June 25 (LBO) Sri Lanka may have missed the bus with the green revolution, but the blue can work in the islands favour, say local scientists. With hungry mouths increasing faster than food production, the world is looking to a ‘blue revolution’ to provide some of the solutions. more..

June 25 (LBO) Sri Lanka’s regulatory framework looks wonderful on paper but is quite another thing in practice –a local think tank is suggesting a different approach. Sri Lanka’s regulatory framework looks wonderful on paper but is quite another thing in practice –a local think tank is suggesting a different approach. more..

June 25 (TN) Exhibitions, plays, processions, demonstrations and other activities are being held as part of UNICEF supported Mine Risk Education (MRE) Week between 21 June and 27 June across the NorthEast province. more..

June 25 (TN) Lectures and other administrative activities at the Jaffna University's Vavuniya campus were brought to a standstil as the members of the campus Teachers Union joined the students Friday as a show of support to the students strike which is entering its fourth day, more..

June 25 (SLA) A youth abducted by LTTE and taken to an LTTE camp at KOMARI, had been assaulted and forced to join the LTTE, stated a complaint made to the Police at POTTUVIL. more..

June 25 (SLA) Deputy Minister of Defence and Minister of Buddha Sasana, Public Security, Law and Order Hon. Rathnasiri Wickremanayake arrived at the Army Headquarters (AHQ) Thursday (24) morning on a formal visit. more..

June 25 (CNI) Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong is on his final leg of a three-nation South Asian tour. He arrives in Sri Lanka for an official visit on Friday. It is the first visit to the country for Mr Goh as Prime Minister. more..

June 25 (C365) Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne feels Muttiah Muralitharan's tour boycott is all part of an elaborate plan by Sri Lanka. Murali made headlines with his decision not to join his team-mates Down Under for the Test series against the world champions, but Warne suspects it may just be a ploy. more..

June 25 (Reuters) Stocks rose on Friday with speculation of dividend payments on blue chips driving retail interest in select stocks, brokers said. The key Colombo all-share index ended up 0.46 percent, or 6.16 points, at 1,337.06. more..

June 25 (CI) Kumar Sangakkara ravaged a largely inexperienced Northern Territory Chief Minister's XI attack to score an unbeaten 163 at Darwin, as the Sri Lankans raced to 304 for 5 in only 72 overs. Opening the batting, Sangakkara made full use of a slow pitch, crashing 18 fours and a six in his 220-ball knock. more..

June 25 (AT) LTTE, despite international pressure to give up terrorism and disband the Black Tigers, the world’s largest squad of suicide bombers, will hold “Black Tigers Day”, on 05 July to lionize the dead suicide bombers and inspire more children and young men among Tamils to join the squad in the country’s Northern and Eastern provinces. more..

June 25 (DN) The UNP repulsively condemns the action by ASP Srinath Vidisinghe to arrest former Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake, when the proper arrest of a person should be made on a Court order obtained after making relevant submissions, more..

June 25 (AT) The meeting schedule to be held for tomorrow, Saturday morning 9 am at Akkaraipattun in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka between, the LTTE and the delegation of Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force and the Police is cancelled suddenly. Reason for the cancellation is not known. more..

June 25 (NW) The political bombshell over the attempt by some police officers to arrest UNP frontliner and former powerful minister Ravi Karunanayake took another twist yesterday when a magistrate refused to issue an arrest warrant - telling the police not to be the donkey doing the work of the dog. more..

June 25 (CNA) Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, speaking in Sri Lanka, says the South Asian country has begun to enjoy the fruits of peace and the interest of foreign investors has been revived. Tourists have also returned. more..

June 25 (Reuters) Sri Lanka will aim for seven percent growth in 2005, the finance minister said on Friday, despite the central bank having already cut economic growth outlooks twice for the current year to a range of 5-5.5 percent. more..

June 25 (TJ) IF a surfer had to choose his dream surf location for a contest then Arugam Bay on Sri Lanka's east coast would surely be near the top of the list. This is where four surfers from Jersey ended up competing last weekend more..

