Dec 18 (AT) A new mechanism that would be devised by Geoinformatics (Pvt) Ltd would put off the vehicle thieves who are thriving now out of job by tracing to the exact location of the stolen vehicle and dislodging the engine of the vehicle. more..

Dec 18 (IE) They may currently be focused more on the emergency room than the dressing room but Sri Lanka are hoping that the introduction of Lasith Malinga will be more than a surprise packet for India in the third Test. Malinga is likely to share the new ball with Chaminda Vaas more..

Dec 18 (LeN) A land in Colombo worth 4750 million rupees in the open market has been sold for mere 410 as a result of an exchange of letters carried out by Chandrika Kumratunga just days before her retirement. This 190 perch land located at the Eye Hospital junction, Colombo was owned by the Employees Trust Fund. more..

Dec 18 (TS) The only way to prevent war between the armed forces and LTTE is to prevail on the new President to give up his idea of a unitary form of government and work for a confederal. more..

Dec 18 (AT) Douglas Devananda, Secretary General of the EPDP in an interview with the 'Asian Tribune' has refuted the latest LTTE’s propaganda. He has pointed that the LTTE has resorted to its usual tactics of manufacturing evidence to throw mud its opponents. more..

Dec 18 (LS) While the LTTE is engaged in violence at its will, the Sri Lankan government has consolidated its position with regard to the basic structural requirements to start peace negotiation with the LTTE. The government persuaded the JVP, which was adamant that peace talks should be held in Sri Lanka, more..

Dec 18 (TN) Mr.A.S.Gunaratnam, retired Assistant Director of Sports in the North East Provincial Education, Cultural, Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry and currently Assistant Director of the North East Youth Affairs Ministry passed away Friday in Colombo after a brief illness. more..

Dec 18 (WS) Travelling abroad at least to neighbouring countries like India and Maldives may not be as expensive as it used to be in the coming months, with budget airlines given green light to take off. Sri Lankans might pay as little as 50% for their tickets in comparison to the present air fares to regional destinations, if they travel in budget airlines. more..

Dec 18 (WS) The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has alleged that Wednesday's attack on the Air Force helicopter "was a well planned plot of the Government, to discredit the LTTE internationally." more..

Dec 18 (WS) While the country is saddled with serious problems, the totally unnecessary tug-of-war to fill the vacancy in parliament created by the assassination of Lakshman Kadirgamar ended this week with President Rajapakse's nominee Dallas Alahapperma being finally nominated to the post. more..

Dec 18 (WS) There is a silver lining in every dark cloud, so they say. Let us hope that our newly elected President is truly ours. The most daunting task that destiny holds for him will be the settling of the problems thrust upon history by the UNP regimes of the past of which governments Mr. Ranil Wickremasingha was a willing member. more..

Dec 18 (LM) A key constituent partner of the ruling alliance, the JVP has demanded that nomination be given to 55 of its members at next year's general election. JVP leaders have told the UPFA decision makers that the JVP has always proved that the majority of its nominees are capable of winning elections, and therefore, 55 JVPers should be accommodated on the UPFA nomination list. more..

Dec 18 (LM) The vote on the Second Reading of the Budget of the new Government will be taken tomorrow while Parliament will also vote on the emergency before sittings conclude for the year on Thursday. Dallas Allahaperuma will sworn in as member of parliament to fill the vacancy created by the death of former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. more..

Dec 18 (PIS) Norwegian "conditions" to the Sri Lanka government if Oslo is to get re-engaged in the peace process have raised a major quandary - among them Sri Lanka's own "conditions" over the future role of special envoy Erik Solheim and the need to divorce the facilitator from the truce monitor - more..

Dec 18 (PIS) The LTTE yesterday rejected the possibility of holding peace talks at an Asian venue, insisting that any direct negotiations must be held in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. The Tigers also claimed that the government was seeking to "isolate the LTTE from contacts with Western countries". more..

Dec 18 (PIS) The Catholic Bishops of Sri Lanka and Major Religious Superiors in a joint statement yesterday called on the government and the LTTE to strictly uphold the ceasefire agreement and take urgent steps to resume peace talks. more..

Dec 18 (PIS) The decision to impose a buffer zone of 100 to 200 metres from the shoreline and the scarcity of alternate land in close proximity to devastated houses have delayed the construction of tsunami housing projects. more..

Dec 18 (PIS) Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake at the function of releasing the Transparency International Report on the Abuse of Public Resources, emphasised the need to reform present election laws. He reiterated that the election law dealt only with several simple issues like controlling a polling centre, transferring ballot boxes and counting ballot paper etc. more..

