km. north of Batticaloa on the Colombo road.
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Jaffna SLA commander suffers heart attack

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 January 2000, 13:05 GMT]
Jaffna Security Forces Commander Major General Nihal Jayakody died this afternoon at Palaly Military Hospital after a brief illness, said a press release issued today by the Operational Headquarters Of the Ministry o f Defence.
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SLA deserters escape from Panagoda camp

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 January 2000, 08:59 GMT]
Operational Headquarters of the Ministry of Defense reported today that 17 army deserters escaped from Panagoda SLA cantonment around 7 p.m. on January 18, overpowering the staff who opened their cells for the purpose of distribution of dinner.
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Casualties in bus shooting

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 January 2000, 17:20 GMT]
A woman was killed and three others wounded when a privately owned passenger bus was fired on at Miyankalkulam near Valaichenai on the Batticaloa-Colombo road around 11 a.m. Tuesday. The bus was on its way to Trincomalee from Kalmunai.
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British High Commissioner in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 January 2000, 17:05 GMT]
The High Commissioner for Britain in Sri Lanka, Linda Duffield, visited Vavuniya Tuesday to assess the conditions of the families displaced by the war and presently living in welfare centres, said sources.
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Kaluwanchikudy civilians injured

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 January 2000, 10:46 GMT]
Five civilians were injured, one of them seriously, when police opened fire at the Kaluwanchikudy market around 11 a.m today. Shops were closed and the situation remained tense in the town following the incident, sources said.
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Shell wounds three

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 January 2000, 11:57 GMT]
A mother and two of her children were injured when their house close to the Sri Lanka Army camp at Murakkoddanchenai, about 25 km. north of Batticaloa town, was hit by shell Sunday evening. Sri Lanka Army sources said the shell was fired by the Liberation Tigers.
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Three detained in Vaakarai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 January 2000, 11:12 GMT]
Three youths were arrested by the Sri Lanka Army during a search operation at Kandhalady, about 5 km. from Vaakarai this morning. Vaakarai is 64 km. north of Batticaloa.
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Six SLA soldiers killed

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 January 2000, 17:53 GMT]
Six Sri Lanka Army soldiers (SLA) were killed in Thanankilappu in the Thenmaradchi Division of the Jaffna peninsula in the early hours of the morning today said sources.
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Two SLA soldiers killed in ambush

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 January 2000, 08:19 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and another wounded in an ambush by the Liberation Tigers at Gonawela in Uhane police Division, in the south-eastern Ampara District, around 8.15 a.m. this morning, security sources said.
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Trooper suicide over boy's rape

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 January 2000, 18:24 GMT]
Corporal Thilakaretna of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) attached to the Brigade in Manipay in Jaffna district shot himself fatally on Wednesday as he was being interrogated during investigations into a complaint against him for sexually assaulting a 15 year-old boy, police sources said.
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Jaffna youth held

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 January 2000, 18:03 GMT]
Nineteen-year old Balasuntharam Balashankar was arrested in Jaffna on Wednesday evening by soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army, human rights sources said.
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Jaffna population shrinking

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 January 2000, 11:49 GMT]
Jaffna's Government Agent K.Shanmuganathan said that compared to other districts in the island, the population of the peninsula should be in the region of one million at present. But now only about 498,000 people are living in the Jaffna district, he said.
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Air-raid in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 January 2000, 13:47 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force Kfir jets conducted air-raid in Pooneryn-Kerathivu area in the north of the island from 9 a.m. this morning. The air-raid continued for about 30 minutes sources in Jaffna said.
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Ponnambalam's funeral held

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 January 2000, 06:25 GMT]
The funeral of Mr.Kumar Ponnambalam took place in Colombo today. His body was cremated at Khanate Hindu cemetery around 1 p.m. this afternoon. His son Gajenthirakumar set fire to the pyre.
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