Feb 13 (TW) Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Leader V.Anandasangari while condemning the Ceasefire Agreement that exists between the government and the LTTE, says the government without discussing the agreement at the first round of talks, should immediately abrogate it. more..

Feb 13 (LT) A group of members of wanni tiger organization blowing up the trawler they were travelling and the death of a sailor injured in the incident are serious violations of ceasefire agreement says Mr. Wimal Weerawansa, Information Secretary of the JVP. more..

Feb 13 (LT) Holding local government polls without establishing the independent election commission will violate fundamental rights of the people says the UNP. Mr. Tissa Attanayake, Deputy Secretary General of the UNP expresses doubts that actions of state officials will specially have a negative influence on the local government polls. more..

Feb 13 (BP) Saha Regal Best Co (SRB), a Thai construction investment firm, is looking to select medium-sized Thai construction firms to carry out civil construction for the development of a 200,000 barrel per day (bpd) oil refinery in Sri Lanka. more..

Feb 13 (BBC) Independent Muslim participation not only in the forthcoming Geneva talks but also in any future talks is important to Muslim community, says Javed Yusuf, Secretary General of the Muslim Peace Secretariat. Yusuf told Sandesaya that for any talks to be successful all issues relating to all three communities should be addressed. more..

Feb 13 (LeN) Former President Chandrika Kumartunga has informed President Mahinda Rajapaksa that she is well aware who is behind the moves to oust her from the party leadership and has stated that there is a place where the leadership is given. Kumaratunga's remarks had come at a 4-hour long meeting with the President last Wednesday at Temple Trees. more..

Feb 13 (CI) Mahela Jayawardene has apologised to Ricky Ponting for claiming he caught the batsman's cut shot during last night's second final at Sydney. Jayawardene was convinced he had taken the low-down chance, but Ponting, who has been trying to forge a code of fielding honesty in controversial decisions, stood his ground despite the disbelief of the Sri Lankans, and was given not out by the umpire Peter Parker. more..

Feb 13 (TN) UNICEF representatives expressed satisfaction in the sharp decline of the number of under-age youths joining the ranks of the Liberation Tigers after the MoU was signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, during a meeting held with the LTTE's Child Protection Unit at the LTTE Peace Secretariat building Sunday, more..

Feb 13 (ANN) The LTTE yesterday (Feb 12) disowned a 15-year-old child soldier arrested in Urani, Batticaloa on Saturday (Feb 11). The chief of the self-styled LTTE police P. Nadesan, contacted for comments, said his organisation did not have child soldiers and the child combatant in custody could belong to some other group operating in the East. more..

Feb 13 (SLRC) Buddhist monks and the people of thailand invoke blessings on president mahinda rajapakse. they were of the view that the leadership of president rajapakse will help for the religious co-existence. a group of thailand buddhist monks called on the president at temple trees in colombo this morning. more..

Feb 13 (SLBC) Shanty dwellers in Colombo and suburbs will soon get settled in properly built houses within the next three months. Chairman and the managing director of the Reel Company Limited Nawalage Benette Cooray says 1000 houses will be completed in the given period. more..

Feb 13 (TN) Mavai Senathirajah, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Jaffna district, told TamilNet Monday that all TNA parliamentarians, as part of the on-going protest against escalating violence in NorthEast, will abstain from participating in parliamentatry proceedings this week. more..

Feb 13 (SLA) AN ATTEMPT BY A UNICEF vehicle to bypass the routine formalities and enter the un-cleared areas through the WELIKANDA roadblock on Sunday (12th February 2006) around 12.30 noon was prevented by troops. more..

Feb 13 (SLA) A RECENT COMBINED POLICE & ARMY search and clear operation covering KARAPOLA, MUTUGALA, WADUMUNAI and THIRUCHCHENA villages in southwest, northwest and southeast of WELIKANDA in the eastern province under government control confirmed once again that no infiltrators or any other alleged paramilitaries have sought entry into those areas either for settlement or otherwise. more..

Feb 13 (ISL) Several None Governmental Organization members in Trincomalee who spoke to The Independent newswire said that the activities of Tamil Rehabilitation Organization and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam hinder activities of other NGO�s in LTTE dominated areas in Northeast. more..

Feb 13 (LeN) Event though 19 days have elapsed since the Maha Sangha, religious dignitaries and political party leaders sent a letter to the President with their signatures seeking a meeting with him to discuss the release of former Minister, political prisoner S.B.Dissanayake, the President or his office has not been kind enough even to acknowledge the receipt of the letter. more..

Feb 13 (LeN) Police CID officials launched a search operation in the Welikanda area in Polonnaruwa over the weekend for the missing TRO employees even as the relief agency said that fresh abduction threats had been received at the TRO Ampara office. more..

