Jan 15 (IL) Tilak Dias comments on the Mahanayake's in essence was correct, however he disregarded some facts. If not for the rich and powerful mahanayake's, there wouldn't be any person to be called a Buddhist in Sri Lanka since about 400 years. He should look into the Sri Lanka history of late, how the last Malayalam Kings tried to promote Hinduism over Buddhism. more..

Jan 15 (IE) For years, this bohemian beach town on scenic Arugam Bay was a colourful stamping ground for surfing fanatics, backpackers and pot-smoking Rastafarians in dreadlocks and Bob Marley T-shirts. more..

Jan 15 (IE) It was another hot, sunny morning on Wednesday at the surviving Commercial Bank branch in town, a good time for leaving checks and deposit slips out to dry and to be sorted. About $10,000 in salty, wet Sri Lankan currency also had to be washed and dried. more..

Jan 15 (YH) wo-and-a-half weeks ago, on Christmas Day, Ayaska Fernando, JE '08, received an ambiguous e-mail from an American friend warning him of pounding tsunamis and storms that would hit Sri Lanka, his home country. He was confused, initially. more..

Jan 15 (NYT) Standing on a darkened beach before daybreak, Syed Ibrahim Yusuf wrestled with fear. The 35-year-old fisherman had hoped to embark on his first return to the sea since a wall of water rewrote his life, his livelihood and his village. more..

Jan 15 (AT) Is the Sri Lankan terrorist group, the LTTE, providing arms training to Tamil expatriates living in western countries? This disturbing question is being asked following recent revelations in “Sunday Leader”, a Sri Lankan weekly newspaper. more..

Jan 15 (AT) Norway wants give the impression to majority Sinhalese in Sri Lanka that Oslo is an impartial arbitrator. But two of the most important ministers of the Norwegian government are guilty of either terrible mistakes or deliberate policy shifts –either ill advised or due to ignorance, which would put them on the defensive. more..

Jan 15 (TO) THE TSUNAMI hit the coastal communities of Sri Lanka like a first fatal heart attack. It came unexpectedly, when people were going about their daily routine, and with killer force. more..

Jan 15 (Yahoo) Sri Lankan aid workers unload relief supplies from a U.S. helicopter in Ampara, Sri Lanka, Friday, Jan. 14, 2005. U.S. helicopters flew into eastern Sri Lanka Friday, more..

Jan 15 (TN) Mr. Lucky Peiris, Governor of Rotary District 3220 Sri Lanka, speaking to journalists in Trincomalee Friday evening, praised the commitment and devotion shown in the Mullaitivu district in providing relief to the Tsunami victims. more..

Jan 15 (TN) Mr.Tadao Chino, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Saturday visited Trincomalee and witnessed the destruction to coastal areas in Tsunami disaster and met with victims sheltered in welfare centres. more..

Jan 15 (TN) Senior Parliamentarian of TNA, Joseph Pararajasingham talking to TamilNet Saturday charged that the reconstruction and relief in the Batticaloa district are being carried out at "Snail's Pace"' despite the presence of deputy minister of relief' reconstruction and rehabilitation D.M. Dassanayake in the area. more..

Jan 15 (SLA) A wife of a civilian from the general area of MANNAR has made a complaint to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) stating that her husband was detained at the LTTE office when they called on the PESALAI LTTE office on 14 January 2005. more..

Jan 15 (SAMN) The proposal to create a buffer zone prohibiting any construction within a minimum of 100 metres from the sea shore would be strictly adhered to and implemented, the Government said Friday. more..

Jan 15 (SAMN) UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said Friday he would appoint a special envoy to oversee relief and reconstruction efforts in Sri Lanka and other countries devastated by the tsunami catastrophe that left more than 160,000 dead. more..

Jan 15 (TN) The government security establishment has deployed its men to salvage weapons buried in the coastal areas of Vadamaradchchi east from Manatkadu to Kudathanai when the Tsunami deadly waves destroyed its naval and army bases last month, sources said. more..

