Mar 12 (SLA) The regular function of all the schools in the general area of VAVUNIA town was disrupted on 11 March 2003 due to a boycott, organized by sections of teachers. Meanwhile, routine work in some schools at JAFFNA, MANNAR and BATTICALOA came to a standstill following a strike launched by teachers. more..

Mar 12 (Reuters) Stocks withered to a near seven-month low on Wednesday, with Hayleys Ltd wilting four percent, on worries about the island's peace process after the navy sank a Tamil Tiger rebel ship. The key Colombo all-share index fell 1.47 percent, or 10.41 points, to 696.74 points, a level last seen on August 15. more..

Mar 12 (CI) S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia are looking forward to turn the form book upside down and prove what 'Thomian grit' is all about when they take on traditional rivals Royal College, Colombo in the 124th Battle of the Blues three-day cricket encounter, more..

Mar 12 (Gulf) Scandinavian monitors have moved in to reduce the impact of Monday's naval clash in which the Sri Lankan Navy sank a Tiger guerrilla ship believed to be carrying weapons and explosives. more..

Mar 12 (DN) Aviation authorities are working on an Open Skies policy in Sri Lanka to upgrade the local aviation sector by encouraging the operation of more airlines services to the country. more..

Mar 12 (PRIU) Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen is scheduled to meet President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe this afternoon ahead of next week's sixth round of peace talks in Japan. He will arrive in Colombo this afternoon. more..

Mar 12 (TN)The Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr. Vidar Helgesen, is visiting Sri Lanka today to hold meetings with the Presidient, Prime Minister and the LTTE leadership. Mr. Vidar Helgesen will after his visit to Sri Lanka travel to Japan to take part in the next session of Peace Talks in Hakone 18-21 March. more..

Mar 12 (AFP) The Sri Lankan government Wednesday called for an independent investigation into the navy's sinking of a Tamil rebel ship with 11 crew on board who were allegedly running guns. more..

Mar 12 (AFP) The sinking of a rebel ship by the Sri Lankan navy will not lead to a hardening of positions at next week's peace talks in Japan, but has made the guerrillas resentful, a pro-rebel Web site reported Wednesday. more..

Mar 12 (Reuters) Kenya's success in beating Zimbabwe to reach the World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday left Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore and his squad stunned. Kenya's seven-wicket win at Bloemfontein guaranteed the East Africans a place in the last four more..

Mar 12 (BBC) Tamil Tiger rebels have warned they are considering suspending participation in peace talks with the Sri Lankan Government. The move follows the sinking of one of their ships by the navy on Monday. more..

Mar 12 (AP) A helicopter carrying Norwegian deputy foreign minister Vidar Helgesen and top Sri Lankan government officials made an emergency landing in central Sri Lanka Wednesday evening due to bad weather, police said. No one was injured. more..

Mar 13 (TN) The new head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Mr.Triggve Teleffsen Wednesday arrived in Killinochchi to hold discussions with senior leaders of the LTTE regarding the attack by the Sri Lanka Navy on a LTTE merchant vessel off Mullaitivu Monday, sources in Vanni said. more..

Mar 13 (Island) An LTTE-owned ship sunk about 185 nautical miles north-east of Mullaitivu on Monday afternoon by the navy was believed to be bringing in ten 130mm long-range guns with 140 boxes of ammunition, authoritative security sources said. more..

Mar 13 (Xinhua) Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Wednesday that an incident involving the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels early this week will not hamper the ongoing Norwegian-brokered peace process in the country. more..

Mar 13 (TN) The interception and destruction of the Liberation Tigers' merchant cargo vessel in international waters by the Sri Lankan Navy is a grave violation of the ceasefire agreement and contravenes international law, Mr. Anton Balasingham, told a delegation of the SLMM more..

Mar 13 (TN) Information had been received by the Security Forces that a group of LTTE cadres operating in the general area of PESALAI, about 15 km. northwest of MANNAR town have begun to collect money from MANNAR traders since two days back (11 March 2003).

