Feb 8 (LBO) The government is hoping to decide the fate of previously approved and now invalid coastal building projects, including hotels, on Tuesday. "We are meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) to decide what to do about coastal development projects that were approved before the tsunami," more..

Feb 8 (IL) Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Leader Rauff Hakeem has declared his party’s contentment on the Co-Chairs assertion that the aid provided for the post tsunami reconstruction must be linked to the peace process. more..

Feb 8 (IL) Following the Government’s decision to impose laws which would prohibit the construction of houses/buildings within 100 metre of the coastal belt, SLMC Leader Rauff Hakeem has emphasized that due to the severe shortage of land in the Kalmunai division, this decision should be suspended exclusively for the Kalmunai division only. more..

Feb 8 (CBS) Millions of people left homeless by the tsunami six weeks ago are finally getting their lives back together. 10TV Eyewitness News sent a crew to Sri Lanka in South Asia to witness the road to recovery. Anchor-reporter Angela An, along with photojournalist Chris Hedrick, spent 10 days on assignment traveling the devastated country. more..

Feb 8 (AT) Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kunmaratunga has directed the housing authority officials to commence construction activities of three projects special housing projects with all urban amenities before the 20th of this month in the Batticaloa district. more..

Feb 8 (LT) Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the opposition, says he has no intention of going in for a debate on tsunami catastrophe. He said this addressing the Members of Parliament of the UNP in Parliamentary complex. more..

Feb 8 (LT) Patriotic National Movement had planned to declare year 2005 as the “Anti re-colonization year” and arranged to conduct programmes relevant to it but had to abandon all that due to tsunami disaster. However, PNM has decided to commence anti re-colonization programmes on the 2nd March. more..

Feb 8 (SAMN) Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Tissa Vitharana Monday said that most of his attempts to correct the misconceptions behind the tsunami had led to the creation of more fear and misconceptions, such as another tsunami hitting the country within ten years and scientists at Pallekelle not warning the country prior to the attack. more..

Feb 8 (SAMN) The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) politbureau met last evening amidst continuing reports regarding its withdrawal from the UPFA government and their possible non participation in Wednesday's parliamentary debate on the tsunami disaster. more..

Feb 8 (SAMN) Parents who could not get their children admitted to Year One of Gampaha Gothami Vidyalaya staged a protest campaign Monday. They brought their children to the school and forcibly seated them in the classes, agitating the Principal to admit them to the school. more..

Feb 8 (AT) In a daring attack at 7.45 p.m. last night, E. Kaushalyan, the head of LTTE’s Eastern Province Political Wing, was ambushed and shot dead, along with four other LTTE cadres traveling with him. No one has claimed responsibility so far but Military sources believe that this could be a revenge attack by the breakaway group of Col. Karuna for killing his brother, Col. Reggie. more..

Feb 8 (SAMN) The undersea pipeline supplying water to Kinniya from Trincomalee, which was damaged by the tsunami will be restored before Feb 15. Urban Development and Water Supply Minister Dinesh Gunawardane told the Daily Mirror after a visit to the area that the damage suffered by the Water Supply Board had been estimated at around Rs 4.5 million. more..

Feb 8 (AFP) The Indian Ocean tsunamis killed 31,000 people in Sri Lanka and caused unprecedented damage, but were also a blessing to its economy which had been heading for a major catastrophe, according to analysts. more..

Feb 8 (TN) The Athletic Federation of North East Province was inaugurated Saturday in Killinochchi. Representatives from eight District Athletic Association attended the inaugural meeting with Mr.K.Paapa, Head of the Tamileelam Sports Department as the chief guest. more..

Feb 8 (TN) Mr. Ariyanayagam Chandra Nehru, ex-TNA MP for Amparai district, succumbed to his wounds Tuesday morning in Colombo. He was seriously injured when gunmen suspected to be working with the Sri Lanka army shot dead senior Liberation Tigers official, Mr. E. Kousalyan and three members of the LTTE more..

Feb 8 (TN) The Greek floating hospital has been idling in Trincomalee harbour since it arrived Saturday morning following the restriction by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) allowing patients from the Trincomalee general hospital to the vessel citing security reasons. more..

