Mar 16 (KT) A Sri Lankan housemaid in Rawdah has been hospitalised with serious injuries after a grenade exploded in her hand. According to reports, her Kuwaiti sponsor, an employee of the Ministry of Defence, who earlier found the device had kept it with him to hand over to the concerned authorities. more..

Mar 16 (LNP) The Colombo High Court March 9 issued a warrant to arrest the vessel named 'Formentera', now lying at anchor in the port of Galle, following a petition by Master Divers (Pvt) Ltd. claiming a reward for saving the vessel during the tsunami disaster. more..

Mar 16 (DN) President yesterday rejected outright "envious allegations" by a certain political party that the government was keeping huge sums of money received from donors for the reconstruction of tsunami hit areas adding that the government has not received five cents in cash for the reconstruction of tsunami hit areas. more..

Mar 16 (AP) A Tamil man was shot and killed in Sri Lanka's east, the military and rebels said Wednesday, the latest violence linked to rivalry between insurgent factions. The man was killed south of Batticaloa, the area's largest town, on Tuesday. more..

Mar 16 (Yahoo) A Sri Lankan woman collects clean water from a broken pipe near the beach at tsunami-hit Payagala, about 60 km (38 miles) south of the capital, Colombo March 16, 2005. more..

Mar 16 (IHT) Sri Lanka's central bank on Wednesday kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a fourth month as it waited for evidence that a stronger rupee and favorable agricultural conditions would help curb inflation. more..

Mar 16 (TN) President Chandrika Kumaratunga is reported to have taken over the administration of the Media Ministry, held by Minister Mangala Samaraweera, in a move widely seen as intended to limit the strong links the radical JVP has with the State media institutions, especially the SLRC, ITN and the SLBC, more..

Mar 17 (PRIU) Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Abdulaziz Alsaud a member of Saudi Arabian Royal Family, who is also a leading businessman called on President Kumaratunga today. Prince Alwaleed conveyed the sympathies of the Saudi Royal family and the people of Saudi Arabia to the President on the recent natural disaster. more..

Mar 17 (LBO) Sri Lanka asks donors to make good their promises, to rebuild over half the local fisheries sector damaged by the tsunami. The Minister of Fisheries last week asked the international community to pay up their promises - through the Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO) - to reconstruct the island’s fishing capabilities. more..

Mar 17 (MIT) Sri Lankan families left homeless by the tsunami could find themselves living in an enclave of MIT-designed housing if the efforts of MIT's Buddhist chaplain and a researcher in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning are successful. more..

Mar 17 (BL) THE duty-free import of pepper from Sri Lanka has hit Kerala badly, the Agriculture Minister, Mrs K.R. Gouri Amma, told the State Assembly on Tuesday. She said the State Government had urged the Centre to insist on certification of origin for import from Sri Lanka and to test the pepper to determine its geographical identity. more..

Mar 17 (TN) Representatives from the group of refugees that alleged it was beaten, robbed and raped by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) personnel on a sandbank off Thalaimannar on 5 February informed the Mannar Citizens Committee Wednesday that they want to withdraw their case from Mannar courts as they are facing threats. more..

Mar 17 (LM) According to a front page news item in ‘Sudar Oli' a Tamil national daily of 11th March, the Joint mechanism for Tsunami Relief & Rehabilitation there will be equal representation between the government and the LTTE, according to a proposal that has been submitted by the Norwegian facilitators. more..

Mar 17 (VS) A B.C. court has subtracted one day from the two-year jail term of a convicted rapist so that he can stay in Canada and fight deportation to his native Sri Lanka. more..

Mar 17 (IL) The two-day global Buddhist conference on 'Buddhist humanitarian services in a post-tsunami context', organized by the Asian Buddhist Congress (ABC), and the Buddhist Resources Centre (BRC), Sri Lanka, will be held at the BMICH on March 19 and 20. more..

Mar 17 (IL) Japan International Corporations Agency (JICA) will dispatch a group of 19 Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) who will carry out activities in support of those displaced by the tsunami disaster. The main aim of the activity is to ease the psychological pressure of persons affected by the tsunami. more..

