Nov 8 (TN) "The absence of open conflict is not peace. Peace will start only when the parties have found solutions for their disagreements," said Mr. Dagfinn Aadnanes, Head of the SLMM in Trincomalee district speaking as the chief guest at a musical event more..

Nov 8 (Rupavahini) The Mahanayake of the Malwatte chapter the most venerable Thibbotuwawe Sri Sumangala Thera says that the people are in suspicion as a result of the UNP's decision to boycott the national advisory council for peace and reconciliation. more..

Nov 8 (Rupavahini) Sri Lankan and Indian leaders have agreed to vehemently protest against all forms of terrorist activities. This was confirmed in the joint statement issued after the conclusion of the President Chandrika Kumaraunge's official tour of India. more..

Nov 8 (LBO) Regional plantation companies are seeking government assistance to help them raise up to a billion rupees in debt urgently. The cash-strapped RPC�s say they need the cash to help pay the higher salaries and arrears that have piled up over the years. more..

Nov 8 (AT) LTTE is making all possible arrangements to recast the contrariety articles in their Interim-Self Governing Authority proposal and accordingly, constitutional experts living outside Sri Lanka are at present perusing the proposal put forward to the Sri Lankan Government on 31 October 2003. more..

Nov 8 (AT) General public and human rights defenders in Switzerland has pasted posters and distributed thousands of pamphlets, paying tribute to Hans Ulris Herpos, 61, a Swiss national, who was ruthlessly killed in Batticaloa, more..

Nov 8 (TP) US President George W Bush�s re-election may mean more headaches for the Sri Lankan consumer with speculation that it could lead to higher crude oil prices. Although crude oil prices fell last week on news of higher US inventories, traders expect the Bush victory to point to higher prices in the longer term. more..

Nov 8 (TP) The Sri Lankan government has drawn the attention of the London-based The Economist magazine to a cartographical error in the map that accompanied an article on Sri Lanka last month, newspapers here said. more..

Nov 8 (TP) President Chandrika Kumaratunga is expected to visit Iran shortly and in this connection authorities from both countries are working out an oil-for-arms deal. Sri Lanka was seeking to obtain crude oil on concessionary terms while buying weapons as a reciprocal measure. more..

Nov 8 (BBC) In a protest march including fisherfolk from the north and south protesters called on the government to implement promises given to them. The minister of Fisheries and Aquatic resources is turning a blind eye to an election promise of not to allow large scale fishing, protesters said. more..

Nov 8 (BBC) US President George W Bush is implementing "rogue politics", a senior Sri Lankan cabinet minister said. Minister of Industrial Development, Tourism and Investment Promotions Anura Bandaranaike described President Bush's policies as "Thakkadi" politics. more..

Nov 8 (TN) A civilian was injured when unidentified persons lobbed a grenade at two paramilitary cadres in Valaichenai, 32 kilometres north of Batticaloa, Monday morning around 10.30, Police said. Two Policemen were with the paramilitary cadres who were shopping in the Valaichenai bazaar when the grenade was lobbed. more..

Nov 8 (LBO) Sri Lanka's opposition United National Party warned that by printing money, and keeping interest rates artificially low, while foreign reserves are dwindling, the authorities are rapidly driving the economy towards another serious crisis. more..

Nov 8 (Reuters) Sri Lanka stocks ended sharply lower on Monday as local small investors sold shares across the board, but trading volumes were low as many investors marked time ahead of the 2005 budget looming on Nov.18, traders said. more..

Nov 8 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's central bank is expected to leave benchmark rates unchanged for a 13th consecutive month at this week's policy meeting and hold off until the end of the year, despite rising inflation, a Reuters survey showed on Monday. more..

Nov 8 Reuters) Wicketkeeper-batsman Romesh Kaluwitharana and opener Avishka Gunawardene have been left out of a 20-man training squad for Sri Lanka's tour to New Zealand in December. Off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has also not been named but is expected to return to the side later in the tour. more..

