Heavy bomb blast in Pakistan
At least eight people have been wounded in a suicide bomb attack inside the main police complex in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, police have said.
Police said the attacker managed to drive into the Police Lines compound before blowing himself up inside an office of the anti-terrorist squad.
Minister Maithripala Sirisena escapes LTTE assassination attempt - Boralasgamuwa
Karuna sworn as a MPTMVP leader Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman has been sworn in as a national list parliamentarian of the UPFA before the Speaker this morning (October 07th).
He was noKaruna Amman, in his maiden speech in parliament said that the time has come to forget the past and calls for support to develop the East.
Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan was born in Kiran, a village in the Batticaloa district in 1966. He joined the LTTE in 1983 and became a top commander.
He participated in several rounds of peace talks as a member of the LTTE delegation after the Ceasefire Agreement was signed in 2002.
In March 2004, he broke away from the mainstream LTTE along with thousands of cadres loyal to him after alleging that the LTTE leadership was favouring Northern cadres and people and ignoring the interests of the Easterners who had made huge sacrifices for the organisation. He has alleged that Prabhakaran intentionally dragged out peace talks so that the LTTE could use the cessation in hostilities to re-arm and re-group.
He claimed that the LTTE has lost 70 per cent of its fighting capacity after his group separated from the LTTE.
He formed a political party named the TMVP which contested local government and provincial councils polls in the East. The TMVP's deputy leader Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan is now the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province.
Condemning this morning's bomb blast in Anuradhapura, leader of the SLFP Mahajana Wing Mangala Samaraweera says the Rajapaksa government should take full responsibility for the attack.
The attack this morning (Oct. 06th) left 27 UNP activists dead and 80 others wounded.
Speaking to the media in Colombo, General Secretary of the party Tissa Attanayake said they suspected foul play, adding that the investigation by the government could not be trusted.
The LTTE, Pillayan Group or any other group or politician may have killed Maj. Gen. Perera, but the foundation for his murder was laid by a top official in the Defence Ministry and the Rajapaksa regime, Mr. Attanayake alleged.Therefore the incident should be investigated at international level ,he said.
President condems the attack
Mr. Muralitharan fills the vacancy created following the resignation of JVP's Wasantha Samarasinghe.
Meanwhile, JVP Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath says the party will go to court to challenge the appointment, which is a violation of the MoU signed for the formation of the UPFA.
Speaking to Lanka Dissent, he said clause 9 of the agreement gives five national list MP positions to the JVP.
Irrespective of whether the JVP remains a member of the UPFA or not, the party has the final say in the appointments to the five positions, Mr. Herath said.
Meanwhile, leader of the SLFP Mahajana Wing Mangala Samaraweera says it is unconstitutional to appoint persons who had not contested parliamentary polls or who are not in the national lists of political parties.
Mr. Samaraweerahas told Lanka Dissent news web that he would file a petition in the Supreme Court next week over this matter.
TMVP leader Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman has been appointed an MP of the UPFA.
He is due to be sworn in tomorrow (Oct. 07th) before the speaker in Parliament.
ial Council election on the JVP ticket.
Major General Janaka Perera was the former Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and one of the most distinguished generals in Sri Lanka.
He was educated at St. Joseph’s College, Colombo and joined the Sri Lanka A
rmy as an Officer Cadet and received 
his training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England. After completing his training he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Sri Lanka Light Infantry, later he transferred to the newly formed Commando Regiment. Maj Gen Pererea is a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies.
As a Colonel, Janaka Pererea took a major role suppressing the JVP insurrection of 1987-89. He was the Provincial Commander of the North-Western Province as well as being in charge of the special operations of the ‘Operation Combine’ in Colombo which led to the capture of the JVP leader Rohana Wijeweera.
