Aug 30 (HNS) State Trading Organization (STO) has bought a tea plantation in Sri Lanka for US$500,000, Trade Minister Abdullah Yameen said. He said the 323-acre field that was bought from a Sri Lankan family is a “freehold” land. more..

Aug 30 (SLA) A civilian who had escaped from the LTTE custody reached the troops on duty in the general area of POLIKANDY, about 27 km. northeast of JAFFNA on 28 August 2003 around 7.30 p.m. more..

Aug 30 (SLA) On an information received from civilians, an unidentified dead body of a youth had been found on the shore in the general area of SAVUKKADAI, about 12 km. north of BATTICALOA on 28 August 2003. more..

Aug 30 (SLA) A Tamil civilian named SEBAMANI WIMALAKUMARAN (35) of THELLIPALAI, JAFFNA EAST had been shot dead by an unidentified gunman on 29 August 2003 around 8.30 p.m. in the general area of PARANIKULAM, about 1.5 km. southwest of VAVUNIYA town. more..

Aug 30 (SLA) Two hundred and three (203) lorry loads of food and other essential items had been dispatched to un-cleared areas in the northern province during the period between 22 August 2003 and 28 August 2003. more..

Aug 30 (TS) RATING Agency Malaysia Bhd (RAM) is spreading its wings internationally with a joint venture to establish Lanka Ratings Ltd, which will be Sri Lanka’s second ratings agency. The joint venture agreement, signed in Colombo yesterday, would see Key Ratings Ltd holding 51% and RAM the remaining stake. more..

Aug 30 (HT) The LTTE has said that the accredited Muslim representative at the peace talks, the SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem, does not qualify to be a representative of the Muslims of the North and East, which is the problem area, and has hinted that it will not talk to him. more..

Aug 31 (NIP) Barely out of his teens, Prabhakaran chose a life that was anything but middle class and a career that was anything but conventional. His experiments with insects were nowhere close in brutality to what the obsession with his cause would eventually lead him to do. more..

Aug 31 (AFP) South Asian officials have agreed to amend a regional convention to bring it in line with the tough anti-terror resolution of the United Nations, the foreign ministry here said Saturday. more..

Aug 31 (TN) The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Saturday stopped a group of internally displaced persons making arrangements to resettle in their abandoned Tamil village Kachchakodi Swamimalai in the Pattipalai division in Batticaloa district, civil group sources said. more..

Aug 31 (TN) The non-academic staff of universities in the country Saturday evening decided to call off their three weeks' old strike from Monday as the talks held Saturday between the two ministers, the chairman of the university Grants Commission and representatives of trade union federation concluded with agreements reached on many of the 21 demands put forward by the non-academinc staff, more..

Aug 31 (TN) Sri Lanka Saturday remembered the services rendered to the minorities and oppressed people by the hill country Tamil leader late Saumiyamoorthy Thondaman on his 90th birthday, which falls on August 30, 2003, sources from upcountry said. more..

Aug 31 (TN) Delegates to the LTTE Constitutional Affairs Committee meeting in Paris to prepare a response to the Government of Sri Lanka's proposal for an Interim Administration to the Northeast described the meeting as "positive and innovative," in a press release more..

Aug 31 (SL) While President Chandrika Kumaratunga's attempts last week to sideline the Norwegian facilitators and run a parallel peace process failed to get off ground, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe went public with the peace dividends in store for the country through his efforts, announcing a Rs. 17.5 billion development package. more..

Aug 31 (SL) This week The Sunday Leader can commend Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for having stood firm, having listened to grave concerns raised by a cabinet minister with regard to the purchase of military equipment for the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and taking remedial measures. more..

Aug 31 (SO) The LTTE, which concluded its deliberations on the draft interim administration proposals for the North East on Friday, expressed confidence of the government accepting its counter proposals, but also warned of serious consequences should it be rejected. more..

Aug 31 (ST) The SLFP and the JVP in a bid to salvage nine months of talks are to settle for a loose alliance minus any electoral arrangement like a non contest pact, informed sources said. They said both parties hoped to complete the talks on this national alliance before September 30. more..

Aug 31 (Hindu) The Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, expects a "very tough task" ahead with "more deadlocks to cross" and even a "temporary breakdown" in the talks with the LTTE. more..

Aug 31 (Xinhua) Off-pump heart surgery or better known as "beating heart" surgery operation can now be successfullyperformed at the Colombo National Hospital in Sri Lanka, the official Daily News said on Saturday. more..

Aug 31 (MCN) The city of Ambalangoda in Sri Lanka is dedicated to preserving an integral part of the country's tradition - the making of masks. And now that Sri Lanka is enjoying peace, authorities are trying to position the art as a major tourist attraction. more..

Aug 31 (AP) With just $100 to share, the four members of the Sri Lankan national gymnastics team had hoped to stay in the United States a few months to train for upcoming competitions. Their hopes appeared dim until a Garden Grove woman, an immigrant from Sri Lanka herself, offered them a place to stay. more..

Aug 31 (AP) Ethnic Tamils are turning to Sri Lanka's highest court in an attempt to get their homes back from government soldiers who took them over during the country's civil war, a news report said Saturday. more..

Aug 31 (Reuters) Peace means Kataragama, Sri Lanka's six-headed God of War, is busier than ever. Drawn by Kataragama's supposed unending power to grant wishes, the devoted walked on burning embers and bathed in a holy river in a centuries-old religious festival that drew throngs of pilgrims to this small town in southern Sri Lanka. more..

Aug 31 (AFP) Tamil Tigers rebels will respond within a month to an offer from the Sri Lankan government to revive peace talks that have been stalled since April, a pro-rebel website said Sunday. more..

Aug 31 (PTI) Tamil Tiger rebels are likely to make counter-proposals to the Sri Lanka government within a month to revive the peace talks and will leave for Switzerland shortly for talks with government authorities, the rebels said on Sunday. more..

Aug 31 (AFP) Sri Lanka's battle with Tamil Tiger rebels usually discouraged tourists, but the ongoing truce is also causing problems as the authorities brace for an invasion by the "barmy army." more..

Aug 31 (TN) Residents of Atchuvely town in Jaffna has asked the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officials through the Asistant Government Agent of the district to open the Thondamanaru-Selvachannithi road for public use, civil sources from Jaffna said. more..