Nov 1 (AT) Government of Denmark would take necessary action to see that both the terrorists list of United States of America and European Union as one and the same. This assurance was given in the floor of the Danish Parliament (Folketing) by Per Stig Møller, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. more..

Nov 1 (BBC) In an emergency meeting called by the police late Sunday, factions of Muslims in the Batticaloa district agreed to resolve their differences in a peaceful manner after midday violence broke out in the Eastern town of Kattankudy. more..

Nov 1 (AT) In an open letter to the Royal Norwegian Foreign Ministry our correspondent has raised issues that are central to the future peace process of Sri Lanka. There is general disillusionment, if not shock, in the current stance of the Norwegian government as expressed in yesterday’s statement issued by its Embassy in Colombo. more..

Nov 1 (TN) Mr.N.Selvakumaran, Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, addressing a press briefing in Jaffna said HRCSL would not hesitate to take action against errand policemen and Sri Lanka Army soldiers for violation of human rights if it receives complaints supported with evidence. more..

Nov 1 (TT) Chandrika Kumaratunga will be here on Wednesday to get Delhi’s assurance that it has no favourites in Colombo. The Sri Lankan President is trying to garner support to change the existing system of an executive presidency that may allow her to stay in power for a longer period. more..

Nov 1 (SLBC) The free trade agreement between Sri Lanka and Egypt will be in place by January next year. Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs Dr. Ezzat Saad El Sayed was in Colombo recently to finalize the pact. more..

Nov 1 (Jang) Kumar Sangakkara played the innings of a lifetime on Sunday to try to save Sri Lanka from defeat in the second Test against Pakistan here at the National Stadium but he said he would rather have preferred to fail and see his team win the match. more..

Nov 1 (Reuters) Deryn Reeta, wife of kidnapped Sri Lankan truck driver, prays at hindu temple in Colombo, October 31. Iraqi militants have kidnapped two truck drivers from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh who worked with U.S. forces in Iraq, more..

Nov 1 (TN) Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) provided financial assistance to six families affected by the war in the Muttur east villages in Trincomalee district under the second phase of its Self Income Generating Incentive Project (SIGIP). more..

Nov 1 (TN) "Parochial political concerns and lack of consensus in the south are delaying the peace process and humanitarian delivery to the war affected people of the northeast", Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, told Japanese Special Envoy Mr. Yasushi Akashi more..

Nov 1 (SLA) A group of unidentified LTTE cadres had made an abortive attempt to abduct an Army soldier absent from duty while he was in the general area of KIRAN on 31 October 2004 around 4.45 p.m. along with his girl friend. more..

Nov 1 (SLA) A search and clearing operation conducted in the general area of TRINCOMALEE Naval Head Works sanctuary on 30 October 2004 by naval troops along with SLMM representatives recovered two hand grenades, one LTTE flag, one VHF antenna, two canopies, four axes and several other items from an LTTE transit camp, more..

Nov 1 (SLA) A flotilla of about 100-120 Indian fishing trawlers, engaged in poaching inside Sri Lankan waters were detected in the general sea area north of TALAIMANNAR during late night on 30 October and early morning on 31 October 2004.

Nov 1 (MG) The three non-Cabinet Ministers from the SLMC have written to SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem that they would extend their fullest support to the Government in its endeavours to find a lasting solution to the ethnic conflict. more..

Nov 1 (Reuters) Sri Lanka stocks ended slightly lower on Monday as some investors continued to skim profits in the leisure sector while others opted to wait for the government's 2005 budget due on Nov.18, brokers said. more..

Nov 1 (AT) LTTE (Vanni group) in the Eastern region, in an attempt to pin down those work against them militarily, declared six men, mostly field commanders of the renegade leader Colonel Karuna, as “Most Wanted persons” in their criminals list more..

Nov 1 (ANN) Eyewitnesses to Saturday night’s mob attack on Sopranos karaoke lounge and Clancy’s in the premises of the Colombo Cricket Club did not want to come forward fearing the attackers may target them. "We did not want to take a chance," a person whom The Island met at the scene of the incident said Sunday. more..

