Jan 6 (TN) The Supreme Court said in its determination that the Bill tabled by Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) seeking to amend the Constitution prohibiting conversion of Buddhists and binding practising Buddhists to bring up their off spring in the same religion should be passed in parliament with two-third majority more..

Jan 6 (TN) Two US Senators arrived in Colombo Thursday on the part of the ongoing international assistance to Sri Lanka and undertook visits to tsunami-hit areas in the Southern and Eastern provinces. more..

Jan 6 (TN) TNA Vanni district parliamentarians vehemently protested against the directive of the President to hand over the management of welfare centres where Tsunami victims are sheltered to the State armed forces at a conference held at the Vavuniya district secretariat Thursday more..

Jan 6 (TN) The Government of Sri Lanka, UNICEF and Save the Children Sri Lanka (SCiSL) are working together to ensure safety for children who survived last week Tsunami disaster, from violence, exploitation and abuse, said in a joint press release issued by UNICEF and SCiSL Thursday. more..

Jan 6 (TN) Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) in collaboration with the North East Provincial Ministry of Education, Cultural Affairs, Sports and Youth Affairs has launched a project to provide psycho counselling to students and others who are affected by the Tsunami disaster, more..

Jan 6 (TN) Corporal Somaretna Rajapakse of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) who was sentenced to death in the Krishanthy Cumaraswamy rape and murder case submitted his objection in the Jaffna High Court Wednesday in several Habeas Corpus (HC) applications regarding missing persons after the arrest by army soldiers during the period 1996-1997. more..

Jan 6 (TN) In order to learn about the extent of damages and ongoing remedial measures, the newly appointed District Coordinator of Relief Work for Vavuniya district Major General P.S.B. Kulatunga who is also the Commander, Security Forces Headquarters Wanni Tuesday (4) visited Pulmoddai and Kokilai areas. more..

Jan 6 (SLA) Sixty five aircraft carrying immediate relief and medical supplies from the four corners of the earth have so far turned up at Bandarnaike International Airport, Colombo after tsunami tidal waves struck the coastal belt of Sri Lanka on 26th December 2004. more..

Jan 6 (SLA) A large consignment of medicine and essentials collected by Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) for distribution among Jaffna based tsunami victims were delivered to the Jaffna health authorities by Mr. S.M. Chandrasena, Deputy Minister for Women’s Development and Social Welfare who was recently in Jaffna. more..

Jan 6 (wsws) Ampara district on the southeastern coast of Sri Lanka was directly in the path of the December 26 tsunami and was the first to be hit. Massive waves swept over the low-lying coast without warning, flattening buildings and sweeping people away. more..

Jan 6 (PRIU) For the past two decades the Government has been sending food and essential supplies to the Northern and Eastern Provinces to be distributed to people displaced by the military conflict. These items were distributed through the District Administration headed by the Government Agents in each of the districts. more..

Jan 6 (AT) The Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebels are reportedly upset over the arrival of foreign naval vessels, troops and aircraft for tsunami relief operations in Sri Lanka. News reports indicating the displeasure of LTTE leadership are carried by pro LTTE newspapers and websites. more..

Jan 6 (AP) Bill Frist, majority leader in the U.S. Senate, visited tsunami-stricken southern Sri Lanka on Thursday and pledged U.S. government support and American private sector for tens of thousands who lost homes and loved ones. more..

Jan 6 (AFP) Sri Lanka's tsunami disaster relief operation was hit by tensions between Tiger rebels and the government over aid distribution as world leaders prepared to arrive for a first-hand view of the devastation wrought by the gigantic waves. more..

Jan 6 (AFP) With 170 schools damaged or destroyed by the tsunami and another 224 being used to accommodate the homeless, Sri Lanka's education authorities are scrambling to find alternative facilities before start of the school year. more..

Jan 6 (AP) Exhausted after barely surviving the Asian tsunami, 17-year-old Nelum was lying on the cement floor of a relief center when she felt a hand on her knee. It was her 62-year-old grandfather, who pushed himself on top of her, putting his hand over her mouth, recalled Nelum, who asked that her surname not be given. more..