Mar 17 (DV) During a meeting held on Monday in Colombo between Malta's Foreign Minister Michael Frendo and Sri Lankan Prime Minister Rahinda Majapakse, the latter thanked the Maltese people for their generosity and assistance offered to the tsunami victims as on Sunday, more..

Mar 17 (AT) A mass demonstration [Hartal] is to be staged against the government if it fails to provide fast relief to the tsunami victims. A Member of the Parliament of UNP, Vajira Abeyawardana told the “Asian Tribune” that the government has no plans to provide relief immediately to the affected people of the recent tidal waves. more..

Mar 17 (AT) The Tamil Tigers blamed the intelligence wing of the Sri Lankan Army for carrying out targeted attacks against its members in the East of Sri Lanka. Anupamaran head of the Political Division in Batticaloa said that they have enough evidence to suggest that the Sri Lanka Army was behind the recent attacks more..

Mar 17 (BBC) Hundreds of demonstrators blocked the Polonnaruwa-Batticaloa road at the Sevanapitiya junction on Wednesday stopping traffic for several hours. Protesting the latest killings in the Welikanda area villagers from Karapola set down the coffins of 2 youth killed on Monday. more..

Mar 17 (BBC) Leader of the JVP Somawansa Amarasinghe declared that more than half of the votes received by the UPFA belongs to the JVP. "People rejected UNP and voted for JVP, because people want credible, uncorrupted and good people to govern this country," claimed Amarasinghe referring to the general election held in 2004. more..

Mar 17 (LNP) Most postal services including the distribution of mail yesterday came to a stand still as postal employees stayed away from work after submitting sick notes. Postal and Telecommunication Employees` Association sources said the trade union action asking for 25 demands would be continued today (17). more..

Mar 17 (LNP) The World Bank has summoned, its top representative in Colombo, Peter Harrold for an urgent meeting, at its regional headquarters in Manila, later this week fuelling speculation the Manila consultations would focus on Harrold`s recent hotly disputed assessment, more..

Mar 17 (SAMN) With joint mechanism talks between the government and the LTTE reaching the final stages, UNP and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized the need for Sinhala and Muslim representation in the joint mechanism. more..

Mar 17 (SAMN) The Patriotic National Movement (PNM) said they were still awaiting a response from the World Bank regarding the 'controversy created' by its Country Director Peter Harrold in his alleged attempt to 'challenge the sovereignty' of the country. more..

Mar 17 (SAMN) Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader Somawansa Amerasinghe said Wednesday the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government did not have a mandate to devolve power since the UPFA did not put it before the people at the last general election. more..

Mar 17 (LT) Several Deputy Ministers and MPs are getting ready to ask the President to reveal the Ministers, Deputy Ministers and MPs who have had contacts with NGOs and amassed large amounts of money from them. more..

Mar 17 (LT) The leader of the JVP, Somawansa Amarasinghe says that the JVP will not quit the United People’s Freedom Alliance and they will not hesitate to topple the Alliance if it goes against the wishes of the people. more..

Mar 17 (Jang) The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) will give a special enclosure to Sri Lanka in ‘My Karachi’ exhibition 2006 being organised by the KCCI in June 2005", this was stated by Khalid Firoz, President KCCI more..

Mar 17 (AT) A stayagraha campaign is now underway in the centre of the Trincomalee town by a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk, Rev. Hamilagamuwe Nandaratana thero and five others to force the government to remove the red tapes on relief distribution to the tsunami survivors. more..

Mar 17 (TN) The LTTE delegation which is on an official visit to European countries arrived in Berlin on Wednesday and held talks with German Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Ms. Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul. more..

Mar 17 (TN) Free Media Movement (FMM), Sri Lanka’s media watchdog, Thursday slammed the Government of Sri Lanka for imposing unacceptable restrictions on foreign journalists covering post-tsunami rebuilding and recovery efforts in the island. more..

Mar 17 (TN) More than five thousand university students marched through downtown Colombo Thursday demanding that the Government drop plans for privatizing higher education. The massive protest march which winded through busy and traffic congested areas of the city to the University Grants Commission around Thursday noon more..

