Aug 27 (NW) Public transport is liklely to come to a standstill on Monday with some SLCTB trade unions also planning to join the proposed strike by private bus operators. The Lanka Private Bus Operators Association yesterday warned its members would launch an indefinite countrywide strike from Monday, more..

Aug 27 (NW) The treasury has released a further some of Rs. 400 million for drought relief said Social Welfare Minister, Sumedha Jayasena though expressing doubt about the Treasurys ability to continue providing funds for the crisis affecting over 3 million people in 16 districts. more..

Aug 27 (UNI) A delegation of the Tuticorin Port Trust (TPT) officials will visit Colombo to discuss issues pertaining to the berthing of sailing vessels at Colombo Port and increasing the volume of cargo. Official sources said the visit was approved by the Union Ministry of Shipping, Government of India. more..

Aug 28 (CI) With the five-match one-day series already in the bag, Sri Lanka are set to rest Marvan Atapattu - their captain and matchwinner in the last game with 97 not out - and Chaminda Vaas from the fourth match at Dambulla on Saturday, a move that South Africa hope will help them break out of an eight-match losing run. more..

Aug 28 (TN) The office of the Trincomalee District Child Protection Committee (DCPC) was opened Friday afternoon in the Trincomalee General Hospital. UNICEF Trincomalee zone office head Ms Gabriella Elroy unveiled the name board of the office erected in the hospital premises more..

Aug 28 (TN) In a meeting with Forum of Federations, Canada, the LTTE's Political Head Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan Friday told that institutionalising ISGA will "prevent secession and pave the way for unity and lasting peace," according to sources at the LTTE Peace secretariat. more..

Aug 28 (TN) The Government of Sri Lanka will re-commission the disputed Pulmoddai Ilmenite factory next Wednesday 1 September, officials said. The factory was closed sixteen years ago after the Liberation Tigers blasted its fresh water supply lines from the Yan Oya River. more..

Aug 28 (TN) Two senior female members of the Liberation Tigers are taking part in a conference organised by Geneva Call for former women combatants of Non State Actors to identify how they can contribute to the promotion of the landmine ban and other humanitarian norms. more..

Aug 28 (BBC) Sri Lanka have been allowed to call up a replacement for the ICC Champions Trophy following Muttiah Muralitharan's shoulder surgery. Young spinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi will take Muralitharan's place in the 14-man squad. more..

Aug 28 (Xinhua) The Norwegian government on Fridaydenied providing any military training to Sri Lanka's separatist Tamil Tiger rebels when they visited Norway in April last year, the Norwegian embassy here said in a statement. more..

Aug 28 (LT) A special commemorative stamp was issued today to mark the 156th death anniversary of Ven. Kudapola Rahula Thera, who performed a great task in the freedom struggle of Sri Lanka and was assassinated by the enemies of the Motherland. more..

Aug 28 (LT) It has been revealed that many instances of fraud and corruption have taken place in B.C.C. Lanka Ltd. which is under Plantation Industries Ministry. As soon as these frauds and corruptions were revealed the CID has taken steps to seal the audit department of the company. more..

Aug 28 (AT) With regard to the issue of Peace - Government of Sri Lanka should not try to test the patience of the LTTE, said M.K.Eelaventahnn, a national list Member of the Sri lanka’s Parliament belonging to the Tamil National Alliance. more..

Aug 28 (AT) The Norwegian embassy in Colombo has denied providing any military training to the LTTE or other armed movements. In press release dated August 27, the embassy said that the allegations made at a seminar in Oslo last week were ‘incorrect’. more..

Aug 28 (AT) S.Paramu Tamilselvan, Head of the Political Wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam declared that LTTE as one party has not changed its position and commitment and said that Liberation Tigers were ready and willing to negotiate with the Government. more..

Aug 28 (AT) A leading member of the main opposition has held secret discussions with Norwegian Government representatives earlier this week. According to reliable sources in the ministry of foreign affairs, Milinda Moragoda, who was a member of the Ranil Wickremesinghe government’s negotiating team has met the Norwegian State Secretary Vidar Helgesen and peace envoy Erik Solheim. more..

