Nov 14 (AFP) Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga said that peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels should go ahead despite peace broker Norway suspending its role due to her feud with the prime minister. more..

Nov 14 (AFP) Norway said Friday it would suspend its efforts to end Sri Lanka's three decades of ethnic bloodshed until the president and prime minister resolved their power struggle. more..

Nov 14 (BBC) Sri Lanka's peace process is on hold until the country's political crisis is resolved, Norwegian mediators say. Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen made the remarks on Friday after talks with Tamil Tiger rebels. more..

Nov 14 (AP) International monitors supervising Sri Lanka's fragile cease-fire will continue their work in the war-ravaged nation, despite a decision by Norwegian mediators to withdraw from efforts to restart peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels. more..

Nov 14 (TN) Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge Friday requested the Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe to continue the negotiation efforts in the context of recent changes. more..

Nov 14 (SLA) A businessman from the general area of BATTICALOA, who was forced to pay Rs.1,000,000 as ransom to LTTE earlier, in a complaint to the Police on 13 November 2003 claimed that he has been once again ordered to call at the LTTE office in KAMARANKERNI for reasons best known to LTTE. more..

Nov 14 (SLA) Police, assisted by Army troops stormed a house in the general area of BORAWEVA-DAMMINNA, about 14 km north of ARALAGANWILA on Thursday (13) night and arrested a man on suspicion, believed to have been in the company of an armed gang. more..

Nov 14 (BBC) The following is an interview given to the BBC by Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen as his country announced it was putting on hold its mediation in Sri Lanka's conflict until the president and prime minister had resolved their power struggle: more..

Nov 14 (SKY) England captain Michael Vaughan will be especially wary of Sri Lanka's record-breaking spinner Muttiah Muralitharan in the three one-day internationals next week. The off-spinner has taken 459 Test and 342 ODI wickets and there are reports that Muralitharan has developed a different delivery. more..

Nov 15 (BBC) Tamil Tiger rebels have expressed concern for the peace process following Norway's decision to suspend its mediation. Rebel spokesperson Daya Master said the group was worried because it was not clear when the mediation would resume. more..

Nov 15 (Reuters) England captain Michael Vaughan will encourage onfield aggression against Sri Lanka in what he believes will be the toughest test yet of his leadership. Vaughan, mindful of a particularly ill-tempered and unfriendly series last time England toured in 2001, though urged his players not to cross the line. more..

Nov 15 (TN) TNA in a statement Friday urged President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, to take appropriate steps to ensure that the situation of a lack of clarity and uncertainty now prevailing in the country following the take over of three ministries is ended by restoring the status quo ante. more..

Nov 15 (DN) Panadura Police Crime and Fraud Bureau is conducting investigations into a massive fraud at the Pension Unit for retired government servants at the Panadura Divisional Secretariat since 1991. more..

Nov 15 (Island) Batticaloa and Eravur police have commenced investigations to trace a van that had gone missing with five persons. The vehicle had left Wellawatte on November 8 to proceed to Batticaloa. more..

Nov 15 (Independent) The bougainvillea bushes grow over the roof of the officers' mess at Weili Oya, on the front line of Sri Lanka's civil war. The mature shrubs inside the fenced compound make it seem more holiday camp than military base. more..

Nov 15 (CI) Sri Lanka return to international action on 18th November with the first of three One-day Internationals against England, and internet users in North America will be able to watch every ball on Cricinfo.com in partnership with Willow Networks. more..

Nov 15 (Jang) Ending the 20-year civil war in Sri Lanka was never going to be easy, but that task has become considerably more difficult with the outbreak of fighting within the Sri Lankan government. more..

Nov 15 (AFP) A third man has pleaded guilty in a widening inquiry into a scam worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to sell US visas at the US Embassy in Sri Lanka, which rocked Colombo's diplomatic community. more..

Nov 15 (SLA) One hundred and seventy three (171) lorry loads of food and other essential items had been dispatched to un-cleared areas in the northern province during the period between 03 November 2003 and 09 November 2003. more..

Nov 15 (WSWS) Just a week after plunging the country into an acute political crisis, President Chandrika Kumaratunga met with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday to discuss ways of ending the current standoff. more..

Nov 15 (TN) Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman, US Department of State, in the daily press briefing on 14 November said that the US is "disappointed that Norway's Negotiators have found it impossible to move forward with the peace process," more..

Nov 15 (AP) Key Tamil moderates Saturday appealed for new peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels as the U.S. urged Sri Lanka's president and prime minister to end their power struggle, which threatens to re-ignite a civil war that has claimed 65,000 lives over two decades. more..

Nov 15 (ST) The reports from Sri Lanka last week had the makings of a coup. And Mel Duncan, executive director of the St. Paul-based Nonviolent Peaceforce, was worried. The organization's first peaceforce members had arrived in Sri Lanka six weeks earlier on a two-year mission, more..

Nov 15 (FT) Many observers believe that ideological differences are to blame for the apparent inability of Chandrika Kumaratunga, president of Sri Lanka, and her prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, to work together. Under the French-style constitution, the two belong to different parties and are thus forced to "cohabit". more..

Nov 15 (FT) Chandrika Kumaratunga, president of Sri Lanka, said she would make a "superhuman effort" to work with Ranil Wickremesinghe, the prime minister, to secure peace with the separatist Tamil Tigers. But she warned the task would be "almost impossible". more..

Nov 15 (CNA) Sri Lanka's main moderate Tamil party have expressed shock over Norway's decision to suspend its peace efforts due to a feud between the president and prime minister. more..

