Jan 11 (ND) It was a typical children's exercise: Take a blank sheet of paper and a pile of crayons, and draw what you like. But the children were survivors of the Dec. 26 tsunami, and their pictures offered Crayola-colored images of some of the frightening memories lingering in their young minds. more..

Jan 11 (TS) Two weeks after the tsunami battered Sri Lanka, people along the coastal region of Ampara are trickling back to what used to be their homes. At the village of Ulla in Pottuvil — popularly known as Arugam Bay — the famed sandy beaches are mottled with debris. more..

Jan 11 (TS) Two Canadian military convoys rumbled out of the Sri Lankan capital this morning — their humanitarian mission threatened on two fronts. Warnings indicated that a cyclone might strike the area the Canadians are headed — the devastated east coast where thousands were killed and 200,000 left homeless by the Dec. 26 tsunami. more..

Jan 11 (BBC) Seven-year-old Chaturangini Kumudamali has painted a bright crayon drawing in green, red, brown, yellow and a little bit of blue showing what she says was her home and the world on the sea shore of Sri Lanka. more..

Jan 11 (Yahoo) Sri Lankan fishermen work late into the night digging out their fishing boats along the beach where they were tossed inland by the tsunami on Dec. 26, 2004 at the coastal city of Beruwala, more..

Jan 11 (NZH) The remains of part of Gamini Fernando's bright little boat are still tethered to the tree where he left it two weeks ago. The small glass-fibre vessel was what kept his family afloat. His wife and three daughters depended on it for their way of life. more..

Jan 11 (ANN) Strongly objecting to, what it described as, an attempt to ‘politicise UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s essentially humanitarian mission’, the Foreign Ministry emphasised that the government did not block a visit to LTTE-held areas by Annan or any member of his delegation. more..

Jan 11 (ANN) The apparel industry reported that it has resumed normal operations speedily in the aftermath of the Tsunami disaster, the join Apparel Association Forum said. Industry responses so far reveal that disruption of production in any event was minimal, more..

Jan 11 (ANN) The need for continued and strong support based on empathy (not sympathy) to tsunami victims is compelling. This is especially so when the enormous human and psychological suffering of the survivors is taken into account. more..

Jan 11 (ANN) Returning to this southern Sri Lankan town has been an emotional rollercoaster ride for Singaporean doctor Rohan Mendis. Though he had prepared himself mentally before flying in with a team of Singapore medical workers to provide aid, the extent of the destruction to property and human lives he saw still came as a shock. more..

Jan 11 (AT) Sri Lankan rebel leader Velupillai Prabaharan is alive says S.Paramu Tamilselvan, the Political Head of the rebel group and the most loyal lieutenant of the Tamil Tiger leader. more..

Jan 11 (AT) State sources say that many Tsunami hit refugees in LTTE areas now in Eastern province camps such as those in Valaichchenai are refusing to re-locate in rebel held areas for fear of having heir children conscripted. more..

Jan 11 (AT) Judge C. G. Weeramantry, former Vice President of the International Court of Justice, has, in a media release, appealed to end divisive party politics which has racked the nation “ever since independence” and warned that “the lack of consensual politics can lead to the destruction of the very foundations of democracy by destroying the cohesiveness of the community.” more..

Jan 11 (AT) The Tsunami mowed down many men women children and buildings - - but is it about to bring down Sri Lanka’s rambunctious political culture? Yes, if the government coalition partner, the JVP’s Wimal Weerwansa and some others have their way. more..

Jan 11 (AT) President Chandrika Kumaratunga told the Sri Lankan psychiatrists who met her that Trauma counseling should take into consideration the Sri Lanka’s socio cultural milieu. more..

Jan 11 (AT) There was only seafood on the menu when Kofi Annan the UN Secretary General was feted by the President just before he left for the Maldives. The state banquet at President’s House which was also attended by Tom Wolfensen the President of the World Bank, Mrs Nan Anan more..

Jan 11 (AT) Somawansa Amerasinghe, the leader of the JVP emphasized with Kofi Anan through his letter as well as when met him personally to take appropriate steps to prevent the relief items channeled for distribution to the Tamils in the North more..

