Sep 9 (NW) A top US official spearheading the counter-terrorism campaign of the State Department said yesterday he was disturbed by the LTTEs influence on international terrorism and urged the community of nations to constrain its activities and bring them to the negotiating table. more..

Sep 9 (NW) More than 200 people representing a school in the Anuradhapura district protested opposite the North Central Province Chief Minister's office demanding the immediate transfer of teachers who engaged themselves in JVP political activities without teaching and engaged school children for political work. more..

Sep 9 (NW) Clowning is one of the special arts specialized and performed by the famous and renowned Barnum Bailey Circus Fantasia in the United States. Over the weekends, the young and the old, flock to this circus to have fun and particularly to enjoy the clowning part in this circus. more..

Sep 9 (LBO) SriLankan Airlines is raising fares by five percent from October 1, as twin effects of a falling rupee and rising oil prices chips away profits. The national carrier got Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) consent in Aug., for a fare hike, the first in almost three years, says G T Jeyseelan, Head of Commercial SriLankan. more..

Sep 9 (LBO) Sri Lanka might spend millions marketing itself as a paradise destination but a recent World Bank study finds that as a place to do business in, the island is no heaven. more..

Sep 9 (SLA) Three LTTE female cadres who wanted to enter the un-cleared area accompanying a teenaged girl had reached the OMANTHAI entry/exit point on 07 September 2004 around 3.15 p.m. more..

Sep 9 (SLA) Naval troops on duty have found eleven Sri Lankan refugees dropped in the general sea area of URUMALAI by an Indian trawler on 08 September 2004. It was revealed that each refugee had paid Indian Rs. 2500/= to the Indian trawler for the journey. more..

Sep 9 (SLA) A civilian kidnapped by LTTE has escaped and surrendered to the troops on duty in the general area of MUTTUR seeking protection on 08 September 2004 around 4,45 p.m. more..

Sep 9 (PSL) Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri took office as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in addition to his duties as Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy on Tuesday, September 7. The appointment was made by President Chandrika Kumaratunga to whom he is directly responsible. more..

Sep 9 (SLA) The Sri Lanka Army, much admired by the common folks as Guardians of the Nation made history this morning (8th September 2004) when its UN bound peace-keeping troops formally bade au revoir at a colourful military ceremony held at Panagoda Army Cantonment more..

Sep 9 (TN) A Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary delegation Thursday morning met with the new Indian High Commissioner for Sri Lanka Ms Nirupama Rao at the Indian High Commission office. more..

Sep 9 (TN) Two Indian fishing boats were set on fire by unidentified persons on the Pesalai coast in Mannar in the early hours of Thursday morning, Police said. The fate of the fishermen in the boats is not known, according to them. The registration numbers of the boats are RMS 2076 and RMS 1528. more..

Sep 9 (TN) "Even though Sri Lanka's President Ms. Kumaratunge has cautioned the UPFA Ministers and parliamentarians not to air any views on the question of Interim Administration in public, the JVP, a minority partner in the UPFA government, is openly defying the request. more..

Sep 9 (TN) "When peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the LTTE resume, the GoSL will form a consultative committee which will include representatives from all political parties. Sri Lanka's President will assume full responsibility for all political decisions regarding the peace process," more..

Sep 9 (TN) Under the Action Plan, the only signed human rights agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, "close to 7,000 children enrolled back to school and more than 43,000 children received catch-up-education classes in the first half of the 2004 alone. more..

Sep 9 (FA) Peter Withe�s reign as Indonesia coach got off to inauspicious start as his side were held to a 2-2 draw by Sri Lanka in Wednesday�s night�s Group 8 Asian qualifier for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. more..

Sep 9 (AFP) The omission of the world's highest Test wicket taker Muttiah Muralitharan from the ICC awards made it a "farce and a joke," Sri Lanka's former world cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga said. more..

