Feb 1 (TN) A two-day seminar on "The current political crisis and the peace process" organized by the Centre for Women and Development (CWD) began Saturday morning in Jaffna Navalar Cultural Hall where topics related to political crisis in Colombo, LTTE's Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals, more..

Feb 1 (TN) Mr. V. Anandasangaree, the President of the TULF met President Chandrika Kumaratunga Friday evening and impressed upon her that the Sri Lankan government should talk only to the Liberation Tigers and not simultaneously with any other Tamil group, according to a press note issued by the controversial Jaffna MP Saturday. more..

Feb 1 (TN) The Sri Lanka army Saturday urged community leaders of people displaced from Maravanpulavu, Thanangkilappu and Koilakandy in Jaffna�s Thenmaradchi division not to begin a fast unto death on Sri Lanka�s Independence Day next week. more..

Feb 1 (TN) A Committee, appointed by the LTTE, while reviewing the UNICEF underage list has so far found four boys and six girls to be under 18 years old, LTTE's media co-ordinator, Daya Master, told TamilNet. The youths are being sent to the Kilinochchi Children Transit Camp today. more..

Feb 1 (TN) The Finance Division of the LTTE has formed a Price Regulatory Authority to protect customers against sudden increases in price of consumer goods, tamil media reportes from Jaffna said Saturday. NorthEast merchants and traders have often pointed to the taxes levied on consumer goods to mark up the prices of these items. more..

Feb 1 (TP) A former air force officer convicted of threatening a top Sri Lankan journalist some years ago, was shot by unknown gunmen outside his residence near Colombo on Thursday, the Daily Mirror said. more..

Feb 1 (TP) Organisers of the February 4 celebration of Sri Lanka�s independence from British colonial rule are hoping that the joint presence of arch rivals President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will usher in a new spirit of harmony and reconciliation. more..

Feb 1 (LT) Ministry of defense would never be handed over by the President in order to find a solution to the prevailing political crisis says Mr. Luxman Kadirgamar, Senior advisor to the President. Mr. Kadirgamar who is on a visit to India stated this to the Indian media. more..

Feb 1 (LT) All Muslims in the country should come under one party and demonstrate their strength says Sri Lanka Muslim Congress. Minister Rauff Hakeem, leader of SLMC made this comment addressing a ceremony held in a school at Ampare. more..

Feb 1 (LT) A special discussion was held between the leaderships of the JVP and EPDP today (31st) in Colombo. The participation of Mr. Somawanshe Amarasinghe, the Leader of the JVP was a special feature at the discussions. more..

Feb 1 (LT) With official-level talks to solve Sri Lanka's political standoff collapsing, current indications are that the President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, is likely to dissolve the 225-member Parliament in the next few days, paving the way for a snap general election. more..

Feb 1 (SL) It is not condemnation, if one were to state that the JVP is still in need of a garb of democracy. Therefore, it is to the JVP's credit that the party has managed to conceal its aversion for the SLFP, against which it launched the first armed insurgency and begin using it as a political crutch by forging a political alliance. more..

Feb 1 (SL) The woes of Thilanga Sumathipala continues with Dhammika Ranatunga, former Cricket Board CEO and brother of Sri Lanka's former cricket captain Arjuna, last Wednesday in a statement to the CID stating that Thilanga Sumathipala had identified Buddhika Godage to Ranatunga as being "a personal friend." more..

Feb 1 (SO) Fears that a collapse of the Mano-Malik talks could worsen the political crisis are fuelling dissension in the United National Front coalition with major partners upset over the UNP's hard line on the Defence Ministry portfolio. more..

Feb 1 (Jang) Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will visit Thailand early next month to sign bilateral agreements on agriculture, trade and information technology, the foreign ministry said here on Friday. Wickremesinghe will begin his three-day visit from February 9, the ministry said in a statement. more..

Feb 1 (TN) Mr.Yu Hua Li, National Director of World Vision International, Friday, inaugurated two projects, a ferry costing Rs.3.5 million in Mandoor, and a new Model farm costing Rs.20m in Thampalavattai, civil sources in Batticaloa said. Both projects were funded by World Vision which is Christian Relief Organization. more..

