May 17 (HT) In a desperate move to get the LTTE to attend the "Aid Lanka" conference to beheld in Tokyo on June 9 and 10, the international donors are likely to offer to modify their funding norms to enable the rebel group greater access to the funds pledged, and a greater freedom in the utilisation of the funds secured, than hitherto envisaged, more..

May 17 (TN) The UNF Government has abandoned the proposal to construct a thermal coal power plant in Trincomalee following strong protests by environmentalists and the people of Trincomalee. The 300 megawatt plant is now planned for construction in Hambantota, deep south of the island, power and energy ministry sources said. more..

May 17 (HT) The LTTE has asked for two days' time to consider the Sri Lankan government's new proposals meant to bring the rebel group to the Tokyo donors' conference to be held in early June, reports from the LTTE's political headquarters at Kilinochchi say. more..

May 18 (Hindu) Two boys accused of the April 24 murder of a Sri Lankan national, have topped plus-two results in their school. While the prime accused, S. Balaprasanna, has secured the third place, his friend, D. Ghazi Ali, facing charges of abetting the crime, has stood second. more..

May 18 (TN) A three-hour discussion was held at the office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Jaffna Saturday afternoon between the representatives of the LTTE and the Sri Lanka Army in the presence of the head of SMM Jaffna, sources said. more..

May 18 (SL) THE board of directors of the Development Lotteries Board (DLB) will be directed by the government not to respond to any summons by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, The Sunday Leader learns. more..

May 18 (SL) A police investigation commi- ssioned at the request of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe into the murder of the Hikkaduwa Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman has found that the killing by underworld thugs is in all probability an "inside job" from within the ranks of the UNP. more..

May 18 (Island) The government has partially accepted a proposal to increase security to President Chandrika Kumaratunga, a senior government spokesman said yesterday. "We have decided to extend the high security zone around Janadhipathi Mandiraya on a priority basis," he said more..

May 18 (SO) LTTE's decision to meet with Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgessen in Kilinochchi yesterday was interpreted as a positive sign by political and diplomatic circles that the Tigers would attend the Tokyo Donor parley scheduled for next month. more..

May 18 (RD) Arrangements are being made in Colombo to establish a bank for the Sri Lankan migrant workers living in all parts of the world including those Sri Lankans in the Kingdom , this was announced in a communiqué made available to Riyadh Daily from Colombo, Saturday. more..

May 18 (TS) Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner-designate to Malaysia, Bernadine Rose Senanayake, scheduled to arrive here on Tuesday, will have no problems adjusting to her new job. Her charm alone should put the Miss Sri Lanka 1980, Miss Asia 1981 and Mrs World 1983 winner in good stead. more..

May 18 (ST) LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has sidelined his chief peace negotiator Anton Balasingham - temporarily - and taken over the negotiating process himself, The Sunday Times learns. more..

May 18 (TN) Students and parents of six schools located in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) demarcated High Security Zone (HSZ) in the Thenmaradchy in Jaffna peninsula are planning to protest against the closure of their schools, press reports in Jaffna said. more..

May 18 (SLA) The Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in TRINCOMALEE on 17 May 2003 has confirmed the Navy that the sailor who went missing on 13 May 2003 from the general area of PALAMPATTAR, about 13 km. southwest of TRINCOMALEE is being held in LTTE custody at KADDAWAN LTTE camp. more..

May 18 (SLA) Trincomalee, the paradise tourist resort on Sri Lanka’s eastern coast with its chanting Nilaveli sea waves and fascinating beaches, is back on business as hundreds of local as well as foreign tourists have re-commenced visiting these picturesque areas of tourist interest, mainly due to prevailing prospects of peace in this island-nation. more..

May 18 (SLA) Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army along with their Senior Officers joined thousands of island-wide Buddhists during this year’s Vesak ceremonies (May 15-16) which commemorate the Birth, Enlightenment and Passing away of the Enlightened One, the Buddha occurred some 2546 Buddhist years ago in the month of May. more..