Nov 15 (RD) Sri Lankan ambassador Ibrahim Sahib Ansar has urged the community members to abide by the Kingdom’s rules and regulations and honor their contractual commitments with their sponsors during their stay in Saudi Arabia. more..

Nov 15 (ST) The leader of Sri Lanka’s Tamil rebels told Norwegian peace mediators on Thursday he had no plan to return to war but said a power struggle between the president and prime minister had to end for talks to resume. more..

Nov 15 (DM) President Chandrika Kumaratunga has given Norweigian facilitators firm assurances on her commitment to the ceasefire agreement and the peace process, the Presidential Secretariat said yesterday. more..

Nov 15 (Reuters) Smartly dressed young boys and giggly girls in green saris staff the counters. They fill out forms, check vehicles and bags and hand out passes to visitors driving into Sri Lanka's rebel-held Wanni region. more..

Nov 15 (IT) “Please fasten your seat belts, your flight S2 501, is about to land at Colombo,” the pilot announced as the island nation’s capital emerged like a green emerald floating in an endless blue pond, from between a parting in the overcast sky. more..

Nov 15 (AFP) The United States said on Monday it was disappointed that Norway had decided to suspend its Sri Lanka peace drive until the country's president and prime minister resolve their power struggle. more..

Nov 15 (HT) In a further move to compromise with the Ranil Wickremesinghe Government, which has put her in an embarrassing position by proving its majority in Parliament, President Chandrika Kumaratunga has set a time limit for the multi-party National Government she had proposed earlier. more..

Nov 15 (LBO) The telecom watchdog on Friday asked Mobitel Lanka Ltd to withdraw its promotional GSM offer. The cellular operator on Tuesday, started trial runs for its GSM service, which offers free calls for all subscribers who sign up during the promotional period. more..

Nov 15 (Sky) Andrew Strauss increased the pressure on out-of-form opener Vikram Solanki as England's only warm-up game in Sri Lanka was abandoned due to heavy rain. England made 237-8 in their 38 overs against the Sri Lanka Cricket President's XI more..

Nov 15 (AFP) Tamil Tiger rebels have "changed quite a bit" for the better since a Norwegian-arranged truce went into effect last year, their arch critic President Chandrika Kumaratunga said in remarks published Saturday. more..

Nov 15 (TN) Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force (STF) officials and political wing leaders of the Liberation Tigers in the east of the island met at the local office of the SLMM at Akkaraipattu in the Amparai, around 10 a.m., Saturday. more..

Nov 15 (AP) President Chandrika Kumaratunga said Saturday she is willing to share control of the Defense Ministry with the prime minister, softening her stance in a power struggle between the two leaders that has threatened to derail efforts to end Sri Lanka's 20-year civil war. more..

Nov 16 (Island) There was the political will on the part of both the president and the prime minister to resolve the current political crisis and every effort will be made to achieve this, Constitutional Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris said yesterday. more..

Nov 16 (LT) A group of Parliamentarians of the People’s Alliance have decided not to contest the next General Election if the PA doesn’t decode to come to an alliance with the JVP before the 25th of this month. They also decided to reveal to the country those Parliamentarians who obstructed the forming of an alliance with the JVP. more..

Nov 16 (SL) Having painted herself into a corner by unilaterally taking over three key ministries and putting the peace process in jeopardy, President Chandrika Kumaratunga was last week looking for a face saving formula that would help prevent her from being propelled into political oblivion. more..

Nov 16 (SL) The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) have informed the Norwegians they will not have any dealings with President Chandrika Kumaratunga in relation to the peace process. more..

Nov 16 (ST) An emergency Central Committee meeting of the SLFP has been called for tomorrow after talks between the SLFP and the JVP to finalise an electoral alliance collapsed on Thursday night. more..

Nov 16 (TN) Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasignhe Saturday afternoon called on the Mahanayake of Malwatte Chapter Most Venerable Rambukwelle Vipassi Thera in Kandy, capital of the central province and discussed the current political crisis. more..

Nov 16 (CO) Sri Lankan board of cricket control has announced the A team for the forthcoming South African tour. The team has been approved by Sri Lankan ministry for youth affairs and sports. The tour is to take place September/October 2003. more..

Nov 16 (SO) SLMM is intensifying its patrolling and other monitoring activities along the North-East frontlines, the Sunday Observer learns. The SLMM is putting in place various intensified monitoring measures in order to guarantee that the Cease-fire is not disturbed while the political crisis in Colombo is sorted out so that the peace process can get back on track. more..

Nov 16 (Independent) England arrived in Sri Lanka two days ago ready to start playing international cricket again. In a week or two, they will know if the turkey shoot against Bangladesh - if such contests are nobody's fault, they are cricket's misfortune - remotely prepared them for what is about to ensue. more..

Nov 16 (DS) The Sri Lankan peace process brokered by Norway appears to have stalled and hangs in the balance. This is the essence of the statement made by the Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister, who returned to Colombo on 12 November after having met the rebel leader Prabhakaran in an undisclosed rebel-held territory in the north of the Republic. more..

Nov 16 (Hindu) Sri Lanka's Executive Presidency, bequeathed to the island nation by the late J.R. Jayewardene through the 1978 Constitution, has once again come into sharp focus with the latest political crisis in the country. more..

Nov 16 (TN) Fishermen from the northern coastal villages in the Vadamarachi sector on the Jaffna peninsula say that they are unable to go out to sea as they fear their boats would crash against coral reef found around fisheries landing points. more..