Mar 28 (KTVU) A team of Kaiser Permanente doctors have returned home from tsunami-stricken eastern Sri Lanka earlier than expected after a spate of violence endangered relief efforts. Four Kaiser doctors working at a teaching hospital in the coastal city of Batticoloa more..

Mar 28 (HT) The outdated Sri Lankan education system is crying for reform. But ill informed, obscurantist and politically powerful elements are resisting some very important reforms proposed by the government. more..

Mar 28 (DN) Protracted harping on the same string of 100 metres will only delay the reconstruction process. The Government and the Opposition must come to a compromise on this matter and act with special attention to minimise the ill effects of national catastrophes, more..

Mar 28 (KNT) Some members of the Indian cricket team are not too keen to play the five-match one-day international (ODI) series against Sri Lanka at home in April and May because of the oppressive warm weather in the country, informed sources said. more..

Mar 28 (PTI) Sri Lanka today put off indefinitely a decision to sell part of the state-run oil company to Bharat Petroleum as trade unions threatened to stop work, triggering panic-buying at petrol stations across the country. more..

Mar 28 (LM) A crucial Cabinet meeting which was very likely to determine the future of the Ceylon Electricity Board's (CEB) and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation's (CEYPETCO) restructuring process was put off owing to the possible drastic trade union action which would have crippled the entire country tomorrow. more..

Mar 28 (LM) Colombo and its suburb streets depicted the perfect picture of ‘Chaos' after panicked Sri Lankans rushed to fuel stations to top up their tanks following a warning issued by Ceylon Petroleum Corporation Trade Unions of a possible strike tomorrow, more..

Mar 28 (AP) Attackers threw grenades at a political office of the Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Sri Lanka early Monday, wounding at least three people, the military said. The attack near Vavuniya, 210 kilometers (130 miles) north of Colombo, was confirmed by the pro-rebel TamilNet Web site. more..

Mar 29 (TN) The World Bank (WB) funded North East Housing Reconstruction Programme (NEHRP) is to reconstruct 4000 houses destroyed in the war and 3000 houses destroyed by the tsunami in the coastal areas, sources said. more..

Mar 29 (TN) An earthquake near Sumatra at nearly the same location of the December 26th quake with a magnitude of 8.5 with the "potential to generate a widely destructive tsuami in the ocean or seas near the earthquake is reported by the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC). more..

Mar 29 (BBC) Sri Lanka's state television issued a tsuanmi warning, urging residents in coastal areas to evacuate. "We received a call from Trincomalee. We were told sirens are going, which means an evacuation is taking place," Eric Fernando, Director-General of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's Policy Research and Information Unit told Reuters. more..

Mar 29 (Reuters) A massive 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra Monday close to where a quake triggered a tsunami that left nearly 300,000 people dead or missing across Asia, residents and officials said. more..

Mar 29 (AFP) An earthquake off Indonesia measuring over 8.0 on the Richter Scale triggered tsunami alerts around the Indian Ocean, causing panic three months after giant waves killed hundreds of thousands in the region. more..

Mar 29 (AP) A major earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island late Monday, and officials issued a tsunami warning for as far away as Sri Lanka. Residents of Banda Aceh fled their homes in panic. more..

Mar 29 (LBO) It has been about two and half hours since the 8.2 earth quake that struck the northern coast of Indonesia with no receding water levels are reported. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in an earlier earthquake warning said regional countries could assume the danger has passed if no tsunami waves are observed in the region near the epicentre within three hours of the earthquake. more..

Mar 29 (BBC) Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) has warned to evacuate those living within 1000km of the epicentre of the latest earthquake to hit Indian Ocean off Sumatra. "This earthquake has the potential to generate a widely destructive tsunami in the ocean or seas near the earthquake. more..

Mar 29 (AT) The Tamil Radio Service of the state sponsored Australian Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) has become the mouthpiece of LTTE, the Sri Lankan Tamil terrorist organisation which has been banned by the Australian Government. more..

Mar 29 (LT) Tigers Organisation has decided to interpret that attacks from breakaway group, Karuna Faction on them are planned and launched by the Sri Lankan Army. The Tigers Organisation is of the view that the continuous onslaught on them from the Karuna Faction in the Eastern Province has shattered the military morale of their cadres more..