Mar 13 (TN) The regular function of all the schools and the Government offices in the general area of VAVUNIYA town has been disrupted since this morning (13 March 2003) due to a hartal (protest) campaign organized by LTTE. more..

Mar 13 (wsws) Several hundred Sri Lankan workers held a two-hour protest picket outside Fort Railway Station in central Colombo on March 8 to oppose US plans for war against Iraq. Nearly 100 young workers came from the Biyagama Free Trade Zone (FTZ) near Colombo, as well as employees from the railways, banks, port, hospitals and school. more..

Mar 13 (DOI) If one's political party does not serve the country and its people, there is nothing wrong in joining another party which is dedicated to the cause of the masses. In that context, the intelligent decision taken by the team of Ministers including S.B. Dissanayake and Prof. G.L. Peiris has the blessings of the Mahasangha. more..

Mar 13 (DOI) Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday that the government has asked the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission to probe the Mullaitivu incident and give its ruling on it. more..

Mar 13 (DOI) SriLankan Airlines and Emirates have increased airfares from yesterday indicating a possible increase of airfares by other airlines in the next couple of weeks. more..

Mar 13 (DOI) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will grant One billion rupees to initiate a job orientation programme for students qualified in the GCE Advanced Level examination. more..

Mar 13 (DM) The Jathika Sangha Sammelanaya (JSS) with the participation of more than 5000 bhikkus is planning to issue an edict on March 22 to highlight what they call 'the grave situation in the country'. more..

Mar 13 (PTI) Sri Lanka has been assured that all its oil requirements will be met by India in the event of war in Iraq, government spokesman and Constitutional affairs minister G L Peiris said today. more..

Mar 13 (SABC) Sri Lanka will prepare for their final World Cup Super Six match against Zimbabwe with one eye and perhaps two on events elsewhere. World champions in 1996, Sri Lanka are relying on their sub-continental rivals India to beat New Zealand at Centurion tomorrow to keep them in the tournament. more..

Mar 13 (DN) The Railways Management Council which met on Monday to devise measures to uplift the Railway sector has appointed 16 committees to discharge its (Council's) functions. more..

Mar 13 (Xinhua) Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen are holding talks on Thursday with Sri Lankan Tamil rebel leadership in the rebel-held north of the country to defuse the current tension between the government and the rebels. more..

Mar 13 (PRIU) Cabinet Spokesman Prof. G. L. Peiris today said that there wouldn’t be any change in forthcoming peace talks in Japan. “We have no intimation from the LTTE that they have no desire to take part in the next round of peace talks in Japan,” Prof. Peiris said more..

Mar 13 (Gulf) The head of the team monitoring Sri Lanka's ceasefire met with Tamil rebel leaders yesterday for crucial talks on a deadly sea battle between the guerrillas and the Sri Lankan Navy, a monitor said. Navy sailors killed 11 Tigers in Monday's clash and sank their vessel, suspected of smuggling weapons in violation of the ceasefire. more..

Mar 13 (AFP) Sanath Jayasuriya's Sri Lanka face an agonishing wait to know if their World Cup campaign is still alive. All they can do till then is pray - for India's success. Sri Lanka's only hope of staying in contention for the semi-finals is if India continue their good form and crush New Zealand in their last Super Six game at Centurion on Friday. more..

Mar 13 (Reuters) Stocks ended higher on Thursday, breaking an eight-day losing streak with retail sentiment picking up as worries about the impact of a clash at sea on the island's peace process eased. The key Colombo all-share index ended up 1.96 percent, or 13.64 points, at 710.38. more..

Mar 13 (UNI) Expressing 'serious concern' over the sinking of one of their merchant ships by the Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Tiger rebels have told the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) that the Navy was hell-bent on derailing the ongoing Norwegian-brokered peace process. more..