Jan 15 (SAMN) "Along with academic qualifications you must also strive to build your character and reputation as honourable and efficient military officers. In order to achieve this you must always honour democratic ideals and principles, honour human rights and repulse bribery and corruption. more..

Jan 15 (AP) Boats at sea felt only a gentle swell as the Asian tsunami passed under their hulls but by the time the first giant wave slammed into Sri Lanka's coast it was a monstrous 5 meters (15 feet) high, scientists said Saturday. more..

Jan 15 (AFP) Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson has cancelled a two-day visit to tsunami-battered Sri Lanka, a government statement said. Persson was to visit the island on Tuesday and Wednesday next week. more..

Jan 15 (AP) The U.N. World Food Program's director arrived in Colombo on Saturday for a two-day tour of areas in the country that were ravaged by last month's tsunami. James Morris is traveling to the hard-hit southern coastal town of Galle. more..

Jan 15 (SAMN) 'The Reef' Hikkaduwa which was closed after the Tsunami will be reopened on February 1. General Manager of the Hotel Dayal Fernando said that the hotel suffered damage to the ground floor, lobby and the swimming pool and the Connaisance Group which owns and operates the property had reinvested Rs. 15 million. more..

Jan 15 (LAT) At the moment he was running out of air, trapped underwater with his head held down by a slab of concrete and his body repeatedly slammed by the surging tsunami, Evan Russell Kern called to Jesus to save him. more..

Jan 15 (Yahoo) A Sri Lankan boy displaced by tsunami drinks water from a tap at a make-shift shelter in a school in the town of Kalmunai on Sri Lanka's east coast January 15, 2005. more..

Jan 15 (RT) Most of the time, Thilanka Munasinghe is a regular college student. He attends West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va., sleeps in late on the weekends and earns a little money at his cousin's new Blacksburg restaurant, Burruss Square Tavern, during breaks from college. more..

Jan 15 (AP) Sellathuray, a 52-year-old fisherman, fled when government troops seized this coastal town from ethnic Tamil rebels in 1990. He returned seven years later and rebuilt his home. He lost it a second time in the tsunami. This time, his wife died. more..

Jan 15 (AFP) Sri Lanka's famed "stilt" fishermen, spooked by last month's deadly tsunami, are afraid to go back to their perches in the sea, disrupting a generations-old way of life. more..

Jan 15 (AFP) Hopes for peace rose in Sri Lanka as the elusive Tamil Tigers chief planned to meet Norwegian peace brokers next week amid tension between the government and the rebels over tsunami aid. more..

Jan 15 (AR) As Harindra Fernando and his fellow scientists set out from the southern coastal city of Galle on Thursday to study damage left by the tsunami, U.S. Marines began clearing the wreckage. more..

Jan 15 (AR) Harindra Fernando and the other scientists studying the tsunami that ravaged this island nation have heard amazing stories of tragedy, loss, sacrifice and heroism. But none more amazing than that of Victor Desosa, headman of the village of Galbokka, a man who likely saved thousands of lives. more..

Jan 15 (AR) A little tired from the heat, I sat under a palm tree to look through my notes. I had just interviewed the alert Victor Desosa, who saved thousands of lives by paying attention to the sea and realizing everyone needed to head to high ground. more..

Jan 15 (DN) Those arrested yesterday in a suburb south of Colombo were four Iranians and a Uzbekistan woman. Earlier a number of prostitutes from Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Russia, the Ukraine and other Balkan states had been arrested and deported more..

Jan 15 (AFP) Elusive Tamil Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran will next week hold peace talks with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen, an official with the rebels said. "He is going to meet the Norwegian foreign minister next week," Puleedevan, head of the LTTE peace secretariat told AFP in an email. more..

Jan 15 (Yahoo) A Sri Lankan Muslim prays for an identified infant killed in the tsunami, prior to the infant's burial in the town of Kalmunai, on Sri Lanka's east coast, January 14, 2005. more..