Jan 6 (Reuters) Six-year-old Shifa Maryam was reading the Koran with her classmates when the first wave hit. "The teacher shouted: 'Children, run!' We ran," she said, rushing through her story excitedly. "The water came up to here," she added, putting her hand to her neck. "I don't know what happened next." more..

Jan 6 (AP) Sri Lanka will ban the construction of new houses within 300 meters (990 feet) of the coast as a precaution to avoid future tsunami disasters, an official said Thursday. The Dec. 26 earthquake-triggered tsunami killed more than 30,000 people on this tropical island and destroyed more than 96,000 homes. more..

Jan 6 (Reuters) From a few hundred feet up, with the breakers curling lazily on mile after mile of yellow sand beneath blue skies, it is easy to see why this teardrop-shaped island was once called Serendip. more..

Jan 6 (Yahoo) A tsunami victim waits in line for food in a camp at the eastern coastal village of Kattankudi, near Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2005. more..

Jan 6 (Bloomberg) Sri Lanka's government rejected charges by a Tamil aid group that the army is diverting relief supplies earmarked for tsunami victims in areas held by Tamil rebels in the northeast of the island. more..

Jan 6 (EM) Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Canada, Geetha De Silva, insists that accusations of the misuse and seizure of humanitarian supplies in her tsunami-ravaged country are false. Mrs. De Silva said some Sri Lankan expatriate groups in Canada are trying to distort the reality of the recovery effort. more..

Jan 6 (Bloomberg) The U.S., the U.K. and India will coordinate efforts to provide food and medicines in Sri Lanka and rebuild the island nation ravaged by last week's tsunami. "We'll work closely with India and the U.S. to provide relief and expertise to help rebuild Sri Lanka's communities," more..

Jan 6 (Dawn) The LTTE hierarchy is reportedly undergoing a bout of anxiety about President Kumaratunga's sudden move last Tuesday to appoint senior officers of the Sri Lanka Army to coordinate the relief efforts in the Tsunami affected districts including the war torn North East which has a large presence of LTTE cadres. more..

Jan 6 (Reuters) Vinayadamoorthy Jeyakumaran drove east to west across Sri Lanka and back again to pick up a form from the Canadian High Commission in Colombo. "I hear the Canadian embassy is giving open visas. I don't have anything left. I want to go to Canada," more..

Jan 6 (Bloomberg) Sri Lanka's economic growth will be affected "materially" this year after the Dec. 26 tsunamis left more than 30,000 people dead in the south Asian island, Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd. said today. more..

Jan 6 (AFX) Sri Lanka's tsunami disaster relief operation was hit by tensions between Tamil Tiger rebels and the government over aid distribution as world leaders prepared to arrive for a first-hand view of the devastation wrought by the gigantic waves. more..

Jan 6 (IANS) A Sri Lankan minister has asked people to stop burning debris containing polythene and plastics, thrown up when last week's tsunami ravaged the countryside, saying the toxic gases would pollute the environment. more..

Jan 6 (DN) Inspector General of Police Chandra Fernando who visited the South with a team of Police personnel including the Welfare Officials ordered to arrest all the looters and other elements attempting to take advantage of the situation in the tsunami affected areas. more..

Jan 6 (Xinhua) US Secretary of State Colin Powell will pay a short visit to tsunami-ravaged Sri Lankan on Friday, the US Embassy in Colombo said Thursday. Powell is scheduled to arrive in Colombo at noontime on Friday and leave the country after about three hours, said an official from the US Embassy. more..

Jan 6 (ND) A boy gazes out of a classroom window at the St. John's camp over the weekend. Many of the refugees at the camp in Panadura lost everything they had in last week's tsunami. more..

Jan 6 (ED) "In the name of a mother, could you please restore my procreation ability?" Sirisena Fernando, 37, pleading Liu Zuohui, another mother and a Chinese nurse as well. It was on Thursday at the Jananandaramaya temple, a makeshift asylum for some 700 refugees in Hikkaduwa town, more..

