Feb 14 (NIP) Far from the strife-torn island of Sri Lanka, the LTTE seems to be hatching a sinister plan to set up a base in the port city of Visakhapatnam. Highly confidential Intelligence reports are pointing in this direction. The latest Intelligence reports confirm that LTTE activists or sympathizers are making regular but secret visits to Vizag. more..

Feb 14 (TN) Although there is a significant drop in reported cases, malaria is still highly prevalent as there were 1746 persons were severely affected by the epidemic in 2002, said Kilinochchi Government Agent (GA) Mr. T. Rasanayagam. more..

Feb 14 (TN) The large Vadamunai-Tharavai region, northwest of Batticaloa, is struggling to rise out of the havoc wreaked by one of the most sustained text book counter insurgency campaigns waged by the Sri Lanka army. more..

Feb 14 (Island) The United National Front government is scheduled to hold 10,000 Janahamuwas covering every polling booth area in the country from March 1st to the end of the first week of April 2003, said UNP General Secretary Senarath Kapukotuwa yesterday. more..

Feb 14 (Hindu) Twenty-three members of the Jaffna Municipal Council resigned en masse today, following their inability to re-open the town's public library as scheduled tomorrow. Public pressure, reportedly backed by the LTTE, had put off the event. more..

Feb 14 (ST) Talks to end the Sri Lankan civil war have gone through five rounds in under six months, and the delegations move on to Tokyo next month to discuss the contentious issue of power sharing. Last weekend's session in Berlin brought progress in the rehabilitation of people traumatised by the 20-year war. more..

Feb 14 (LBO) The government has allowed the old Pugoda Textile Mills site to be developed as an apparel industrial estate. The project will kick off with a new fabric mill being set up in the next few months. more..

Feb 14 (LBO) Prices for crepe rubber have reached record levels as oil prices spiral, touching Rs. 129 a kilo at this week’s auction, a high since 1995. This is up from crepe prices of Rs. 102 in Dec 2002. Crepe rubber is used as a substitute for synthetic rubber, which uses petroleum products. more..

Feb 14 (TN) The silver jubilee celebrations of the Orr's Hill Vivekandanda College, a leading educational institution in Trincomalee town are underway with the swearing ceremony of the prefects of the school and the College Day held at the newly built auditorium named Vivekandanda Kalai Arangam. more..

Feb 14 (TN) A group of civilians in the general area of JAFFNA town, who gathered there this morning (14) to protest over the incident at MANIPAY on 12 February 2003, burnt down several effigies. more..

Feb 14 (TN) A mother, PAVALASINGHAM THANGESHVARI of SEENAN BAZAR Street, PUDOOR in a complaint made to BATTICALOA Police station stated that her 14 year-old son had gone missing since 01 February 2003. more..

Feb 14 (TN) On 12 February 2003 around 8.00 a.m. LTTE has released the teenager, who was abducted on 10 February 2003 while she was on her way to the paddy field at ERALAKULAM village, about 24 km northwest of BATTICALOA town. more..

Feb 14 (CI) Sri Lanka fast bowler Pulasthi Gunaratne has broken a bone in his right index finger and will miss Friday's World Cup Group B clash against Bangladesh. The injury will also rule him out of the Sri Lanka's next two matches against Canada and Kenya. more..

Feb 14 (DM) There are nearly 7000 new cases of Tuberculosis (TB), found every year and the situation could lead up to epidemic proportions within four years, Director of the TB Control Unit and the Chest Hospital, Welisara, said yesterday confirming the statement of Dr. Anoma Siribaddhana made at the Kandy Society of Medicine recently. more..

Feb 14 (Gulf) Tamil Tigers sprayed a rival Tamil political party office with machine gunfire injuring a politician and a policeman and further raising tension in the strife-torn northern part of the country, police said yesterday. more..

Feb 14 (DN) Increased surveillance by law enforcement authorities has curtailed Narcotics traffic to the island during the past five months. According to a senior Customs officer, heightened observation at the Bandaranaike International Airport by the Customs and Police drug enforcement officers has led to the reduction of drugs, mainly heroin, being smuggled into the country through the airport. more..

