The Rudd Government will host a Small Business Summit on the global financial crisis in Brisbane this Friday.The forum will allow small business operators and their representatives to discuss with the Prime Minister and Ministers how the global financial crisis is affecting the small business community. The Government does not hold all knowledge when it comes to dealing with economic turbulence and input from the small business community is essential. Friday's meeting is being organised in collaboration with the Council of Small Business of Australia and Commerce Queensland. Treasurer Wayne Swan and the Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law Senator Nick Sherry will also attend the Summit.

TO ALL CONCERNED EELAM TAMIL DIASPORA ORGANISATIONS :
The Eelam Tamil diaspora organizations and individuals worldwide are organizing demonstrations and issuing flyers, pamphlets etc. in different languages explaining the ongoing genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka.Different views are being expressed and some of them are not factually correct. On the other hand, the Government of Sri Lanka is fooling the world that it believes in a political solution and that its concerns are being deliberated in an All Party Representatives Committee (APRC). This Committee comprises negligible small groups that are supportive of the Government’s military solution, besides the ruling SLFP (UPFA). Some of them do not understand what parameters of constitution making or what democratic principles and traditions are. Knowing the worthlessness of this Committee, the UNP and the TNA(the elected representatives of the Tamil people)are boycotting it. It is no surprise that this Committee rejected the proposals of the Expert Committee and even the proposals, of its Chairman, Prof. Tissa Vitharane.

"The future of Tamil race has become a question mark. I am unable to sleep, whenever I think of it. Let us save the Tamil race and its honour. Let us avoid the racial genocide in Sri Lanka at whatever price." - TN CM M Karunanidhi!

Our readers may send a note of appreciation to the CM. His fax: (91) 44 2811 1133

Around 20 Sri Lanka Army personnel Wednesday entered the Magazine Prison in Colombo, Sri Lanka, verbally abused and stripped the detainees sexually harassing them, the prisoners complained to Tamil National Alliance Batticaloa district parliamentarian P. Ariyaneththiran, reports said.

More than thousand Australian Tamils protest as Sri Lankan foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama visits Australia and justifies Sri Lankan Government's Genocidal war against minority Tamils to Australian Foreign Minister, today 14th October 2008, sources said. ABC Radio report said, "Several hundred supporters of a separate Tamil state in Sri Lanka have demonstrated outside the National Press Club in Canberra while the Sri Lankan foreign minister was inside the building."  One protester said that his relatives are some of the 250 000 tamils starving in Vanni and exposed to Sri Lankan Government's indiscriminate attack on civilians. He rubbished Rohitha Bogollagama's recent comments and accused Sri Lankan Government for its expulsion of UN Aid Agencies from Vanni ( Kilinochchi ) and preventing aid work to feed the starving kids and families.

High concentrations of an industrial chemical have been found in two brands of biscuits on sale in Switzerland.Tests showed high levels of melamine, which can cause kidney failure, in Milk Cookies S&P from Thailand and the Sri Lankan Lemon Puff Munchee, the Federal Health Office said on Monday. Sri Lankan Lemon Puff Munchee biscuits are still sold in Sri Lankan and Indian Grocery shops in Australia and it is not clear whether Australian Authorities are going to take any action or not.

Australian Foreign Minister,  Hon Stephen Smith MP today morning raised concerns about the worsening humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Bogollagama, today , a press relase issued by FM said. Stephen Smith also stressed that, "It is essential that Government agencies and international organisations continue to work together to ensure those who flee the fighting are able to get access to essential support in a way that preserves their dignity, their family structures and their human rights." The statement issued by Australian Foreign Minister,  Hon Stephen Smith MP is a diplomatic slap on the face of Rohitha Bogollagama, political analysts said.Sri Lanka has been ranked 20 in the list of 60 failed states with Somalia claiming the number one spot.

Join the protest in Canberra on Tuesday 14th October from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm.

Call : 02 9702 1822 , 03 9308 5642 , 0402 387 920

The Sri Lankan Parliament should reject, through a vote of no confidence, the membership of Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, otherwise known as Karuna, who is alleged to have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.Karuna was sworn into Parliament on 7 October as a United Party Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Member of Parliament through the national list slot vacated by JVP MP Wasantha Samarasinghe.

India has expressed "grave concern and unhappiness" of the growing casualties of Tamil civilians as a result of military action in northern Sri Lanka.Indian National Security Advisor, MK Narayanan, has on Monday summoned Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner, Palitha Ganegoda, and highlighted the need to revive the political process in Sri Lanka. "It was pointed out that there was need for the Sri Lankan Government to act with greater restraint and address the growing feeling of insecurity among the minority community," a statement by Indian Ministry of External Affairs said.

Sri Lanka Inspector General of Police Jayantha Wickramarathna pledged to establish a respectable police force when he assumed duties as the IGP. But a disappointing factor is that a number of rapes have been committed by his own men in the recent past. He drew up plans to provide a respectable police service before he retires. Therefore, 2009 has been set aside as the year for formulating a respectable police force. Contrary to expectations, the IGP was now facing a dilemma as to how to establish such a respectable police force.

A civilian was killed and eight, including four children, were wounded in Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) attack in Iraththinapuram, a suburb of Ki'linochchi town, Saturday around 12:15 p.m., Tamileelam Police said. The ICRC office, which was recently relocated from Ira'naimadu junction, is situated around 150 meters away from the bombed locality. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan defence ministry claimed that the attack was a 'precision air strike' against an LTTE target. Medical sources at Ki'linochchi hospital said an 8-month-old baby, a 9-month-old baby, and two 2-year-old children were among the wounded.

BRISBANE - 'Save the Tamil children in Sri Lanka', 'Cricket Australia- don't play cricket in the Tamil killing field', 'Mr Rudd - condemn Sri Lanka for breaking the peace accords' were some of the messages on placards and banners held at a picket of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's Morningside office on September 23. The protest, which involved over thirty people from the Tamil-Australian community and supporters of Tamil justice, highlighted the urgent humanitarian disaster taking place in the Tamil regions of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government and army have launched an offensive under the cover of "fighting terrorism", which has forced over 200,000 Tamil civilians from their homes. The offensive has included mass carpet bombing of civilian areas.