Aug 7 (LT) More information has been given to the CID about the controversial bank account of the Prime Minister Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse says UNP Parliamentarian Kabeer Hashim. A few days ago Parliamentarian Kabeer Hashim made a complaint against Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse regarding 'Helping Hambantota' account. more..

Aug 7 (PIS) LTTE’s political wing leader S. P. Thamilselvan has told Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen they did not want a review of the Ceasefire Agreement but wanted the strict adherence to the agreement by both sides. more..

Aug 7 (IPS) Known as one of the world's most ruthless militant outfits, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are now earning a green reputation for enforcing a ban on polythene carry bags and other non-biodegradable plastics in territories under its control. more..

Aug 7 (DR) The island nation of Sri Lanka is a world away but each year for the past three decades, the culture and heritage of its people has been celebrated locally on one special day; "Lanka Dinaya." "(It's) Sinhalese for Sri Lankan Day," explained Pushpa R. Jagoda, referring to one of the country's languages. more..

Aug 7 (KT) Former Sri Lankan star Aravinda de Silva feels that the present national side has the stuff to do well in 2007 World Cup. “They have shown in this tournament that they have the variety and depth. If they can also produce such results abroad, Sri Lanka will be a threat in 2007,” said De Silva, more..

Aug 7 (SAMN) The Prime Minister's office responding to a news item titled 'Rajapakse camp wants poll this year' published in the Island newspaper 4th August 2005 says: "This news item attempts to give the impression to the reader that the 'Rajapakse Camp' wishes that next Presidential Election be held in 2005 and not in 2006. more..

Aug 7 (SO) One of the biggest vehicle thefts ever reported in Sri Lanka was busted following the recovery of 61 stolen vehicles from different parts of the country. The Fort Police station was a hive of activity last week with several persons calling there to make inquiries about the stolen vehicles, more..

Aug 7 (SAMN) Big plantation companies are again engaged in massive destruction practices causing a severe environmental, economic and social crisis in the Nuwara Eliya and Badulla districts. Plantation companies which acquired the management of state owned tea estates under the 99-year lease are now replanting fertile tea lands with potatoes. more..

Aug 7 (LNP) The JVP is weighing the option of fielding a candidate at the forthcoming presidential election and has not ruled out this possibility, well informed sources said. According to these sources the party was also exploring the possibility of fielding a common candidate. In that case, the candidate would be a non-party member. more..

Aug 7 (LNP) The UN Children`s Fund (UNICEF), which has been closely monitoring the growing recruitment of child soldiers by the LTTE, wants the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute rebel leaders and armed groups that abuse children. more..

Aug 7 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's longest truce with the Tamil Tigers will hold despite a rash of killings the military and the rebels each blame on the other, but they must rebuild trust to avoid escalation, the chief ceasefire monitor warned. more..

Aug 8 (TN) More than one thousand Muslims demonstrated in front of Katankudy Divisional Secretariat Monday morning demanding permanent solution and compensation to the victims affected by the Sri Lankan Government-declared 200 meter buffer zone following the December 26 tsunami. more..

Aug 8 (TN) A shop and the house of a Muslim businessman, Mr. Abdul Kaleem, located on Uoor Road in Kattankudy, were burnt down Sunday night in a suspected sectarian attack, Police said. Two months ago, Mr. Abdul Kaleem had distributed handbills stating that he was not a follower or supporter of the 'Payilvaan', more..

Aug 8 (TN) Mr.Kulanthaian Thirunavukarasu aged 45 and a father of three children died in a pressure mine explosion that took place Sunday evening when he was clearing his land close to Pandrithalaichchchi Amman temple area in Madduvil in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district, Police said. more..

Aug 8 (TN) Sri Lanka Police Station in Jaffna is reported to have stopped taking complaints from public after the abduction and murder of Mr. Charles Wijewardene, Jaffna Police Superintendent last Thursday following the killing of a Tamil civilian at Inuvil in Jaffna district, civil sources said. more..

Aug 8 (SLA) Thousands of anti-LTTE protesters carrying protest banners and placards walked down to KANTALE center in TRINCOMALEE on Monday (08) morning at about 10.30 a.m. and agitated for immediate stop to continuing LTTE violence in the area. more..

