Mar 7 (Hindu) The plight of the 58 Indian fishermen languishing in jails in Sri Lanka, found expression in the Lok Sabha today as MPs from the AIADMK, the DMK, the PMK and the MDMK and Mani Shankar Aiyer of the Congress, sought the Centre's intervention for their early release. more..

Mar 7 (TA) Sri Lanka's cricketers have one big advantage over most other teams when they play Australia ... they don't quiver in their boots. When England take on Australia the old enemy seems so frazzled that the Aussies could simply whisper "boo" and they would turn to jelly. more..

Mar 7 (Island) Under a ceasefire agreement reached in February last year, the government has released over 1000 terrorist suspects, an authoritative source said yesterday, adding that the government was in the process of reviewing the remaining cases. During the same period no arrests have been made under the controversial PTA Act, more..

Mar 7 (LBO) Mobitel will install a 200,000 line island wide GSM network by August, the first stage in its migration from its existing TDMA backbone. The migration could see mobile tapping the local financial market to raise the US $ 50 million it requires for the infrastructure project. more..

Mar 7 (LBO) Sri Lanka Telecom is moving towards a two-tier tariff band to encourage people to talk more and pay less. The proposal forms part of its bigger plan for a 15 percent overall tariff increase. more..

Mar 7 (LBO) Professional service sectors are trying to drum up support to push for amendments that will re-define the scope of the new Consumer Affairs Authority Act. Passed in Parliament in January, the Act has been heavily criticised for making a sweeping generalisation of controls available for all services as well as traders. more..

Mar 7 (BBC) Sri Lanka has arrested another 21 Indian fishermen for trespassing, increasing the tension in the narrow channel that separates the countries. The new arrests came as a Sri Lankan court freed 93 Indian fishermen detained in violent circumstances this week. more..

Mar 7 (Reuters) Friday is a normal working day, but Sri Lanka is coming to a halt. While the country's cricket team faces Australia at the World Cup in South Africa television sets are being be switched on in offices, beach-side shacks and thatched houses bordering paddy fields. more..

Mar 7 (Gulf) Monitors from the SLMM and the Tamil Tigers discussed a mechanism to avoid a recurrence of the impasse over prisoner release after Tamil rebels on Wednesday released the two servicemen in its custody, ending a three-month standoff with the government. more..

Mar 7 (Gulf) Opposition parties in Sri Lanka are organising one of the biggest protests against the Ranil Wickremesinghe-led UNF government on issues ranging from the truce with Tamil Tiger rebels to the spiralling cost of living, and are moving closer to forming a broad alliance. more..

Mar 7 (PTI) Shops in the holy town of Rameswaram remained closed today following the bandh call given by various fishermen's associations demanding the release of 41 fishermen who are still in the custody of Sri Lankan authorities. more..

Mar 7 (TN) Among several foreign envoys are to visit Sri Lanka next week to assess the progress of peace talks between the Government and the LTTE are Canadian Foreign Minister Mr. Bill Graham, Norwegian Foreign Minister Mr. Peterson, and his deputy Mr. Vidar Helgessen, more..

Mar 7 (PRIU) The Department of Information Technology of the Colombo University has detected a large quantity child pornographic material while screening the contents of the computer recovered from a house raided last January by the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA). more..

Mar 7 (Reuters) Stocks fell on Friday as investors sold blue chips due to uncertainty over Iraq and domestic politics, brokers said. The key Colombo all-share index finished down 0.91 percent, or 6.70 points, at 730.48 points. more..

Mar 7 (DM) Blaming the Sri Lanka Ports Authority for exposing the country to environmental danger by allowing a ship to dump hazardous cargo here, Environment Minister Rukman Senanayake has obtained Cabinet approval to appoint a top level probe committee and ensure that such lapses do not take place again. more..

Mar 7 (DN) The Court of Appeal yesterday ordered the issue of notices to all respondents returnable on March 31, when a writ application challenging the import of equipment and the issue of a broadcasting license to the LTTE peace secretariat came up before Justice K. Siriapavan. more..