Jan 6 (NPR) In the north of Sri Lanka, tens of thousands of tsunami survivors are living in camps, grappling with losses and a jarring new way of life. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports. more..

Jan 6 (ANN) In the aftermath of the killer waves that devoured tens of thousand of people and property worth billions of rupees, comes shocking news of children and women rendered destitute being subjected to sexual abuse in the hurriedly set up welfare centres. more..

Jan 6 (ANN) The government appears to have been caught unawares by Italy’s decision to hand over a large stock of relief supplies to the LTTE. An Italian government delegation led by Stefan Zanini of the Italian Foreign Ministry had handed over the consignment to the LTTE in Kilinochchi on Tuesday. more..

Jan 6 (ANN) The Tsunami disaster is providing opportunity for terrorist groups to recruit and to raise funds for terrorism on the back of the massive generosity pouring out of developed nations, sources reveal. more..

Jan 6 (ANN) In the tragic aftermath of the vast inestimable devastation of physical life and property caused by the unfathomable subterranean forces of nature which exploded as if in revolt against widespread terrorism, murder misdeeds and immorality among human beings in this part of the world more..

Jan 6 (ANN) It is argued that in the recent catastrophic earthquake, the death toll could have been curtailed had we acquired a proper early warning system. We heard and read arguments on all aspects of it through the electronic and print media. more..

Jan 6 (Reuters) Sri Lanka has banned the adoption of children orphaned by a deadly tsunami until further notice after receiving unconfirmed reports that some children were snatched in the wake of the disaster, government officials say. more..

Jan 6 (HT) Proxies of the Tamil Tiger rebels on Thursday demanded the withdrawal of Sri Lankan soldiers from tsunami relief camps in northeastern regions amid increasing tension over the distribution of foreign aid pouring into the battered island. more..

Jan 6 (HT) Indian corporates in Sri Lanka are contributing their mite to the massive relief effort in tsunami-ravaged Sri Lanka. They have so far given the equivalent of $700,000 and rendered various kinds of assistance. more..

Jan 6 (HT) The planned visit of the US Secretary of State Colin Powell and the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to Sri Lanka on Friday and Saturday respectively, has speeded up relief work in the tsunami-hit island. more..

Jan 6 (BBC) Sixty-eight-year-old Rasamani sits on what's left of her home and cries. You can't call it a house - only the floor is left. "I keep thinking why did I survive," she sobs. "There's no point in the elderly living - it's our children who should have survived". more..

Jan 6 (ND) A man despairs as he searches amongst the remains of his house after a massive tsunami wave swept across coastal Sri Lanka in Kalutura, Sri Lanka. more..

Jan 6 (CI) The sight of tsunami victims in refugee camps on Sri Lanka's east coast using second-hand plastic bags as plates has prompted Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara to launch a personal appeal for donations of basic eating utensils. more..

Jan 6 (AP) The South Asian Games, scheduled to be hosted by Sri Lanka in August, has been postponed as the Indian Ocean island nation concentrates on rebuilding after the recent tsunami tragedy, the sports minister said Thursday. more..

Jan 6 (PTI) Sri Lanka's death toll from the deadly tsunami disaster has risen to 30,615, while the number of people made homeless decreased with many beginning to leave refugee camps, officials said today. Another 4,356 people were still missing, more..

Jan 6 (Hindu) A new breed of email scams is exploiting the generosity of people who have rushed online to donate money to the relief effort, an internet watchdog warned last night (JAN5). The first of the tsunami cons have already hit inboxes around the world. more..

Jan 6 (AP) A road runs through the centre of this town that is a line in the sand between Muslims and Tamils. However briefly, the tsunami that swamped the nearby coastline washed away the ethnic divide between the people on opposite sides of the street. more..

Jan 6 (Yahoo) People work to repair a railway damaged by the Dec. 26 quake-tsunami disaster in Balapitiya, Galle District, Sri Lanka Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2005. more..