Nov 23 (TN) Southern Sri Lanka is now facing "the unenviable and pathetic situation" of having to meet the consequence of its "blind pursuit of the policy of militarization and weapons acquisition" said the Jaffna-based newspaper Uthayan in its editorial Tuesday, more..

Nov 23 (SLA) Four men with two pistols in their possession were arrested by Police near WELIKADA junction, RAJAGIRIYA, Tuesday (23) morning at about 11.30 a.m. while they were aboard a Pajero intercooler jeep. more..

Nov 23 (SLA) Instances of continuing raise of LTTE flags during Monday (22 November 2004) were reported from the general areas of VAVUNIYA and TRINCOMALEE areas despite rulings given by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). more..

Nov 23 (SLA) A group of fourteen LTTE men, including BANU, SWARNAM, BALRAJ, PULIDEVAN in the company of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission representatives, reached the OMANTHAI Entry/Exit point on 23 November 2004 around 11.00 a.m. in order to proceed to cleared areas in BATTICALOA and TRINCOMALEE. more..

Nov 23 (LBO) The contentious Southern expressway’s troubles are still far from over, with the Rs. 27 bn road ending up before the UN this week. The ill-fated highway went before the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) on Monday for alleged violation of fundamental rights. more..

Nov 23 (LBO) Sri Lankans may not have a credit line to offer neighbour Pakistan but are only too happy to donate their eyes to needy Pakistanis. Sri Lanka and Pakistan are on the verge of deepening bilateral ties just now but according to the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society the two countries have had their sights on each other for very much longer. more..

Nov 23 (TP) Colombo’s main magistrate on Sunday ordered a well-known mobile phone company to issue a detailed report of incoming and out going calls of mobile phones allegedly belonging to the killers of High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya, the Daily Mirrorr reported. more..

Nov 23 (TP) Train schedules in Sri Lanka will be adjusted for the convenience of office commuters if the proposal to increase office hours by one hour in the public sector is implemented, Transport Minister Felix Perera told the Daily Mirror. more..

Nov 23 (TP) The Sri Lankan ambassador in Doha, A L Mohammed Yoosuf, is critical of the way private sector owners run their businesses in Qatar and says their sole reliance on expatriate managers for day-to-day operations is to blame for the sufferings of workers. more..

Nov 23 (GU) The Ranmalu Fashions Group has come under pressure from the Global Union Federation representing workers in the clothing industry for failing to respect freedom of association. The Group includes three factories in Biyagama, Peliyagoda, and Yatiyantota. more..

Nov 23 (LT) While the inquiries are being held on the murder of High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya, racketeers and politicians who may have had a hand in the murder too should be investigated says the JVP in a communiqué. more..

Nov 23 (AT) Sri Lanka remained steadfast without discussing the proposed defence agreement with India. Prime Minister of Pakistan revealed this in Colombo that Sri Lankan has not come forward to discuss the proposed defence agreement with India. more..

Nov 23 (AT) Tamil United Liberation Front strongly condemns the recent killings of the two innocent Tamil youths by the armed gang in Valvetiturai. It is highly regrettable that the armed gang has failed to understand the value of the human lives. more..

Nov 23 (Gulf) The military stepped up security in eastern Sri Lanka yesterday in the wake of a string of violent incidents. Yesterday, Tamil rebels kicked off their celebrations to mark 'Martyrs Week' to commemorate their fighters killed in the 20 -year-old war. more..

Nov 23 (Gulf) Members of the Sri Lankan community are confused about their government's announcement regarding housing loans for expatriate workers. While some said they wanted more details about the plan, others had not even heard about it. more..

Nov 23 (DJ) Lanka IOC Pvt. Ltd., a unit of state-owned Indian Oil Corp., plans to invest $15 million to build an oil storage facility in Sri Lanka's eastern Trincomalee, reports the state-owned Daily News. more..

Nov 23 (Reuters) Sri Lanka Telecom cut short a road show aimed at selling a $100 million bond after it was 10 times oversubscribed on the opening day, the Indian Ocean island's leading fixed-line operator said on Tuesday. more..