Mar 7 (AFP) Sri Lankan women have staked a claim in helping guide the island's fragile Norwegian-brokered attempt to end three decades of ethnic bloodshed, diplomats said Friday. more..

Mar 7 (NIP) The issue of over 100 Tamil Nadu fishermen being captured by the Sri Lankan police was raised by both the AIADMK and the DMK MPs in and outside the Parliament on Thursday. While 76 fishermen were captured by the Sri Lankan police on March 3, 42 more were abducted on the very next day. more..

Mar 7 (Reuters) Australia stormed into the World Cup semi-finals on Friday as Ricky Ponting and Brett Lee swept Sri Lanka regally aside on Friday. Ponting hammered his 12th one-day century to set the tone during Australia's 319 for five in their opening Super Six match. more..

Mar 7 (Reuters) Sri Lanka received a World Cup boost on Friday after it was revealed captain Sanath Jayasuriya had not broken his left forearm after being hit by Australia's Brett Lee in their Super Six match. more..

Mar 8 (Hindu) The Sri Lankan Defence Ministry has instructed its Navy to seize all fishing boats encroaching on Sri Lankan waters to prevent the recurrence of clashes between Sri Lankan fishermen and their Indian counterparts. more..

Mar 8 (Island) The Agriculture and Immigration Minister of the Southern Provincial Council M. L. Ranjith Danmulla has complained to the Supreme Court of torture and illegal arrest by the CID and some officers of the Beliatta Police. more..

Mar 8 (DN) A Lankan mother can now pass on her national citizenship to her offspring a right hitherto reserved for the male spouse of whatever nationality. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill which was passed in Parliament on Wednesday seeks to recognise the right of a mother who is a Sri Lankan citizen to pass citizenship to her children irrespective of the nationality of the father. more..

Mar 8 (DT) Even on the eve of a major war, diplomacy can find a useful niche, however lesser the stakes. Consider the unheralded efforts of the Norwegian and Japanese governments to help reverse decades of vicious civil war on the island nation of Sri Lanka. more..

Mar 8 (LBO) New interconnection rules came into effect on Friday, setting the ground work for external gateway operators to negotiate network access. The Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) on Monday issued the first batch of 21 External Gateway Operator (EGO) licences. more..

Mar 8 (LBO) Sri Lanka’s gem and jewellery industry is targeting a US$ 370 mn export growth by 2007, up from almost static levels of US$ 250 mn in 1997. Five-year industry plans released Thursday includes generating value addition of US$ 250 mn per annum and repositioning the industry to go up-market. more..

Mar 8 (LBO) People’s Bank is waiting for a fresh ‘letter of comfort’ from the Treasury to sign off its 2002 financial statements. The Treasury last issued the letter on April 3 2002, but subsequently withdrew it, with the hope of finding fresh investors for People’s Bank. more..

Mar 8 (SLA) Nine hundred and forty one lorry loads of food and other essential items had been dispatched to un-cleared areas in the northern province during the period between 28 February 2003 – 06 March 2003. more..

Mar 8 (TN) The President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Mr.Tadao Chino, Friday reaffirmed ADB's commitment to supporting the peace process with rehabilitation and reconstruction assistance, during a meeting with representatives of the LTTE in Killinochchi, more..

Mar 8 (TN) The LTTE and the TNA Friday agreed to work jointly to take forward the present peace process strengthening the relationship between Tamils and Muslims, TNA sources said. The discussion between the LTTE and TNA was held Friday at the Killinochchi LTTE political secretariat. more..

Mar 8 (Hindu) Even as members of fishermen's associations today called a dawn-to-dusk bandh at Rameswaram, seeking an early solution to their problem, the Indian Navy and Coast Guard got ready to step up their vigil on the seas to prevent recurrence of `mid-sea clashes'. more..

Mar 8 (AFP) Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya, recovering from a battering by Australian paceman Brett Lee, is unlikely to play the World Cup Super Sixes match against India. "He was in considerable pain and he needs time to recover," a team source told more..

Mar 8 (DM) The government yesterday agreed to have an independent Muslim delegation at the next round of peace talks with the LTTE in Japan later this month. Informed sources said the agreement was reached at a high-level meeting with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Milinda Moragoda, Rauff Hakeem and Ferial Ashraff more..