Nov 1 (LT) Intelligence services of Security Forces have revealed that experienced spies of Wanni tiger organization have infiltrated the Ministers’ Security Unit and are having a close association with several top officers of MSU. more..

Nov 1 (LT) European Union has decided to give Euros 1000 billion as aid to Sri Lanka. This money will be used for the development of defence, education and several other sectors. This aid is given in accordance with Tokyo agreement. Euros 88 billions will be given in 2005 and the balance 12 will be given in 2006.

Nov 1 (DN) W. J. M. Lokubandara said yesterday that the credit for effacing the wrong image of Sri Lankans as savages who harassed Tamils should go to President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Speaker Lokubandara made this comment when he met Most Ven. Thibbotuwawe Sri Sidhartha Sumangala Maha Nayake Thera. more..

Nov 1 (CI) Pakistan motored to the target of 137 with six wickets in hand to win the second Test of their series against Pakistan at Karachi. With this win, they squared the series 1-1. The star performer on the day was Shoaib Malik, who scored an unbeaten 53 and guided Pakistan to victory. more..

Nov 1 (AFP) Sri Lanka's truce with the Tamil Tiger rebels has revived its once-tottering tourism trade to the point where de luxe hotel rooms that once went for eight dollars a night now cost more than 100. more..

Nov 1 (AP) Canada's embassy in Sri Lanka reopened Monday a week after it closed due to an anthrax scare prompted when white powder was discovered in the passport of a Buddhist monk, an official said. The embassy was closed Oct. 25 and evacuated, and the powder sent for laboratory tests. more..

Nov 1 (AFP) George W. Bush has already won re-election to the US presidency going by a creative advertising campaign paid for by a Sri Lankan businessman who said he hoped to swing at least 50 votes for the incumbent. more..

Nov 1 (Gulf) President Chandrika Kumaratunga has secured the support of three breakaway members of the SLMC to boost the majority of the government, but in the process has broken the promise to limit the number of ministers in her government. more..

Nov 1 (HT) The credibility of India’s notion or ambition of being the regional power will depend critically on the success or failure of its bid to bring peace and stability to Sri Lanka without directly intervening in the ethnic conflict there, says the Indian historian, Avtar Singh Bhasin. more..

Nov 1 (PTI) Main Muslim party today pulled out the peace advisory panel set up by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, and declared "all out war" against her. The SLMC said they were staying away from the first meeting of the National Advisory Council for Peace and Reconciliation (NACPR) which Kumaratunga launched early last month. more..

Nov 1 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels dismissed on Monday a new government blueprint for peace after two decades of civil war without even seeing it, dashing hopes that stalled peace talks will resume soon. more..

Nov 1 (Reuters) Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara has been fined 30 percent of his match fee for showing dissent on the fourth day of the second test against Pakistan. Sangakkara hurled his bat high in the air, apparently in frustration, after being caught behind for 138. more..

Nov 1 (SUN) The Sri Lankan navy personnel intimidated Rameswaram fishermen on the international border line and took away their prawn catch yesterday when they put out to sea after a gap of 20 days, official sources here said. more..

Nov 1 (Xinhua) The government said Monday that it will do everything possible to secure the release of its national taken hostage by militants in Iraq. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release that it has made this assurance to the next of kin of Dinesh Darmendra Rajaratnam, more..

Nov 1 (AFP) Tamil Tiger rebels asked Sri Lanka's main aid donor Japan to speed up humanitarian assistance without waiting for a final peace settlement in the embattled nation. more..

Nov 1 (TN) World record wicket-taker Mr.Muttiah Muralitharan, who is on a World Food Program (WPF) sponsored visit to Jaffna Monday said that meals provided to school children in the country's former war zones are one of the best ways to help them catch up on their education. more..

