Mar 1 (Xinhua) Sri Lankan police on Monday has recovered more skeletal remains of suspected victims in the Dec. 26 Tsunami tidal wave attack. Remains of some 29 bodies of people who were believed to be passengers of the ill fated train have been found at Meetiyagoda, 90 km south of here. more..

Mar 1 (TN) A senior political official and two of her colleagues were shot and seriously wounded around 6 p.m.Monday near Akkaraipattu by gunmen suspected to be from a paramilitary working with the Sri Lankan armed forces, LTTE sources in Batticaloa said. more..

Mar 1 (BBC) A senior Tamil Tiger leader and two others were shot by gunmen in Ampara district on Monday afternoon. Batticaloa-Amapra district women political wing leader Kuveni and two other LTTE women cadres were taken to Thirukkovil hospital after the shooting at Thambiliwil, more..

Mar 1 (TVNZ) The lawyer for deported Sri Lankan asylum seeker, Thakshila Premarathna, has filed a $3 million defamation claim against former Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel. Papers filed by the defence say the teenager and her grandmother came to New Zealand on false passports more..

Mar 1 (CNA) Rebuilding in tsunami-hit areas especially in Sri Lanka and Indonesia would take 3 to 4 years, says former US President Bill Clinton. He was speaking to reporters on Monday in Singapore after touring devastated areas in Aceh, Sri Lanka, Maldives and India earlier. more..

Mar 1 (TN) A man was shot dead in Batticaloa town Monday night around 8.45 by unidentified gunmen, Police said. He was identified as 'Thayanithi', of Thiruchendur Kovil Road, a coastal part of Batticaloa town. more..

Mar 1 (TN) Officials of the Hambantota Dharma Kabir Mosque administration told a group of Jaffna journalists last weekend that more Muslim civilians had died in tsunami and the figures disclosed by the Sri Lanka government authorities are not reflecting the actual deaths of Muslims in the Hambantota district. more..

Mar 1 (USDS) Sri Lanka is a republic with an active multiparty system. The popularly elected president, reelected in 1999 to a second 6-year term, and the 225-member Parliament, elected during the year for a 6-year term, share constitutional power. more..

Mar 1 (BBC) The Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) pledged support to the UPFA government after talks held with the president on Monday. CWC Vice President R Yogarajan told BBC Sandeshaya that the president promised to set mechanisms to implement the fourteen point programme agreed with her when the upcountry worker based party joined the government. more..

Mar 1 (PT) "In a flash, on that sunny morning, two-thirds of Sri Lanka's idyllic coastline, lapped by the usually placid waters of the Indian Ocean, became an instant graveyard, disfigured beyond recognition," Lakshman Kadirgamar, minister of foreign affairs said more..

Mar 1 (ARC) Along the battered yet beautiful shoreline of southern Sri Lanka, a bright blue Red Cross water truck sits at the edge of the road in the small village of Talpe. At the foot of the truck, excited children and grateful parents congregate with containers of all sizes to receive their daily supply of clean drinking water. more..

Mar 1 (NW) The following was written by Daniel Fekete, correspondent for ACT International, with additional contributions by LWR staff: Travel to the northern areas of Sri Lanka, even over relatively short distances, is difficult because of poor road conditions. more..

Mar 1 (AT) President Chandika Kumaratunga Monday evening agreed to meet the demands of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), during a meeting with its leader Arumugam Thondaman at Persident House. more..

Mar 1 (LT) Ruins of ancient civilization have been found around Kuchchaweli temple in Trincomalee. They have been unearthed by tsunami tidal waves on 26th December. Among the ruins are a stone manuscript and stone pillars. more..

Mar 1 (LT) Trade Unions of Ceylon Electricity Board have warned that firm trade union action will be taken if their proposals are not taken into account when reconstructional process of the Board is implemented. According to trade unions the authorities intend privatizing the Electricity Board under the pretext of reconstruction. more..

Mar 1 (SAMN) Students of nine universities will stage a week long protest campaign from Tuesday against the alleged privatisation of universities and the government's proposed education reforms. more..