Feb 13 (LT) The attempt by wanni tiger organization to bring pressure on GoSL to get their organization disarmed, claiming that it was a condition in the CFA signed between Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, then Prime Minister of the former UNP government and Velupillai Prabakaran on 22nd February, 2002, more..

Feb 13 (WS) The new tussle within the UNP over the selection of their Mayoral candidate for Colombo is becoming yet another challenge to its beleaguered leader Ranil Wickramesinghe. The battle which has resulted in a split within the party, has also reached its climax, with several groups who are supporting different runners more..

Feb 13 (WS) Contesting recent allegations levelled against them by Sri Lankan ace spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan, World Vision Sri Lanka yesterday reiterated their 'surprise' over the spin wizard's charges on grounds that the Organization has so far spent US $ 42 million for tsunami reconstruction for the year 2005 in Sri Lanka alone. more..

Feb 13 (WS) The Local Government Election was the subject of debate of both the government and the opposition ranks past week. It was the view of many members of the ruling party that no room should be left for the United National Party to win a single local government institution in the forthcoming mini polls. more..

Feb 13 (WS) The yet mostly pristine mountain region known as Dumbara or the Knuckles range in the districts of Kandy and Matale, spread over an area of 18,500 hectares of land rich with forests, grassy lands and water resources is now likely to be preserved for posterity with moves to make it a World Heritage site. more..

Feb 13 (WS) Last week we rationalised how the Putative Peace activists use the terms 'War', 'Ethnic Conflict; and 'Cause' in the wrong context in order to promote the current conflict in the name of peace. The following terms are also constantly abused by these peace activists to promote their agenda of promoting terrorism in Sri Lanka. more..

Feb 13 (SAMN) The Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) led by Arumugan Thondaman and the Upcountry People's Front (UPF) led by Periaswamy Chandrasekeran will join hands with the Government to contest at the upcoming local government poll. CWC Member of Parliament Muttu Sivalingam told the Daily News yesterday that the party has decided to support the Government at the mini poll. more..

Feb 13 (SAMN) The UNP says that a large number of persons would be deprived of their right to vote at the forthcoming local government polls. Issuing a special statement on defective electoral registers, the UNP yesterday said that approximately 350,000 of persons whose names had been omitted from the current registers would be denied their franchise. more..

Feb 13 (LNP) JVP Propaganda Secretary and Parliamentary Group leader Wimal Weerawansa said Saturday`s blast of an LTTE explosive laden boat off Mannar was a clear indication of LTTE`s continuing violence despite its pretensions of getting ready for a negotiated settlement. more..

Feb 13 (LNP) All police transfers made after the National Police Commission ceased to function are not valid and legal action could be taken against those who obtained transfers through illegal procedures, former Internal Security Affairs Minister MP John Amaratunga said. more..

Feb 13 (LNP) The world`s first ever exclusive Reebok showroom to be located in an airport duty free area was launched in Sri Lanka yesterday. 'Sportswear is now increasingly being attached with travel, we are looking to leverage on this mood alignment,' Reebok SAARC Region Managing Director Subhinder Singh Prem told more..

Feb 13 (LNP) The Micro Car issue was settled in the Court of Appeal when the Director General of Excise, the Minister of Finance and two others consented to the relief to register locally manufactured vehicles in a case filed by Micro Cars Limited of Peliyagoda. The petitioner earlier protested against an order not to register their newly manufactured vehicles. more..

Feb 13 (Time) As she squats alone on the floor of her one-room hut, untwisting and retying a torn fishing net, it becomes clear that Rosa Nobert, 43, shares her days with the dead. The walls are hung with faded photographs: her husband, shot and burned in his fishing boat by the Sri Lankan navy; her two nephews, Tamil Tiger guerrillas killed in battle; more..

Feb 13 (Time) Aside from one press conference in 2002, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the LTTE declines all requests for interviews and delegates meetings with all but the most senior foreign diplomats. Since the Tigers agreed a cease-fire with the Sri Lankan government in 2002, the rebels' public face has become Suppiah Paramu Tamilchelvan, more..

Feb 13 (Time) There can be few shorter post-election honeymoons than that granted Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse. Within a few days of taking office on Nov. 18, ethnic Tamil rebels fighting for a separate homeland in the north and east began a new round of attacks on his Sinhalese-dominated administration in the south in which more than 100 people have died. more..

Feb 13 (DN) A 36-year-old man suspected to be a deserter from the Army and a 33-year-old woman from Gonawala, Kelaniya were killed in a hand grenade explosion, following a harsh exchange of words between the two in Kiribathgoda town yesterday, Police said. Police believe that the incident was due to a secret love affair between the two. more..

