July 21 (AT) Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation is denying the one hour direct broadcast of the program aired by the London based Thamil Broadcasting Corporation and the denial is something beyond any rhyme or reason. Listeners say that something fishy going on in the SLBC. more..

July 21 (AT) While arrangements are made to complete the registration of Colonel Karuna Amman�s political party - Democratic Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (DLTTE) with the Election Commissioner, Prabakaran�s registerd political party - People�s Front of Liberation Tigers (PFLT) is to be removed from the list of registered political parties with the Elections Commissioner�s department. more..

July 21 (Gulf) The renegade guerrilla military wing leader V. Muralitharan alias Karuna, believed to be living in the city, is being hounded by suicide bombers sent by the Tamil Tigers leadership in the north, police investigations have revealed. more..

July 21 (LT) Tamil National Alliance MP S Gajendran Pieris said that in the event of another war in Sri Lanka 22000 soldiers stationed in government controlled areas beyond Mannar will have to fly home in coffins. This statement made by TNA MP in parliament yesterday triggered an intense commotion among the MP�s. more..

July 21 (LT) The media unit of the UNP has decided to commence a Sunday Newspaper. This newspaper named Iru Dina (Sunday) will be born as a Leader Publication. Thilakarathna Kuruwita Bandara and Mohan Lal Payadasa who was recently expelled from Lake House are the editors of this newspaper more..

July 21 (LT) Broadcasting, in Tamil Service of the Sri Lanka broadcasting corporation, of Tamil radio programs of Tamil broadcasting corporation based in London has been suspended since yesterday on a directive from a top official of the SLBC. more..

July 21 (TN) A senior EPDP cadre in the east was shot dead by an unidentified gunman around 2.05 p.m. Wednesday in Akkaraipattu town, 64 kilometres south of Batticaloa. The gunman who came on a motorbike shot the EPDP cadre six times with a pistol while armed Police guards stoodby in the town's busy public bus stand area. more..

July 21 (TN) Journalists Wednesday thwarted an attempt to prevent them from holding a demonstration against Sri Lanka Police brutality in Kosgoda, a town in Sri Lanka�s southern coast. Several media organisations led by the Free Media Movement protested in front of the Kosgoda Police station Wednesday afternoon more..

July 21 (Gulf) The suicide bomber who made an abortive attempt to assassinate a cabinet minister of the ruling UPFA early this month was assisted by a group of government employees to prepare forged identity cards, a court inquiry has revealed. more..

July 21 (Gulf) Despite the devastation of its economy over the past two decades due to the ongoing civil problems, Sri Lanka has learned to continue with business as usual in the midst of political crises. more..

July 21 (SLA) The Seva Vanitha Unit (SVU) at Ministry of Defence (MOD) on Tuesday (20) re-invigorated its commitment to continuously care for the differently-able War Heroes of the Armed Forces and the Police, Next of Kin of those who perished or went missing in action and all others still serving. more..

July 21 (DN) In fulfilment of its election pledge in respect of the plantation community, the UPFA government will shortly provide government jobs to 3000 plantation youth in the teaching, clerical and health sectors. more..

July 21 (AFP) A political party of Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka introduced a bill in parliament on Wednesday to outlaw what they called unethical religious conversions to Christianity. more..

July 21 (AP) Tamil Tiger rebels have violated a two-year-old cease-fire nearly 2,500 times, largely through recruiting child soldiers, while Sri Lanka's military has committed 112 violations, truce monitors said Wednesday, amid fears the country could slip back into civil war. more..

July 21 (DPA) A local politician working for an anti-rebel political party was shot dead by suspected Tamil rebels in eastern Sri Lanka, further aggravating the security situation in the region, police said on Wednesday. more..

July 21 (AFP) A top Sri Lankan official handling the peace process with Tamil Tiger guerrillas met with his rebel counterpart here in the first high level contact in months, officials said. more..

July 21 (IANS) India's dairy major Amul is likely to set up a new milk powder factory with a production of 200,000 litres of milk per day in Sri Lanka. This follows the finalisation of arrangements for the factory between India and Sri Lanka, more..

July 21 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels would not hesitate to resume hostilities if the government provoked them, but have no intention of breaking a ceasefire that has held for 20 months, the group said on Wednesday. more..

July 21 (Rupavahini) Finance minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama says there will be a definite pay rise for government employees in the forthcoming budget. Initial work in this regard is currently underway. more..

July 21 (Rupavahini) The government is now embarked on a major programme to harness both the public and the private sectors in national development by providing the required infrastructure facilities. more..

July 21 (CI) Sri Lanka announced themselves as favourites for the Asia Cup, putting in a near-flawless performance at the R Premadasa Stadium to coast to a ridiculously easy seven-wicket victory in their first match of the second round-robin stage. more..

July 22 (TN) Less than fifty percent of the funds allocated by the international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) for the implementation of several welfare projects in Jaffna district was spent last year, civil sources in Jaffna said. more..

July 22 (TN) Jaffna district last year recorded a fish production of about 21,206 metric tones amid poaching and restrictions imposed by the Sri Lanka security forces on fishing by local population. Currently about 14,515 fishermen from 14,780 families are engaged in fishing in the peninsula, more..

July 22 (SL) Sri Lanka A continued their successful British tour by dominating the first day of their four-day clash against Glamorgan at St Helen's, Swansea. After dismissing Glamorgan in their first innings for 169 the tourists replied with 178 for three - a lead of nine. more..

July 22 (PTI) External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh and his Lankan counterpart Laxman Kadirgamar on Wednesday discussed the status of the ongoing peace process in the island nation and humanitarian aid that India can provide. Kadirgamar briefed Singh on the peace process. more..

