Aug 5 (AFP) Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga has condemned the deaths of a police official and a barber in the northern town of Jaffna. The policeman was hacked to death by a mob after a soldier accidentally fired his weapon, killing the barber, officials say. more..

Aug 5 (AP) Police lifted a curfew in Sri Lanka's ethnic Tamil heartland today, a day after a mob of angry Tamils hacked a top police officer to death and threw stones at military vehicles. Residents had been told to stay home since late yesterday and the main road was closed in Jaffna town on the Jaffna Peninsula, more..

Aug 6 (TN) "Time has come for the International Community to provide direct aid to the Tamil homeland without waiting for Colombo," LTTE's Political Head Mr. Thamilchelvan told reporters in Kilinochchi after a meeting with the Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Vidar Helgesen and his delegation at LTTE's Peace Secretariat on Friday. more..

Aug 6 (OF) Oxfam is conducting a public health awareness campaign in Sri Lanka’s Matara and Killinochi Districts to educate tsunami-affected families living in transitional housing about how to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. more..

Aug 6 (BBC) Visiting Norwegian deputy foreign minister Vidar Helgesen has expressed regret on the killings of a senior police officer and a Tamil civilian in Jaffna. After meeting LTTE’s political wing leader SP Thamilselvan in Kilinochchi, the minister told the journalists that the parties should take steps to prevent such situations in the future. more..

Aug 6 (BBC) Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ordered the Commissioner of Elections to file objections, if any, to a petition calling for the courts to determine that the forthcoming presidential elections to be held this year. more..

Aug 6 (AFP) Sri Lanka’s president has called for a review of the Oslo-brokered truce, the government said on Friday as a top Norwegian envoy made another attempt to salvage the island’s troubled peace process. more..

Aug 6 (Reuters) A Norwegian peace envoy on Friday warned against any efforts to amend Sri Lanka's ceasefire with Tamil Tiger rebels, saying both sides must find ways to better implement a truce that halted two decades of war. more..

Aug 6 (HT) Glaring inaccuracies in CBK, which the Sri Lankan government web site had grandly touted as the "official English language biography" of President Chandrika Kumaratunga, have forced her to issue a disclaimer saying that it is not her "authorized" biography. more..

Aug 6 (FE) The first formal meeting of the environmental monitoring committee for the Sethusamudram Ship Channel project under the chairmanship of Dr S Kannaiyan is scheduled to be held here on August 9. more..

Aug 6 (AT) On Thursday President Chandrika Kumaratunga discussed with the Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen on ways and mean of “reviewing” – not changing – the flawed Ceasefire Agreement which is running into serious difficulties. more..

Aug 6 (AT) Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen, who is currently on a 4-day visit to Sri Lanka is well aware that this would be his last visit as a peace facilitator to this country. It is a foregone conclusion that Helgesen and his boss, Foreign Minister Jan Petersen will be out of their jobs after September 12 general elections. more..

Aug 6 (AT) Prime Minister Tony Blair’s tough anti-terror measures announced last night at a press conference should have serious consequences to the LTTE agents using UK as a base for (1) fostering hatred, and (2) advocating and justifying violence and (3) justifying and glorifying terrorism anywhere in the world. more..

Aug 6 (AT) In denouncing “the unfortunate shooting incident in a barber saloon in Innuvil, on Thursday, the 04th of August 2005” and the consequent killing of the Superintendent of Police, Charles Wijewardena, President Chandrika Kumaratunga says that she “is perturbed by the frequency of these provocative incidents during the past several weeks. more..

Aug 6 (LT) Commissioner of Elections has no authority to hold elections against the Constitution say the SLFP. This has been stated in an announcement issued by Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, General Secretary of the SLFP. more..

Aug 6 (LBO) Sri Lanka Telecom’s tariff dispute could set the telco giant back by a few billions in profits depending on how the Appeal Court ruling against its tariff is interpreted. The fixed line giant is however expected to file its appeal to the July ruling against its 2003 tariff hike in the Supreme Court on Monday. more..

Aug 6 (TN) An LTTE delegation led by Mr.C.Ilamparithi, Jaffna district political head and Major General Sunil Tennekoon, Jaffna area commander of SLA, met at 6.45pm for nearly two hours in the presence of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Jaffna SLMM offices. more..