Aug 28 (Rupavahini) The bus fare has been revised. The minimum bus fare of three rupees is to be increased from Rs.3.00 to Rs.3.50 with effect from the 1st of next month. Accordingly, Private Bus Owners' Association has decided to stop their island wide strike which is scheduled to be held from mid-night on the 29th. more..

Aug 28 (Rupavahini) The deputy minister of Samurdhi Jagath Pushpa kumara says that 4000 such projects will be implemented from the 1st of November. Divisional secretarial level projects are to be launched on the 21st of next month. more..

Aug 28 (NW) Japan yesterday strongly condemned the killings in the eastern province saying they were no longer an internal matter. Ambassador Akio Suda told a news conference in Colombo the continuing and increasing killings were of great concern to Japan more..

Aug 28 (NW) The Parents of two students who sat the last Grade 5 scholarship examination at the Ethkandura Seevali Maha Vidyalaya in Karandeniya have complained that their children had been unable to answer the question papers as the woman invigilator had asked them to copy down the questions for her. more..

Aug 28 (NW) An attendant attached to the Mulleriyawa Mental Hospital who was arrested for being drunk and obstructing the duties of officials at the hospital was ordered to be remanded by the Colombo Additional Magistrate yesterday. more..

Aug 28 (NW) Special laws will be introduced soon to fine pedestrians who violate traffic laws while using the roads. IGP Indra de Silva told yesterday that the police department had decided to introduce such fines in order to minimize the vast number of accidents that occur daily and most of them have been identified as a result of jay walking. more..

Aug 28 (PTI) Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels today shot dead a military informant near Colombo today, raising concerns for the island's fragile peace process, police said. Gunmen killed Dushantha Kumar at his home in the suburb of Pepiliyana, less than two weeks after a similar killing of another rival Tamil political activist in the capital, more..

Aug 28 (LBO) Shell Gas may have to jack up prices by as much as Rs. 100 a cylinder come September, as it battles a price build up that’s straining its bottom-line. Currently the cost of supply based on a two month average has to be in the region of Rs. 793 a 12.5 kilo cylinder, but is retailing at Rs. 690 after the last increase about a month ago. more..

Aug 28 (SLA) The Sri Lanka Electricity Board (CEB), fulfilling a long – felt need of the Security Forces as well as the public using Muhamalai Entry/Exit point commenced an uninterrupted supply of electricity to this important checkpoint effective from 23 august 2004. more..

Aug 28 (AFP) Pakistan will host Asian champions Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe for a tri-series scheduled for September and October, officials said. Pakistan will play Zimbabwe in the series opener in Multan on September 30 while the final is scheduled for Lahore on October 16. more..

Aug 28 (DN) Social Services Director W. Yamuna Chitrangani has rejected the allegation made by some sections of the press that she as the Social Services Director has said that the Treasury has not provided money to meet the drought and help the affected families. more..

Aug 28 (TP) The case of Sri Lankan workers at the crisis-ridden Bata factory in Colombo has become a global issue with an international group urging Bata International chief Thomas Bata to step into the issue and provide some relief. more..

Aug 28 (TN) Despite unfavorable market conditions, prices of onions have increased from a July low of Rs.12 per kilo in Colombo markets , to a respectable Rs.40 to Rs.50 per kilo, according to traders dealing with perishable goods. more..

Aug 28 (CI) Sri Lanka beat South Africa by seven wickets in the fourth one-day international on Saturday. Sri Lanka lead the five-match series 4-0. more..

Aug 28 (tn) Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) manning the Omanthai checkpoint in the Vanni region Friday detained Mr.M.K.Eelaventhan, TNA national list parliamentarian, and his family members for more than one and a half hours under the pretense of checking his family members' identities, sources said. more..

Aug 29 (ST) Not so long ago, when Sri Lanka were losing at home and away against Australia, there were doubts about the suitability of coach John Dyson for the job. Now, as Eric Simons may have noticed with a twinge of envy, the former Australian opening batsman is regarded as a guru, with journalists hanging on his every word. more..

Aug 29 (TN) Jaffna Bishop Rt.Rev. Thomas Soundaranayagam Saturday appealed to the Sri Lanka government to engage in confidence building with the LTTE without delay and to take forward the peace process with sincerity on the basis of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposal submitted by the LTTE, more..