Nov 8 (PSL) President Chandrika Kumaratunga returned to the island today after her five-day working visit to India. Before her return to the island the President and Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar visited the Dubai to express condolences to the family of the late President of UAE Sheik Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

Nov 8 (AT) Sri Lanka is keen to develop Buddha Gaya and Anuradhapura as twin cities for pilgrimage tourism. President Chandrika Kumaratunga who paid a visit to Buddha Gaya on the last leg of her India tour, held a discussion on the subject with her host, President AP J Abdul Kalam and others on the Indian side. more..

Nov 8 (TS) Even as protests against the Sethusamudram ship canal project in the Gulf of Mannar gained momentum in Tamil Nadu, the Greenpeace, known for its confrontational activism on serious environmental concerns worldwide, joined coastal activists here in cautioning the Indian government from going ahead with the multi-crore project. more..

Nov 8 (AM) Sri Lankan artist Maya Arulpragasam, commonly known by her initials MIA, saw her second single Galang debut on the British dance charts at number 12 today. The track was released after her debut single Sunshowers in July, but was the one that first brought her to the attention of the music industry. more..

Nov 8 (PRIU) President Chandrika Kumaratunga and her entourage paid a visit to Buddha Gaya, the place where Lord Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment, yesterday in the State of Bihar. The chief incumbent of the Maha Bodhi Centre the Venerable Palwatte Seevali Thera received her at the Gaya airport. more..

Nov 8 (Gulf) India has offered a new $100 million (Dh 1.2billion) credit line to Sri Lanka for rural infrastructure projects, including the refurbishment of roads and establishment of vocational training institutes covering the strife-torn north and eastern provinces. more..

Nov 8 (FE) The Rs 2,000 crore, 260 km long, 300 metre wide and 14.5 metre deep Sethusamudhram ship canal project, that envisages a navigable channel from the Gulf of Mannar to the Bay of Bengal through the Palk Bay, has already become a subject of controversy in India. more..

Nov 8 (PRIU) The Indian Ministry of External Affairs, and the Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs Ministry yesterday issued a joint statement at the conclusion of President Chandrika Kumaratunga�s visit to the Indian capital. Text of the joint communiqu�: more..

Nov 8 (LT) Just moments before the arrival of the Foreign Minister of Royal Norwegian government, the Wanni Tigers have breached the ceasefire agreement by throwing a grenade at a vehicle of SL Army officer. more..

Nov 8 (ANN) Agreeing that "there could be no justification for terrorism, be it political, religious or ideological", India and Sri Lanka on Saturday resolved to enter into a bilateral Defence Co-operation Agreement and a separate pact on the rehabilitation of the strategic Palaly airbase. more..

Nov 8 (AP) A high-level Norwegian delegation will arrive in Sri Lanka this week to revive stalled peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels, officials said Sunday. The rebels' chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham, will return from London on Monday more..

Nov 8 (DN) India has re-iterated its support for a comprehensive negotiated settlement acceptable to all communities in Sri Lanka and reflecting the pluralistic nature of Sri Lankan society within the framework of a united Sri Lanka consistent with democracy and respect for human rights. more..

Nov 8 (AP) Sri Lanka said Monday it was imposing taxes of up to 20 percent on all nonessential imports because of a "foreign exchange crisis" following a surge in petroleum prices. more..

Nov 8 (TN) The Liberation Tigers in Batticaloa Monday dimissed allegations that they were behind a grenade attack on the vehicle of Sri Lanka army's 23-2 Brigade commander in Valaichenai, 32 kilometres north of Batticaloa. more..

Nov 8 (LBO) The Minister of Commerce says the Co-operative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) should barter some of its assets for the privately owned stake of Sathosa. �The government doesn�t have the money to buy back Sathosa. But the CWE has idle property that we can give them for that value,� more..

Nov 8 (Xinhua) China hopes to further strengthen exchange and cooperation with Sri Lanka, said He Luli, vice-chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC). more..

Nov 8 (HT) Islamic revivalism or fundamentalism is one of the most striking features of modern Sri Lanka. Though more visible to the naked eye now than ever before, Islamic "revivalism" goes back to the late nineteenth century. And its character has been changing from time to time. more..

Nov 8 (BBC) It's late afternoon in Yala national park, and Priviraj Fernando, a scientist from Sri Lanka's Centre for Conservation and Research, is carefully attaching movement sensitive cameras to posts on the park boundary. more..

