Dec 5 (TN) "The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) should desist from placing counter proposals before resuming negotiations. GoSL should be prepared to resume talks on the basis of Interim Self-Governing Authority proposals. Any further delay has the potential to lead Sri Lanka into another dark period of war and destruction. more..

Dec 5 (TN) The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) Saturday announced the names of eleven diplomats who are to be posted to various countries as Sri Lanka's envoys. Two Tamils and three Muslims are among those named, foreign ministry sources said. more..

Dec 5 (TN) Jaffna district experienced torrential rain for the last twenty-four hours ending Saturday at 6 p.m. flooding major roads that created major traffic delays on roads linking several towns, sources in Jaffna said. 87 mm of rain was recorded during this period, meteorological sources said. more..

Dec 5 (AT) Since independence in 1948 the system in Sri Lanka has been devised to alienate the broad masses of the people from the decision making and planning process that largely affected their lives to maintain the hegemony of Sinhalese and Tamil elites. more..

Dec 5 (AT) Extremism often thrives on chaos. The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) was born out of the chaos created by Sinhala-Buddhists supremacists after the untimely (though entirely natural) demise of Ven. Gangodwila Soma Thero. more..

Dec 5 (Rupavahini) President Chandrika Kumaratunge yesterday reiterated that her government will achieve peace through discussion, irrespective whoever opposes since the majority of Sri Lankans have faith in the government's efforts to bring peace to the country. more..

Dec 5 (BBC) In response to escalating crime rates the government intends to enact legislation for the police to hold suspects up to 72 hours. Justice Minister John Senaviratna told parliament that at the moment in most cases suspects are produced before a magistrate within 24 hours and time available for police investigations are not adequate. more..

Dec 5 (SO) Startling revelations have surfaced since the arrest of Potta Naufer, the chief conspirator in the slaying of High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya on November 19. A thorough check on the calls received and originated from the mobile phone of Naufer revealed that some senior police officials have had close rapport with the master mind. more..

Dec 5 (TN) "The UPFA Government has not taken any forward looking steps towards peace talks or to finding a solution to our pressing national question. Sri Lanka is inexorably drifting towards war with the continued stalemate in peace talks," said Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe, more..

Dec 5 (TN) "Sri Lanka government is not a signatory to the Ottawa convention on banning of land mines, but the Landmine Ban Advocacy Forum (LABF) sees the government participation at a recent review meeting as a step toward signing and complying with provisions of the conventions," more..

Dec 5 (SLA) Naval troops continued to observe the presence of more and more Indian fishing trawlers, engaged in poaching in the general sea areas of north of KOVILAM POINT, ELUVATIVU, Island and VANKALAPADU between 6.00 - 6.25 p.m. on 04 December 2004. more..

Dec 5 (LT) The Pakistan Islamic Government in genearally accept the self determination of a nation but it does not agree with the ISGA proposals of the Wanni Tigers, the Deputy High commissioner of Pakistan has said. more..

Dec 5 (LT) The Working committee of the UNP has reportedly decided to suspend the Cabinet Minister Rohitha Bogollagama from his parliamentary seat. The deputy secretary general of the UNP announced that the unanimous decision of the working committee is as a result of Mr. Bogollagama’s crossing over to the government side in the parliament. more..

Dec 5 (LT) The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock has launched a Programme to Promote 1000 villages where milk production is the major means of living. This programme will be ceremoniously started on the 5th at Dikkapitiya, Badulla with the attendance of Sarath Amunugama the Minister of Finance and Planning as the guest of honour, more..

Dec 5 (SO) Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar said that the governments of Sri Lanka, of whatever hue, had consistently and firmly supported the long and bitter struggle of the Palestinian people to realise their rights, legitimate aspirations and their yearning for statehood. more..

Dec 5 (AFP) Sri Lankan cricket selectors have recalled middle-order batsman Russel Arnold and fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara for the tour to New Zealand, while retaining spin bowler Muthiah Muralitharan in the reserve list. more..

Dec 5 (HT) Sri Lanka is making a bid for the post of UN Secretary General on the grounds that it is time the top job in the world body went to a South Asian. Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirganar told the Sri Lankan parliament on Saturday that Sri Lanka was of the view that the principle of rotation should apply to sub-regions within regions. more..