Dec 18 (LNP) The LTTE is accused of running a torture chamber in the Batticaloa district. The accusation was made by the London-based Tamil Broadcasting Corporation on Friday claiming that more than 160 Tamils are held in detention and subject to regular torture and inhuman treatment. more..

Dec 18 (LNP) A 27-year old Sri Lanka Tamil was shot dead last Sunday night as he walked on Queensbury Road in Kingsbury, London, news reports said. The youth, identified as Douglas Yogarasa from Sri Lanka where his immediate family lives, was found by a member of the public who called the police around 9.30 p.m. He was found dead at the scene when police arrived. more..

Dec 18 (LNP) The official residence of the Sri Lanka High Commissioner in London is up for grabs once again despite a decision taken by former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar not to dispose of it in exchange for another -- his decision being overturned by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Mr. Kadirgamar`s successor Anura Bandaranaike shortly after his death, and shortly before the preisential election, more..

Dec 18 (LNP) The JVP has turned down an invitation to join President Mahinda Rajapakse`s forthcoming state visit to New Delhi. The Sunday Island learns that Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has formally invited the Marxist party to join the delegation as the President was keen to accommodate senior representatives of political parties which backed him. more..

Dec 18 (CI) Test cricket reveals character, and the first day of the Ahmedabad Test had ample displays of it. First, Sri Lanka shrugged off an indifferent start to reduce India to 97 for 5 - this, after their first-choice new-ball bowlers had opted out of the game due to illness. more..

Dec 18 (SO) Several Police stations in the Western Province were alarmed when a wave of robberies were reported from Piliyandala, Mount Lavina, Moratuwa and Colombo last September. The robbers attacked several business establishments, jewellery shops and robbed expensive Cellular mobile phones, gold chains, rings earrings worth more than Rs. 1 million. more..

Dec 18 (Xinhua) Rains and heavy winds are to affect Sri Lanka as a depression in the Bay of Bengal is likely to develop into tropical cyclonic weather conditions, weather men have warned in Sri Lanka. more..

Dec 18 (AFP) Hopes for a revival of Sri Lanka's peace process dimmed after Tamil Tiger rebels rejected a government offer to hold ice-breaking talks at an Asian venue hosted by Japan, diplomats said. more..

Dec 19 (TN) Civlians in Punguduthivu Sunday morning protested against the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) in Punguduthivu following the discovery of the body of Ilayathambi Tharsini (20) from an abandoned well near SLN camp Saturday. A fifty-five years old civilian was rushed to Jaffna Hospital with serious gunshot wounds. more..

Dec 19 (TN) Past students of Kokuvil Hindu College Jaffna released a book detailing the ninty five year history of the school in an event held at the Subramaniam Hall at 10.30 a.m. Sunday presided by the present Principal of the school Mr P Kamalanathan. more..

Dec 19 (TN) Rasaratnam Puhalasri (33) from Navaly South, an employee at an ice cream parlor at the Parameswara juntion was severly injured when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops attacked civilians around the Jaffna campus areas following altercation between Jaffna campus students at the International Tamileelam Student Union offices near Parameswara junction at 5.30 p.m. Sunday. more..

Dec 19 (TN) Amidst reports that the government is considering to have parliamentary election or local government elections in March next year, the People's Action for Free and Fair Election (PAFFREL) has urged President Mahinda Rajapakse to defer elections by another three months from March until the irregularities in the 2004 voters' register are rectified, more..

Dec 19 (AT) V.Anandasangaree, septuagenarian moderate Tamil Leader in an open letter to Arumugan Thondaman, leader of the Ceylon Workers Congress has patiently enumerated the dangers he and the estate workers in the upcountry might face in the future by aligning with the LTTE. more..

Dec 19 (AT) Despite Sri Lanka needing approximately 78,000 permanent houses to home tsunami victims, only a mere 5000 houses will be completed by the end of this year, this was revealed by Oxfam International in its latest report released this week on the challenges in providing shelter for those affected after the tsunami. more..

Dec 19 (AT) It is high time that Tamils took stock of their position about providing their support to the present Government of Sri Lanka led by Mahinda Rajapakse. They have to take a crucial decision whether it is worth their while to support any government that is being led by Sinhla leadership in the future or more..

Dec 19 (AT) Despite all its posturing of being "liberators" and "sole representatives of the Tamils", it could be argued that the LTTE is fighting at this juncture not for "a homeland" but for an extended plot of land, from Jaffna to Hambantota, in which they are given the licence to run a one-man dictatorship crushing the rights and freedoms of all communities, in particular that of the Tamils. more..