Feb 8 (TN) Polannaruwa magistrate Tuesday evening instructed hospital authorities to send Mr. Kousalyan’s body to Batticaloa hospital for autopsy after a delay of more than 19 hours. LTTE officials from Batticaloa who went to take over the body early Tuesday morning said that it had been disfigured by the assassins. more..

Feb 8 (SLA) Five LTTE WANNI cadres, including the LTTE political leader for AMPARA and BATTICALOA, Mr. E. KAUSHALYAN and a former Member of Parliament for THIRUKKOVIL were among those who died following gunfire attacks on Monday (07) night while they were in the general area of NAMALGAMA, PULLAIRADI more..

Feb 8 (SLA) A mobile patrol of the troops in the general area of PACHCHANOOR, TRINCOMALEE has come under LTTE gunfire attack on 07 February 2005 around 6.45 p.m. Troops of the 7th Sri Lanka Light Infantry after identifying the gunmen had referred the incident to the SLMM at TRINCOMALEE. more..

Feb 8 (PRIU) The Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan will arrive in Sri Lanka on Thursday, February 10 to see what assistance his country could extend for the rebuilding process in the country. This is the first time a Turkish Prime Minister is visiting the island. more..

Feb 8 (PRIU) President Chandrika Kumaratunga and her high-powered delegation arrived at the Chaklala Air Force Base near Islamabad on a three-day official visit last night. The President was received by her Minister-in-waiting the Federal Minister of Water and Power Liaquat Jatoi more..

Feb 8 (SN) The North and East Development Council is proposed to be established with only two parties – the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE – the terrorist organization operating in the North and East of Sri Lanka. more..

Feb 8 (wsws) Every day in Sri Lanka, the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government announces through the television and other media a long list of assistance it is providing for the survivors of the December 26 tsunami. But the reality is completely different. more..

Feb 8 (AP) A Sri Lankan couple claiming to be the parents of "Baby 81" - a symbol of the families torn apart by the Dec. 26 tsunami - were scheduled to undergo DNA tests on Wednesday, but may have to wait for days to know the result. more..

Feb 8 (Yahoo) A Sri Lankan police home guard stands near a bullet-ridden van used by the slain top Tamil Tiger rebel political wing leader E. Kousalyan in Welikanda, February 8. more..

Feb 8 (Dawn) Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga arrived here late on Monday night on a three-day official visit during which four agreements and two MoUs will be signed to strengthen bilateral cooperation. All the agreements and MoUs would be signed at the Prime Minister's House here on Wednesday, it is learnt. more..

Feb 8 (Kyodo) Japan voiced its hope Tuesday that the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels will move toward peace through work to deal with the aftermath of the Dec. 26 tsunami that hit the country. more..

Feb 8 (KT) A SRI LANKAN daily this week published a cartoon depicting Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike building a sandcastle while seated on the seashore in a demarcated ‘buffer zone’ and saying to himself “someone’s stupid idea.” more..

Feb 8 (DN) The Centre for National Operations (CNO) handed over to the line ministries the responsibilities of continuing its main functions of collating and analysing data, coordinating and facilitating relief measures connected to healthcare, education, foreign donor assistance and food relief last Friday. more..

Feb 8 (PA) The Prince of Wales is to visit tsunami-hit Sri Lanka to witness the devastation left behind by the deadly tidal waves, it was announced today. Charles will make a brief stop on the island at the end of the month as he makes his way to Australia for an official tour. more..

Feb 8 (TN) Special Representative of the Government of the Japan and Peace Envoy Mr Yasushi Akashi is scheduled to visit Srilanka to "discuss the current situation of the peace process after the tsunami disaster," a press release from the Embassy of Japan said Tuesday. more..

Feb 8 (AP) Sri Lanka's president was in Pakistan on Tuesday for bilateral talks including agriculture cooperation and scrapping fees on student visas, the Foreign Ministry said. Chandrika Kumaratunga, who arrived in the capital Islamabad late Monday, more..

Feb 8 (AP) The United Nations said governments have provided little more than a third of the aid they pledged to tsunami-hit nations and warned it needed more cash to fund long-term reconstruction efforts. The world body also weighed moving its base in Indonesia's worst-hit Aceh province because of security concerns. more..