Dec 5 (PTI) Tamil Film Director Bharathiraja, has said he was deeply moved by the "sacrifices" made by Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka. Bharathiraja attended the Heroes' Day ceremony in Jaffna last month to honour 17,800 men and women the LTTE has lost in fighting so far. more..

Dec 5 (AP) The country's 25-year-old executioner has no experience. The hanging ropes have rotted and the bolts on the gallows have rusted. This tropical island hasn't had an execution in 28 years. But the president lifted a moratorium on capital punishment a few weeks ago and prison officials are waiting for their first hanging order. more..

Dec 5 (PTI) Sri Lanka first announced lifting a moratorium on executions after an Indian woman was raped and killed while on her honeymoon here. The gruesome murder of Rita John in 1998 shocked the nation and sparked public cries to hang criminals convicted of heinous acts, more..

Dec 6 (TN) "Theory of two nations is not a new idea to Sri Lanka," said Mr.Joseph Pararajasingham, TNA parliamentarian Saturday participating in the committee stage debate on the votes for Labour Relations and Foreign Employment in Parliament. more..

Dec 6 (TN) Torrential rain in Pachchillaipalli and Pooneryn divisions has submerged several settlements in water and severely affected life in several villages, Eelanaatham, a NorthEast Tamil daily, said quoting Kilinochchi Government Agent Mr Rasanayagam. more..

Dec 6 (TN) Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, TNA Trincomalee district parliamentarian speaking during the committee stage debate in Parliament said that although several villages in Muttur have been selected as part of Rural Electrification project no Tamil villages are included in the scheme, more..

Dec 6 (TOO) Sri Lankan School, Muscat, has held the fourth Top Achievers Awards ceremony at the school hall to felicitate students who have obtained the best results at the Ordinary Level, Advanced Subsidiary Level and Advanced Level examinations of Edexcel International (UK) held in May/June 2004. more..

Dec 6 (LBO) The business community, worried about the fragile ceasefire agreement between the government and LTTE is keen to a resumption of direct peace talks. Businessmen from South Africa were here last week to share their experience in establishing democracy there. more..

Dec 6 (Rupavahini) The 50th annual convention of the UNP was held under the patronage of opposition leader and UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe. The convention was held at the municipal grounds, opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe has been named unanimously as the UNP presidential candidate. more..

Dec 6 (Rupavahini) The Nilwala Harasara national ceremony organized to felicitate President Chandrika Kumaratunge for her historic services to the south during her 10 year tenure of high office was inaugurated by Minister Mangala Samaraweera today. more..

Dec 6 (AT) A teenaged Tamil girl is engaged in a lone battle for her survival in Canada, when she was marked for deportation by the Canadian Citizenship and Immigration department as she has been already notified that her asylum claim has been rejected more..

Dec 6 (Xinhua) The leader of main opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe has announced his presidential bid in the country's next presidential election on Sunday. At the 50th annual convention of the main opposition UNP held here Sunday, the UNP endorsed the candidature of Wickremesinghe more..

Dec 6 (AFP) Norway is sending a top envoy for another attempt to save Sri Lanka’s faltering peace process amid fears that Tiger rebels may return to their protracted armed struggle, diplomats said on Sunday. more..

Dec 6 (Hindu) Tamil film director, Bharatirajaa, and the Dalit Panthers of India leader, Thol. Tirumavalavan, visited the rebel-held parts of Sri Lanka when the LTTE observed the Heroes' Week, sources in northern Sri Lanka said on Saturday. more..

Dec 6 (SLBC) The Central Transport Board (CTB) has decided to recommence work at its workshops. The Kaludewala workshop of the CTB will be renovated and reopened by the end of this month while taking swift measures to develop other workshops islandwide. more..

Dec 6 (SLBC) The National Programme of Educational Reforms has now been launched at a cost of Rs.12000 million to improve patriotic feeling among young to bring about a historic change in the future of our country. more..

