The Sri Lankan cricket board have called for security measures to be stepped up after team management had an egg thrown at them this week.
The incident occurred on Thursday evening while the group, including Muttiah Muralitharan, were walking from a restaurant to the team hotel. The egg hit the back of one of the selectors.
K Madivanan, secretary of the Sri Lanka Cricket interim committee, said: "It is a disgraceful act by whoever did it as Muralitharan is a sporting ambassador and a good human being.
"He is here as a great cricketer to represent his country and this act is condemned by everybody.
"However, we still want to believe that Muralitharan was not the target. Having said that, we know that Cricket Australia has done their best so far and we have requested them to beef up the security even further to avoid such shameful acts in the future."
Muralitharan - the world's leading Test wicket-taker - has often been heckled in Australia since his action was no-balled over a decade ago. The spinner refused to tour Down Under in 2004 but took part in last year's series.
The Sri Lankans are currently in Australia for the triangular one-day series also involving the hosts and India. Sri Lanka begin their participation against India in Sydney on Tuesday.
Source: Foxsports
Saturday, 2 February 2008
Sri Lankans upset by egg incident
Sri Lanka Police urge public to stay on high alert
Hours after a bomb blast in the north central town of Dambulla that killed 18 civilians and injured 50, the police authorities today called on the people to be aware of the LTTE game plan and take action immediately regarding any suspicious persons and parcels in public places.
“These terrorist attacks are also designed to raise tensions among the people in the South and at the same time to disrupt their normal lives and day to day activities,” Police Spokesman DIG N.K Illangakoon told media.
The DIG stated that investigations reveal that the conductor of the bus in which the explosion occurred had noticed two suspicious persons getting into the ill- fated bus at Matale and getting off at Naula.
“Had the conductor been more aware and sensitive to the tactics of the terrorists he would have averted the disaster which occurred today at the bus stand in Dambulla,’’ he said.
The majority of those passengers in the ill-fated bus were traveling to the city of Anuradhapura to attend a Buddhist religious function.
Source: colombopage
Statement by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the bomb blast at Dambulla, today
I vehemently and unequivocally condemn this latest act of savagery by the LTTE in carrying out the blast in a civilian bus at Dambulla today. Among those killed and injured were many women pilgrims on their way to Anuradhapura to participate in a Buddhist ceremony. This shows the reality of the struggle we have to face to eliminate terrorism from our country.
I send my sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and my prayers and good wishes for the speedy recovery of those injured.
I call upon the people to remain calm and refuse to be provoked by this repeated brutality by the LTTE, which in its desperation in the face of defeats inflicted on them by the Security Forces, is eager to create a backlash to their terror, to obtain the sympathy of the international community.
This act of terror, similar to many other acts of savagery directed at innocent civilians before, underscores the continued commitment of the LTTE to violence to achieve their goal of separation.
In the face of such grave provocation, the people of Sri Lanka must be aware of the many forces that are attempting to obstruct the efforts of the government to eradicate terrorism from our country, and halt the success of the Security Forces in this task today.
These repeated acts of unmitigated brutality must bring to the attention of the entire civilized world the nature of the terrorist threat that is faced by Sri Lanka, and that it is only the most brutal and politically bankrupt movements that are capable of continuing with such acts.
Source: defence.lk
Bus bomb kills 20 in S.Lanka, 50 hurt: military
At least 20 people were killed and around 50 wounded when a bomb blast hit a civilian bus in the central Sri Lankan town of Dambulla on Saturday, the military said.
"The death toll has gone up to 20 and are 50 injured from the explosion," said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara.
Source: REUTERSblast in central Dambulla town
An explosion at a bus station in central Sri Lanka Saturday has killed at 13 people police said.
The bomb went off in a bus in Dambulla, in the central province of the island, on the main highway going to the north of the island.
The bus was traveling to the north-central town of Anuradhapura from Kandy in the central hills.
STAR Sports to telecast tri-series
STAR Sports will telecast live all the One-Day-Internationals of the Commonwealth Bank tri-series, involving India, Australia and Sri Lanka, starting on February 3.
All day matches start at 4.30 a.m. IST, while the Day/Night matches start at 8.45 a.m. IST (except for the Australia-Sri Lanka match on February 15).
The schedule: February 3: India vs. Australia (D/N), Feb. 5: India vs. Sri Lanka (D/N), Feb. 8: Australia vs. Sri Lanka (D/N), Feb. 10: India vs. Australia (D/N), Feb. 12: India vs. Sri Lanka (Day), Feb. 15: Australia vs. Sri Lanka (D/N 10.00 a.m.), Feb. 17: India vs. Australia (D/N), Feb. 19: India vs. Sri Lanka (D/N), Feb. 22: Australia vs. Sri Lanka (D/N), Feb. 24: India vs. Australia (D/N), Feb. 26: India vs. Sri Lanka (Day), Feb. 29: Australia vs. Sri Lanka (D/N).
March 2: First final (D/N); March 4: Second final (D/N); March 7: Third final (if necessary, D/N).
Scores of LTTE bunkers destroyed: Colombo
B. Muralidhar Reddy
COLOMBO: The Sri Lanka military has claimed that at least 29 cadres of the LTTE were killed and scores of bunkers of Tigers destroyed in continued fighting along the Forward Defence Lines (FDLs) in the north amid an air raid on an LTTE “suicide squad training centre” in Mullaittivu district in the past 24 hours. Two soldiers were also reported killed in the fighting.
A statement by the Defence Ministry further claimed that seven Tamils reached the security forces in Murunkan, seeking safety. It said these people approached the joint Naval and Police marshalling post at Murunkan in the morning. For the last few days the military has been asserting that Tamils are fleeing the LTTE-controlled areas into the government-controlled areas to avoid conscription by the Tigers.
The military said that at least 10 Tiger cadres were killed and LTTE bunker defence lines destroyed when troops launched a multi-pronged assault at LTTE positions ahead of northern FDLs. “Ground troops have confirmed that 10 LTTE bunkers were destroyed during the attack, around 5.45 a.m.”, it said.
Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said security forces have continued their limited military operations at northern and Wanni defences “inflicting heavy damage” on the LTTE. According to the reports, 19 LTTE cadres were killed and many others injured during the clashes.