Nov 23 (DN) The Government has allocated Rs.2750 million to implement the Jana Pubuduwa and Gam Pubuduwa programs next year under the new development drive titled Suwahas Jana Pubuduwa launched recently by the Samurdhi and Poverty Alleviation Ministry to uplift the socio-economic conditions of low income groups. more..

Nov 23 (PTI) Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has extended a 20 million dollar credit for Sri Lanka to make military purchases from Islamabad while both sides agreed to strengthen their cooperation in defence. more..

Nov 23 (AFP) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels accused government forces of launching psychological warfare to sabotage annual celebrations to honour some 17,800 guerrillas who died fighting for a separate state. more..

Nov 23 (AP) Police Tuesday offered a reward of US$10,000 (€7,700) for information on four men suspected of gunning down a high profile judge. Unidentified assailants on Friday killed Judge Sarath Ambepitiya, 58, who handled politically sensitive cases and drug trials, and was renowned for delivering harsh sentences. more..

Nov 23 (ANN) The Inter University Bhikku Federation will send one million post cards to President Chandrika Kumaratunga requesting her not to resume talks with the LTTE on the basis of terrorist organisation’s proposals for an Interim Self Governing Authority in the North and East. more..

Nov 23 (AP) Police in the capital on Tuesday arrested three Tamil men who they suspected might be Tiger rebels amid escalating violence that threatens to derail Sri Lanka's faltering peace process. Following a tip-off, police stopped and arrested four suspects _ three Tamils and one Sinhalese driver more..

Nov 23 (BBC) Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party (UNP) is voicing its support the death penalty. “We might have avoided the murder of the high court judge had we imposed the capital punishment earlier,” UNP spokesman and former Justice Minister GL Peiris said. more..

Nov 23 (BBC) Sri Lankan troops have arrested two suspected militants in the central province of Polonnaruwa. The army says its intelligence operatives were attacked in the area and returned fire. The suspects then fled from the scene but were later arrested with the help of local police. more..

Nov 24 (TN) German Technical Cooperation (GTZ)said in a press release issued Tuesday that "higher levels of funding are required at this time and that many micro-finance service providers are in need of significant strengthening and capacity building if they are to provide effective services to the entrepreneurial poor," in the NorthEast region. more..

Nov 24 (Rupavahini) The eight hour duty hours of the public servants will not be extended. This assurance was given by finance minister. Dr. Sarath Amunugama when he made a special statement in parliament today. He pointed out that the public servants who are willing to serve an additional one hour could do so. more..

Nov 24 (Rupavahini) The President is on a two day state visit to Iran at the invitation of President Mohammed Khatami. President Kumratunga was accompanied by foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, power and energy minister, Susil Premajayantha and senior officials. more..

Nov 24 (AI) Amnesty International is gravely concerned at the recent announcement that the death penalty will be reactivated in Sri Lanka. The announcement, issued by the Office of the President on 20 November, stated that "the death penalty will be effective from today for rape, murder and narcotics dealings". more..

Nov 24 (TP) Labour Minister Athauda Seneviratne has requested the private sector to increase salaries of employees with effect from January 1 next year. Taking part in the Budget debate on Monday, Seneviratne said, “Already the garment manufacturing firms have agreed that a pay increase is necessary. more..

Nov 24 (SLBC) The World Bank has pledged financial assistance to strengthen its attempts to alleviate poverty among the country's low income groups particularly through the Samurdhi movement. The first phase of the project will benefit nearly 700,000 low income families in these 1000 selected villages. more..

Nov 24 (LT) The Welikada police arrested of four persons including three Tamil youths with sophisticated weapons only used by the LTTE pistol gang in Welikada yesterday. Reports said that the three suspects had come to assassinate EPDP leader and Minister Douglas Devanada, but Welikada police indicated there were conflicting statements made by the suspects. more..

Nov 24 (TN) Mannar town was tense Wednesday afternoon amidst a stand off between Sri Lankan security forces and hundreds of civilians over the removal of a Thamil Eelam national flag hoisted at a sports festival to mark 'Great Heroes' Week. more..

