Mar 20 (LNP) The government had denied security to an LTTE (Vanni faction) contingent led by its Ampara-Batticaloa Special Commander Bhanu to move across the army-held area in the east. The LTTE had requested overland passage from Batticaloa south (Thoppigala) to Vakarai via Valaichenai and Kajuwatte a few days ago. more..

Mar 20 (TN) Colombo-based English newspaper, the Sunday Leader, in its latest edition, has exposed the presence of a paramilitary camp at Thivichchenei in the SLA-held area of the Polonnaruwa district. The paper said its reporters visited last week the village lying about 10 km north of the Harabarana-Valaichenai highway from Sevenapitiya. more..

Mar 20 (SLA) Intensified security surveillance in the general trouble-torn areas of WELIKANDA, POLONNARUWA bared another LTTE plot, aimed at discrediting security forces when a Sinhalese named man with two claymore mines was arrested on Saturday Night around 11.45 p.m. after he arrived in POLONNARUWA area for a secret LTTE WANNI faction assignment. more..

Mar 20 (SLA) A group of ten armed LTTE cadres who abducted Nine Muslim fire wood collectors on 16 March 2005 evening in the general area DINAPULA jungle, KADURUWELA have later released them on 17 March 2005 morning after obtaining Rs 60,000/= as ransoms, states a Police complaint lodged at POLONNARUWA Police Station. more..

Mar 20 (PTI) Amul, the most successful co-operative movement in India, is moving across borders to Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The brand, owned by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), is in discussion with Dairy Association of Pakistan to provide technical assistance for establishing a quality dairy infrastructure in that country. more..

Mar 20 (AT) Erik Solheim is a lanky, lack-lustre, ex-politician who had strayed into diplomacy through the backdoor. A leading member of the Norwegian opposition told the World Alliance for Peace in Sri Lankan (WAPS) delegation that they do not consider Solheim to be a professional who can handle delicate issues with finesse. more..

Mar 20 (AT) Buddha Sasana Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake blasted bible-toting bogus charities that were exploiting the tsunami disaster. He was addressing the two-day Global Buddhist Conference on �Buddhist Humanitarian Services in a Post-Tsunami Context� that commenced yesterday at the BMICH, more..

Mar 20 (AT) The tsunami victims in Sri Lanka say that most of the local NGOs and companies are now offering number of house models, but they are not cost-wise realistic. �However those models not fit into our budget,� said many victims who were contacted and who still temporarily reside in camps or with their relatives. more..

Mar 20 (SLT) Disasters are always devastating, but the timing of the Indian Ocean tsunami for Sri Lanka was particularly cruel. For more than two years, a truce between the government and the rebel Tamil Tigers had brought an end to decades of violence, and had finally started to make a real difference to the country. more..

Mar 20 (SAMN) Sri Lanka has received more than nine billion rupees in tsunami aid -- Rs. 1.2 billion direct to government accounts and the rest to NGOs and private organisations, Treasury Secretary P. B. Jayasundera said. more..

Mar 20 (SAMN) Opposition UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has charged that the Kumaratunga government in calling for a costly referendum amidst a string of other problems in the country is acting like the infamous French Queen Marie Antoinette who told her people to eat cake if they had no bread. more..

Mar 20 (SAMN) More than 800 Sri Lankan illegal immigrants were repatriated from Malaysia during a recent amnesty which ended this month, allowing illegal immigrants to report to their respective embassies in Malaysia. more..

Mar 20 (SAMN) Saudi Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal Abdulaziz Alsaud has indicated a strong interest in the government�s stake in the Colombo Hilton. The prince who was here last week had raised the matter with President Chandrika Kumaratunga, well informed sources said. more..

Mar 20 (LNP) Some 5,000 packets of pet food have been distributed among tsunami victims in Hambantota by an NGO. Most of the displaced persons had not consumed it as they had seen the illustrations of cats and dogs on the cover. But those who consumed the food had been taken ill with complaints of nausea and diarrhoea. more..

Mar 20 (LNP) Enterprise Development Minister Rohitha Bogollagama last week dodged questions about the appointment of his brother, Ravi, as deputy chairman of the Export Development Board (EDB). `I'm a bit busy, call later,` Bogollagama said, in response to two phone calls. The third time, he hung up. more..

Mar 20 (CI) Wajahatullah Wasti smashed an impressive century to power Pakistan A to a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka A in the opening game of the triangular tournament in Colombo. Wajahatullah hit 101 from 118 balls as Pakistan made light work of a testing target, completing victory with 15 balls to spare. more..