Mar 1 (SAMN) Amidst the political uncertainty prevailing in the country, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem said unlike some others , his party did not have to depend on ministerial portfolios to secure the community's rights and aspirations. more..

Mar 1 (LT) The devastation from tsunami tidal waves heightened as a result of destroying the environmental system adjoining the sea coast says Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse. Destruction of plant system along the sea belt, removing of sand have brought about this situation said the Prime Minister. more..

Mar 1 (LNP) A leading lawyer and his wife were indicted with transferring land by way of a forged deed and defrauding money in two separate cases before the Kurunegala High Court yesterday. more..

Mar 1 (LNP) A deputy minister and a former minister flared into a major argument and nearly came to blows at a meeting of the Kandy District Coordinating Committee yesterday. more..

Mar 1 (LNP) `Before President appointed Mahinda Rajapakse as the Prime Minister she consulted me and asked whether I want to be the Premier of this country. Since I rejected that proposal, Mahinda was able to become Prime Minister,` Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike said. more..

Mar 1 (TN) Funded by the Norwegian and Malaysian branches of Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) and in collaboration with the Multi Marine Services (MMS) organization, the TRO Monday opened a boat-building yard in Nelliyan, Vadamaradchchi east division in the Jaffna district, sources said. more..

Mar 1 (SLA) An LTTE pistol man shot and killed a displaced tsunami victim in the general area close to BATTICALOA town on Monday (28) night while the victim, a deserter from the Army, was proceeding on a motorbike. more..

Mar 1 (SLA) Three armed LTTE cadres had assaulted a twenty –year old youth in the general area of ALANKULAM on 27 February 2005 at about 8.45 p.m. and taken him away by force into un-cleared areas. more..

Mar 1 (SLA) Troops on duty in the general area of VAVUNATHIVU on 28 February 2005 at about 10.50 a.m. had observed entry of two armed LTTE cadres into the Assistant Government Agent (AGA) office at VAVUNATHIVU for reasons best known only to them. more..

Mar 1 (SLA) Three LTTE female cadres received gunshot injuries and sought admission to hospital after they were fired on by an unknown armed group on 28 February 2005 at about 6.45 p.m. while LTTE women were in the general area of THIRUKKKOVIL, BATTICALOA. more..

Mar 1 (SLA) A mother of a twenty – two year old youth from the general area of VAVUNIYA in a Police complaint on 27 February 2005 claimed that some unknown LTTE men abducted her son and took him away while he was at KURUMANKADU junction. more..

Mar 1 (PRIU) The Government of the UAE is to build a new town complete with all amenities for tsunami affected people in Kalmunai. Mr. M. M. Mohamoud Al-Mahmoud UAE’s new Ambassador in Colombo conveyed his Government’s pledge to President Chandrika Kumaratunga yesterday (Feb. 28) at President’s House. more..

Mar 1 (Reuters) Sri Lanka stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday as small investors skimmed profits in telecom and energy sector bluechips after a batch of mixed third quarter corporate earnings, brokers said. more..

Mar 1 (IANS) The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) will help restore world heritage sites in Sri Lanka damaged in the Dec 26 tsunami, Xinhua reported. UNESCO agreed to assist in preservation and restoration work after the government made a request, more..

Mar 1 (RW) Getting people back on their feet quickly and into work is imperative for the long-term recovery of tsunami victims said IOM as it launched a livelihood restoration programme in the country. It has been two months now since the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 30,000 people in Sri Lanka. more..

Mar 1 (IANS) Post-tsunami, Sri Lanka will never be the same again, says filmmaker and writer Tissa Abeysekara from the island country. "I am too close to the tragedy to write about it. The wounds are still raw and the scars are fresh in memory," said the author of the novella "Bringing Tony Home", of the havoc wreaked by the Dec 26 tsunami. more..

Mar 1 (SAMN) Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheim said that the Norwegians were invited by the former UNP government and later by President Kumaratunga to coordinate the peace process in Sri Lanka, and that the Norwegian government is working with dedication to achieve optimum results more..

Mar 1 (AT) The Annual United States Department of State "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for the Year 2004", issued on Monday February 28, examining the status of human rights in Sri Lanka probing deeply into the activities of the LTTE, more..

