Aug 23 (SLA) The disappointed mother of an LTTE abducted teenager had tried to commit suicide by swallowing poison late in the day on 17 August 2004 after she openly argued with LTTE and opposed her son’s abduction. more..

Aug 23 (SLA) Six unidentified LTTE men had reportedly kidnapped an eighteen year-old youth from the general area of KODIKAMAM on 20 August 2004 around 11.00 a.m. while he was digging a tube well in the area. more..

Aug 23 (SLA) An attempt, by a section of alleged members of an organization called, International Students Association of Tamil Eelam to provoke Security Forces by asking the general public to boycott purchase of goods from an Army-managed outlet in the general area of KOKKUVIL, more..

Aug 23 (SLA) Some unidentified LTTE men had abducted an ex-LTTE cadre from the general area of AKKARAIPATTU on 21 August 2004 around 8.15 p.m. for reasons best known only to his abductors. more..

Aug 23 (CI) South Africa are having a decidedly bad time of it in Sri Lanka. After an ordinary performance in the second Test, which they lost by more than 300 runs, they have lost two one-dayers on the trot. Graeme Smith did his best to work out the reasons for their defeats, while Marvan Atapattu enjoyed that winning feeling: more..

Aug 23 (TN) Sri Lanka Police Monday found the skeletal remains of two persons believed to have been murdered in Sithamparapuram, 14 kilometres southeast of Vavuniya. A woman's clothes, half burnt, were discovered near one of the skeletons, which lay 20 yards apart. more..

Aug 23 (Reuters) Stocks ended higher on Monday on renewed retail interest in property stocks after the shares took a beating last week while parliament debated reintroducing a tax on foreign ownership of land. The key Colombo all-share index ended up 0.85 percent, or 11.67 points, at 1,389.94. more..

Aug 23 (Dawn) A strike by oil workers on August 13 has provoked a serious crisis for United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, which is already facing widespread hostility over broken election promises and deteriorating social conditions. more..

Aug 23 (AFP) Inspired by a French perfumer and egged on by an English aficionado, a Sri Lankan master tea maker has revived a centuries-old Chinese tradition to make a brew that few but an emperor could afford. more..

Aug 23 (AT) S.Paramu Tamilselvan, once gain on a vituperative flourishes at his best, against the Sri Lankan Army in a letter said to have been written to the SLMM consisting of Scandinavian Monitors, more..

Aug 23 (AT) Tamil Tigers are on revenge spree attacks and it was alleged that they have one more time sprayed bullets on a Sri Lankan soldier on patrol at Mankerni in the Eastern region, which causes grave concern over the holding of the fragile truce any longer. more..

Aug 23 (PIS) More than 150 youth have fled to cleared areas from the uncleared areas during the past few days as the LTTE intensified its recruitment drive in the eastern province. These youth have sought the security forces' protection to escape from the Tiger clutches, military sources said. more..

Aug 23 (DPA) Sri Lanka is seeking foreign assistance to help more than half a million families affected by a severe drought which has damaged crops and left people without drinking water in some of the areas, Social Service minister Sumedha Jayasena said Monday. more..

Aug 23 (HT) At last, things are looking up for the Tamils of Indian origin, who constitute the bulk of the workforce in the tea plantations of Sri Lanka. Traditionally, one of the most neglected and segregated of the various communities living in the island, the plantation Tamils of Indian Origin are today experiencing a noticeable improvement in the quality of their lives. more..

Aug 23 (DN) Healthcare, Nutrition and Uva Wellassa Development Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva has instructed officials to take swift measures to relocate the Haldummulla town which is facing a severe landslide threat. more..

Aug 23 (Xinhua) Violence that has plagued Sri Lanka's eastern region continued on Monday when a government soldier came under gunfire, defense officials said. The soldier on a road patrol at Mankerni north of Batticaloa was injured when an unidentified gunman fired at him around mid day Monday. more..

Aug 23 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's trade deficit widened by 61 percent in the first six months of the year compared with a year earlier, from increased costs of crude oil and higher textile imports. The January to June deficit widened to $1.126 billion from $700 million in the same period last year. more..

