Jan 19 (DT) The United States has said it had no “foreknowledge” of the tsunami and contradicted allegations that it had withheld the information but had warned its base at Diego Garcia to prevent damage there. more..

Jan 19 (MT) When the tsunami hit Sri Lanka, Shani Karunaratne couldn't believe it. It was as if the ancient Sri Lankan legend of Princess Devi was unfolding before her people's eyes. The legend has it that in the second century B.C., a king who ruled over the west of the island suspected a monk of being involved in an intrigue between the queen and his brother. more..

Jan 19 (Yahoo) Sri Lankan fishermen go out into the sea for fishing in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2005. more..

Jan 19 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's 2005 gross domestic product growth could be cut by 1 percentage point due to the Asian tsunami, according to early estimates, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. more..

Jan 19 (SAMN) UPFA government partner the JVP Tuesday came out strongly against a government decision to appoint business tycoons and others, whom it sees as lethargic bureaucrats, to handle rehabilitation and reconstruction in the tsunami-devastated areas. more..

Jan 19 (SAMN) The inaugural ceremony of the Nation Rebuilding Plan, presented by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, will be held in Kajuwatta, Hambantota this morning. President Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse will be present. more..

Jan 19 (SAMN) Judge of the Court of Appeal Justice S. Sriskandarajah Tuesday issued a warrant for the arrest of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunga for being absent from the Contempt of Court proceedings initiated by former Telecom Chairman Thilanga Sumathipala, without the prior approval of the court. more..

Jan 19 (TP) The devastating killer waves that devoured small pockets of people and ravaged the Sri Lankan shore line has also brought some cheer to ‘budding’ entrepreneurs, some of whom are selling tsunami CDs. The Daily Mirror said several people with hand-held video cameras managed captured heart-rending moments around the island. more..

Jan 19 (LT) Serious criticism was aimed at the way tsunami rehabilitation work is being handled when the Executive Committee of the UPFA net today in Presidential Secretariat. It was stated that District Disaster Management Committees have been appointed without any political leadership. more..

Jan 19 (TS) A cruise ship carrying 626 German holidaymakers arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday, the first passenger vessel to call here since the Asian tsunamis devastated much of the island's coastline. The Delphin Renaissance with a crew of 334 called here for an overnight visit. more..

Jan 19 (CNW) The Sri Lankan Government has allocated to The Salvation Army two parcels of land in the area hardest hit by the Boxing Day tsunami. The two sites, totaling 344 acres are near the village of Galgodawatte in the Galle district, where 53,000 people were left homeless by the tidal wave. more..

Jan 19 (AR) A small note to express our deep appreciation and gratitude for the U.S. Marines serving in Sri Lanka in the tsunami-affected areas. You have to see it to believe that these young people, tireless and brave, do much more than an average human can do. more..

Jan 19 (ANN) Pressure is mounting from the public for a government of national unity to put the country back on its feet, in the wake of the destruction caused by the killer waves of 26th December. more..

Jan 19 (TN) Liberation Tigers’ Political Strategist and Chief Negotiator, Mr. Anton Balasingham, and his wife Adele are scheduled to arrive in Kilinochchi on Friday, sources close to the LTTE told TamilNet. more..

Jan 19 (TN) Pointing out that the Sri Lanka Government's attempts to "isolate LTTE-held areas and indeed the Tamil people from the international system," is straining the relationship between the parties and more..

Jan 19 (LBO) The Ministry of Health says the risk of rabies has increased because of the large number of displaced dogs in tsunami-affected areas. "There are no confirmed cases of rabies but the risk has of course increased because of the increase in free roaming dogs," more..

Jan 19 (SLA) Armed LTTE men in the general cleared area of PALLIYA GODAELLA, PAMBURANA have captured six Muslim cattle breeders on 17 January 2005 threatening that those Muslims should pay ransom to the LTTE if they were to be released. more..

Jan 19 (SLA) Naval troops continue to observe scores of Indian trawlers engaged in poaching inside Sri Lankan waters in the general sea areas of TALAIMANNAR. A flotilla of about thirty two Indian trawlers poaching in the general sea area north of TALAIMANNAR were sighted by naval troops on 17 January 2005 between 2.00-8.00 p.m. more..