Mar 17 (SLA) An LTTE cadre, who got frustrated with the LTTE over how his tsunami-affected family was being treated by LTTE has surrendered to Security Forces at MAHINDAPURA Entry/Exit point, TRINCOMALEE on 17 March 2005 around 5.30 a.m. seeking protection. more..

Mar 17 (SLA) Gunfire directed by unknown gunmen at two civilians (boy and girl) in the general area of KALMUNAI on Wednesday (16) evening caused death to one and injuries to the other. more..

Mar 17 (PRIU) Sri Lanka consistently accepted the “One China” policy and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China. Recalling the Press Communiqué issued by the Foreign Ministers of China and Sri Lanka in Beijing in December 2004, Sri Lanka reiterates its China for Chinese legislative measures to oppose forces seeking to secede from China. more..

Mar 17 (PIS) The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who are in Europe seeking a bigger share of tsunami aid were asked by donor nation Sweden on Tuesday to get back to the negotiating table and take action to avoid recruiting child soldiers. more..

Mar 17 (LM) In a live television debate "Sadurangam" on Channel Eye of Rupavahini, yesterday, The National Organizer and Member of Parliament of the SLMC, K. Abdul Baiz insisted that ‘Norway as facilitators should not lose their credibility in tsunami rebuilding and subsequently in the peace process'. more..

Mar 17 (LM) The Vice Chancellor of the South Eastern University, Dr. A.G. Hussain during a press conference held recently at the Oluvil Campus insisted that amongst his university students there are no armed groups or terrorists nor do they have any links with such elements. more..

Mar 17 (LM) In a letter addressed to President Chandrika Kumaratunga, the Palamunai Farmers Organisation has requested her to reconsider the 200 metre buffer zone for the Eastern Province districts. more..

Mar 17 (LBO) Sri Lankan pirates are trying to go straight after massive CID raids for copyright violations. In a strange twist of events three music outlets that were previously selling pirated material, are talking to the Maharaja organisation – a local group involved marketing music and producing local originals - to join its retail sales network and stop pirating its originals. more..

Mar 17 (Reuters) Stocks inched up to a new life closing high on Thursday thanks to small investor buying in penny shares in the hope of quick gains in the coming weeks, brokers said. The key Colombo all-share index rose a provisional 0.01 percent, or 0.26 points, to 1,738.36 points. more..

Mar 17 (Dawn) At its annual convention on Friday, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) gave the green light to its leader Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga to go ahead with resuming peace negotiations with the LTTE immediately. more..

Mar 17 (LM) United States Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead yesterday presented the family of fallen Sri Lankan security guard Mohamed Jaffur Sadiq with a memorial plaque and a cash donation, at the U.S. Embassy. more..

Mar 17 (AP) The Sri Lanka government's coalition's partner said Wednesday that Tamil Tiger rebels should not be given a legal role in distributing tsunami aid in ethnic Tamil-majority regions because it would give the guerrilla group international recognition. more..

Mar 17 (HT) Sri Lanka has had a paucity of national leaders who have guts, courage and vision to steer the country on the road to prosperity and development. Despite more than 55 years of independence from being a British colony, this country has struggled to wipe off its past and come out as a stronger, free and vibrant democracy. more..

Mar 17 (LNP) JVP heavyweight Wimal Weerawansa yesterday warned of an internationally backed conspiracy to impose what he termed as a Sudan style solution on Sri Lanka. Referring to the international community's bias towards the Sudanese Christian minority, the JVP parliamentary group leader accused foreign powers of manipulating interested parties in Sri Lanka to undermine the Sri Lankan state. more..

Mar 17 (DN) Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar has called on all donor agencies engaged in tsunami reconstruction work in Sri Lanka to set up a special "maintenance fund" to ensure the work does not fall apart due to want of funds. more..

Mar 17 (HT) The Sinhala-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has said that it will not quit the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga, unless the latter's actions threaten to "partition" Sri Lanka. more..

Mar 18 (Reuters) Sri Lanka will tour India to play five one-day internationals immediately after their rescheduled tour of New Zealand in April, officials said on Thursday. Sri Lanka's two-test tour of New Zealand finishes on April 15 and the team will only have a three-day break before travelling to India. more..