Sep 9 (Dawn) Pakistan's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka has assured Pakistani prisoners here that Pakistan is actively working on an agreement with Sri Lanka regarding exchange of prisoners between the two countries. more..

Sep 9 (BT) Marco Polo considered Sri Lanka the finest island of its size in the world, and you�ll likely agree after exploring the fabled delights. Whatever takes your fancy you will find in this tiny Asian island, writes ronald kotulak. more..

Sep 9 (Reuters) Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar urged Japan to provide promised aid to his country now, rather than wait for stalled peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels to resume, a Japanese newspaper said on Thursday. more..

Sep 9 (Telegraph) From the moment it became clear that Muttiah Muralitharan would not take part in the Champions Trophy, the Sri Lankans have been insisting, protesting even, that they did not need him to win matches, series or tournaments. more..

Sep 9 (CI) Sri Lanka's preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy started well with a 14-run victory against New Zealand at Shenley on Wednesday. Sri Lanka's top order was not the well-oiled machine that it hd been against South Africa, but a fine allround display from Chaminda Vaas, who scored 41 not out more..

Sep 9 (AFP) Police have arrested nine colleagues from an anti-vice squad who are accused of running their own vice ring, a senior officer revealed. The nine men, including an inspector, were accused of demanding the services of prostitutes from a casino, robbing foreigners and extorting money, more..

Sep 9 (AT) In a letter written by S.C. Chandrahasan, Head of the OfERR has pointed out that nearly 30,000 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in several refugee camps in Tamil Nadu are persons who would suffer tremendous disadvantages unless they are in possession of the Certificate of Citizenship more..

Sep 9 (AT) In the first six months of this year, the LTTE has recruited another 488 children, taking the total child soldiers enlisted in the rebel group to 1300. Revealing these shocking statistics, UNICEF, the UN agency stated that the children were? forcibly recruited, sometimes violently, particularly in the east?. more..

Sep 9 (AT) The Hong Kong based Asian Human Rights Commission has one more time raised the issue of the cost of crime control and prevention of terrorism in Sri Lanka. According to Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC): A clear budgetary allocations are needed. more..

Sep 9 (DN) This Friday sees the launching of the Government Web portal www.gov.lk. This web portal will link all Ministries and Department of Government of Sri Lanka trough a single gateway. more..

Sep 9 (AFP) Sri Lanka's stalled peace process is fuelling the recruitment of child soldiers by Tamil Tiger rebels and damaging efforts to help children affected by war, the UN agency for children said. more..

Sep 9 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels will remain on a U.S. list of banned terrorist groups alongside al Qaeda until they prove they are serious about long-term peace, a top U.S. counter-terrorism official said. more..

Sep 9 (SLBC) UNP parliamentarian professor G.L. Peiris says his party will definitely support the measures taken by the government for the wellbeing of the general public and the country. more..

Sep 10 (AT) Asian Tribune is an independent online daily news media. We wish to maintain our independent status without being aligned to and maligned by either any organizations or countries. We are not under the pay role of Norway or any other Governments, Organizations or by any vested interest groups. more..

Sep 10 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's Hatton National Bank said on Thursday it plans to raise 2.5 billion rupees ($24.3 million) via a listing on the Luxembourg bourse and a local rights issue to fund expansion. more..

Sep 10 (TN) Hundreds of Buddhist monks and Sinhala nationalist activists burnt Norway's national flag in front of the Norwegian embassy in Colombo Thursday, demanding that the scandivanian country should stop facilitating talks between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers. more..

Sep 10 (Rupavahini) President Chandrika Kumaratunge met with the leader of the opposition Ranil Wickremasinghe for an informal discussion on matters of national interest. The meeting took place the president's house. more..

Sep 10 (Rupavahini) Government has assured that it will definitely increase the salaries of public servants by the forthcoming budget. The maiden budget of the Freedom Alliance government is to be presented in parliament on the 12th of November. more..