Feb 1 (TN) A wild elephant was electrocuted by an illegal power supply line to the Kayankerni Sri Lanka army camp, 36 kilometres north of Batticaloa, residents told TamilNet Sunday. Three elephants in a herd were electrocuted by the Kayankerni SLA pirate power line last year, they said. more..

Feb 1 (TN) Four more political parties, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), National Unity Alliance (NUA), Sri Lanka Mahajana Party (SLMP) and Deshiya Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (DJVP) have expressed willingness to join the recently formed political party United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA). more..

Feb 1 (TS) The influence of Asia�s ultimate guru of modern architecture, the late Geoffrey Bawa, is evident in the way hotels, resorts, villas and even ordinary homes are built, particularly in South-East Asia. JOHNNI WONG travels to Colombo in search of Bawa's legacy and learns first-hand about his achievements from his confidant. more..

Feb 1 (NZC) The lawyer for an allegedly sexually-abused Sri Lankan girl is calling for the Minister of Child, Youth and Family to intervene. The 16-year-old fled with her grandmother to New Zealand two years ago, claiming years of rape and abuse at the hands of male relatives since the age of seven. more..

Feb 1 (Gulf) A Tamil guerrilla delegation currently on a seven-nation European tour are on a campaign to attract direct foreign aid for rehabilitation and reconstruction projects in the north and east as the peace process continued to be delayed due to the power struggle between President Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe. more..

Feb 1 (IANS) Sri Lanka's fragile peace process has reached a "dead end" and it is time India took a keen interest in the island nation's affairs, says Lakshman Kadirgamar, senior advisor to President Chandrika Kumaratunga. more..

Feb 1 (AFP) Sri Lanka's cricket chief Thilanga Sumathipala, in custody on charges of breaking immigration laws, announced he would not seek reelection to the governing body. Sri Lanka Cricket said Sunday its president Sumathiapala will not contest for another term at its annual general meeting next month. more..

Feb 1 (AFP) President Chandrika Kumaratunga has sought talks with Tamil Tiger rebels as the country�s Norwegian-backed peace bid remains on hold, official sources here said on Sunday. more..

Feb 1 (TN) The central working committee of the TULF, main constituent of the TNA Sunday appointed a seven-member nomination board to select its parliamentary candidates to face a snap general election, said TULF Administrative Secretary and parliamentarian Mr.N.Raviraj. more..

Feb 1 (TN) Leader of SLMC, Rauf Hakim, told a party meeting that under no circumstances the Amparai local council elections scheduled to be held on 22 February should be postponed. "We may be forced to take extreme measures against the Sri Lanka Government if it accedes to request by a few for postponement," more..

Feb 2 (TN) At the Trincomalee district secretariat Friday, the United National Development Fund (UNDP) and the Sri Lanka's Agricultural and Livestock Development Ministry signed an agreement to establish a milk collecting system at Palathadichchenai in Muttur, sources said. more..

Feb 2 (TN) "The President is not trying to establish a back-door link with the LTTE," said President's spokesperson Mr.Harim Peiris commenting on a report that Defense Ministry Secretary Mr. Cyril Herath has written a letter to LTTE Peace Secretariat head Mr.Pulithevan, more..

Feb 2 (TN) "The ruling UNF is prepared to face a snap general election to get a fresh mandate for peace," Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe said Sunday addressing a rally at Hali-Ela in Badulla district. The meeting was held to inform the masses on the current political situation more..

Feb 2 (TN) Vavuniya North Consortium of Peoples' Organizations called upon all Tamils in Vavuniya to fly black flags and to observe 4 February, the Independence Day of Sri Lanka, as a day of mourning, civil sources said. Consortium also invited people to come forward to block the traffic along A9 more..

Feb 2 (Stuff) A sexually abused Sri Lankan girl will be deported as soon as the flight arrangements are finalised, despite a last-ditch battle to keep her here, the Immigration Service said today. more..

Feb 2 (ST) For nine years, prominent Singaporean businessman S. Moganaruban believed his older brother, S. Gandaruban, was dead. But when the man's wife came back from Sri Lanka pregnant seven years ago, he suspected it was not the case. more..

Feb 2 (AFP) Sri Lanka�s one-day skipper Marvan Atapattu is waiting to meet the aggressive Australians �fire with fire� when the Aussies tour the island later this month. �Yes, we must match fire with fire, but our approach will be made in the Sri Lankan style, Atapattu told more..