In the following years he played a significant role in safeguarding the defen
ce of Sri Lanka. His contribution for the Sri Lankan military effort during the Eelam War III was exceptional. Brigadier Pererea was one of the key players of the Operation Riviresa which lead to the liberation of the Jaffna peninsula. During the operation he commanded the 53 Division which consisted of the Independent Brigade, Air Mobile Brigade, Armoured Brigade and an Infantry Brigade. Later he was promoted to the post of Deputy Chief of Staff and also had functioned as Commandant, Sri Lanka Army Command and Staff College.
Unlike Gotabhaya Rajapakse, who abandoned and ran away from Army in the most difficult times, Major General Janaka Perera never abandoned the forces, in spite of the immense risk he and the family had to undertake for his military activities.
He once again distinguished himself after the fall Elephant Pass in 2000 which forced the SL Army units in Jaffna to fall back. Undertaking the Operation Kinihira after being appointed Commander Security Forces Jaffna, Major General Perera launched an effective counter attack that halted the LTTE advance and succeeded in established the current defense line in the Jaffna peninsula. This prevented the SL Army from being forced to evacuated from the Jaffna peninsula or due to the lack of transport ships, the prospect of being cut off.
Major General
Janaka Perera was made Chief of Staff of the army in 2000 but retired in 2001. Following his retirement he was made Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Australia and later Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Indonesia, but was recalled before his term ended.
Like most of the honorable military figures in Sri Lanka like Lieutenant General Denzil Kobbekaduwa and Former Air Force Chief Harry Gunatilake, Major General Janaka Perera is a firm believer of a political solution to ethnic issue and sees the military activities only to safeguard the country and a means for force LTTE to the negotiations.
After retiring from the army he served as a Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia & Ambassador to Indonesia. He was the opposition leader of the North Central Provincial Council[1] till his death on October 6, 2008.
Major 
The explosion has bee
n a suicide attack, the defence ministry website says.
The wife of retired Maj. Gen. Janaka Perera, UNP Manager in Anuradhapura Dr John Pulle and his wife were among those killed, military spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.
Around 80 persons who were injured have been admitted to the Anuradhapura Hospital, he added.
The bomb blast occurred around 8.40 am at the opening of a UNP office near the Anuradhapura bus stand, reports say.
According to military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara, these zones are located at Oddusudan and Vishwamadu.
People could use these routes to leave areas under LTTE control without any harm, he said.
MVP on noticeUnder a new law signed yesterday by US President George W. Bush, leaders of military forces and arm
ed groups in Sri Lanka who have recruited child soldiers may be arrested and prosecuted in the United States, Human Rights Watch said. The law could apply to leaders of forces that have recruited and used child soldiers in Sri Lanka’s armed conflict, including the Tamil Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE or Tamil Tigers) and the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP).
The Child Soldiers Accountability Act makes it a federal crime to recruit knowingly or to use soldiers under the age of 15 and permits the United States to prosecute any individual
on US soil for the offense, even if the children were recruited or served as soldiers outside the United States. The law imposes penalties of up to 20 years, or up to life in prison if their action resulted in the child’s death. It also allows the United States to deport or deny entry to individuals who have knowingly recruited children as soldiers.
“The US is saying to the world that using child soldiers is a serious crime and that it will take action,” said Jo Becker, children’s rights advocate for Human Rights Watch. “Military commanders who use children can no longer come to the United States without the risk of ending up in jail.”
The Tamil Tigers have recruited thousands of children during the 
25 years of Sri Lanka’s conflict. UNICEF has documented 6,284 cases between January 2002 and September 2008, with 1,426 cases outstanding. The majority of families do not report the recruitment of children, often because they are afraid. Field investigations by Human Rights Watch found that the LTTE threatened and coerced families that refused to give a son or daughter to the LTTE, a
nd that in some cases, children were abducted.
The TMVP (Karuna group) has also recruited hundreds of children into its armed wing. UNICEF has documented 528 cases between April 2004 and September 2008, with 127 outstanding. Human Rights Watch investigations documented TMVP abduction of children from their homes, workplaces, playgrounds, public roads, and camps for the internally displaced. Human Rights Watch also found that government security forces have been complicit in the abductions, which have taken place in areas of strict government control.