Mar 20 (SO) Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama asserts that the 100 metre buffer zone law has been imposed with a deep sense of responsibility by the government, in the best interest of the people and in good faith. more..

Mar 20 (AFP) Marine archeologists spent nine years trawling the seabed of Sri Lanka's Galle port to collect thousands of centuries-old treasures buried underwater in shipwrecks. But it took just a few seconds for them to be reclaimed by the ocean when a tsunami battered the shores of this island nation more..

Mar 20 (Yahoo) The devastated marine archaeological unit in the port town of Galle. Sri Lanka was on the verge of exhibiting the maritime heritage it shared with European invaders and Arab traders when the tsunamis washed out artefacts collected over a decade. more..

Mar 20 (KT) A 26-year-old Sri Lankan man was shot dead by unidentified assailant at Yarmouk. Security sources have confirmed that the death was due to a single bullet that ripped through the man's chest. The victim came to Kuwait recently to work as a domestic driver for his Sri Lankan sponsor. more..

Mar 20 (UNI) The loyalists of the renegade Eastern Commander of the LTTE, well-known as 'Colonel' Karuna, have been operating from a camp in Government-held Polonnaruwa district, local media reported today. more..

Mar 20 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka's main opposition is set to oppose a reported plan by Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga to hold a national referendum on the need to change the country's constitution. more..

Mar 20 (LT) A Sinhalese employed by Wanni faction of tiger organization to attack its Karuna faction was apprehended at Polonnaruwa by Polonnnaruwa police last night at about 10.30 p.m. At the time of the arrest he had with him two clamor bombs and a hand grenade. more..

Mar 21 (TN) Major General Sunil Tennekon, Jaffna area commander of the Sri Lanka Army Sunday assured the Jaffna media personnel that his command is prepared to provide security to them and their equipments when they discharge their duties on the ground. more..

Mar 21 (TN) The book "War and Peace" authored by LTTE political strategist Mr.Anton Balasingham was released Saturday evening at an event held at the Kailasapathi auditorium of the Jaffna University. more..

Mar 21 (AT) �The tsunami disaster of December 26, 2004, which is now part of history as one of the worst calamities that befell humanity in recent times, spontaneously brought to life the inner qualities of caring and sharing, generosity, compassion, love and kindness, cherished by every human being,� more..

Mar 21 (AT) The local fish consumption is gradually increasing. However most of the consumers are still refusing to eat fish after the Boxing Day tsunami disaster, said Colombo based fish vendors who lost their businesses completely. more..

Mar 21 (AT) Sri Lankan Beetle leaves and the spice growers would receive good export market after the signing of the proposed Free Trade Agreement between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The FCCISL said on Sunday a number of Pakistan based businessmen need bulk loads of beetle-leaves. more..

Mar 21 (LT) Sri Lankan Beetle leaves and the spice growers would receive good export market after the signing of the proposed Free Trade Agreement between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The FCCISL said on Sunday a number of Pakistan based businessmen need bulk loads of beetle-leaves. more..

Mar 21 (LT) A large number of state institutions are unprofitable and when they were in power their government systematically privatized many of the state institutions said Mr. Hemakumara Nanayakkara, Parliamentarian of the UNP. more..

Mar 21 (LT) A contingent of 2500 members of Karuna faction of the tiger organization is undergoing rigorous training around the jungles of Thoppigala to confront threats from Wanni tigers. The residents in the area say they hear noise of gun fire throughout the day. more..

Mar 21 (LBO) Concessionary trade access into the European Union, due to come to Sri Lanka from April will be delayed by a few months, says Minister of Commerce. "The GSP+ scheme, that was to be implemented on April 1, may now take two to three months to get implemented,� more..

Mar 21 (RN) DESPITE a flurry of activity in the recent months, efforts at producing a breakthrough in bringing the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka to the negotiating table have failed. more..

Mar 21 (ANN) Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has lashed out at the government for contemplating a referendum at this juncture when the priority of the government should be to help the tsunami victims. He has likened the policies of the government to those of Queen Mari Antoinette, who wanted the masses agitating for bread to settle for cake. more..

Mar 21 (BBC) Sri Lanka Army categorically denied the existence of a camp belong to the Karuna group in government controlled area. "I have to stress again that there is no camp belonging to any group in government territory," Sri Lanka military spokesman Brigadier Daya Ratnayake told BBC Sadeshaya. more..