Feb 2 (AFP) Sri Lanka was aiming to be Asia 's new economic tiger after sealing a truce with Tamil rebels, but a deepening political crisis is pushing the country into economic trouble as the flow of foreign aid slows down, economists warn. more..

Feb 2 (CMC) Young West Indies lost the second match on their preparatory tour of Sri Lanka when that nation's Under-19 side hammered them by nine wickets at the Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground yesterday. more..

Feb 2 (IL) The European Union has signed an agreement with the government for a support of Euro 2 million (250 million Rupees) for the rehabilitation of the railway track from Valachchenai to Batticaloa. more..

Feb 2 (LBO) It is past 9 in the evening. Most people would be kicking up their heels in front of the TV after a long day�s work. But for a group of young employees at the call center Hello Corp. the day�s (night�s!) work is just starting. They work the night shift because their customers are on the other side of the globe. more..

Feb 2 (TN) Parents and students of Kappalthurai, a village with Tamil resettlers, honored Jenitta Vipulanandan, a student of Saraswathie Vidyalayam, for passing the island wide Year- 5 Scholarship examinations. This was the first in the school's twenty-five year history, school teachers said. more..

Feb 2 (TN) Three-day workshop for Tamil medium students in Trincomalee town on "developing the creative writing" organized by the North East Provincial Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs concluded Sunday at the Trincomalee Orr's Hill Vivekananda College, education officials in Trincomalee said. more..

Feb 2 (TN) Farmers� associations of garrisoned villages in Jaffna�s Thenmaradchi division Monday boycotted a meeting called by the Sri Lanka army to discuss the possibility of permitting some families to resettle in their homes inside its vast high security zone in the region. more..

Feb 2 (SLA) Naval troops on duty in the general sea area north of KOVILAM POINT in KARAINAGAR on 31 January 2004 have observed about 50 Indian fishing trawlers poaching in the Sri Lankan waters.

Feb 2 (LT) Bank Trade Unions have called upon the authorities to take immediate steps to recover billions of rupees in loans from business magnates who have neglected paying back such loans. more..

Feb 2 (LT) Health workers have abandoned the �death fast� and instead have commenced a continuous �Harthal� campaign. They have requested the authorities to publish by gazette within 48 hours the agreed policy of removing salary anomalies and paying back arrears. more..

Feb 2 (AP) Japan booked a new tournament record Monday by trouncing Sri Lanka 21-0 to storm into the semifinals of the field hockey Women's Asia Cup. Japan, bronze medalist in the 2002 Asian Games, became the first team to score 20 goals since the tournament's inception in 1985, more..

Feb 2 (Gulf) The 16-month-long desperate struggle of depositors of Pramuka Savings and Development Bank, which suspended operations on October 25, 2002, and whose licence was cancelled on December 19 the same year, yielded fruit when the Central Bank last week decided not to liquidate but to permit it to resume business conditionally. more..

Feb 2 (Reuters) Four oil companies, including two Indian firms and China's Sinopec Corp, have submitted bids to take over 100 petrol stations in Sri Lanka, the government's privatisation agency said on Monday. more..

Feb 2 (Gulf) Lanka Lions displayed their awesome strength once again in the Emirates Cup through a six-wicket win over the Challengers Cricket Club at the Dubai Cricket Council ground. Lanka Lions, who had thrashed Yogi International by eight wickets in this tournament last month, restricted Challengers to 158 in 38. 4 overs. more..

Feb 2 (DN) JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe in an interview with the ITN on Saturday night, said the JVP stood for mixed-economy. The UPFA will mainly focus on maintaining law and order, eliminate bribery and corruption and encourage local entrepreneurs and foreign investors to a systematic and steady development of the country, he said. more..

Feb 2 (DM) The long-drawn-out health sector trade union action is likely to end with the government agreeing to issue the circular in question today, Health Minister P. Dayaratna told the Daily Mirror yesterday. more..

Feb 2 (KT) We have it on the authority of the Sri Lankan president�s defence spokesman that the note she recently sent to the Tamil Tigers dealt with the ceasefire, contrary to speculation in government circles that it intimated her plan to take over the stalled peace process. more..