Dec 19 (AT) The son of a former leader of EROS, now living in London, is claiming that he had been abducted and tortured by members of the LTTE right here in London. The 25-year old Nesan Thirunesan who is the son of the late Shankar Rajee, a key member of the EROS, says that he was subjected to inhuman treatment after being abducted by LTTE cadres two of whom he says he recognized. more..

Dec 19 (AT) ‘Access for All’ (AA), the campaign fighting for the rights of persons with disabilities, announced the parliamentary listed Bill awaiting enactment on accessible facilities for persons with disabilities, at a media conference held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel. more..

Dec 19 (AT) The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has alleged that Wednesday's attack on the Air Force helicopter "was a well planned plot of the Government, to discredit the LTTE internationally." more..

Dec 19 (LeN) Senior journalist of 'Thinakkural' newspaper and attorney at law, B.Paratheepan has been detained for 24 hours without citing any reason, despite being in possession of the media identity card issued by the government. more..

Dec 19 (WS) During his two year stay in India Prabhakaran widely read about the revolution and guerrilla tactics. He read on Mao Tsetung, Che Guera and also about the Palestine Liberation Organization. He regularly had meetings with a young Sri Lankan Tamil poet whom he met in Tamil Nadu called Casy Anandan. more..

Dec 19 (WS) As yucky, smelly, gooey, worm prone garbage heaps in all sizes began sprouting up in Colombo and its suburbs, helpless and desperate local authorities are turning towards President Mahinda Rajapakse and the Central Government for help. more..

Dec 19 (CI) Poor old Marvan Atapattu. He lost his third toss of the series, this time on a featherbed pitch where the average first-innings score in the last three Tests is nearly 500, and smiled ruefully, accepting the latest setback to hit his team with the air of someone who knows the Gods are turned against him. more..

Dec 19 (TP) The embassy of Sri Lanka in Doha will be holding multi-religious prayers on December 26 in remembrance of victims of the tsunami disaster a year ago. Religious leaders from different faiths, among them Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity, will be invited to the function to be held at the Sri Lankan embassy. more..

Dec 19 (AP) Police searching for suspected Tamil Tiger rebels detained more than 100 ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka's capital, while hopes for new peace talks between the insurgents and government fell in a dispute over the venue. The Tigers have rejected a government proposal to hold a new round of negotiations in Asia, more..

Dec 19 (TP) Future request from ministers for new vehicles will require cabinet approval, according to a presidential decision after some ministers in the new Sri Lankan government obtained very expensive vehicles through their ministries. more..

Dec 19 (TN) “Congressional meetings gave me hope that a conducive atmosphere is emerging in the supreme legislative body of the US with regards to the Tamil struggle. It is critical that we maintain sustained efforts to reinforce relationships with congresspersons interested in our struggle, and address human rights issues raised by UN agencies and watchdogs. more..

Dec 19 (TN) Sri Lanka Army troopers opened fire at a peaceful demonstration march by Jaffna University students and staff, wounding at least seven demonstrators including Prof. N. Perinpanathan, a Senior Lecturer, and a student leader of the medical faculty T. Kandeepan. more..

Dec 19 (SLA) A TAMIL TIGER PISTOL MAN, who tried to shoot at policemen after he was caught with two others while fleeing with a stolen van around 2.00 a.m. on Sunday (18) fell victim to his own pistol shots accidentally at SALIYAWEVA roadblock on ANURADHAPURA - PUTTALUM road. more..

Dec 19 (SLA) TROOPS on duty at two Army points in the general area of Y Junction in JAFFNA were compelled to open fire into the air this morning (19) around 11.30 a.m. when Tamil Tiger (LTTE) incited mobs began to harass troops after throwing stones and other paraphernalia with the intention of provoking them. more..

Dec 19 (SLA) A RAIN OF TAMIL TIGER (LTTE) bullets directed over the THOPPUR roadblock in TRINCOMALEE on Sunday (18) night at about 8.50 p.m. from a Tamil Tiger hideout in the opposite un-cleared areas of PAHALA THOPPUR and SELVANAGAR, fell short of their desired targets, without causing any injuries to the troops and policemen. more..

Dec 19 (LBO) Poor management and labor issues are bigger challenges for apparel exporters from Sri Lanka than the phase out of quotas for garments earlier in the year according to an NGO. Oxfam says around a third of factory closures in the last 3 years were once manufacturing apparels but these were unconnected to withdrawal of quotas. more..