Jan 19 (SLA) Major General S. D Tennakoon, Commander Security Forces Headquarters, Jaffna with active support received from Sri Lanka Army Engineers and troops at Palaly Air Force Base, has launched a series of multifarious post-tsunami projects, aimed at restoring normalcy in many disaster-struck areas and fishing hamlets in the Jaffna peninsula. more..

Jan 19 (PRIU) Bangladesh sent emergency relief and rescue missions to Sri Lanka following the December 26 tsunami, which devastated most the southern and eastern coastal areas of the island. more..

Jan 19 (Yahoo) A Sri Lankan man reacts while clearing the debris from his tsunami-ravaged house in the town of Kalmunai on Sri Lanka's east coast January 19, 2005. more..

Jan 19 (Reuters) From debris-strewn beaches where fishermen are defying a ban on rebuilding to jungle hideouts of rebels lobbying for aid, battles over post-tsunami reconstruction could shape peace and politics in Sri Lanka for years to come. more..

Jan 19 (AP) Poland's Prime Minister Marek Belka arrived in Sri Lanka on a brief visit Wednesday to survey the damage caused by last month's tsunami. Belka met Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga at an air base near Hambantota, one of the worst-hit southern districts and was set to leave the island later Wednesday. more..

Jan 19 (Kyodo) Japan's culture ministry decided Wednesday to give 5 million yen ($49,000) to a Japanese team researching damage to sites of cultural significance in Sri Lanka following the deadly tsunamis last month, ministry officials said. more..

Jan 19 (Xinhua) Around 15,000 pregnant women in Sri Lanka have been affected by the tsunami disaster and are in need of special care and attention. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative in Sri Lanka Lubna Baqi said they are working with the Health Ministry and other organizations to meet the emergency reproductive health needs. more..

Jan 19 (Xinhua) The Dec. 26 tsunami disaster, while inflicting endless sufferings on affected south Asian nations with its mass killings, has presented golden opportunities to kick-start stalled peace negotiations in separative Indonesia and Sri Lanka. more..

Jan 19 (ANN) Over one million people in Sri Lanka and Indonesia alone have lost employment as a result of the 26/12 tsunami disaster in Asia, The International Labour Organization (ILO) Tuesday said urging that the reconstruction effort be geared to create strategies for generating employment for the affected millions. more..

Jan 19 (ANN) New Zealand’s initial emergency disaster relief assistance to Sri Lanka has been channelled through UN agencies and NGOs operating in Sri Lanka, to ensure rapid delivery to affected areas. The New Zealand Government has so far approved funding totalling US $ 3.5 million to a total of 25 New Zealand NGOs more..

Jan 19 (ANN) Calls for Early Warning Systems on Tsunamis have been sounded by many in countries that were affected by the Asian tsunami disaster. In this country there is even a demand made for the appointment of a Presidential Commission to inquire into whether a system installed for earthquake warnings with foreign assistance had not been made use of because of bureaucratic apathy. more..

Jan 19 (SFG) Just a few miles inland from the stricken fishing villages, Dr. Vaji Dharmasena hiked up the steep road to Veheragala, a hilltop Buddhist temple now home to 80 families whose houses were bashed to pieces by the sea that once sustained them. more..

Jan 19 (SFG) What started out as a family vacation to the exotic beaches of Sri Lanka turned into a tragic, yet life-affirming experience for a Mill Valley family that arrived in the country on he day of the Indian Ocean tsunami. more..

Jan 19 (Bernama) The Chinese medical team left for home Wednesday early morning after concluding its aid efforts to tsunami-hit Sri Lanka, the Chinese news agency Xinhua said. China sent a 14-member medical team to the island nation on Jan 3 after the tsunami hit South and Southeast Asia on Dec 26, 2004. more..

Jan 19 (DJ) Last month's devastating tsunami will increase the strain on Sri Lanka's government finances, but help from donors will likely prevent a full-blown crisis, officials and analysts said Wednesday. more..