Mar 21 (Hindu) Discussions "are continuing" between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE through the Norwegian facilitators to work out a joint mechanism for reconstructing the tsunami-affected areas in the northern and eastern districts. more..

Mar 21 (SAMN) The Education Ministry will take over Grade 1 school admissions from next year with the introduction of a state of the art fully automated selection process completely leaving out school principals and school authorities, Education Ministry sources said Sunday. more..

Mar 21 (SAMN) UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said his party was against President Chandrika Kumaratunga's reported move to hold a referendum, at a cost of one billion rupees, while the country was struggling hard to stand following the worst natural disaster it had ever faced and would take to the streets this week in protest. more..

Mar 21 (SAMN) The Deputy Ministers' Forum Sunday stressed the necessity to resume peace talks with the LTTE and to activate the proposed joint mechanism as the first step to prevent the country reverting back to war. more..

Mar 21 (LNP) Some members of the committee appointed to get S.B.Dissanayake released from jail made a vow at Sri Maha Bodhi on Saturday (19) to illuminate Sri Maha Bodhi premises with eighty four thousand coconut oil lamps, and to offer a sovereign gold coin within thirty days if S.B.Dissanayake is released from his two years rigorous imprisonment sentence before the Sinhala new year. more..

Mar 21 (LNP) Senior Superintendent of Police, Negombo, Jagath Keenawinna, who was warned by the Supreme Court last week that he would face charges for contempt of Court, unless he takes steps to halt illegal sand mining on Maha Oya River banks, yesterday told The Island that enforcement of law was influenced by the miners backed by powerful politicians and some corrupt police top brass. more..

Mar 21 (Reuters) A U.N. soldier from Sri Lanka and two other people were killed in a gunfight on Sunday as U.N troops and Haitian police evicted rebel former soldiers from a police station they occupied for months. more..

Mar 21 (TN) Three paramilitary cadres of the Karuna Group were wounded in a predawn attack by gunmen suspected to be Liberation Tigers Monday in Theevuchenai, an interior hamlet near the Batticaloa-Polannaruwa district border, Police said. more..

Mar 21 (SN) Today 21st of March at 10.30 AM the Buddhist monk Ven. Hamulugamuwa Nandaretna, Viharathipathi of Mahadiulwewa Sri Pabatharama Raja Maha Viharaya, who commenced the Sathyakgraha campaign in Trincomalee on the 12th and at Ampare on 16th did commences a fast unto death campaign at the venue of the Sathyakgraha under the Clock tower in Trincomalee. more..

Mar 21 (SLA) LTTE WANNI faction cadres, barely a few hours after the Army Website on Sunday (20) exclusively reported that they (LTTE WANNI cadres) were orchestrating a plan to assassinate an LTTE rival leader of the KARUNA faction, called MANGALAN, struck their target early morning on Monday (21), causing death to two LTTE WANNI faction cadres more..

Mar 21 (SLA) LTTE in spite of numerous SLMM rulings once again repeated its act of LTTE flag hoisting on Sunday evening during a sports event, held in cleared area, south of ARALI in WADDUKODDAI. Hoisting of LTTE flags at public places in cleared areas amounts to violation of the provisions of the MoU more..

Mar 21 (SLA) An unidentified dead body of a man has been recovered from the general area of VALAICHCHENAI on 20 March 2005 around 6.00 p.m. The corpse was recovered while it remained left behind on POLONNARUWA � BATTICALOA railway track. It was later sent to the VALAICHCHENAI hospital for post mortem and onward action.

Mar 21 (MND) When recent University graduate Shivanthi Sathanandan arrived in Sri Lanka two weeks after the tsunami hit the region, she said, people walked around in a daze like zombies. Sathanandan returned to Minnesota in early February, following a monthlong disaster-relief mission in Sri Lanka more..

Mar 21 (Bloomberg) An escalation in fighting between Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels and a breakaway group is undermining the South Asian island's cease-fire that halted a two- decade civil war, truce monitors said. more..

Mar 21 (ANI) So far it was the case of him trapping batsmen with his ace deliveries, but on Monday, Sri lanka's ace off spinner, Muthiah Muralitharan, was truly bowled over by a Chennai maiden. Muralitharan, an ethnic Tamil, tied the proverbial wedding knot with Madhimalar Ramamurthy, a doctor based in Chennai. more..