May 18 (Gulf) Tamil guerrilla leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has sidelined his chief peace negotiator Anton Balasingham "temporarily " and taken over the negotiating process himself, sources in the north said. more..

May 18 (CO) Over 10 kg of heroin, valued at Rs 10.40 crore in the international market, was seized from the residence of a man in Kolampalayam, in Erode district, yesterday. more..

May 18 (AFP) Diplomatic moves have so far failed to break the deadlock in Sri Lanka's stalled peace bid, but Norwegian envoys are keeping up the pressure to revive the process, officials said. more..

May 18 (PTI) At least 55 people are feared dead and thousands rendered homeless in south-central Sri Lanka after heavy floods and mudslides caused havoc in the area, police said today. "The floods have killed about 25 people and at least another 30 people were buried in mudslide," more..

May 18 (AP) Muttiah Muralitharan took five wickets as Sri Lanka snatched a dramatic 12-run victory over Pakistan in the fourth match of the tri-series on Sunday. Pakistan, chasing a modest 173 for victory, were bowled out for 160 in 47.4 overs on a crumbling pitch. more..

May 18 (PTI) Sri Lanka today sought emergency assistance from India as the death toll rose to 91 in flash floods and mudslides in south-central region of the island, officials said. Sri Lanka appealed for inflatable rubber dinghy boats to reach marooned villages in the district of Ratnapura, more..

May 18 (AFP) Sri Lanka called for international support for a major relief operation as the death toll in the worst flash floods and mudslides in 56 years neared 100, government officials and police said. more..

May 18 (AFP) Sri Lanka Sunday called for urgent help from abroad as the death toll neared 150 in the worst floods and mudslides in 56 years, officials and police said. Officials expressed fears that casualties could mount. more..

May 19 (HT) The commander of the Sri Lankan Navy has written to the defence secretary to say that the SLN will no longer accept rulings of the Scandenavian-staffed SLMM which are in gross violation of the terms of the ceasefire agreement of February 2002, according to a report in the The Sunday Times, on Sunday. more..

May 19 (Island) There has been an increase of 1655 road accidents countrywide in the first quarter of this year in comparison to last year’s statistics reported in the same period. A total of 13,006 accidents was reported in 2002 while 14,661 had been reported within the same period this year. more..

May 19 (TN) "In other parts of the world, ruling governments fear the leaders of labor unions that determine the economic welfare of the country more than they do opposing politicians. In Sri Lanka, since the Upcountry leadership have traditionally worked in consort with the ruling parties upcountry people are denied the respect and power enjoyed by the Muslim or Northeast leadership," said M. Sivalingam, more..

May 19 (TN) A member of Razeek Group, a paramilitary operating with the Sri Lanka army in Batticaloa was shot and mortally wounded by unidentified an unidentified gunman in a suburb of the eastern town Monday around 1 p.m. Police sources said. more..

May 19 (TN) The People’s Bank has launched a programme to make ready cash available to entrepreneurs in the Northern Province with the assistance of German government-supported Rural Banking Innovations Project (RBIP), a press note by German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) Monday. more..

May 19 (SLA) Three teenaged girls, who had been abducted by LTTE and escaped have approached the Security Forces personnel on duty in the general area of ARUNAPURA, about 25 km. southeast of POLONNARUWA on 18 May 2003 around 7.00 a.m. seeking protection. more..

May 19 (SLA) An Army soldier was shot to death at close range by an unidentified gunman this afternoon (19 May 2003) around 2 p.m. while he was taking a hair-cut in a barber saloon in the general area of PUTTUR, about 3 km southwest of BATTICALOA town. more..

May 19 (SLA) The dead body of a youth who was abducted earlier in the day by an unidentified group from the general area of ODDAMAVADI, about 30 km. northwest of BATTICALOA, was found by troops on 16 May 2003 around 10.30 a.m. with cut injuries caused to his body. more..

May 19 (SLA) Four LTTE cadres have assaulted a civilian for reasons known only to them in the general area of KANDALADIUTTU, about 12 km southwest of TRINCOMALEE on 13 May 2003 around 2 p.m. while he was at his residence. more..