Aug 8 (SLA) Three civilians from KANDEGAMA, POLONNARUWA, have been fired upon by three LTTE men in black colour clothes on 06 August 2005 around 5.30 a.m. bringing death to one of them when they had entered the general un-cleared area of AMBALAMA. more..

Aug 8 (SLA) The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) were witnesses to a gross violation of the MoU by LTTE men when they visited a public place at POTHPATHY village in JAFFNA on 07 August 2005 where the LTTE screened an LTTE film on their “heroic” acts in order to promote LTTE recruitment campaign under the guise of a film on tsunami tragedy. more..

Aug 8 (SLA) The funeral of the hairdresser, who fell victim to an accidental discharge of the weapon carried by a soldier in INUVIL, JAFFNA area on Thursday (04) took place at TAVADI cemetery on Sunday (07) amidst a gathering of about one hundred mourners. more..

Aug 8 (LBO) Sri Lanka's exchange rate has started to depreciate faster despite the Central Bank using its reserves to defend the currency. From November 2003 the Sri Lanka rupee fell rapidly as government fiscal discipline slipped and dollar inflows slowed. more..

Aug 8 (BBC) Sri Lanka’s Attorney General (AG) has started investigations against police on charges of contempt of court. The AG has initiated the enquiry after the Colombo Fort magistrate ordered the department to investigate the alleged attack on police officers by the son of a deputy minister. more..

Aug 8 (Reuters) India captain Rahul Dravid believes Sri Lanka, who have won three of their four matches in the tournament, will be the side under pressure going into the triangular series final on Tuesday. India booked their place in the showpiece match with a seven-run victory against West Indies more..

Aug 8 (GT) THE Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has not ruled out the possibility of fielding a candidate in the forthcoming presidential election, the Sunday Island said, quoting informed sources. According to these sources the party was also studying the possibility of fielding a common candidate. more..

Aug 8 (GT) TAMIL United Liberation Front (TULF) leader V Anandasangaree has accused a section of the Tamil media of being part of an LTTE conspiracy to assassinate him. The veteran politician has said that the LTTE was using both print and electronic media to prepare the grounds to eliminate him. more..

Aug 8 (AT) A statement issued by the Politbureau of the JVP states that their Trincomalee office was bombed and shot at by Tigers on midday, Sunday. The hand bomb thrown by the Tigers who came in motorcycles had struck a post in the office and exploded without injuring anyone. more..

Aug 8 (AT) Australian Front organisations of the LTTE have launched a propaganda drive in order to mobilise the support of the Australian Tamils for the LTTE in anticipation of an outbreak of war in Sri Lanka between the rebels and the Sri Lankan security forces. more..

Aug 8 (AT) A pro Sri Lanka Tamil Tiger academic, Professor Palanisamy Ramasamy' services has been terminated by the university, effective from 26 August, without stating reasons, by a letter dated 27 July. He is a professor at the Center for History, Political Science and Strategic Studies at the Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia . more..

Aug 8 (AT) Anti-LTTE Tamil websites are issuing warnings to diplomats and NGOs saying that they may be the next victims of Tamil Tiger “barbarism”. Tamil websites are also reacting angrily after the killing of Superintendent of Police Charles Wijewardene by the Tamil Tigers in Jaffna last Thursday. more..

Aug 8 (LT) Bus Drivers Union is to stage a general strike starting from tomorrow in protest of increase in rate of fines. All Ceylon Drivers Association has organized the strike which will be joined by private bus owners and three wheel drivers. more..

Aug 8 (PSL) THE Chinese government has agreed to grant US dollars 500 million to implement the Norachcholai Thermal Power Project in Sri Lanka, which has received the green light from the government, CEB (Ceylon Electricity Board) sources told the "Daily News". more..

Aug 8 (IANS) Banking on a 20 percent rise in visitors from India, Sri Lanka is planning more incentive packages for Indian tourists, particularly the leisure traveller. "Tourist flow from India has shown a 42.6 percent rise this year between January and June, and the board expects around 120,000 tourists from India by the yearend," more..

Aug 8 (TP) President Chandrika Kumaratunga will be one of the few heads of state who will address the United Nations twice next month — the summit meeting of world leaders on September 14-16 immediately followed by the 60th session of the General Assembly beginning September 17, newspapers said. more..

Aug 8 (TP) At least 200 women are among some 350 Sri Lankans currently serving time in jails across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Sunday Times reported. It quoted a warning from officials that this figure is likely to rise during the summer as the authorities launch a crackdown on illegal workers in the country. more..