June 25 (TN) In Sri Lanka, school students save most in Jaffna, a senior state bank official in the north said Friday. Mr. S. Ilampirainathan, special executive of People's Bank, northern region , said Jaffna school children have 157.8 million rupees in savings accounts in his bank. more..

June 25 (NQM) A WARRINGTON doctor is counting on the help of his patients to give back the gift of sight to the people of a remote Sri Lankan village. Dr Sri Kumaraswamy, a GP at Bold Street Medical Centre, regularly ships reading glasses, walking sticks and frames - all donated from his patients - to the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, to distribute to the needy. more..

June 26 (LBO) The Central Bank says it will re-issue Rs. 7 bn worth of two-year treasury bonds and Rs. 44,837 mn in treasury bills to the debt market, as part of its borrowing programme for July. more..

June 26 (LBO) Visiting Singaporean Premier asked Sri Lanka to come up with an overall competitive package and not just incentives, if it wants to lure foreign investors. "Sri Lanka is a good place to invest in, but it is not the only place," more..

June 26 (LT) Various projects the Alliance undertakes without any consideration to the economic situation in the country would bring about a catastrophe says the UNP. This was stated by Bandula Gunerwardene, Parliamentarian of the UNP at a press conference to express the UNP stand on the economic policy of the Government. more..

June 26 (LT) A statement issued by Mr. Sunil Handunneththi, Deputy Minister of Small and Rural Industries states that when Ravi Karunanayake, who is accused of corruption, was to be arrested two UNP stalwarts prevented it. more..

June 26 (LT) According to Peradeniya University sources Madeevani, Velupillai Parabhakaran’s wife has forwarded an application to complete her degree from that university. She has read for an agriculture degree at Peradniya University. more..

June 26 (Rupavahini) The police are seeking advice against these two MP’s who allegedly obstructed the duties of police officers when they attempted to arrest parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake. more..

June 26 (Rupavahini) Minister of Commerce and consumer affairs Jeyaraj Fernandopulle says that there was a progress in the trade and investment frame work Agreement between the U.S.and Sri Lanka. more..

June 26 (TN) Leaders of opposition parties, UNP, TNA, SLMC, JHU, CWC and UPF are to meet the Speaker Mr.W.J.M. Lokkubandara Monday before discussing the strategy to adopt to present a co-ordinated front to the actions of the ruling minority UPFA government when the parliament meets on July 20, more..

June 26 (UNI) The Indian and the US approach to Sri Lanka's separatist conflict have similarities, the US Ambassador in Colombo was quoted as saying in the local press. Ambassador Jeffrey M Lunstead said both countries wanted to see a solution within a united Sri Lanka respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the island nation. more..

June 26 (ST) Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday invited Sri Lanka to ride on Asia's growth, saying the economic prospects for the region have never been better. He noted that Sri Lanka was already one of the most open economies in South Asia and was thus poised to take advantage of the new opportunities. more..

June 26 (AT) Ali Zahir Moulana, in his letter of resignation as the Nominated member of Parliament he received a call from Thambirajah Ramesh stating that he was the successor to Karuna as the LTTE’s Special Commander of Batticaloa – Amparai District and he wanted me to prevail upon Colonel Karuna Amman to leave the country. more..

June 26 (AT) In a latest twist to Colonel Karuna Amman’s ongoing controversy, Karuna’s spokesman Maran flatly denied that they are not operating jointly with the Sri Lanka Army. He said that there was no need for such action as they are capable enough take on the Vanni Tigers all alone single handedly. more..

June 26 (NT) The rights over Kachchativu is raised whenever fishermen from Tamilnadu face problems while they inadvertently cross the boundaries near the islet. The Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had last year suggested to the Central government that the island could be taken on perpetual lease from Sri Lanka so that the Tamilnadu fishermen could fish in the waters without encountering problems. more..

June 26 (SLA) A vehicle carrying different particulars and numbers was arrested on suspicion at the MADHU road junction Entry/Exit point on 24 June 2004 around 8.45 a.m. The vehicle (NWHQ - 6258) with 27 passengers onboard to proceed to MADHU was taken in to the custody due to disparity in documents. more..

