Government’s legal experts are examining whether such a ban should be under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) or under provisions of the Emergency Regulations. On December 22, President Rajapaksa called on the LTTE to release with the dawn of 2009 all “innocent Tamils it is holding hostage, in bondage and using them as human shields and allow them to come to the safe areas provided for them by the Government and the Security Forces

Foreign Employment Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told The Sunday Times yesterday upto 30,000 Sri Lankans employed in the construction sector in the UAE would be affected directly and could end up losing their jobs as the construction industry in that country had been drastically scaled down owing to the global financial crisis.