Aug 29 (TN) Kapputhoo, a village located in the Vadamarachchi South-West division in Jaffna district, has been selected as "Peace Village" under the Project of Peace Building Measure of the Government of Sri Lanka. more..

Aug 29 (AT) LTTE has made use of the Ceasefire Agreement they entered with the Government to send killers all over the country to hound and kill the rival groups. So far, according to available statistics, LTTE had killed 321 persons (almost Tamils 94%) after signing of the Ceasefire Agreement on 22 February 2002. more..

Aug 29 (AT) In a radio address, H.L.D. Mahindapala, former Editor of Sri Lanka’s “Sunday Observer” and one of the speakers in the recently held Oslo Conference, organized by the World Alliance for Peace in Sri Lanka, was very harsh on Erik Solheim, Norway’s Special Peace Envoy. more..

Aug 29 (AT) A national government of Sri Lanka , with two main democratic parties is a good idea – in the abstract. However when the concrete realities are taken into account the possibility of such a government becoming an ‘appeasement multiplier’ cannot be ignored. more..

Aug 29 (SL) Checkmated on the peace, economic and political fronts, the government last week started beating the war drums as a means of survival even as the trade unions hinted at a general strike and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse detailed a possible conspiracy against him to the cabinet of ministers. more..

Aug 29 (SL) The manner in which the saga of the Indian ship damaging Sri Lanka's main connectivity to international phone lines ended last week has raised questions whether there was high level interference at diplomatic level. more..

Aug 29 (SO) The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission Deputy Chief Hagrup Haukland is confident that there is no danger to the ceasefire and an eruption of war is not imminent. more..

Aug 29 (TP) Water Supply and Drainage Board is seeking approval to increase water rates to meet the increasing fuel costs and other expenses. A senior Water Board official said a hike was necessary due to the rising fuel costs and reminded that water rates had not been increased in two years. more..

Aug 29 (TP) Some 100 families displaced by Sri Lanka’s unrest in the northern region are to file action in the Supreme Court complaining that they have been refused permission by the military to return to their lands to resume cultivation and earn a livelihood. more..

Aug 29 (Rupavahini) A massive rural development project has been launched on a concept of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse who is also the minister of highways. 65,000 kilometers of rural roads are to be re-constructed under this project. more..

Aug 29 (PTI) On the cricket field, he always gave it back and four years after he has retired from the game, Arjuna Ranatunga still does not mince words -- be it on Matthew Hayden's noises about sub-continental cricketers being selfish or the controversies surrounding Muttiah Muralitharan. more..

Aug 29 (PTI) Setting off a debate over Australian cricket legend Richie Benaud's choice for World XI, former Sri Lankan skipper Arjuna Ranatunga, has objected to the exclusion of bowlers like Muttiah Muralitharan and Wasim Akram from the elite list. more..

Aug 29 (AFP) The ride is rough, the engine is sluggish, but reporter AFP Amal Jayasinghe is off to a flying start on his three-wheeler meant for two... er six, and finds a potential patron saint for fellow drivers. more..

Aug 29 (TN) "LTTE has been successfully resisting attempts to weaken its military and political strength during the peace time with the same courage and bravery it displayed during the time of war. Tamils seek a just peace and not a peace with surrender. more..

Aug 29 (AME) Visitors from the Middle East to Sri Lanka increased by more than 50 pc in the first half of 2004, according to figures published by the Sri Lankan Tourist Board. SLTB said the increasing number of direct flights to Sri Lanka from Middle East destinations was a major factor in boosting visitor numbers.

Aug 29 (SLA) A group of LTTE cadres, despite instructions given by Security Forces on duty in the general area of MEEYANKULAM have cross the main supply route (MSR) on the POLONNARUWA - BATTICALOA road and enter into un-cleared areas on 28 August 2004 at about 5.30 a.m. more..

Aug 29 (PIS) After the Chalai snub, monitors get another one from rebels SLMM chief Trond Furuhovde has had stern words with LTTE Political Wing leader S. P. Thamilselvan about the LTTE’s scant respect for truce monitors and the lack of cooperation with the SLMM in its attempts to carry out its duties. more..