Nov 1 (Xinhua) The Sri Lankan navy had destroyed acamp belonging to the Tamil Tiger rebels, the country's state radio announced Monday. SLBC said that a Liberation LTTE camp unoccupied by the rebels was destroyed by the navy at Palampattar in the eastern port district of Trincomalee late Sunday. more..

Nov 1 (Xinhua) Sri Lankan rival political leaders President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the main opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe are to meet soon on efforts to revive the stalled peace process, the country's state radio said on Monday. more..

Nov 2 (LBO) Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama said he would not print money. If his middle name were Pinnochio, Minister Amunugama’s nose would need major corrective surgery by now. ‘Printing money’ is not just getting sacks full of currency notes from Thomas de la Rue, our friendly neighborhood currency printer in Biyagama EPZ, and rushing to the Treasury. more..

Nov 2 (LBO) Sri Lanka’s apparel industry is asking the European Union (EU) for deeper concessions for vulnerable economies once quotas are lifted by the end of this year. “At the recent discussions in Brussels we impressed on the EU the need to develop new packages for vulnerable, smaller economies like Sri Lanka,” more..

Nov 2 (LBO) People’s Bank is anticipating a Rs. 8.5 billion cash injection from the State to shore up its capital account by mid next year. "We submitted our proposals to SEMA. We are hopeful of being capitalised by JuneRata Salli 2005," said CEO People’s Bank, Asoka de Silva on Monday. more..

Nov 2 (Xinhua) A special peace envoy of the Japanese government said Monday that the peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels could resume soonas both sides have not abandoned the peace process, according to governmental sources. more..

Nov 2 (Rupavahini) The Indian army commander is visiting in Sri Lanka at the invitation of his Sri Lankan counterpart lieutenant general Shantha Kottegoda. General Vig called on the army commander lieutenant general Shantha Kottegoda this afternoon. more..

Nov 2 (AT) The deliberation at the political committee of the National Advisory Council for Peace and Reconciliation (NACPR) will not hinder the Governments current discussions with the LTTE to restart peace negotiations soon, President Chandrika Kumaratunga said on Monday. more..

Nov 2 (BBC) Tamil Tiger political wing chief S P Tamilselvan said that Japanese envoy Yasushi Akashi did not bring any productive message from the government regarding the current stalemate the peace process. more..

Nov 2 (BBC) The Tamil Tigers say that efforts by the Japanese special envoy to Sri Lanka to end the stalled peace process have not been productive. Rebel spokesman SP Thamilselvan said that they still wanted interim self-rule in the north and east. more..

Nov 2 (BBC) The Sri Lankan government says it has received information from missions in the Middle East that the Army of Ansar Al-Sunna is responsible for the abduction of the Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi truck drivers in Iraq. more..

Nov 2 (IL) Opposition Parliamentarian Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena yesterday vowed to even go to the extent of risking his life to secure the release of the Sri Lankan national now being held hostage by an Iraqi armed group. more..

Nov 2 (IL) The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday alleged that President Chandrika Kumaratunga had no intention whatsoever in resuming peace talks with the LTTE but is only interested in securing her political future. "She is working towards political immunity," the TNA said. more..

Nov 2 (Hindu) The President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, today called upon all parties, including the Opposition United National Party (UNP), to work together to evolve a consensus on basic issues relating to conflict-resolution. more..

Nov 2 (NW) Sathosa Chairman Upali Gooneratne was suspended yesterday for allegedly making some controversial statements to the media. Commerce Minister Jeyeraj Fernandopulle appointed Ministry Secretary S. Wirithimulla as the acting Chairman after calling for explanation from Mr. Gooneratne for the statements he had made to the media during the past two weeks. more..

Nov 2 (NW) An angry SLMC Leader Rauff Hakeem yesterday lashed out at President Chandrika Kumaratunga and warned that his party would mobilise up to half a million people mainly from the North-East for massive protests if the government continued to undermine the Muslim community. more..

Nov 2 (NW) Agriculture Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake replying to President Chandrika Kumaratunga said that although she had a right to submit a Cabinet paper on the Dahasak Wew project, it was not ethical to do so. more..