Aug 6 (TN) The young woman whose body was found at Batticaloa Methodist College on Wednesday was raped before she was stabbed to death, according the post-mortem analysis conducted by the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Mr. M.A.M. Rahman, Batticaloa Hospital sources said. more..

Aug 6 (TN) The Sri Lanka's Supreme Court (SC) Friday allowed the petition filed by the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), all monks' party, in the Sri Lanka Presidential election date controversy to be heard before a five-member bench on August 22. more..

Aug 6 (TN) In a press briefing held in Colombo Friday parliamentarians from Upcountry Peoples Front (UPF), Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) and United National Party (UNP) called for the resignation of Deputy Minister Mervyn Silva over his racial slurs directed at the Tamils of Indian Origin more..

Aug 6 (PIS) President Chandrika Kumaratunga told peace facilitator Norway yesterday her government would go ahead with the implementation of the P-TOMS agreement within the parameters of the recent order given by the Supreme Court. more..

Aug 6 (PIS) The LTTE's political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan has pointed out to the Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen that the stalled peace process could be resumed by implementing the P-TOMS (Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure). more..

Aug 6 (LM) The LTTE trumpets in Colombo media blamed the innocent Jaffna tamil civilians for the murder of the SP Charles Wijewardena. The pro LTTE media had claimed that the SP. Charles Wijewardena died in the hands of the Tamil civilians. more..

Aug 6 (LT) Patriotic National Movement in a press release signed by its co-secretary Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekara condemns the assassination of SP SP Wijegunawardhana after he was brutally tortured by the Wanni Tigers’ Organisation in Jaffna. more..

Aug 6 (DN) JAFFNA Bishop Thomas Savundaranayagam commenting on the unfortunate incident where Jaffna SP Charles Wijewardena was brutally killed, said that no one should be allowed to take the law into their own hands adding that both Security Forces and the LTTE should take the responsibility of preventing such incidents in the future. more..

Aug 6 (TP) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse has made a special request to Tamil rebels (LTTE) to provide the necessary facilities for him to participate in the “Madhu feast” at this famous Catholic church in rebel-held territory in Sri Lanka’s northwest Mannar district. more..

Aug 6 (TP) Private bus operators, three wheel drivers and other transport groups are to launch a full-scale countrywide strike on Monday, to protest over the government’s decision to increase road fines by huge margins, the Daily Mirror reported. more..

Aug 6 (SAMN) The UNP will begin its ‘Dorin Dora’ campaign on Sunday (7). Groups of the party’s parliamentarians provincial councillors and representatives will go from door to door to educate the people on the present political situation in the country. more..

Aug 6 (SAMN) Deputy Minister Mervyn Silva, who was on warrant to be arrested yesterday, surrendered himself to Colombo Magistrate’s Court through a counsel. Additional Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya issued warrant on Thursday on Hewakoperage Mervyn Silva following his absence on two occasions to give evidence in a cash fraud case. more..

Aug 6 (LNP) The Court of Appeal granted leave until September 15 to raise any objections when the petition for leave to appeal against the order of acquittal of S. B. Dissanayake came up for hearing before the Court yesterday. The matter was taken up before the Bench comprising Justices D.J.de S.Balapatabendi and Sisira Abrew. more..

Aug 6 (SAMN) The Ministry of Ports and Aviation said yesterday that the new terminal at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) will be opened in November. The announcement follows Minister Mangala Samaraweera on Thursday making an inspection tour at the BIA. more..

Aug 6 (ANN) Security was beefed up and a curfew imposed in Jaffna following the murder of Superintendent of Police Charles Wijewardena by the LTTE and the increasing tension in the area, a military source said yesterday (Aug 5). more..

Aug 6 (TN) There has been no proper investigation or punishment of culprits in the many cases of murders of human rights defenders and journalists in Sri Lanka, noted Ms. Deirdre McConnell in an oral intervention on the agenda item 3, "Administration of Justice, Rule of Law And Democracy," more..

Aug 6 (IANS) Efforts continue to secure the release of S. Mahalingam, the Sri Lankan captain of a World Food Programme (WFP)-hired vessel that was hijacked in late June off the coast of Somalia, Xinhua reports. more..