Nov 8 (CNA) The Sri Lankan army has begun a pilot project to help people return to their homes within its northern High Security Zones after decades of being displaced. The move may weaken the rebel Tamil Tigers' hold over the local population. more..

Nov 9 (TN) "Standard of education in the North East has deteriorated due to the two-decade old war and malnutrition in children has further impacted the educational standards," said Mr. M.S. Jayasinghe, Secretary of Ministry of Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction addressing more..

Nov 9 (TN) The case against two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers who were indicted for causing grievous injury to a paper seller boy and a bus conductor by firing at them in Jaffna bus stand during early part of this year has been transferred from Jaffna to Vavuniya Magistrate Court on the orders of the Court of Appeal, legal sources said. more..

Nov 9 (TN) Mannar Fishermen Monday temporarily gave up their protest against Indian poaching after Maj. Gen. Parami Kulatunga, Sri Lankan security forces commander for Vanni, promised them that he would take measures within two weeks to stop Indian fishermen from entering the seas off the Mannar coast. more..

Nov 9 (LBO) The yen touched base with the rupee on Monday as a balance of payments deficits notches higher and speculation of exchange controls continue to linger in the market. more..

Nov 9 (LBO) Colombo�s drab driveways will assume a merry look, when the Municipal Council puts some of its streets on the market for a Christmas dressing up. Several major sections of Colombo�s road network have been earmarked to be given out on rent, for a short term spanning the yuletide. more..

Nov 9 (BBC) The government is appealing to Islamic religious leaders to secure the release of the Sri Lankan truck driver taken hostage in Iraq. Deputy foreign minister Vishwa Warnapala told the BBC Sandeshaya that Sheik Harek-Al-Dhari has already been approached by the Sri Lankan embassy in Kuwait. more..

Nov 9 (BBC) The courts in Colombo ordered the police to provide detailed evidence in order to arrest Parliamentarian SB Dissanayake. Responding to a query by magistrate Kusala Abeywardhana the police said that the AG had advised them to further investigate corruption charges related to misappropriation of Samurdhi funds. more..

nov 9 (AT) M. Velayutham a full time party worker of the TULF and the father of Dayalakumar, who was recently killed by the LTTE, revealed that his son was a candidate of the TULF sponsored TNA in the parliamentary general elections held on 2001 and was never an informant or spy as alleged by the Tamil rebel outfit. more..

nov 9 (AT) One of the main features of the new Indo-Sri Lanka Defence Cooperation Agreement (ISDCA) will be active cooperation against terrorism. The LTTE is vehemently opposed to the ISDCA, which it considers as �the biggest hurdle to its aim of total control over the north and east.� more..

Nov 9 (TP) Appeal Court has issued a temporary order restraining the government from enforcing new customs duties on imported vehicles. The interim injunction on the Finance Minister and the Treasury Secretary came on a petition filed by car importer, Vasana Lanka more..

Nov 9 (TP) Eight schools at Balangoda, southeast of Colombo, would be closed today in a bid to prevent a fresh outbreak of violence after student-residents� clashes last week. A tense situation now appeared to be taking different turns in the aftermath of the alleged abduction of two 15-year-old schoolgirls by some schoolboys. more..

Nov 9 (TP) Sri Lanka�s premier business group, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce expressed shock and dismay over Sunday�s assassination of the Finance Manager of Bodyline (Pvt) Ltd, which is a member of the chamber. more..

Nov 9 (TP) SriLankan Airlines, the country�s national carrier, has nearly doubled its net profit for the financial year 2003/04 to Rs4.5bn from Rs2.3bn in the previous year. more..

Nov 9 (TN) Mannar Magistrate Mr. M.N.M.Abdullah Tuesday ordered remand till November 22 for 12 Indian fishermen who were caught by Sri Lanka Navy poaching in Sri Lankan territorial waters, legal sources said. The Talaimannar Police Tuesday morning produced the suspects in courts on a charge of poaching. more..

Nov 9 (TN) Warning that "mismatch between the goals and expectations of the government and LTTE with regard to peace talks" is a major obstacle to peace, the National Peace Council (NPC), a Colombo based Sri Lankan peace group, in a media release issued in Colombo Tuesday, more..