Jan 15 (IT) The Russian Emergencies Ministry has sent a mobile hospital and medics to tsunami-stricken Sri Lanka. Two transport planes flew to Sri Lanka from an airfield outside Moscow at 1.28 a.m. (2228 GMT) and 2.15 a.m. (2315 GMT) on Saturday. more..

Jan 15 (APP) A surprise encounter amid the unimaginable devastation wrought by the tsunami in Sri Lanka has brought comfort to a Howell mother worried about her son, who is playing a key role in the humanitarian relief efforts. more..

Jan 15 (OI) From the time giant tsunami waves lashed India, and New Delhi refused relief assistance from foreign governments, a debate has been brewing in the country. Did India turn down offers of help because, as an aspirant for a United Nations Security Council seat, it didn’t want to be seen as accepting aid? more..

Jan 15 (NYT) WOMEN shrieking and what sounded like the roar of a freight train awakened me. I jumped out of bed and ran to the balcony door of our second-floor guest room to see water - filled with wood and cars and pieces of twisted metal - swirling below us. more..

Jan 15 (CP) Canadian soldiers hit the beach here Saturday but it was no holiday. They inflated three 16-foot zodiac-like boats that will be used to ferry people and goods across scenic Arugam Bay on the southeast coast. Each can carry up to about 15 people plus some cargo. more..

Jan 15 (NP) For many Canadians working closely on the tsunami disaster, the shock is wearing off. The mental-health fallout is just beginning. "You know what it's like when you're running on adrenaline," said a senior government source, who asked not to be named. more..

Jan 15 (LAT) In one of the largest relief efforts in history, a new issue is cropping up: mismatched aid. Relief groups have opened boxes meant for tsunami survivors to discover coats sent by donors who were apparently unaware that the island nation is in the tropics, as well as polyester shirts and pants, which don't absorb sweat, and fleece baby clothes. more..

Jan 15 (Xinhua) Authorities in a hospital in Sri Lanka's eastern province is to resort to DNA tests to determine the parents of a four-month-old child left destitute by the tsunami last month, the state radio said here Saturday. more..

Jan 15 (AP) Sri Lanka will resume talks on import of Myanmar rice soon despite temporary suspension of the talks due to Sri Lanka`s hard hit by the recent tsunami, the local 7-Day News reported in its latest issue. more..

Jan 15 (HT) Pulithevan, the top-most LTTE official liasing with international NGOs, has scotched a rumour that the LTTE's supremo, Velupillai Prabhakaran, has been killed in the tsunami disaster. "Our leader is alive and fit," Pulithevan told Hindustan Times more..

Jan 15 (HT) Sir Arthur Clarke, the renowned science writer, has slammed Sri Lankans for plundering the coral reefs and mangroves along their island country's coast, and said that if this had not been done, the tsunami waves might have been less devastating. more..

Jan 15 (Xinhua) The Asian Development Bank has pledged Sri Lanka 200 million US dollars as tsunami relief assistance, the state radio announced here Saturday. ADB President Tadao Chino has assured the release of funds for short term and long term reconstruction and rehabilitation, the radio said. more..

Jan 15 (BT) Determined to forget the tsunami troubles, Sri Lankan students brim with hope to focus on what lies ahead – their future – as schools reopen and communities seek to normalise the lives of thousands of children traumatised by walls of water, writes david rohde. more..

Jan 15 (Yahoo) Sri Lankans inspect the Kirinda Rajamaha Vihara buddhist temple in Kirinda. The devastating tsunami tidal waves killed more than 30,500 people in Sri Lanka. more..

Jan 15 (AFP) The Sri Lankan government blocked the visit of the UN's World Food Program director to the northern rebel-held town of Kilinochchi, a WFP spokeswoman said. "We have not been given clearance to go to Kilinochchi" by government officials, spokeswoman Selvi Sachithanandam told AFP more..

Jan 15 (AT) Colonel Karuna in an appeal has appealed to Tamil diasporas to channel their donations to the tsunami affected Tamils through the internationally recognised charities. more..

Jan 15 (ANN) The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) accused the Health Ministry of not keeping tabs on the medical assistance given in Tsunami affected areas. more..