Feb 14 (Reuters) Japan, Sri Lanka's biggest aid donor, said on Friday it would give the island a loan of about $270 million to restructure the war-torn economy as it pushes ahead with a peace bid to end a 19-year ethnic war. more..

Feb 14 (IT) A special ceremony celebrating the 55th anniversary of Sri Lanka's independence from British rule will be held this week with a number of events. Tonight, local MP Jim Karygiannis will unveil the first ever official Tamil translation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms at a special ceremony. more..

Feb 14 (DS) The Sri Lankan Embassy in Lebanon is carrying through with a first-ever legal complaint against a Lebanese sponsor, who is being held responsible for a relative’s alleged burning and beating of a housemaid. more..

Feb 14 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's Chaminda Vaas claimed an extraordinary slice of history on Friday, taking a hat-trick with the first three balls of a World Cup match against Bangladesh before adding a fourth victim in the same over. more..

Feb 14 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's Chaminda Vaas, shown in a file photo, has taken an unprecedented hat-trick with the first three balls of the World Cup Group B match against Bangladesh. more..

Feb 14 (ABC) Sri Lanka has defeated Bangladesh by 10 wickets in their World Cup match in South Africa. After dismissing Bangladesh for 124, Sri Lanka reached the victory target in the 22nd over. Marvan Attapattu finished 67 not out and Sanath Jayasuriya scored an unbeaten 55. more..

Feb 14 (PTI) Thousands of angry demonstrators, supported by the LTTE rebels, burnt an effigy of Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga to protest a ban on wearing of leather belts by women in Jaffna, officials said here. more..

Feb 14 (AP) Thousands rallied on Friday in northern Sri Lanka to demand the withdrawal of government troops after a fistfight between soldiers and Tamil rebels dealt a blow to a year-old truce. At least 8,000 people carrying placards and shouting slogans rallied in the northern town of Jaffna, more..

Feb 14 (FL) Five months after it started, the Sri Lankan Peace Process has entered choppy waters. With the emergence of the first clear evidence of illegal transportation of weapons by the LTTE during the year-long ceasefire, the peace negotiators faced a difficult situation that added to the strains on the peace process. more..

Feb 14 (PTI) Fomer World champion Sri Lanka today issued a warning to their opponents in Group B with captain Sanath Jayasuriya saying his team was determined to make it to the Super Six stage by maintaining an all-win record. more..

Feb 14 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka's main opposition party on Friday said they have asked the Japanese government to link a loan package with de-commissioning of weapons by separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. more..

Feb 14 (TN) Three children who sought to join the LTTE, were handed over to their parents by Mr. S. Ezhilan, the head of the LTTE's political division in Vavuniya today, in the presence of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) members, sources said. more..

Feb 14 (TN) The JVP, opposition Peoples Alliance (PA) party members, and members of several muslim organizations held a protest march against the American war policy of war in Iraq, Friday afternoon in downtown Colombo, sources in the Sri Lanka capital said. more..

Feb 15 (Reuters) The United States on Friday said it hoped to provide more aid to Sri Lanka this year but that it would depend on the government and the rebel Tamil Tigers showing the political will to pursue peace. more..

Feb 15 (DN) A major disaster was averted last night by firefighters who controlled a fire that threatened to rip through the Government Analyst's Department in Colombo where a large number of weapons, explosives and ammunition are stored for examination. more..

Feb 15 (LBO) Local telecom operators on Friday came up with firm rates to interconnect between networks until a new cost study is finalised in June. The telecom operators – Sri Lanka Telecom, Suntel, Lanka Bell, Dialog, Mobitel, Celltel and Hutchison Telecom – agreed on the final numbers after rejecting the telecom watchdog’s draft proposals. more..

Feb 15 (LBO) Neglected public sector services in mainly the North and East, have been bookmarked for priority attention in providing access to alternative energy. "Except for a few donor assisted demonstration efforts the energy needs of rural public service agencies in fields such as health, education and water remain unattended", says J. Nagendran, more..