Mar 29 (LT) An attempt by the Wanni Tiger cadres to kidnap two displaced Tamil children from the Relief Camp located at Thirukkovil in Ampara district was foiled by the STF. This incident occurred at 1.00 p.m. on 28th (today). more..

Mar 29 (Reuters) Sri Lanka lifted a tsunami alert early on Tuesday after evacuating thousands of people from the island's battered coastline following a massive earthquake off Indonesia, the National Meteorological Centre said. more..

Mar 29 (IL) SLMC Rebel front-liner Rishard Bathiudeen yesterday declared that SLMC Leader Rauff Hakeem should resign from the party leadership. “If he resigns from the leadership, all SLMC factions are ready to rejoin the ‘one time strong’ Muslim Congress even immediately,” he said. more..

Mar 29 (AP) Sri Lanka withdrew a tsunami warning early Tuesday following a massive quake off the Indonesian coast, saying it was unlikely that a devastating wave would hit the island nation. more..

Mar 29 (Yahoo) Sri Lankans gather on high ground after fleeing their homes following a tsunami alert in Colombo Sri Lanka March 29. Sri Lanka evacuated its tsunami-battered coastline late Monday after a great earthquake off Indonesia, more..

Mar 29 (ANN) A star-studded concert featuring Italian artists including Andrea Bocelli, Claudio Baglionic and Zucchero has raised £31 million for the UN Refugee Angency’s work for the conflict and tsunami-displaced in Sri Lanka. more..

Mar 29 (TN) So far, there is no indication of unusual wave activity in the sea said TamilNet correspondent for Batticaloa who visited a coastal part of the eastern town around 3 AM Tuesday. A boy was killed in a an accident involving a lorry in Mavadippalli and an old women died while fleeing in Kalmunai, more..

Mar 29 (SAMN) The Foreign Ministry has officially requested Sri Lankan missions abroad to lobby support of host Governments for Sri Lanka's candidacy for the UN Secretary General's post which falls vacant when Kofi Annan steps down at the end of his second term in 2006. more..

Mar 29 (SAMN) A JVP Minister said neither he nor his party would allow any legislation to be brought to Parliament for the sale of water resources. "Some sections attempt to get legislation passed to sell water resources to foreigners. They try to continue from the point where the UNP stopped. more..

Mar 29 (SAMN) At least three persons believed to be LTTE cadres were wounded when a member of the Karuna faction made a grenade attack on the LTTE political office in Vavuniya town Monday morning. Military sources said at the time of the attack there were several Tigers inside the LTTE political office which was located in Vayiravar Puliyankulam. more..

Mar 29 (LNP) The JVP in Parliament yesterday called for the withdrawal of the entire statement made by World Bank Sri Lanka representative Peter Harrold to The Sunday Times newspaper on the grounds that it gave legitimacy to the LTTE which is a terrorist organisation, and was detrimental to the sovereignty of the Sri Lankan state. more..

Mar 29 (LNP) Improper teacher transfers in the Western Province have caused an English teacher shortage in the Matugama area. The convenor of the Education Employees` Trade Union Alliance, Bertie Ranaweerage told the Daily Mirror yesterday that some schools in the Matugama Education Zone do not have English teachers, more..

Mar 29 (LNP) She is a polite, articulate university student who speaks quietly, but passionately. Her message is simple: she wants to stop the recruitment and use of child soldiers. `The level of fear and brutality used to force children, some as young as 12 or 13, to become soldiers is severe,' she says. more..

Mar 29 (LNP) Minister of Sports Jeevan Kumaratunga called yesterday's Annual General Meeting and the election of office bearers at Sri Lanka Cricket as null and void. `I have appointed a committee to run the affairs of cricket and no one has the right to conduct a AGM and elect office bearers. more..

Mar 29 (TN) Unloaded coal piled up near the Ashraff Jetty of the Trincomalee harbour, before transported for use at Puttalam cement factory is endangering the health of the people of the area, Trincomalee civil leaders complained. more..

Mar 29 (TN) "Norwegian facilitators should take serious note of the deteriorating situation which tends to have adverse effects on the CFA, the peace process and most importantly, post-tsunami management", Mr. S.P. Thamilchelvan told Norwegian Special Envoy Mr. Erik Solheim who met him in Vienna on Monday. more..