Mar 1 (AFP) Sri Lanka's celebrated tsunami baby who was reunited with his parents after a heart-wrenching legal battle left here Tuesday to appear on an ABC television programme, officials said. more..

Mar 1 (DN) Two months after a devastating tsunami wrought havoc on a dozen Indian ocean countries and sparked an unprecedented outpouring of global relief aid, the United Nations reported yesterday that while some of its agencies have received 100 per cent of their immediate flash appeal requirements, others still remain under-funded. more..

Mar 1 (SLBC) A special dialogue on the national agenda prepared by the UNP was commenced in Colombo today. This was headed by the UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe. The objective of the debate is to consult the views of the scholars and leaders of the parties regarding consensus politics. more..

Mar 1 (AP) Ruling alliance won back its parliamentary majority Monday after persuading a minority Tamil party that withdrew its support last week to rejoin. The Ceylon Workers' Congress, which has eight seats in the 225-member legislature, announced last Friday that it was withdrawing its lawmakers from the governing coalition more..

Mar 1 (AFP) Sri Lanka investigated escalating violence as a top Norwegian envoy ended another mission without a breakthrough in restarting peace negotiations between Tiger rebels and the government, officials said. more..

Mar 1 (Reuters) Gunmen ambushed and shot a senior political figure of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers in the second such attack in less than a month, the rebels said on Tuesday, accusing the military and warning a three-year ceasefire was under threat. more..

Mar 1 (AP) Tamil Tiger rebels warned Tuesday that an attack that critically injured a top Tiger female leader and two others could jeopardize peace efforts with Sri Lanka's government. The attack came three weeks after the most senior rebel leader in eastern Sri Lanka was slain in the same region. more..

Mar 2 (TN) Liberation Tigers said the three wounded female political activists who were shot by gunmen on Sri Lanka were airlifted to Colombo for further treatment Tuesday evening. more..

Mar 2 (TN) 10th branch of the Socio Economic Development Bank (SEDB) headquartered in Killinochchi was opened in Vakarai in the Batticaloa district Monday. This is the second in the Batticaloa district. Mr.Gopal, Vakarai divisional director of the TRO presided over the event, more..

Mar 2 (TN) Sri Lanka Police said Tuesday evening they took into custody a suspect who had allegedly shot Ms. Kuveni and her two colleagues near Akkaraipattu Monday evening. Police sources in Kalmunai, told TamilNet that the man was identified as 'Pratheepan', a member of a paramilitary working with the Sri Lanka army. more..

Mar 2 (TN) Jaffna District Civil Organizations Consortium (JDCOC) Tuesday called for a protest march on Wednesday condemning the violence against political cadres of LTTE by the para military groups supporting the Sri Lanka government armed forces and the discrimination in providing relief to tsunami victims. more..

Mar 2 (ANN) Last week’s tragic accidents in Wennappuwa and Katugastota, where a schoolgirl was killed and over a dozen other children were seriously injured, must galvanise parents, teachers, politicians and the police into making a serious effort to curb the growing problem of indiscipline among school van drivers. more..

Mar 2 (ANN) Gulf Air has decided to pull out of Sri Lanka effective from March 26, under network changes it is implementing in Asia and Africa with a view to optimising performance. A Gulf Air spokesperson in Colombo said Monday that in addition to Colombo, termination of African operations will commence on March 24. more..

Mar 2 (CI) Seven companies, including the current sponsor Dilmah Tea, have expressed formal interest in bidding for Sri Lankan team sponsorship for the next four years, according to Sri Lanka Cricket sources. The present contract expires after the end of the postponed New Zealand tour next month. more..

Mar 2 (CI) Wickets tumbled on the opening day of the Provincial Tournament final, with Ruchira Perera first jogging the memory of the selectors with a five-wicket haul that included a hat-trick and helped Central Province bowl out North Central Province for just 175. more..

Mar 2 (CT) Action by Churches Together (ACT) International have appealed for a greater global awareness for tsunami-battered Sri Lanka, where violence triggered by the unrest between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels is prevalent. more..