Nov 24 (TN) Little King Nursery, a leading private pre-school in Trincomalee town and founded in 1971 held its first graduation ceremony, a novel event for children entering Year-1 in Government schools next year at the Trincomalee Methodist Girls College Sunday. more..

Nov 24 (UNI) The Narcotics Intelligence Bureau (NIB) CID wing police has seized 2.5 kg of heroin worth Rs 2.50 crore in the international market and arrested three persons who attempted to smuggle the drugs to Sri Lanka, near Tuticorin coast in Tamil Nadu. more..

Nov 24 (DJ) Sri Lanka's government has allowed the rupee to weaken against the U.S. dollar to adjust for high oil prices, but is taking measures to limit its further slide, Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera said late Tuesday. more..

Nov 24 (PTI) Sri Lanka has started drawing from the US$150 million dollar credit line India extended to the island's nations petroleum sector, a top official said. Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has opened a letter of credit for the import of an unpsecified quantity of oil using the Indian line of credit. more..

Nov 24 (IRIB) President Mohammad Khatami here Wednesday expressed hope relations with Sri Lanka in all fields would receive a further boost with the visit of the country's president. more..

Nov 24 (Hindu) The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Sunday started its annual `Heroes Week' commemoration in memory of its cadres who died in battles and bombing missions since Sri Lanka's separatist war started in 1982. more..

Nov 24 (PIS) The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) alongwith the National Peace Council (NPC), will hold a conference on "Women and Peace" on November 30, in recognition of the need for women to be included in decision making, for sustainable peace in Sri Lanka. more..

Nov 24 (TP) Even though most of Sri Lanka condemned the brutal murder of a judge last week, the country’s state-owned Human Rights Commission (HRC) pleaded with the government not to resort to knee-jerk reactions to the assassination. more..

Nov 24 (AT) Sri Lanka and Nepal have signed a MoU that allows the operation of flights between the two countries near future. Nepali delegation led by Nepali Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Bal Bahadur Kunwar and the Sri Lankan delegation by Ariyaratne Hewage, secretary, Ministry of Ports and Aviation of Sri Lanka signed the agreement. more..

Nov 24 (ANN) A year ago after the horrific killing of the Harmer family many in this country, including editorial writers, deeply concerned with the frightening rise of serious crime, called for the reintroduction of the death penalty. more..

Nov 24 (TN) "The maiden budget of the UPFA government has failed to address any remedy for the immediate humanitarian needs of the war-torn people of the northeast province who have suffered immensely for the past two decades of the war," said Mr.Joseph Pararajasingham, more..

Nov 24 (TN) “I am happy that in Mannar we have a relatively low number of cease fire violations that reflects very well the situation in Mannar”, said Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala, Secretary General of the government’s Peace Secretariat, speaking to journalists briefly during an official visit to Vavuniya Wednesday. more..

Nov 24 (PSL) President Chandrika Kumaratunga was received this morning by Iranian President Mohammed Khatami at the Islamic Republic Mansion. The Sri Lankan Leader was accorded a guard of honour by the Iranian Army, Navy and Air Force at the courtyard of the Mansion. more..

Nov 24 (CI) Muttiah Muralitharan flew to Australia late on Monday night to meet with his Melbourne-based surgeon, Dr David Young, who will assess his shoulder's recovery and indicate when he can resume bowling. Muralitharan has been laid off for three months since pulling out of the second Test against South Africa more..

Nov 24 (AFP) The World Bank has welcomed Sri Lanka's move to boost tax revenues and pump money into rural areas, but warned a return to war with separatist Tamil rebels could be disastrous for economic stability. more..

Nov 24 (Xinhua) The 2004 Summit and Exhibition of the Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) will be held here from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5, officials of Sri Lankan Information Department announced Wednesday. more..

Nov 24 (AP) Norway's top peace broker will return to Sri Lanka next month to try to help settle key differences between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels amid fears that the island may slip back to war, officials said Wednesday. more..