Dehiwala bomb: Nine killed and 100 injured

Another cowardly attack by blood thirst tigers !
9 persons have been killed in the bomb blast that occurred on a train travelling from Fort to Panadura yesterday evening.

The director of the Accident Ward in National hospital Colombo, Dr Anil Jasinha, said that 8 victims suffered injuries, 6 females and 2 males, who were transferred from Kalubowila hospital were admitted to the National hospital last evening. "Three females are undergoing treatments in ICU from the time they were admitted and one of them succumbed to her injuries while being treated this morning (May 27)", Dr Jasinha said.

It is believed that the parcel bomb exploded had been placed on the luggage rack in the train.

Earlier, LTTE terrorists detonated two bombs in two carriages of a highly crowded train at the same railway station killing more than seventy and wounding over hundreds of innocent civilians in the same manner on 24th July 1996.

LTTE is a ruthless terrorist outfit notorious for crimes against innocent civilians. In its pursuit for a mono ethnic separate homeland for Tamils, the outfit has killed and maimed over tens and innocent children, Tamil and Sinhalese political leaders in indiscriminate bomb attacks. FBI in a recent report called LTTE the most dangerous terrorist outfit in the world.

Indian Premier League (Players' earnings set to go over the roof)

Players' earnings set to go over the roof The Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to scrap the USD five million cap on the players' salaries from next season onwards, a move that could see top cricketers earn as much as a whopping USD 15 million (Rs 61 crore approx).The IPL had put a cap of USD five million (just over Rs 20 crore) for the franchises this year to prevent the very rich team owners from splurging too much.But with the inaugural edition turning out to be a major success, the players are set to reap the rewards in the next season."If we hadn't done that, I can tell you that our players would already be the highest-paid across any sport in the world," IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi was quoted as saying in 'The Daily Telegraph'."It will happen - if not today, then tomorrow. Because once the franchises have established themselves, it will be a free-for-all," he added.The report stated some leading Australian cricketers like Matthew Hayden and Brett Lee can expect a several-fold hike in their pays when they go back to play the next season after their short stints this time.Indian ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who fetched the maximum bidding price of Rs 6 crore this season, reportedly told a senior Australian player last week that extraordinary contracts of up to USD 14-15 million were likely to be introduced by the next season.Hayden confirmed that players were up for a financial windfall when the next season of the IPL gets underway."From what I have heard, some of the stuff (payments) this year could be just the tip of the iceberg," Hayden said. source - ptinews.com

Why Junta rejects aids for cyclone victims

Burma's military rulers continue to defy growing international pressure to accept foreign aid workers, insisting against all the evidence that it can handle cyclone relief effort alone

"The nation does not need skilled relief workers yet," Vice Admiral Soe Thein said in the New Light of Myanmar newspaper, a mouthpiece for the military which has ruled the nation with an iron grip for nearly half a century.

He said the needs of the people after the storm, which has left around 62,000 dead or missing since ripping through the southern Irrawaddy delta on May 2 and 3, "have been fulfilled to an extent".

But aid agencies tell a starkly different story, warning that as every day passes without sufficient food, water and shelter, as many as two million people are at risk of being added to the already staggering death toll.

The United Nations warned of a "second catastrophe" and said the relief effort posed an "enormous logistic challenge" that needs an air or sea corridor to get in massive quantities of aid as soon as possible.

Priyanka Gandhi also under the threat of LTTE

(Reveals prison letter admitting Priyanka - Nalini meeting)

While going back on their earlier written statement that Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of Rajiv Gandhi never met former Prime Minister assassination convict Nalini, Vellore Prison Superintendent admitted that the two women actually met and Rajiv's daughter Priyanka is protected as she faces a high level of threat from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), her father's killers.

A second letter written by the prison authorities said, "Priyanka Vadra (Gandhi's married name) is protected by the SPG and faces a high level of threat from various outfits, including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Moreover, the meeting was more of a personal nature."

It is believed the prison authorities made the statement based on intelligence reports possessed by India.

It has been now explained that during the Priyanka Gandhi (Vadra) visit to the Vellore prison she was accompanied by special security men belonging to Special Protection Group (SPG) and the prison visitor's records are marked under such a security official named Pankaj Kumar and two other officials who were protecting her and hence the earlier denial.

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Google CEO Eric Schmidt: Social networks are still too closed

LOS ANGELES--Speaking at IBM's Business Partner Leadership Conference here, Google CEO Eric Schmidt reiterated his position that social networks are still too closed. "If it's not searchable by Google, it's not open, and open is best for the consumer," he said.

He added that "searchable by Google" means also searchable by other search engines, such as Yahoo. "People should be able to move from place to place, and their data is available everywhere," Schmidt said. "Social networks are a real phenomenon of people living their lives online, and it has has legs. We will have to deal with it as a society."

Google has focused efforts on creating code, such as the open source OpenSocial APIs and the Social Graph API, to make social data more portable and accessible to applications. So far, Facebook is the only major social network that has not endorsed the OpenSocial initiative, which is now managed by an independent organization, the OpenSocial Foundation.

China renews Dalai Lama criticism

Chinese state media has renewed its criticism of Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, as two of his envoys prepare to meet Chinese officials.

The Tibet Daily repeated accusations that the Dalai Lama had masterminded anti-Chinese riots in Tibet in March. This is a charge he denies.

The Tibetan government-in-exile said his envoys would convey his suggestions for bringing peace to Tibet.

Sunday's talks will be the first such contact since the protests.

Western governments have been pressing China to renew dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

There have been six meetings between China and the Dalai Lama's envoys since 2002, but no breakthrough.

The Tibetan envoys "will convey His Holiness the Dalai Lama's deep concerns about the Chinese authorities' handling of the situation and also provide suggestions to bring peace to the region," a statement from the Dalai Lama's office in Dharamsala, India, said.

There has been no official comment from China about the talks. A spokesman for the Dalai Lama told Japan's Kyodo News agency that the envoys had arrived in Hong Kong and that the meeting would take place in the southern city of Shenzhen.

China's state controlled media meanwhile continued to heap criticism on the Dalai Lama:

"Patriotic people of Tibet strongly condemn and vehemently denounce the litany of crimes committed by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and his followers," said the official Tibet Daily.

Turkey 'kills 150 Kurdish rebels'

Turkish air strikes in northern Iraq this week left more than 150 Kurdish rebels dead, the Turkish army says.

"According to initial estimates, this operation allowed us to neutralise more than 150 terrorists," the army said in a statement on its website.

A PKK spokesman said that only six rebels were killed and they were from a different faction.

Turkey has staged several cross-border raids into northern Iraq over the past few months in pursuit of the rebels.

The strikes, which began on Thursday and ended on Friday, were carried out against PKK guerrillas based in the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq, the Turkish army says.