Feb 8 (AP) Government denied any involvement Tuesday in the killings of a top Tamil Tiger guerrilla leader and five others, which rebels blamed on paramilitary soldiers. Tamil Tiger leader E. Kausalyan was killed Monday as he traveled to the eastern town of Batticaloa, about 220 kilometers (135 miles) east of Colombo, more..

Feb 8 (IANS) The well-planned killing of Sri Lanka's most senior Tamil Tiger leader since a Norway-sponsored ceasefire was signed three years ago is bound to have serious consequences on the country's already fragile peace process. more..

Feb 8 (Reuters) Tamil Tiger rebels on Tuesday accused Sri Lanka's military of ambushing and killing one of its top political figures, and said the attack would severely damage efforts to forge lasting peace after two decades of civil war. more..

Feb 8 (AFP) Security forces went on alert in eastern Sri Lanka amid fresh fears for the already faltering peace process after the killing of a senior Tamil Tiger rebel leader, military officials said. more..

Feb 9 (CM) A 27-YEAR-old Sri Lankan student attending a Nicosia college was yesterday remanded in custody for eight says in connection with the attempted murder of his girlfriend. The woman, who is in critical condition, was carried to the Apollonion private hospital on Sunday evening by the suspect, the court heard. more..

Feb 9 (AP) An ambulance equipped with spare diapers and feeding bottles to carry Baby 81 the infant boy who has become a symbol of the families torn apart by the murderous Asian tsunami left Tuesday for the Sri Lankan capital where a DNA test may help find his real parents. more..

Feb 9 (AP) Tens of thousands of hungry, helpless survivors are still crying out for help weeks after the Asian tsunami hit Sri Lanka, where government officials have been accused of plundering relief aid and demanding bribes to deliver it. more..

Feb 9 (TN) "We fear that these killings would have a serious impact on the humanitarian relief work undertaken now and for the recommencement of peace talks. The Tamil people world over, humanitarian workers and the international community should now recognise the elements that are working hard to weaken Tamil unity," more..

Feb 9 (TN) The government of Sri Lanka in a statement today condemned the killing six personnel, including Mr. E. Kousalyan, head of the LTTE Batticaloa-Amparai political division and former parliamentarian of the TNA, Mr. Ariyanayagam Chandra Nehru and said that it was a violation of the ceasefire agreement. more..

Feb 9 (TN) LTTE Tuesday cancelled a crucial meeting with the World Bank and the Asian Deveopment in Kilinochchi as their leadership had emergency consultations on the implications of Mr. Kousalyan's killing. The Tiger flag was flown at half mast at all LTTE institutions and buildings in Kilinochchi. more..

Feb 9 (BBC) Calling off a scheduled meeting with international donor agencies in Kilinochchi Tamil Tigers urged the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to make the international community aware of the findings on the attack that killed the LTTE's Eastern political wing leader. more..

Feb 9 (APP) Pakistan and Sri Lanka Tuesday expressed the hope that coming into operation of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries would open a new era of trade and economic cooperation to their mutual benefit. more..

Feb 9 (Stuff) Sri Lanka said yesterday it wants at least a 3-year moratorium on debt repayment following the tsunami disaster, rather than 1 year as offered by G7 nations so far, but it is not seeking debt forgiveness or reduction. more..

Feb 9 (AT) It was the wrong hit at the wrong time. While Karuna is understandably in a permanent mode of vengeance after the murder of his brother Reggie, and earlier, eight of his cadre; while he cannot be expected to conduct himself in accordance with the exigencies of a peace process that doesn’t apply to him; more..

Feb 9 (LT) The JVP expressed its strong protest against World Bank representatives meeting the representatives of the Wanni Tigers Organisation in Kilinochchi. When queried from MP Wimal Weerawansa of the JVP about this he told us that they vehemently oppose such moves of the World Bank representatives undertaken by them as a responsible institution at a time Sri Lanka is confronted with a severe crisis. more..

Feb 9 (LT) Broad investigations are under way about the presence of two officers of the VIP Security Division with former TNA parliamentarian Ariyanayagam Chandraneru who succumbed to his injuries following a shooting in Batticcaloa day before yesterday night (07). more..

Feb 9 (LT) MP's of the Tamil State Party are reported to be planning to demonstrate in front of the parliament this morning. This agitation is linked to their proposition that security forces are associated with the assassination of the political wing leader of the Wanni Tigers Organisation for the Ampara District. more..