Aug 8 (ANN) President Chandrika Kumaratunga has warned the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) that the government will have to withdraw the land allocated to the IFRC/Red Cross and give it to other organisations if there is further delay in reconstructing houses destroyed by the Dec 26 tsunami last year. more..

Aug 8 (ANN) President Chandrika Kumaratunga, her staff and all those who sought to win her favour by getting a Scottish writer to produce a much-hyped biography of CBK has ended with a lot of egg on their faces as a result of the many howlers in the book they eventually produced. more..

Aug 8 (PIS) Special Task Force (STF) Commandant DIG Nimal Lewke who visited the Eastern command of the STF in Ampara and Batticaloa District recently briefed his ground commanders on the policies of the Government, the present ground situation in the East, more..

Aug 8 (PIS) The longest truce with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will hold despite a rash of killings the military and the Tigers blame on each other, but they must rebuild trust to avoid escalation, the chief ceasefire monitor says. more..

Aug 8 (DN) The date of the Presidential Elections is prescribed in the Constitution and is not discretionary upon anybody and should and would be determined in the Courts, legal sources familiar with the Constitution said yesterday. more..

Aug 8 (SAMN) The LTTE has so far not responded to the request by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse to visit Mannar for the Madhu Feast on August 15. Bishop of Mannar Rev. Rayappu Joseph told the Daily Mirror that the Prime Minister had asked him whether he could visit the Madhu Church and he had conveyed the message to the concerned parties. more..

Aug 8 (LNP) Following the recent incident at a Colombo Night Club involving a Parliamentarian`s son, security personnel attached to Parliamentarians have been ordered to refrain from accompanying politicos` children. more..

Aug 8 (LNP) The Jathika Hela Urumaya yesterday said they would support Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse at the next presidential election on condition that he agreed to their demands. In the event he did not agree with them, they would be forced to field their own candidate at the election, JHU sources said. more..

Aug 8 (LNP) President Chandrika Kumaratunga yesterday said discipline in schools was deteriorating fast and thugs were ruling university hostels. Addressing a ceremony in Badulla to mark the laying of the foundation stone for the Uva Wellassa University, the President said the standards at most schools and universities had deteriorated drastically. more..

Aug 8 (CI) West Indies nearly upset the pre-tournament predictions with a brave rally at the weekend, but India scraped through by seven runs to give the organisers, broadcasters and spectators the final they wanted: a heavyweight sub-continental clash between Sri Lanka and India, a re-run of the Asia Cup final last year and the ICC Champions Trophy back in 2002. more..

Aug 8 (LBO) Over one and quarter billion rupees is likely to be lost due to government's recent Value Added Tax (VAT) exemptions on milk-powder and LP Gas. A top Treasury source says the losses are in addition to a Rs. 7 billion shortfall expected in the second half due to (VAT) exemptions on diesel. more..

Aug 8 (HT) Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), which is ruling the country as the head of a coalition, is under stress ahead of the crucial presidential election. It seems to be constantly getting in and out of trouble, is unable to decide on a firm course of action in any sphere, and is not sure who its allies will be. more..

Aug 8 (AP) A train struck an empty passenger car sitting on a railroad track in southern Sri Lanka on Monday, injuring at least 20 people, police said. The train crashed into the carriage in Ratmalana, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the capital Colombo. more..

Aug 8 (LT) A massive demonstration to protest against the grenade attack on the JVP office in Kanthale and JVP Parliamentarian Jayanthe Wijesekera was held today at Kanthale. All the shops and government institutes in Kanthale town were closed and black flags had been hoisted everywhere in the town. more..

Aug 8 (IT) Sri Lanka, like India, is also planning to regulate foreign educational institutions operating in the country. Faced with reports of gross inefficiency, lack of facilities and rank exploitation, the Sri Lankan government wants them to be under the purview of the University Grants Commission (UGC). more..

Aug 8 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka's main opposition UNP has launched a signature campaign to force the holding of the country's next presidential election by the year's end. The UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe inaugurated the petition campaign from the party headquarters Monday aimed at getting over 1 million signatures to urge the authorities to order the poll. more..

Aug 8 (PTI) Sri Lanka's tsunami survivors and their needs have largely been ignored by the authorities responsible for the reconstruction effort, a United Nations agency said today. more..