Nov 6 (Xinhua) Chilean Senator and chief of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Sergio Paez on Wednesday called on the Sri Lankan authorities to resume as soon as possible normal parliamentary procedures, and to maintain its peace dialogue. more..

Nov 6 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's prime minister, locked in a power struggle with the volatile island's president, has pledged to use his parliamentary majority to keep a peace process with separatist Tamil rebels on track. more..

Nov 6 (TN) Leaders of the UNF government are making elaborate arrangements to accord a rousing welcome to the Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, at the Katunayake International Airport when he returns home Friday after a three day high profile official visit to the United States, UNF sources said. more..

Nov 6 (LBO) Tourism officials play down government claims of 2000 tourists cancelling bookings after political chaos and reports of beefed up security. “So far we have had some 2000 tourists cancel their bookings and more cancellations pouring in”, Cabinet spokesperson Professor G.L. Peiris said Thursday. more..

Nov 6 (LBO) The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the President enjoys supreme, inalienable powers relating to defence of the country. The ruling comes one day after President Kumaratunga sacked three key ministers and took over the portfolios of Defence, Interior and Media. more..

Nov 6 (LBO) Shell Gas Lanka’s request to raise prices of liquid petroleum gas by Rs. 19.00 per cylinder, was turned down by the Consumer Affairs Authority on Thursday. The consumer watchdog said Shell planned to hike existing fares to Rs. 614.00 from the present Rs. 595.00. more..

Nov 6 (LT) Judges of Courts including the High Courts and District Courts went on leave to protest against the attempt to bring an impeachment motion against the Chief Justice by the UNP government. more..

Nov 6 (SLA) A Muslim civilian in the general area of PAHALA THOPPUR, who fell unconscious on 04 November 2003 at about 9.00 p.m. when he was confronted by an unidentified group of abductors, had to be admitted to hospital for treatment. more..

Nov 6 (SLA) Naval troops on duty in the general area of TALAI MANNAR on 05 November 2003 arrested seventeen Sri Lankan refugees who had arrived from INDIA. These refugees, eight males, four females and five children had reportedly paid thousands of Indian rupees to an Indian boat for their sea passage to Sri Lanka. more..

Nov 6 (SLA) A motor-bicycle belonging to a civilian was waylaid and robbed by three suspected LTTE men while he was riding from KALMUNAI KUDY to AMPARA on 03 November 2003 around 7.00 p.m. more..

Nov 6 (SLA) Police in MANNAR took a van into custody at UYILANKULAM entry/exit point on 05 November 2003 since its registration number details and engine number differed from each other. more..

Nov 6 (WSWS) The Socialist Equality Party (SEP), Sri Lankan section of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), strongly condemns the anti-democratic seizure of power by Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga. more..

Nov 6 (TN) The Coconut Cultivation Board (CCB) Tuesday inaugurated its seedling distribution to coconut growers in the Trincomalee district from its nursery after about twenty years. more..

Nov 6 (TN) Teresita Schaffer, former Ambassador of United States to Sri Lanka and currently Director for South Asia, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, told TamilNet Wednesday that "she hoped current political crisis in Sri Lanka does not disrupt this vital task [of looking for common ground]." more..

Nov 6 (TN) UNF government spokesman and Minister of Constitutional Affairs Mr. G.L.Peiris said Thursday that the President should summon the parliament immediately and to restore the three ministries to Ministers Mr.Tilak Marapone, Mr.John Amaratunge and Mr.Imtiaz Bakir Markar. more..

Nov 6 (IANS) The Thai Navy on Wednesday seized a cache of weapons believed to be destined for Sri Lanka 's Tamil Tiger rebels or Indonesia 's separatist Free Aceh Movement. The Thai News Agency reported the Thai Navy received information from local residents that a group of gunrunners had hidden some weapons on Ko island of Trang province, more..

Nov 6 (Gulf) The Sri Lankan Government Printer - the man responsible for the publication of all official notifications of the Republic - had some unusual visitors. Soldiers carrying AK-47 automatics accompanying men of the controversial Presidential Security Division. more..

Nov 6 (CNN) Insisting he is still in control of his country, Sri Lanka's prime minister has boarded a flight for home where he is due to arrive early Friday. On his return, Ranil Wickremesinghe will face a country in political turmoil sparked earlier this week when President Chandrika Kumaratunga sacked three key cabinet ministers, more..

Nov 6 (Xinhua) China hopes that Sri Lanka maintains national peace and stability, which is beneficial to Sri Lanka's economic development and tallies with the wishes and fundamental interests of the Sri Lankan people, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said here Thursday. more..

Nov 6 (TN) Tuesday’s sacking of key ministers of defense, interior and information by Sri Lanka’s President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, and her prorogation of parliament and subsequent declaration of emergency have elicited concerns from several Western Governments and prompted global coverage in leading newspapers. more..

Nov 6 (Hindu) Sri Lanka's TWO-year-old cohabitation experiment now stands at the edge of collapse. The responsibility for precipitating the crisis lies not with President Chandrika Kumaratunga, as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has alleged, but with his Government's adventurist move to impeach, first, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and, more..

Nov 6 (HT) President Chandrika Kumaratunga has decided not to wreck the Wickremesinghe Government's annual budget, and will let the Finance Minister present the budget proposals when Parliament meets after the two week prorogation ends on November 19. more..

Nov 6 (HT) Oops, there goes my New Year vacation spot. It's a sign of the times that Sri Lanka has made headline news across India two days in a row, and made a mark on prime time TV. That's right, even if many Indians may not know to spell Ranil Wickremasinghe or Chandrika Kumaratunga. more..