Feb 13 (Reuters) Stock market closed firmer on Monday, with investors encouraged by the prospect of peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels in Switzerland later this month, traders said. The Colombo All-share closed a provisional 0.54 percent firmer at 2,159.25 points on turnover of 242 million rupees ($2.37 million). more..

Feb 13 (HT) A substantial part of Sri Lanka's modern history is about its struggle against Indian immigrants. This was, in part, against British rule, and in part against India. At times, India appeared in the form of the Imperial British Raj and at other times as Indian nationalism. more..

Feb 13 (N24) Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody believes Muttiah Muralitharan will bounce back from the worst 10-over spell in limited-overs cricket history in the deciding triangular one-day series final on Tuesday. The champion spinner endured one of his most miserable days ever, returning 0-99 more..

Feb 13 (BJ) Visiting speaker of Sri Lanka WJM Lokubanadara on Thursday said his country would offer Bangladesh 10,000 special species of coconut plants for protection of coastlines from surges and erosion, reports BSS. �These species can efficiently protect the environment of coastlines, frequently exposed to tidal surges and erosion,� more..

Feb 13 (Xinhua) A Sri Lankan civil society group is proceeding to the Tamil Tiger rebel's territory to promote peace ahead of scheduled talks between the government and rebels. The team of PAFFREL activists left here Monday for the LTTE held territory in Kilinochchi in the north, Kingsley Rodrigo, the PAFFREL executive director, said. more..

Feb 13 (Reuters) Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Monday ruled out Tamil Tiger demands for a separate homeland in the island's north and east, but said he would rein in armed groups -- a central rebel demand ahead of crunch talks. more..

Feb 14 (CO) She is the hallmark of quality - the symbol of perfection. She represents the Sinhala voice. Pandit Amaradeva didn't mince his words when he showered praise on Nanda Malini for her recent solo performance. Sri Lanka's leading songstress was recently in Chennai to perform at the Museum Theatre at a programme organised by the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission. more..

Feb 14 (KT) IF THERE is one country in Asia that can serve as a metaphor for all the good and the evil in the world, it may well be little Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon. This physically gorgeous island nation off the coast of India is a mess. more..

Feb 14 (TN) Ven. Ampitiya Sumanarathna Thero, the chief priest of the Batticaloa Sri Mangalaramaya Buddhist Vihara, has begun a fast unto death campaign Monday at 9.30 am, protesting against lack of interest by authorities in resolving hardships faced by Batticaloa residents and for not providing adequate security to his temple, more..

Feb 14 (BBC) The Supreme Court in Sri Lanka has dismissed a petition by a former minister requesting to reinstate him as a member of the parliament. SB Dissanayake, a senior leader of the opposition United National Party (UNP), has argued in the petition that it was illegal to dismiss him as a legislator. more..

Feb 14 (HT) The French government has conferred the Chevalier Order of Merit on the well-known Sri Lankan journalist Amal Jayasinghe for his outstanding contribution to journalism in the island. He has been with AFP for the past two decades, and had earlier served Daily News, the most widely read English language newspaper in Sri Lanka. more..

Feb 14 (TN) All main political parties are to submit nominations to contest the forthcoming elections to three hundred and thirty local authorities in the island from Tuesday. The final day to submit nomination lists has been fixed for Thursday February 16. more..

Feb 14 (TN) The Muslim Peace Secretariat (MPS) Tuesday made an appeal that a separate Muslim delegation should be allowed not only to participate in the Geneva peace talks between the Government and LTTE scheduled to be held in February 22 and 23 but also in the future talks on resolving the national conflict, more..

Feb 14 (AP) Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels hurled a hand grenade into the political office of a rival Tamil group in eastern Sri Lanka on Monday, injuring one person, a military spokesman said. The attack on the office of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization, a former ally turned opponent of the Tigers, took place in Batticaloa, more..

Feb 14 (BBC) Independent election monitors in Sri Lanka have urged the authorities to postpone the forthcoming local polls in the north and the east. Peoples' Alliance for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFEREL) said it is useless to conduct elections until the government and the Tamil Tigers come to an agreement after talks in Geneva. more..

Feb 14 (LeN) Even though the Executive President enjoys immunity, if he does not perform his duties in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, he can be brought before a court of law disregarding the immunity, Appeal Court judge K.Sri Pawan stated today. more..

Feb 14 (LeN) The Investigation Division of the Judicial Services Commission is conducting a probe about a complaint made by Colombo Chief Magistrate Sarojani Kusala Weerawardane regarding a request made by Galle District UNP parliamentarian Vajira Abeywardane more..