Aug 23 (BBC) Gunmen in eastern Sri Lanka have opened fire on an army patrol injuring a soldier, the military says. An army spokesman said Monday's attack took place near Batticaloa, a town 220km (136 miles) from Colombo. He did not speculate on who carried it out. more..

Aug 23 (AFP) Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels fired at an army patrol in eastern Sri Lanka, injuring a soldier and raising fears for the fragile Norwegian-brokered truce, official sources said. Gunmen attacked soldiers at Mankerni in the district of Batticaloa where there had been heightened violence in recent weeks, more..

Aug 23 (TN) Japan and the international community are very concerned that killings in Sri Lanka's east coast and in Colombo might affect the peace process adversely, said Mr. Akio Suda, Japan's ambassador in Colombo Monday. more..

Aug 23 (HT) A Sri Lankan court ordered that an Indian ship, which allegedly damaged a submarine cable severing the island's main internet access with the rest of the world, be held at the port of Colombo till a a case seeking five million US dollars in damages was settled. more..

Aug 23 (PTI) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels on Monday accused government forces of collaborating with a breakaway Tiger faction to kill its cadres and warned that it would be difficult to honour a ceasefire unless the attacks against them stop. more..

Aug 24 (TN) An ex cadre of the LTTE who had been working with the Sri Lanka military intelligence was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in a Hindu Ashramam in Wellawatte, a largely Tamil suburb of Colombo, Monday night around 10, Police said. Police identified the ex LTTE cadre as R. Kugananthan, 47. more..

Aug 24 (Xinhua) Killing took place again on Mondayin eastern Sri Lanka in a spate of violence which has hampered the early revival of the stalled peace process in the country. A government soldier on a road patrol at Mankerni, north of Batticaloa, was injured when an unidentified gunman fired at him around mid day Monday. more..

Aug 24 (AT) A disappointed mother Sinnathambi Savithiri swallowed poison and attempted to commit suicide when her son was abducted by the LTTE. The Distraught mother who drank poison was rushed to the Batticaloa hospital. more..

Aug 24 (LBO) Domestic users will be slapped with a five percent hike in electricity tariffs and an eight percent hike in bus and rail fares, as the Treasury factors in 'corrections' to trim its subsidy budget. With global crude skirting the psychological US$ 50 a barrel mark, the Treasury is gradually reigning in fuel subsidies to better reflect world prices. more..

Aug 24 (LBO) The Central Bank is issuing US$ 55.25 mn development bonds, Rs. 9 bn worth of treasury bonds and rolling over Rs. 37,589 mn worth of treasury bills in September. The two-year Sri Lanka Development Bonds will open for subscription from September 9-14, with settlement fixed for Sept. 20. more..

Aug 24 (LBO) Think pink is the mentality driving international fashion this year and now it's beginning to rub off on Sri Lanka's gem exports. "Right now pink is the hot colour," says Chanaka Ellawela, Director, Ellawela Exports, a leading gem exporter in Sri Lanka. more..

Aug 24 (TN) UNP in an 8-page statement issued Monday said that UNP is "saddened by the steadfast refusal of the present UPFA government to adopt a coherent and internally consistent stand in respect of their attitude to the current ISGA proposals," more..

Aug 24 (TN) An associate of the renegade LTTE commander Karuna was shot dead inside courts in Akkaraipattu, 64 kilometres south of Batticaloa, Tuesday around 10.40 a.m. An Unidentified gunman shot the man, identified as Mr. Perinpam Jeyakumar, when his name was called in courts to appear before the judge. more..

Aug 24 (TN) Ten cadres of the LTTE Tuesday afternoon climbed on the Batticaloa jail roof demanding that their case be expedited for their early release, Police said. The LTTE cadres, six males and four females, were arrested in July 2003 after Police found some ammunition in the vehicles in which they were traveling. more..

Aug 24 (SLA) A remand prisoner brought to the AKKARAIPATTU Magistrate court for trial was fired on by an unidentified LTTE pistol man Tuesday (24 August 2004) morning around 10.30 killing him on the spot. more..