Nov 6 (OW) President Chandrika Kumaratunga's decision Tuesday to impose emergency in Sri Lanka just before the budget, could not only re-ignite ethnic war, but could hurt the economy by scaring away big-ticket investors like Microsoft that are planning mega projects in the country. more..

Nov 6 (Reuters) After nearly two years of criticising President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Sri Lanka's state-run media shifted allegiance sharply on Thursday after she sacked the island's media minister. more..

Nov 6 (PSL) The President’s Office in a communiqué today assured the public there was no cause for alarm or panic and that the President has only exercised her responsibility as the constitutional head of state in the greater interest of the sovereignty and the security of the nation. more..

Nov 6 (HT) In a swift move to prevent the political and security situation in Sri Lanka from getting out of hand, India and the US got in touch with both President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and urged them to cool off. more..

Nov 6 (AFP) Bargain hunters helped save Sri Lanka's tiny stock exchange from going through the floor as the country reeled under an unprecedented political crisis between the president and prime minister. more..

Nov 6 (AFP) President Chandrika Kumaratunga Thursday announced she was taking total control of state-run radio, television and newspapers amid a deepening political crisis but said she will allow media freedom. more..

Nov 6 (ABC) A Sri Lankan government spokesman says the United States has delayed finalising a free trade agreement with Sri Lanka because of the island's political crisis. more..

Nov 6 (Reuters) India may not be about to send in its army to ease Sri Lanka's latest political crisis as once it did. But it is among neighbours eager to see all sides return to peace talks and nervous that Tamil rebels want control of the seas to run guns between the volatile island and southern India. more..

Nov 6 (Reuters) British tourist Johanna Eady said her first impulse was to cut short a three-week holiday in Sri Lanka and leave before a growing political crisis became any worse. She feared a row between the president and prime minister could threaten a fragile ceasefire between Tamil Tiger rebels, more..

Nov 6 (TN) The United National Front Thursday requested the Speaker Mr.Jospeh Michael Perera to convene a conference of the leaders of all political parties represented in the parliament to discuss the present political situation, sources said. more..

Nov 6 (AP) President Chandrika Kumaratunga brought a legacy of pain to office that fueled her desire to bring peace to Sri Lanka. But only on her own terms. Her rigid stand deepened Sri Lanka's political crisis when she assumed sweeping powers under emergency rule, which was declared Wednesday. more..

Nov 6 (DM) A total of 129 MPs have signed a letter expressing their confidence in Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, his Cabinet of Ministers and the government, Chief government whip Mahinda Samarasinghe said. more..

Nov 6 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's president defended her aggressive power grab against the prime minister on Thursday and said she would continue the peace process with Tamil rebels that her rival has championed. more..

Nov 6 (AFP) Sri Lanka looked headed for a major showdown when Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe returns home to confront a hostile president who has been tightening her grip on power through emergency laws. more..

Nov 6 (G&M) The crazy thing about the latest twist in Sri Lanka's tortured history is that the key matter at issue -- autonomy for a homeland occupied by the minority Tamil people -- is already affect. more..

Nov 6 (PTI) Sri Lanka 's political crisis between the President and the Prime Minister is certain to bruise both and likely to end up with the country plunged in an expensive snap election. more..

Nov 6 (TN) New chairman of Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd ( ANCL), Mr. Kesaralal Gunasekara, appointed by President Chandrika Kumaratunge, took over his duties Wednesday night visiting the news paper company with army and police security, sources in Colombo said. more..

Nov 6 (AP) The Cabinet is trying to reconvene Parliament in defiance of a two-week suspension by Sri Lanka's president in a power struggle with the prime minister over efforts to end a 20-year-old civil war, officials said Thursday. more..

Nov 6 (AP) Cabinet ministers talk among themselves during a press conference for ruling party leaders at the Prime Minister's office in Colombo Wednesday Nov. 5, 2003. more..

Nov 6 (Hindu) The Navy, along with Coast Guard and the Ramanathapuram police, has stepped up vigil in the wake of political uncertainty in Sri Lanka. Only yesterday, the Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, had declared a state of emergency, sparking worries over the island nation's political crisis intensifying. more..

Nov 6 (Reuters) The second tranche of an $567 million International Monetary Fund loan to Sri Lanka could get pushed back as political turmoil keeps the island's parliament closed, an IMF official in Colombo said on Thursday. more..

Nov 6 (AFP) India were crowned Asian Under-19 champions after overwhelming Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the final at the eastern city of Lahore's Gaddafi stadium. India beat Sri Lanka's 225 all out in 49.4 overs for the loss of only two wickets in 44.4 overs on Thursday. more..

Nov 6 (AA) Police yesterday arrested a Sri Lankan national, whom they accuse of trafficking in human beings. A senior police officer also revealed that Mr Vereesu Paramesan has been arrested - and deported twice before. more..

Nov 6 (AFP) Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga Thursday spoke to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee over the telephone to brief him about the recent developments in her country, official sources said. more..

Nov 6 (Reuters) The International Monetary Fund on Thursday urged Sri Lanka to quickly resolve its political crisis so as not to erode confidence in the economy."We certainly hope that the present constitutional uncertainty is resolved quickly, so confidence, which has improved, is not eroded," more..

Nov 6 (TN) President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, Thursday presided over the first meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) after she dismissed the defense minister of the UNF government, Mr.Tilak Marapone, Presidential secretariat sources said. more..

Nov 6 (ANI) Sri Lankan refugees living in India have said they want the peace process between the government and the Tamil rebels to contiue despite the political crisis in the island nation. more..