Mar 8 (AP) The Asian Development Bank on Saturday urged the international community to help rebuild Sri Lanka, even before the country reaches a final settlement to end its civil war. more..

Mar 8 (PTI) Fate may have intervened cruelly for Sri Lanka to keep them worried on injured captain and marauding batsman Sanath Jayasuriya's count but they still have a cricketer who can turn a match on its head and the Indians better beware. more..

Mar 8 (Reuters) The economic benefits from Sri Lanka's peace process with Tamil Tiger rebels are key to the success of talks, the Asian Development Bank said on Saturday, but added it did not yet know if it would increase its aid. more..

Mar 8 (TN) The Sub-Committee on Gender Issues, established by agreement between the Government and the LTTE during the third round of negotiations in December 2002, held its first stage of meetings on Wednesday and Thursday in Kilinochchi, more..

Mar 8 (EW) The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the LTTE this week agreed to develop an action plan on war-affected children and child labour in northeastern Sri Lanka. "Our commitment to all children affected by war and not to recruit children has been firm and remains firm," said Mr. Tamilselvan, more..

Mar 8 (Reuters) Sanath Jayasuriya is expected to be fit for Monday's crucial World Cup game against India at The Wanderers on Monday. Jayasuriya suffered a bruised left forearm and a chipped bone in his left thumb when he was struck by Australia fast bowler Brett Lee in Sri Lanka's defeat to the world champions on Friday. more..

Mar 8 (AP) Nothing inspires a team more than a winning run, and coach Dav Whatmore expects his Sri Lanka lineup to get on a roll in its next two World Cup Super Six matches. more..

Mar 8 (PTI) Tension prevailed in Rameswaram today with local fishermen insisting on celebrating a festival in a church at Katchathivu in the Palk Straits tonight, despite pleas by the administration and police not to venture there in view of the recent mid-sea clash with Sri Lankan fishermen. more..

Mar 8 (PTI) In a meeting at the Government Secretariat presided by the Vavuniya Government Agent (GA), K. Ganesh, it was decided to resettle former residents of selected areas within the High Security Zone (HSZ) between Thandikulam and Omanthai centered around the A9 highway in Vavuniya district, starting from coming Monday, more..

Mar 8 (TN) The Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan in a letter to the Prime Minister Saturday blamed the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) for causing rift between Sri Lankan Tamil and Indian fishermen. more..

Mar 8 (UNI) One of the four LTTE activists detained for security reasons in a special police camp for want of passports for deportation, was found missing since last night. The police were on a massive manhunt in the city and suburbs as N Kesavan had not yet come back to the two-town police station where they were camping since June 2000. more..

Mar 9 (SL) With speculation rising of an impending parliamentary dissolution, Prime Minister Ranil Wickreme-singhe last week called his troops to order even as the SLFP-JVP combine planned a show of strength in the streets of Colombo to deliver the government a body blow. more..

Mar 9 (SL) The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) will accept portfolios in a future government they may form with the main opposition party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). more..

Mar 9 (SO) Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday instructed Minister of Interior, John Amaratunga to investigate and report to him, an allegation by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, that there was a move to create communal unrest in Colombo, during the joint opposition rally and hold the Opposition responsible for it. more..

Mar 9 (ST) Attempts by Tiger guerrillas to acquire sophisticated surface-to-air missiles and other military items from Russia last month have come to light. Their efforts have been laid bare by the Russian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mikhail G. Karpov, in a 'Non-Paper' he handed over to the Foreign Ministry in Colombo this week. more..

Mar 9 (TN) Mr. Tadoa Chino, the president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), laid the foundation stone for a new hospital building in Kilinochchi Friday during a ceremony organized by the Government Agent of Kilinochchi, T. Rasanayagam more..

Mar 9 (Island) Sharp differences over the disputed Oslo-led peace process leading to a permanent negotiated settlement to the north-east war have seriously hampered an SLFP-PA bid to reach a consensus on a MoU on a priority basis, opposition sources said. more..