June 26 (SLA) One thousand four hundred and eighty eight (1488) lorry loads of food and other essential items had been dispatched to un-cleared areas in the northern province during the period between 18 June 2004 and 24 June 2004. more..

June 26 (RNS) Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has banned the import of bathing suits with images of Buddha after a monk saw bikinis bearing the symbol in an advertisement. The Buddhist monk, Kusaladhamma Thera, petitioned the Supreme Court, saying he was pained to see ads for swimsuits "with Buddha's image on the breast and crotch areas." more..

June 26 (TN) The Trincomalee district branch of the Thamileelam Students Forum Friday issued a statement expressing grief over the tragic deaths of two Sinhalese students who were killed by a passenger bus Wednesday morning in Polgahawela while they were on their way to schools, sources said. more..

June 26 (TN) A journalist in Batticaloa went into hiding Friday, fearing for his life after persons suspected to be members of a paramilitary group working with the Sri Lankan military intelligence threatened him with death, family members told TamilNet. more..

June 26 (TN) Five day strike at the Vavuniya campus of Jaffna University ended Saturday after students reached an agreement with the Vice Chancellor Professor S.Mohanadas in the presence of Vavuniya Government Agent k.Ganesh and Vanni district parliamentarian Sivanathan Kishore, more..

June 26 (CNA) Singapore and Sri Lanka should try and reach an 'open skies' agreement to help boost trade and tourism between the two countries, says Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. Mr Goh, who arrived in Sri Lanka on Friday on the last leg of his three-nation South Asian tour, met business and political leaders. more..

June 26 (PTI) MDMK said on Saturday that it was of the firm opinion that there was no need for a ban on the LTTE in India and therefore it would not demand lifting of the ban. "A day will come when the ban will be lifted," MDMK chief Vaiko said, adding he was not demanding lifting of the ban. more..

June 26 (Jang) Tamil Tiger rebels told Scandinavian monitors they will pull out of a meeting to review Sri Lanka’s truce after the government admitted military elements supported a renegade guerrilla, an official said Friday. more..

June 26 (TP) An angry Sri Lankan, arrested at the airport when he arrived from Germany to attend his father’s funeral and kept in remand on a murder charge for seven days till police realised their mistake, is seeking justice from the Supreme Court, the Daily Mirror reported. more..

June 26 (TP) Furious opposition UNP parliamentarians threatened to file action against police officers who went to the home of Ravi Karunanayake, former commerce minister, on Wednesday and wanted to arrest him, newspapers said. more..

June 26 (TP) Four senior LTTE cadres, who were injured in the recent clashes between the Prabhakaran and Karuna factions in the eastern Batticaloa jungles, were brought to Colombo for treatment at a private hospital, informed sources were quoted as saying in the Island newspaper. more..

June 26 (TP) The Cabinet of Ministers has decided to make it compulsory for all ministries, government department and state agencies to use only state-owned newspapers, radio and television for advertising and other promotional matters, informed sources were quoted as saying in the Daily Mirror newspaper. more..

June 26 (Gulf) Sri Lanka is a small island with a population of around 19 million, less than one-third of the population of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. But its political crisis remains as complicated as a spider's web, with no end in sight. more..

June 26 (AT) The Colombo District Court extended its earlier enjoining order restraining Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) member - Buddhist monk, Akmeemna Dayaratne from functioning as a Member of Parliament until Tuesday 29 June, when the case was taken up 25 June. more..

June 26 (IANS) President Chandrika Kumaratunga has urged Singapore to make greater investment in its economy, Xinhua reports. Singapore is among the first five investors in Sri Lanka and over 80 Singapore companies operate on the island, Kumaratunga said. more..

June 26 (AT) At last LTTE has agreed that they have requested Ali Zahir Moulana to contact LTTE renegade leader Colonel Karuna Amman alias Venayagamoorthy Muralitharan and arrange to send him to some foreign country. more..

June 26 (CI) Sri Lanka had much the better of proceedings on the third day of their four-day tour match against the Northern Terrotory Chief Minister's XI at the Marrara Cricket Ground. Inspired by Kumar Sangakkara's unbeaten 203, they got to within 41 runs of the Northern Territory XI's total before declaring, more..