Dec 6 (SLBC) Norway will begin the second phase of surveys to find Sri Lanka's offshore oil and gas resources shortly. Norway's TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co. (TGS.OS) is expected to begin the next phase of seismic surveys this month. more..

Dec 6 (SLA) A twenty-three year old youth abducted and conscripted by the LTTE has escaped from their clutches and surrendered to the troops in the general area of VAVUNATHIVU on 06 December 2004 around 06.00 a.m. more..

Dec 6 (SLA) A civilian has escaped from the LTTE custody and surrendered to the Police personal on duty while he was being abducted by the LTTE on 04 December 2004 around 09.00 a.m., stated a complaint made to the VALLAWELI Police in the general area of VELLAWELI, about 26 km south of BATTICALOA town. more..

Dec 6 (PRIU) The BMICH’s Committee room A was packed to its capacity on Saturday afternoon with a very distinguished audience of clergymen, professionals, diplomats and politicians of all hues. They gathered for a lecture by Shri Mani Shankar Ayer. more..

Dec 6 (TS) As recent immigrants from Sri Lanka, we found the article by education reporter Louise Brown both condescending and ill-informed. Her story begins with the line, "There's no such thing as a parent-teacher interview in Sri Lanka." more..

Dec 6 (Sify) ICICI Bank Ltd plans to expand in Sri Lanka and Russia next year as it seeks to boost international sales. The company's moves will help it reach its target of containing 25 percent of revenue from international markets within three years. more..

Dec 6 (SLBC) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has granted Rs.500 million to the Government to upgrade the Samurdhi bank network financially and technically. The ADB has provided this sum to the Sri Lanka Samurdhi Authority (SLSA) for a period of four years to develop the Samurdhi bank system. more..

Dec 6 (ANN) Dr Mohamed Saleem addressed a seminar at the Savsiripaya on “Power sharing for a lasting Peace” which was reported by The Island of Monday, the 29th November 2004. If there is a criticism to it, it was its ethnocentric accent towards grappling a national problem namely the problem of the Northern and Eastern Provinces. more..

Dec 6 (PIS) The government's Peace Secretariat chief Jayantha Dhanapala yesterday while expressing his delight at being nominated as candidate from Sri Lanka for the top UN post described it as a "major challenge". more..

Dec 6 (DJ) The agriculture sector, which accounts for a fifth of the economy, is forecast to grow by 2.7% next year from a negative 0.5% this year. The industry sector, which produces mainly garments for exports, is expected to grow by 5.3% from 4.9% this year. more..

Dec 6 (AT) V. Anandasangaree in an appeal to the Leader of the LTTE has urged him not to launch a war against the Government of Sri Lanka, a decision based on emotions, not the correct and appropriate one at the this point of time, more..

Dec 6 (DN) The United National Party vowed that the party would get to the streets from January next year demanding the UPFA Government to hold the Presidential Election in 2005. "We have given sufficient time and the time drawing near is our time," UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said. more..

Dec 6 (LBO) A civil rights group challenges a government attempt to amend the Sri Lankan constitution to make Buddhism the 'official religion' in the island. The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) – a civil rights organization in Sri Lanka - took the proposed 19 amendment to the constitution before the Supreme Court last week. more..

Dec 6 (HT) Available statistics on HIV indicate that Sri Lanka is a "low prevalence" country. But experts warn that the statistics may be misleading, and that there are many "risk factors" which make Sri Lanka vulnerable to an AIDS "epidemic". The first HIV positive case in Sri Lanka was reported in 1987. more..

Dec 6 (AP) A man who claims he was abducted by Tamil Tiber rebels and forced to undergo military training has escaped and surrendered to the Sri Lankan army, a military official said. Anamalai Jayasundaram Jayakanthen escaped from the training camp in the restive eastern region of Batticaloa and surrendered to a nearby army post, more..

Dec 6 (AFP) Sri Lanka's Buddhist establishment asked the government to cancel a concert by Indian film stars at an outdoor park this weekend because it coincided with a revered monk's death anniversary. more..

Dec 6 (LBO) If you’re trying to strike it big in Kotte City, its Municipal Council is now equipped to tell you just about anything, from the best place to build a house to the worst site to start a business. more..