Sep 10 (AFP) A team of Asian elephant experts plans to visit Kenya this week to learn from Africa's experience in dealing with problems stemming from people encroaching on the animals' habitat, an organiser said here on Tuesday. more..

Sep 10 (TN) Mr.Harim Peiris, Presidential media spokesman and an advisor to Ministry of Refugees Resettlement and Rehabilitation is to visit to pay a second visit Jaffna district on Monday September 13 to assess the progress in the resettlement and rehabilitation process, district secretariat sources said. more..

Sep 10 (TN) Chavakachcheri Magistrate Mr.P.Subramaniam commenced recording the evidence of petitioners in three Habeas Corpus applications, which came up for inquiry Thursday. more..

Sep 10 (TN) Sri Lanka Army soldiers Thursday arrested two Tamil youths entering Jaffna district from Vanni through Muhamalai SLA checkpoint, sources said. The youths were identified as Mr.Sebastianpillai Jesuthasan and Mr. Jeyaraj Antonythas and are natives of Mulliayawallai and Vattapallai in Mullaitivu district. more..

Sep 10 (SN) After having massive Sathyakgraha in Viharamahadevi Park, near Buddha Prathima and gathered around one thousand peoples and Buddhist monks, And walked to the Royal Norwegian Embassy. After that five monks went inside the embassy and handed over a Questionnaire to deputy ambassador, Norway. more..

Sep 10 (PTI) A fisherman from Rameswaram was hit by a bullet when Sri Lankan Navy personnel allegedly opened fire on Indian boats at Katchathivu on Wednesday night. Eight Indian fishermen have reportedly been taken prisoners. more..

Sep 10 (AT) �Ceylon Workers Congress is an independent political party. We are not being dictated by anybody and also we will not be dictated by anyone. We take all decisions independently,� said V.Puththirasigamoney MP and Administrative Secretary. more..

Sep 10 (AT) President Kumaratunga has invited the Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremasinghe to join the proposed National Advisory Council for Peace & Reconciliation. President explained that such a Council would be a forum for an informal discussion on matters of national interest. more..

Sep 10 (AT) Chandrasekhar Ramalingham, National List Member of Parliament representing the JVP and a party spokesman told �Asian Tribune� that majority of the people in the Eastern Province has told that they do not want either interim or subsequently the permanent administration of the Eastern Province handed over to the LTTE - the Tamil rebel outfit. more..

Sep 10 (LT) Twelve cultural centers will be established in the North and the East says Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation. The Minister said the only cultural center that is left in these two provinces is the one at Batticaloa. more..

Sep 10 (AT) The Tamil National Alliance in Sri Lanka is a terrorist outfit just like LTTE and it should be banned in India, Dr. Subramanian Swamy former Indian Law Minister and an advocate of peaceful solution to the Tamil issue, has demanded. more..

Sep 10 (NW) Star bowler Chaminda Vaas, the only Sri Lankan player to be recognized for his performance by the International Cricket Councils special panel, hinted at an early retirement from the game, when he announced his ultimate goal wasnt something very distant. more..

Sep 10 (NW) The Cultural Ministry is to lodge a protest with the US embassy here of its opposition to the film Hollywood Buddha to be released in Los Angeles this month. Cultural Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath said in parliament yesterday that they would inform the US authorities that the film is an insult to Buddhism. more..

Sep 10 (NW) Senior Minister Mangala Samaraweera has claimed he is the deciding factor in the party and could make Arumugam Thondaman or Velupillai Prabhakaran the Prime Minister, if the need arises. This remark was made at a party hosted by Mr. Samaraweera to welcome the CWC Leader. more..

Sep 10 (NW) The Government said yesterday that it would never declare Poya day as a working day but instead would take more steps to foster Buddhism. Cultural Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath denying and rejecting an allegation made by the JHU said there were no proposals to declare Full Moon Poya day as a working day. more..