Aug 24 (SLA) A Tamil civilian in the general area of WELLAWATTE, COLOMBO 6 was shot dead at pointblank range by an unidentified pistol man on Monday (23) night at about 8.30 p.m. while he was at a Hindu Meditation Centre. more..

Aug 24 (SLA) The Police at the request of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) provided security to an injured LTTE female cadre on 23 August 2004 while she was being carried towards driven JAFFNA after her discharge from the BATTICALOA hospital. more..

Aug 24 (SLA) The new Commandant, Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force (SLAVF), Major General M. D. S Chandrapala on Monday (23) assumed his duties at SLAVF Headquarters after a brief ceremony. Subsequent to inspection of a Guard Turnout accorded in his honour on his arrival at the premises, more..

Aug 24 (SLA) Acting Minister of Defence Hon. Rathnasiri Wickramanayake in the company of Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Shantha Kottegoda this morning (23 August) visited Security Forces Headquarters Wanni in Vavuniya and Area Headquarters Mannar in Thalladi more..

Aug 24 (NW) The damaged SEA ME WE cable has isolated Sri Lanka from rest of the world's Internet and e-mail networks since 1.30 a.m. last Sunday. A ship anchoring on the cable nine kilometres off the Mt. Lavinia coast has allegedly damaged the cable. more..

Aug 24 (IANS) SriLankan Airlines is planning to add 11 more flights to India, the largest tourism market for Sri Lanka, from Oct 31 to increase the total number of flights to 77. With the increase, nine of its 10 Indian destinations will have daily or more frequent flights, more..

Aug 24 (Hindu) The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam today charged the Sri Lankan Government with "accommodating and encouraging" armed groups and said it was "a serious threat" to the two-year-old ceasefire agreement. more..

Aug 24 (SLBC) Private bus owners in the Uva province decide transport school children in buses at half of the fares. The came into this agreement at a meeting headed by the chief minister of the Uva province Gamini Vijayamuni Soyza yesterday. more..

Aug 24 (SLBC) Students who have qualified in the last GCE Advanced Level Examination are facing the problem of presenting the applications for university admissions in time. The reason being the absence of principals at schools due to the vacation. more..

Aug 24 (UNI) The August 20 ambush in Batticaloa that killed two senior LTTE officers was not a Sri Lankan military operation and does not signal the start of an all-out war, according to US geopolitical analysts. more..

Aug 24 (hindu) THE ELEPHANT Pass of Sri Lanka is the fort that the Dutch built in 1776, an isthmus that was strategically important for the island as it linked Wanni with Jaffna peninsula. more..

Aug 24 (KT) Two men were arrested by Ajman Police for rape and murder of a 32-year-old Sri Lankan woman in her apartment in the old industrial area of Ajman. Major Abdullah Al Matroushi, Head of Criminal Investigation Section at Ajman Police Department, made the announcement more..

Aug 24 (DN) Colombo Chief Magistrate Ms. Sarojini Kusala Weerawardane yesterday allowed National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) officials to view a stock of video tapes seized from the residence of UNP Western Provincial Councillor Duminda Silva, remanded for alleged rape of an underaged girl. more..

Aug 24 (Reuters) Stocks rose on Tuesday boosted as retail investors bought penny stocks looking in the hope of making a quick return, brokers said. The key Colombo all-share index ended up 0.61 percent, or 8.47 points, at 1,398.43. more..

Aug 24 (AT) Every state is a conglomeration of groups with distinguishing characteristics such as race, ethnicity, language, and religion living within a defined territory. Within each one of these distinguishing groups, further divisions such as social and class distinctions exist. more..

Aug 24 (AT) Erik Solheim, told a delegation of World Alliance for Peace invited to meet him at the Foreign Office in Oslo, that the LTTE must stop killing and the Sri Lankan government must stop colluding with Tamil para military groups. Ms. Lisa Golden, Adviser, Foreign Office, was also present at this meeting. more..

Aug 24 (WN) Amid escalating tension, the US has called for a resumption of peace talks while putting pressure on the Tamil Tiger guerrillas to give up all acts of violence and child recruitment. more..

Aug 24 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels have accused the army of colluding in the killing of a top member of its political arm and said a two-year truce that silenced the guns after two decades of civil war faced serious threat. more..