Between 2
002 and 2008, the UN secretary-general has cited the LTTE in five successive reports to the Security Council for violations of international law prohibiting the recruitment and use of child soldiers. He cited the TMVP in two reports since 2006.
The Child Soldiers Accountability Act was introduced by Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois and adopted unanimously by both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate in September 2008.
In a statement issued on October 3, Senator Durbin said: “The United States must not be a safe haven for those who exploit children as soldiers. Period. The use of children as combatants is one of the most despicable human rights violations in the world today and affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of boys and girls who are used as combatants, porters, human 
mine detectors and sex slaves. The power to prosecute and punish those who violate the law will send a clear signal that the U.S. will in no way tolerate this abhorrent practice” (http://durbin.senate.gov/showRelease.cfm?releaseId=304082 ).
The recruitment and use of children as soldiers was recognized in 1998 as a war crime under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. In 2007, four former military commanders from Sierra Leone were convicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for recruiting and using children as soldiers. Rebel and military commanders from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda have also been charged under the International Criminal Court with recruiting and using child soldiers, though none have yet gone to trial.
“This new law is a breakthrough because it no longer leaves the prosecution of child recruiters to international 
tribunals and the national courts of conflict-affected countries,” Becker said. “The United States is stepping up to hold these war criminals accountable in its own courts.”
Children are currently used in armed conflicts in at least 17 countries. Countries and territories in which children are known to have been used in hostilities between 2004 and 2007 include: Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Nepal, Philippines, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand and Uganda.
LTTE military operation and administrative
Former Minister Kingsley T. Wickremeratne passed away
LTTE's clandestine airstrip located by troops - Mullaittivu
Defence.lk - now in Tamil
The official website of the Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law and Order of Sri Lanka, defence.lk, has launched its Tamil page. Viewers can now get the latest news updates on the country's war on terror and other related issues in Tamil by logging to http://www.defence.lk/tamil
The Tamil language website was considered necessary by Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is of the view that all citizens should be kept informed of issues related to the country's defence. The English language site was launched in April 2006 catering to both the local and international communities.
New Delhi: A 26-year-old television journalist was shot dead in the Capital early on Tuesday mo
rning.
Soumya Viswanathan was an employee of TV Today Network’s English news channel Headlines Today. Prior to joining Headlines Today, Soumya also worked with CNN-IBN.
She had stayed back in office on Monday night to bring you coverage of the blasts in Malegaon and Modasa. The incident occurred when she was driving from her Jhandewalan office to her Vasant Kunj residence at around 0330 hrs (IST).
Police say she was shot dead while on her way home. Her car was found rammed into the divider on Nelson Mandela road. Her body was still in the driver's seat and there was a bullet in her head. There were signs of a struggle in the car and one tyre was punctured from which a bullet was recovered.
The police rushed her to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences but doctors declared her brought dead.
Soumya last spoke to her father at 3:15 am, saying she'll reach home shortly.
Police have registered a case of murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, but the motive for the killing has not yet been established.
"We received a call at about 3:55 am regarding a road accident. They responded by removing the injured to the hospital and this lady was subsequently declared as brought dead. During a post-mortem, it was revealed that a bullet was lodged in her skull. We registered a case of murder. At the moment preliminary investigation is in progress, we have called the experts to examine the scene of crime and the car. Further action will be taken as the investigations progress, it is not very clear if the second bullet was fired or not. But this is a very serious case and we are putting our best efforts forward," Joint Commissioner Southern Range, Delhi, Ajay Kashyap said.
Soumya's death raises questions about security of women in the Capital, specially those working in night shifts. But the Delhi Police was quick to say that women should themselves exercise precaution.
Ajay Kashyap said, "We advocate women should take busy, well-lit routes and drive with companions."
Working women have and will always be on their guard, but it's time for the police to make Delhi a safer place for professionals, by day and by night.