Mar 29 (TN) A hartal was organized Tuesday by Amparai residents protesting the violent incident at the Mandaanai Tsunami refugee camp where the Special Task Force (STF) personnel from Kanjiranguda camp attacked nine cadres of Liberation Tigers including Mr. S Kuyilinban, head of LTTE's political division for Amparai, Monday, severely injuring them, sources said. more..

Mar 29 (SLA) A teenage school-goer from THIRUKKOVIL area after he left for his school on 22 March 2005 has been abducted and detained at an LTTE camp in KANCHIKUDI-ARU, says a mother in a complaint made to THIRUKKOVIL Police station. more..

Mar 29 (SLA) A civilian from the general area of THIRUKKOVIL escaped LTTE abduction attempt on 28 March 2005 and ran towards the Special Task Force (STF) camp at THIRUKKOVIL seeking protection for him. more..

Mar 29 (SLA) Two unidentified motorbike-riding LTTE cadres abducted another teenager from KANNAGIPURAM Refugee camp in AKKARAIPATTU on 28 March 2005 around 11.00 a.m. while the youth was returning to the Refugee camp from AKKARAIPATTU town, a Police complaint made by the victim’s father confirmed. more..

Mar 29 (AFP) The Belgian wife of a Sri Lankan artist who fled Singapore after being charged for cocaine possession was jailed for lying about his movements, reports said Tuesday. Nadia Cornelis, 47, was jailed for three weeks after confessing to lying when she told police on November 25 last year she knew nothing about her husband's whereabouts, more..

Mar 29 (LM) President Chandrika Kumaratunga's advisor on the peace process is Ram Manikkalingam whose brother in law is the advisor to LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran. Manikkalingams, sister is married to Prabhakarans advisor Prof Sornalingam of Singapore who drafted the LTTE's ISGA proposal. more..

Mar 29 (LM) The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress will oppose this wasteful, utterly unnecessary referendum which is solely to serve political agendas of certain individuals said Hassan Ali, the Secretary General of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress. more..

Mar 29 (LT) Tiger peace secretariat has asked the Peace Secretariat of the SL Government for two bodies killed during the clashes between the Wanni tigers and Members of Karuna faction that occurred on Sunday the 27th at Thoppigala. more..

Mar 29 (AT) A London Hindu Temple Trustee provides names of suspects who may be after to kill him to stop raising objection to the temple ownership claimed by the proxies of the Tamil Tiger outfit in Vanni. more..

Mar 29 (CI) The crisis in Sri Lankan cricket has deepened with Thilanga Sumathipala, the president of the suspended Sri Lanka Cricket, challenging the government's decision to take over the board on the grounds of financial misconduct. more..

Mar 29 (PRIU) A Japanese delegation of Peace Ambassadors for the 17th Asia-Pacific Children’s Convention (APCC) called on President Chandrika Kumaratunga yesterday (March 28). Under this student exchange programme a group of children and their adult guardians are in the island. more..

Mar 29 (TP) Sri Lanka’s Excise Department, tasked with regulations pertaining to liquor sales and consumption, yesterday warned of tough action against restaurants and bars that violate rules laid down in liquor permits, during next month’s Sinhala and Tamil New Year festive season. more..

Mar 29 (Reuters) Rain washed out the entire second day's play in Sri Lanka's warm-up match against New Zealand's Major Associations on Tuesday. Sri Lanka were due to start their first innings after the home team were dismissed for 321 on Monday, with discarded MNew Zealand test player Craig McMillan making 121. more..

Mar 29 (AFP) A group of Sri Lankans who left the island illegally in a fishing boat have been found stranded in Egypt, the foreign ministry here said yesterday. It said 137 men discovered at Halayeb, Egypt were Sri Lankan nationals who had set off in a fishing boat from the coast and that arrangements were being made to repatriate them. more..

Mar 29 (BBC) It's late afternoon in the Tender Sprouts orphanage at Puthukkudiyiruppu, in Tamil Tiger-controlled north-eastern Sri Lanka. A group of children hold hands as they form a large circle in the playground, swaying gently as they sing. more..

Mar 29 (SNS) As news of Monday's major earthquake off the Indonesian coast trickled down to Nisha Withane of Windsor, she felt a familiar sense of dread. Withane, 19, a University of Windsor student, is just coming to grips with the Dec. 26 tsunami that caused catastrophic damage to her homeland of Sri Lanka. more..