July 22 (HT) The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have categorically stated that they will not discuss the Sri Lankan government's 1994 constitutional proposals at the proposed peace talks. more..

July 22 (Reuters) Pakistan's seven-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in an Asia Cup second pahse match was self inflicted, their coach Bob Woolmer said on Wednesday. Pakistan were bundled out for 122 after winning the toss, their lowest ever score against Sri Lanka. more..

July 22 (AT) The thought of returning to a state of war in Sri Lanka is not one that should make anyone happy. It is after all the poor and the vulnerable that will as always suffer the most. It is possible that the 20 some years of war have hardened some into a mindset that knows little else than to make war. more..

July 22 (LT) Tiger organization has withdrawn their offices that were in areas not controlled by the security forces. Kaushalyan, a leader of the tiger organization in the Eastern Province had said that the tiger cadres in these offices would be withdrawn. more..

July 22 (TN) The Norwegian Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Major General (retd) Trond Furuhovde, is scheduled to hold talks with Political Head of the LTTE, Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, Thursday morning at Killinochchi Peace Secretariat, SLMM sources said. more..

July 22 (TN) The Jaffna Additional Magistrate Ms Srinithi Nandasekaran Wednesday put off the inquiry for Thursday, into the bail application filed on behalf of the four local fishermen who were arrested by Sri Lanka Police officers for allegedly transporting explosives last week, more..

July 22 (AT) A special committee has been appointed to look into the colonial rule of the Portuguese era in Sri Lanka, from the year 1505 until the fall of Mannar and Jaffna in 1658. more..

July 22 (TP) Sri Lanka is undergoing its worst-ever dengue epidemic with some 60 deaths so far this year and close to 10,000 people affected. Health ministry epidemiologist Dr Asitha Tissera was quoted as saying casualties from Colombo, Kandy and Gampaha have now soared above 1,500 each with Colombo topping the list with 1,863 cases. more..

July 22 (TP) Sri Lankan parliamentarians, after three or four boisterous and often unruly sessions, conducted themselves with some decorum on Tuesday and the sitting went off peacefully, newspapers reported. The main focus of the session was an adjournment motion on the media. more..

July 22 (TP) President Chandrika Kumaratunga, in an unusual move on Tuesday, appointed two provincial councilors to the post of chief minister of the Uva region to settle a dispute in that district. Newspapers said the two would serve the district in rotation limited to two-and-a-half years each. more..

July 22 (TP) The Association of Employment Agencies (AEA), the only association established under the manpower ministry of Singapore, is to train prospective Sri Lankan employees to meet the requirements of their employers. more..

July 22 (TP) A top government official, arrested by the Bribery and Corruption Commission for allegedly possessing undeclared assets, was produced in court on Tuesday and granted bail by Colombo�s chief magistrate. more..

July 22 (LT) The first budget of the UPFA Government will be a people-friendly budget of the people says Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Finance. The Finance Minister stated this at the adjournment of the session in the Parliament yesterday. more..

July 22 (LBO) Despite a change in the sale structure, the government says it plans to wrap up a deal to sell off a third of its petroleum assets to a foreign player by August. more..

July 22 (LBO) Donors want a joint aid group that was set up last year and including government, to get moving to better plan aid and ensure funds go down to the levels its meant to reach. more..

July 22 (LBO) Sri Lanka may lose hard won access concessions into the EU market, if local labour laws are not liberalised fast. Sri Lanka won export tariff reductions into the European Union in January this year based on the high standard of local labour laws. more..

July 22 (TN) An insurance salesman was shot dead by unidentified gunmen Wednesday night around 8.30 p.m. at Muthiraiyadi on the A5 highway, 22 kilometres northwest of Batticaloa. The gunmen might have mistaken the insurance salesman for an LTTE cadre, sources in the area said. more..

July 22 (TN) Attorney General Thursday informed the Jaffna High Court that Lt. Col. T. M Mahindarathne, a Sri Lanka army officer who is the first respondent in a habeas corpus application, has written to the AG�s department acknowledging that he had indeed taken into custody Mr. Velupillai Uthayakumar on 17 June 1997 in Kodikamam, more..

July 22 (SLA) An unidentified group suspected to be from LTTE has torched a Day Care Centre run by a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) in the general area of KIRAN on 19 July 2004 around 9.00 p.m. for reasons best known only to those arsonists. more..

July 22 (SLA) An LTTE cadre, injured in a motorbike accident on 20 July 2004 around 3.15 p.m. and subsequently admitted to AMPARA Hospital, had been forcibly taken away by some LTTE men alleging that no proper security has been provided to him in hospital. more..

July 22 (SLA) Defence Attach� for British High Commission Lieutenant Colonel Collin Martin paid a courtesy call on the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General S. H. S Kottegoda on Wednesday (21) afternoon. more..

July 22 (Reuters) Sri Lanka will allow telecoms operators to offer both fixed-line and mobile services under a new licence aimed at expanding services to rural areas and reducing waiting lists for lines, officials said Tuesday. more..

July 22 (Jang) The foreign ministers of India, Sri Lanka and Nepal Wednesday called on Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain separately and discussed with him matters of mutual concern and those relating to Saarc. more..

July 22 (Hindu) The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Laxman Kadirgamar, today apprised the External Affairs Minister, K. Natwar Singh, about the "peace process" in his country. The two Ministers, who met here on the sidelines of the SAARC Council of Ministers conference, reviewed bilateral ties and discussed matters of mutual interest. more..

July 22 (Gulf) A three-member team from the Sri Lankan Government will visit the UAE next week to hold talks with Sri Lankan consulate officials, employers and recruitment agencies. more..