Jan 11 (NST) Faud Emir, 30, a construction worker, cuts a forlorn figure as he walks among the flattened homes, the partially collapsed hospital and the remnants of a college where the laughter and chatter of young people are no longer heard. more..

Jan 11 (Yahoo) Sudath Jayakumara holds a baby sea turtle, one of 22 baby turtles born at the Sea Turtles Project, after the Tsunami hit the hatchery in town of Bentota, Sri Lanka, Monday, Jan. 10, 2005. more..

Jan 11 (SAMN) The government plans to resettle the people, who are now living in environmentally vulnerable and unsafe locations of the affected coastal belt along with the people, who were displaced by the tsunami. more..

Jan 11 (SAMN) The JVP and the JHU at an all party meeting Monday raised questions as to why the 11 million US dollars raised from the cricket aid match between Asia and the Rest of the World were being channelled through the religious NGO known as World Vision. more..

Jan 11 (SAMN) The government has forwarded a special report to donor countries with a view to obtaining assistance to the tune of Rs. 1.5 billion or US$ 15,600 million to rebuild the tsunami-affected areas. more..

Jan 11 (SAMN) In an alleged violation of the ceasefire agreement the LTTE is reconstructing its tsunami destroyed bunkers at Nagarkovil in front of its previously held defence lines, a senior military official in Jaffna said. more..

Jan 11 (IE) They wonder up here whether the south has forgotten the north and how this part of the island was also a victim of the tsunami. That they too have suffered and need aid. Questions are also asked why Kofi Annan was not permitted to visit the area during his weekend visit. more..

Jan 11 (SA) At a hatchery for endangered turtles nearly destroyed by the tsunami two weeks ago, 22 baby turtles have been born. At the Sun and Moon Hotel, Wajira and Lakmal just got married. And at the Prince of Wales College, students are getting ready for a cricket tournament. more..

Jan 11 (AFP) God signed His name in the tsunami that battered Sri Lanka and other countries on December 26, and sent it as punishment because humans have been ignoring His laws, Sri Lankan Muslims say. more..

Jan 11 (SLA) Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Shantha Kottegoda, Mrs. Sonia Kottegoda, President Army Seva Vanitha Unit (ASVU) and a representative group of ASVU were in down south on Sunday (09) with the intention of exploring further possibilities of extending humanitarian assistance to affected families of the Armed Forces and displaced civilians. more..

Jan 11 (SLA) Chief of Staff (COS) , Sri Lanka Army, Major General G.S.C. Fonseka and Director General, General Staff (DGGS) and Commandant Sri Lanka Volunteer Force Major General N. Mallawarachchi recently visited tsunami devastated areas in Jaffna and met a cross section of troops deployed in the peninsula. more..

Jan 11 (SLA) It is a Portugese medical team this time in the north with medical supplies for tsunami victims in Jaffna peninsula. The five-member team, headed by Dr Tony Anthonio now in Sri Lanka following the SOS appeal of the government for humanitarian assistance flew to Jaffna on Sunday (9) with their consignment of medical relief. more..

Jan 11 (SLA) Two teenagers abducted and subsequently conscripted into the LTTE have managed to escape from LTTE custody and surrendered to the Security Forces on 09 January 2005 around 4.45 p.m. in the general area of MURUNKAN seeking protection. more..

Jan 11 (TN) Some of the undamaged schools in the tsunami devastated regions reopened on Monday together with the rest of the schools in the country after the New Year break. Most of the children affected by the tsunami will be starting their lessons with the "school-in-a-box" kits provided by UNICEF. more..

Jan 11 (TN) Thousands of Canadians from all walks of life braved chilling temperatures to show solidarity with the victims of the Asian Tsunami disaster at a vigil at Nathan Phillips Square at the Toronto City Hall organized by the Canadian Tamil Congress on Saturday, sources in Canada said. more..

Jan 11 (TN) Representatives of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) have been appointed to the District Task Force (DTF) established in Jaffna, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Amparai districts to coordinate relief and rehabilitation of tsunami victims who are sheltered in welfare centers, more..

Jan 11 (TN) The US Agency for International AID & Development (USAID) has granted US$ 350,000 to Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) for a Relief and Assistance Project for those affected by the recent Tsunami disaster. more..