May 19 (SLA) Mother S. YAMUNADEVI of ORC REFUGEE CAMP at PESALAI, about 15 km. northwest of MANNAR in a complaint made to the THALAIMANNAR Police station stated that her daughter S. YOGESWARY (18) was kidnapped by LTTE on 16 May 2003 around 8.00 p.m. more..

May 19 (PSL) As the head of National Level Disaster Management Council, President Kumaratunga today pledged 100m Rupees to repair houses and infrastructure damaged in flood- affected areas. Flash floods said to be the worst in 50 years have caused havoc in the Southern regions of the Island. more..

May 19 (DN) Mass Communication Minister Imthiaz Bakeer Markar said power hungry politicians in our country are involved in a conspiracy to topple the Government which initiated the Peace Process ending the 20-year old war. more..

May 19 (Gulf) Sri Lanka called in its navy and army to carry out rescue operations after 145 people were feared killed, 50 are missing and over 500,000 displaced due to torrential rains followed by landslides reported from the central and southern part of the country, more..

May 19 (DM) With successive governments continuing to merrily-go-around the country to find a suitable site for the vital coal power plant, energy experts have warned that by the time the actual plant comes up, the country would not need a coal power plant as the country's industrial sector would have been dead due to the high electricity prices. more..

May 19 (AFP) Sri Lanka began the grim task of looking for bodies as the worst flooding in more than half a century left a trail of destruction which claimed around 150 lives. more..

May 19 (AP) Air force helicopters and police teams searched for survivors in remote villages Monday after a weekend of floods and landslides that killed up to 200 people in south-central Sri Lanka, officials said. more..

May 19 (AP) Sri Lankan army soldiers evacuate people by trucks in Ratnapura, 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday May 18, 2003. more..

May 19 (AFP) Left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori snared a career-best four for 14 Monday to spur New Zealand to a nine-run victory over Sri Lanka and into the final of the limited-overs tri-series here. New Zealand posted a modest 156 for eight and then bowled host Sri Lanka out for 147 with five balls to spare. more..

May 19 (AFP) Sri Lanka's main Marxist party Monday accused Norway and Japan of legitimising Tiger rebels through their efforts to salvage the island's peace bid and woo the guerrillas to an aid conference in Tokyo. more..

May 19 (TN) After accompanying the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on his tour to flood affected Ratnapura and Matara, the Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen and Ambassador Hans Brattskar announced that the Norwegian Government has decided to donate Rs.95m for emergency flood relief, more..

May 19 (AFP) President Chandrika Kumaratunga's party is set to clinch a long-awaited deal with a Marxist party in a bid to topple the cohabitation government as the country was locked in a constitutional crisis, officials said Monday. more..

May 20 (TN) In Commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of diplomatic relationships between Sri Lanka and Canada, the Canadian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Ms. Valerie Raymond, arrived in Trincomalee Monday, beginning a six-day tour of the Eastern province, sources said. more..

May 20 (Hindu) The LTTE is likely to reconsider its decision to stay away from next month's donors' conference, to be held in Tokyo, to raise international financial support for reconstructing war-torn Sri Lanka. more..

May 20 (TN) TNA delegation met with Norwegian deputy foreign minister Mr. Vidar Helgessen and the Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe separately Monday and held discussions regarding resumption of peace talks between the Government and the LTTE more..

May 20 (DM) The toll of death and devastation from one of Sri Lanka's worst ever floods rose to staggering levels yesterday with some 250 people feared dead, another 1000 missing and as many as 600,00 homeless as the heavy rains, stormy winds and floods continued. more..

May 20 (LBO) Money clogged up due to coin jams in Tritel payphones will go to charity in the provinces they come from, the Maharagama Cancer Hospital the first to benefit. Tritel officials say, since it was impossible to return the money to the people who lost it to the payphone, they have decided to donate it to charities in the provinces they are located in. more..