In Short

LTTE area leader killed

Four LTTE cadres including an area leader were killed and many others injured in a pre-down attack when the Security Forces advanced from the Forward Defence Lines in Kilaly and ambushed Tiger bunkers yesterday.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said four Tigers were killed including Kilaly area leader Kaliardhan in an ambush launched by the Security Forces at around 3 am in Kilaly yesterday.

"Troops advanced from the FDL's and ambushed the LTTE bunker line killing four Tiger cadres.

After confronting with the LTTE cadres and inflicting heavy damages, troops returned to their position without any casualties," Brigadier Nanayakkara told the Daily News. Many more Tiger cadres also sustained injuries in the incident, he added.

Plot to frame Deputy Principal comes unstuck

A prominent lawyer was arrested by the Colombo Crimes Division for allegedly attempting to frame the Deputy Principal of Ananda College in an act of Bribery.

The suspect who is a resident of Kelaniya had hatched the plot to frame the school principal with the help of an accomplice.

It is reported that the lawyer had been harbouring a personal grudge against the Deputy Principal and had made arrangements with the help of a third party to trap the principal into an act of bribery after prior warning to the Bribery Commission.

He was arrested on a court order after revelation of the incriminating evidence which was recorded on tape.

Cairn to invest $110 million for exploration

Cairn, India's subsidiary has got into an agreement with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka to invest $110 million for exploration of hydrocarbons.

The subsidiary company Cairn Lanka will do the exploration in an offshore block (SL 2007-01-001) North West Sri Lanka and cover 3,000 square kilometer in water depths of 200 metres to 1,800 metres in the Mannar basin.

Minor explosion in Wellampitiya

An explosion at Kalu Palama, Wellampitiya yesterday around 7.15 p.m. caused minor damages to the railway track.

Police Spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekara said no one was injured in the explosion.

Bangladesh frees ex-PM Khaleda Zia

Bangladesh's interim government released former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia on bail on Thursday after a year in prison on alleged graft charges, an official said.

Dhaka, Thursday, Reuters