Jan 11 (wsws) Sri Lanka’s southern capital of Galle, 120 km from Colombo, was one of the areas worst affected by the December 26 tsunami. According to official statistics, 4,141 lost their lives in the district and 23,053 families, or 120,000 people, were displaced. more..

Jan 11 (LT) Two sea planes sent by Italian government to distribute aid in the North and the East have been taken over by the Air Force on instructions from the Ministry of Defense. These planes are capable of carrying a weight of six tons of goods. more..

Jan 11 (LT) Tissamaharamaya Pradeshiya Sabha has begun building houses for those who lost their houses in tsunami waves ad the first 50 houses will be handed over to the 50 families on 12th (tomorrow) at 10.00 a.m. About 150 families in Kirinda, Adagalawatte lost their abodes in the devastation created by tsunami. more..

Jan 11 (LT) A film depicting various incidents that occurred with tsunami is to be made on the recommendation of Mr. Vijithe Herath, Minister of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage. Tsunami, by its devastation of many lives, cities, villages, buildings etc. more..

Jan 11 (LT) Ms. Sriya Rodrigo, a member of JVP Relief Services Brigade died in a tragic accident on Pagnnasara Mawathe opposite Kumbulwella Purwaramaya in Galle. Ms. Rodrigo was a resident of Beruwala in Kalutara. She met with the accident while engaged in relief work in Galle. more..

Jan 11 (PRIU) The Shell Group has pledged a sum of 50 million Rupees for disaster relief in Sri Lanka. The Country Chairman Mr. Hassan Madani yesterday [10th January] called on President Chandrika Kumaratunga and handed in a cheque for Rs 25 million as a preliminary donation for immediate relief, more..

Jan 11 (Yahoo) Children follow their teacher as they head back to school for the first time after the tsunami in the town of Panadura, Sri Lanka, Monday, Jan. 10, 2005. Some 8,000 children will start lessons in makeshift school rooms, more..

Jan 11 (UNHCR) An airlift of 60 tonnes of much-needed UNHCR relief aid has touched down in Colombo, boosting the refugee agency's supplies and storage capacity for hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Sri Lanka's tsunami-devastated communities. more..

Jan 11 (CI) Thilanga Sumathipala, chairman of Cricket-Aid, led a Sri Lanka Cricket delegation to meet with LTTE sports officials over the weekend and agreed to set-up and manage an emergency camp for 200 families in Mullaitivu, a severely hit part of the east coast, as part of their Cricket-Aid programme. more..

Jan 11 (PIS) The unprecedented global attention being given to the tsunami disaster may herald a new ethos that creates a more caring world. As the second most seriously affected country, behind Indonesia, Sri Lanka has been close to the centre of global attention in the relief effort. more..

Jan 11 (Hindu) EVEN IF ONE were to discount reports that the leader of the LTTE, Velupillai Prabakaran, is among the thousands dead or missing in Sri Lanka after the December 26 tsunami, his absence at a time of unprecedented crisis for the people in the LTTE-controlled North-East is passing strange. more..

Jan 11 (Bloomberg) Sri Lanka will ask the Paris Club group of foreign-creditor governments and the International Monetary Fund to allow it to delay debt payments to help it pay for reconstruction projects after the Dec. 26 tsunami. more..

Jan 11 (LBO) Top multilateral donors who are drawing up new financing plans for Sri Lanka's post-tsunami period are due to stump up over US$ 500 mn in additional loans in the coming weeks, a joint statement said Tue. The Asian Development Bank is putting together a new emergency help package worth between US$ 100 mn to US$ 150 mn. more..

Jan 11 (BBC) Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga wants to adopt a child from the minority Tamil community orphaned by last month's tsunami, officials say. Presidential spokesman Harim Peiris denied there was any political motive in the move. more..

Jan 11 (UNHCR) As its emergency relief efforts gather pace in Sri Lanka, the UN refugee agency has sent a team to the south to discuss the longer-term shelter and documentation needs of people displaced by the tsunami. more..

Jan 11 (IHT) Sri Lanka on Tuesday left its key interest rates unchanged for a second month as the central bank looks for signs that inflation may slow as global oil prices ease. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka kept its repurchase rate, at which it drains money from the banking system, at 7.5 percent, more..