Jan 19 (GI) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse (R) checks his watch as he prepares to lay the foundation stone for a housing project for survivors of the tsunami tragedy in Hambantota, 19 January 2005. more..

Jan 19 (TC) Pictures of happy monsters, books, toys, clothes and money will help a school in Sri Lanka recover from the Indian Ocean tsunami. Students at the Community Montessori School are helping a Sri Lankan Montessori school and learning a few lessons of their own. more..

Jan 19 (KLTV) A group of East Texas men are adding to the relief effort in South Asia. Fourteen members of the "East Texas Disaster Relief Team" are on the ground in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. The group left East Texas last week for what they knew would be a grueling trip. more..

Jan 19 (CI) Sri Lanka Cricket have secured the services of five trauma-counselling experts from the United States to train up the volunteers who will be working in their Cricket-Aid emergency relief camps over the coming months. more..

Jan 19 (SN) JHU held a Press Conference on the 18th of January at Shanthi Viharaya, Colombo 07, pertaining to various issues which have sprung up in the country after "Tsunami" disaster. Ven.Ellawela Medananda Thero, Ven.Dr. Omalpe Sobitha Thero, Ven.Kotapola Amarakitti Thero, Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Tharo, Ven.Dayarathana Thero participated. more..

Jan 19 (CI) Within hours of his arrival back from Melbourne after the Tsunami fundraiser, Muttiah Muralitharan, was back in action once again, hurrying up lethargic customs officials and cutting through red tape so that three containers of emergency aid could be cleared in time for a two-day mission to the south coast. more..

Jan 19 (AFP) Norway's top peace envoy Erik Solheim has arrived in Sri Lanka to launch the first post-tsunami attempt to salvage faltering peace efforts, diplomats said. Solheim, who initially raised Sri Lanka's peace hopes with a landmark meeting with Tamil Tiger rebel supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran in November 2000, more..

Jan 19 (PIS) As the rebuilding of areas devastated by the tsunami kicks off from Hambantota today, pressure is being mounted on two levels of governance, the centre and the local/provincial bodies, forcing constant changes in reconstruction and rehabilitation. more..

Jan 19 (AFP) Sri Lankan filmmakers have called on their "generous friends" in the industry worldwide, especially those who have made movies on the scenic island, to come to the aid of survivors of the tsunami disaster. more..

Jan 19 (AN) The Sri Lankan government will relocate the tsunami survivors with new houses and provide them with all what they had lost in the recent disaster, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse told Arab News in an interview. more..

Jan 19 (DN) UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya has stressed that as a responsible Opposition, the UNP will fully cooperate with the Government to rebuild the nation and reconstruct the areas devastated by tsunami tidal wave. more..

Jan 19 (Reuters) Senior Norwegian officials flying into Sri Lanka will discuss post-tsunami reconstruction efforts and not the island's stalled peace process, the Norwegian embassy in Colombo said on Wednesday. more..

Jan 19 (AFP) President Chandrika Kumaratunga has launched Sri Lanka's ambitious 3.5-billion dollar tsunami recovery drive from this devastated coastal town with an appeal for unity. Government and opposition politicians showed rare unity at the official ceremony to build 6,000 houses here, more..

Jan 19 (Yahoo) Shoes of a Canadian soldier hang from a line at a water purification plant run by the Canadian army in the town of Kalmunai on Sri Lanka's east coast, January 19, 2005. more..

Jan 19 (NPA) Three weeks after the tidal wave more or less destroyed three quarters of Sri Lanka’s coastal strip, the situation for large parts of the population remains extremely difficult. It is estimated that 31,000 people have lost their lives and 6,000 are still missing. 40 per cent of these are children. more..

Jan 19 (Xinhua) An 11-member Chinese expert team on assessment and reconstruction arrived here early Wednesday morning, signaling China is stepping up its relief efforts in the tsunami-hit island country's rehabilitation. more..

Jan 19 (SW) MANY COMMENTATORS hoped that the effects of the tsunami would bring peace to Sri Lanka. At the end of 2004 it seemed that the fragile peace that had ended the 20 years civil war between the government and the LTTE, known as the Tamil Tigers, was collapsing. more..