Feb 15 (TN) A delegation of Trincomalee Muslims Friday requested the Japanese special peace envoy Mr Yasusi Akashi to channel the foreign aid allocated for rehabilitation and resettlement of Muslims, through organizations that represent the Muslim community, sources in Trincomalee said. more..

Feb 15 (TN) The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) checkpoint at Iratperiyakulam. 6 km south of Vavuniya town on highway A9, will be open 24 hours allowing lorries transporting goods to towns in the South from Vavuniya unimpeded travel facilities, said Major General Susil Chandrapala, more..

Feb 15 (TN) In a conference on "Srilanka: Prospects for Peace," held at the CSIS in Washington D.C Friday, Richard Armitage, Deputy U.S Secretary of State, in his Keynote address said that, "..it is my intention to return to the follow-on meeting [to Oslo] of donors" in June in Japan and "I will be able to announce significant further assistance to Sri Lanka for both humanitarian and economic aid," more..

Feb 15 (SLA) Sailors on duty at SAMPALTIVU Security Forces road block, about 10 km. northwest of TRINCOMALEE town had observed four female LTTE cadres accompanying two teenage school girls clad in school uniforms crossing the road block in order to proceed to un-cleared area on 14 February 2003 around 3.00 p.m. more..

Feb 15 (DM) SLFP spokesman Mangala Samaraweera yesterday condemned LTTE chief negotiator Anton Balasingham's insistence the rebels would not lay down arms despite international pressure. more..

Feb 15 (AFP) Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya has returned to the top of the world one-day batting ratings following his impressive form in the first week of the World Cup. Jayasuriya overtook Australia opener Matthew Hayden at the head of the list after scores of 120 against New Zealand and 55 not out against Bangladesh. more..

Feb 15 (Ananova) Sri Lanka may be at the top of Pool B in the World Cup following their emphatic 10-wicket demolition job of Bangladesh, but they are far from happy with the make-up of their side at the moment. more..

Feb 15 (Xinhua) President Chandrika Kumaratunga has called for the re-opening of the Jaffna Public Library, saying it will be an "important step in bringing reconciliation and healing" in the war-torn country, the official Daily News reported Saturday. more..

Feb 15 (AFP) The United States will consider removing the Tamil Tigers from its list of terrorist organisations if the Sri Lankan rebel group proves it has renounced violence, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Friday. more..

Feb 15 (Reuters) A Japanese envoy to Sri Lanka said on Saturday the island's peace efforts were entering a "difficult phase" and expressed concern a conflict in Iraq could divert attention from its bid to end 19 years of war. more..

Feb 15 (PTI) Japan is concerned that a possible war in Iraq could divert international attention from Sri Lanka's peace process, Tokyo's top peace envoy Yasushi Akashi said on Saturday. "A lot depends on the outcome of the war (in Iraq) which many people, including myself feel is likely to occur," Akashi said more..

Feb 16 (TN) More than two hundred workers, mostly Sinhalese, who are employees of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) in Trincomalee Saturday struck work demanding that the oil storage facility at Chinabay oil tank farm should not be handed over to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), sources said. more..

Feb 16 (TN) Construction of the LTTE war memorial at Gopalapuram junction in Nilaveli village about 16km north of Trincomalee town cannot be cnsidered a ceasefire violation, four local members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee decided at their meeting held recently. more..

Feb 16 (SL) President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last week clashed over the role of Japan and USA in Sri Lanka, with the Premier calling upon the President to maintain the dignity of her office. more..

Feb 16 (SL) Subtle attempts to undermine the workings of the Constitutional Council were thwarted by the timely intervention of Speaker Joseph Michael Perera last week. more..

Feb 16 (Hindu) The United States will consider removing the LTTE from its list of foreign terrorist organisations if the group renounced terrorism and made a "convincing case" that it is committed to a political solution of the ethnic crisis, the Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, has said. more..

Feb 16 (Hindu) In a signal of its continued backing for Sri Lanka's upcountry Tamils, India today said that it would widen its support in several areas aimed at improving their socio-economic and cultural conditions. more..