Mar 13 (AFP) Norwegian peace brokers travelled to Sri Lanka's embattled north Thursday to salvage peace talks as the sinking of a rebel ship cast doubts over negotiations due to open in Japan next week, an official said. more..

Mar 13 (AP) Norway's deputy foreign minister met with Tamil Tiger leaders in northern Sri Lanka on Thursday to discuss the worst clash between the rebels and government forces since they reached a cease-fire a year ago. more..

Mar 13 (AP) Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly hopes that world champion Australia will end up facing Sri Lanka in the first semifinal in Port Elizabeth, where the wicket could aid the fearsome off-spin of Muttiah Muralitharan. more..

Mar 13 (AFP) The leader of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels Thursday cancelled a meeting with a Norwegian envoy and instead held crisis talks with top aides amid threats they would pull out of peace negotiations, diplomats said. more..

Mar 13 (Xinhua) The United States will grant a medium endurance class 210 foot ship named USCGC Courageous to the Sri Lankan navy following the approval of US congress, the official Daily News said on Thursday. more..

Mar 14 (Island) Education authorities have failed to provide students with the required number of school text books as some private contractors did not honour their agreements with the government, education sources said. more..

Mar 14 (AFP) Norwegian peace brokers Thursday pressured Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels to remain in negotiations after they hinted at a possible pull-out from next week's talks in Japan, Tamil sources said. more..

Mar 14 (BBC) Commercial airlines in Sri Lanka run the risk of losing customers because government ministers are insisting on delaying flights. A year-old ceasefire with Tamil Tiger rebels means commercial aircraft have resumed flying to Jaffna in the north after a break of four years. more..

Mar 14 (BBC) Sri Lanka's trade with India has doubled in the past year thanks to a free trade agreement, according to the Sri Lankan government. The trade gap has also dropped by two thirds in the five years since the agreement was signed. more..

Mar 14 (Hindu) Facing the hardened posture by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Sri Lankan Government today said that it did not see the possibility of the peace negotiations stalling in the wake of Monday's sinking of a rebel merchant ship. more..

Mar 14 (LBO) Two state owned clothing and textile training institutes would be privatised shortly, to infuse a market oriented curriculum. Ranjith Fernando, Secretary to the Enterprise Development Ministry says the plans are part of the government’s initiatives to help the apparel industry strengthen its backward linkages. more..

Mar 14 (LBO) The Urban Development Authority (UDA) is drawing plans to raise money from the local financial market for a mega housing project in the Colombo area. The total cost of the 1,200 house project has not been finalised, but officials estimate each house to cost Rs. 1.2 million including the land. more..

Mar 14 (DJ) SriLankan Airlines said Friday it will lease an Airbus A320 in April to cater to a recent route expansion in India. "The airline's management has already obtained board approval for a six-year lease of the aircraft and induction of the new A320 is scheduled for late April," the airline said more..

Mar 14 (TN) The President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge held a two-hour discussion Thursday afternoon at presidential Secretariat with a delegation of Muslim parliamentarians on representation to Muslims in the peace talks now in progress between the Government and the LTTE. more..

Mar 14 (PSL) Norwegian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vidar Helgesen called on President Chandrika Kumaratunga Thursday evening. He was accompanied by the Norwegian Ambassador in Colombo Mr. Jon Westborg. more..

Mar 14 (TN) Three TNA parliamentarians with hundreds of Tamil residents Thursday held a fasting campaign in Mannar town Thursday from morning till evening demanding the immediate release of all Tamil political prisoners from prisons at Kalutara and elsewhere in the south, sources said. more..

Mar 14 (SLA) Normalcy in TRINCOMALEE was disrupted due to a hartal (protest) organized by the LTTE on this morning (14 March 2003) as protest against sinking of a ship in MULLAITTIVU. Tamil schools were closed and Tamil employees in the Government sector failed to report to work. more..