Aug 7 (TN) Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mr.Chandra Fernando Saturday paid an official visit to Jaffna and held discussion with officers-in-charge of all police stations in the district. The discussion was held at the office of Police Headquarters at Kankesanthurai, which is located in the high security zone, more..

Aug 7 (CI) West Indies stormed back into contention in the IndianOil Cup with a convincing 33-run victory over Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. After fifties from Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sylvester Joseph had propelled West Indies to a competitive total of 226, their bowlers performed as a tight unit to demolish Sri Lanka's batting. more..

Aug 7 (TP) As the garbage crisis grew in Sri Lanka’s capital city, newspapers said there was a possibility that the Western Provincial Council (WPC) will take over the garbage disposal of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC). more..

Aug 7 (LT) The Government, any other individual or organizations with authority don't take any interest in the murders of their members says the President of Police Superintendents' Union. He said this participating in a programme broadcast by a private radio channel. more..

Aug 7 (AT) The accidental firing of a gun carried by a soldier sparked off the Innuvil incident. The gun went off around 1.30 p.m. on Thursday (August 4, 2005) inside a barber shop killing Seethurooban (24) and injuring another inside the shop. more..

Aug 7 (AT) The ongoing events in Jaffna demonstrate how close we are to the abyss, how easily things can spin out of control. Any incident, be it an accident or a deliberate act, can and will be used by the Tigers to create mayhem as a prelude to a generalised outbreak of violence. more..

Aug 7 (AT) The Government and some supportive economists boast about Sri Lanka's Per Capita income reach just above US $ 1000. But measuring the progress of a country's economic development is a by-gone yardstick. Today the parameters of such measurement would be low poverty rate, full employment, better facilities such as education, health, water etc for the people. more..

Aug 7 (ANN) Sri Lanka’s newest television station, Derana, owned by a new company called Powerhouse, hopes to begin beaming programmes to the Western Province within the next few weeks, its owners said. "We are targeting September but it may be October when we get on the air," Dilith Jayaweera, one of the two directors of Powerhouse, said. more..

Aug 7 (TP) Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry is probing reports that some items gifted as tsunami relief and used in caesarian operations may have caused a meningitis outbreak at three Colombo hospitals. The Daily Mirror reported that a ministry committee has recommended to temporarily withhold the drugs and items used in the procedure until the full investigation is completed. more..

Aug 7 (BBC) Defence Spokesman of the Sri Lanka Army, Brigadier Daya Ratnayake speaking to the BBC Sandeshaya , reiterated that the incident that took place in a saloon in the Inuvil area of Jaffna was a genuine accident. more..

Aug 7 (TN) A shop owner was seriously injured and another civilian injured when two unidentified persons riding a motorbike lobbed a grenade into a shop at Chenkalady junction, a high security zone area between Sri Lanka army garrison in Kommathurai and the Black Bridge checkpoint, 15 km. north of Batticaloa. more..

Aug 7 (TN) Commissioner of Election Mr.Dayananda Dissanayake is reported to have decided to meet the leaders of all main political parties during the next two weeks before taking a decision to fix the date for the next presidential election. more..

Aug 7 (TN) Mr. Arthur Tveiten, Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee district held discussions with the representatives of Trincomalee District Tamil Peoples' Forum (TDTPF) and Trincomalee heads of Sri Lanka government security forces more..

Aug 7 (TN) Mr. Sivarajah Mariyapalan, 22, a fisherman, was shot in his head and killed by unidentified persons who abducted him Saturday evening at Arumugathankudiyiruppu village in Eravur, Police said. The victim, a resident of the village, went for fishing to Savukkady sea around 9:00 p.m., parents told Eravur Police. more..

Aug 7 (LM) The Sri Lanka Military today released the important photos relating to the Inuvil Incident taken immediately after the incident. According to the photos, the unfortunate bullet round had misfired not from in side the saloon but from the out side of the saloon building. more..

Aug 7 (LT) An exercise has begun to remove the graduates and all other employees appointed to the Ministry of Agriculture during former Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake's period. This operation is said to be carried out by the newly appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture Jagath Pushpakumara who acts as the Minister of Agriculture as well. more..