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Chandrika backs off from confrontation Gulf News, February 20. President Chandrika Kumaratunga yesterday backed off from its first major confrontation with her uneasy cohabitation government and agreed to a cabinet appointment she had blocked for over two months.President Kumaratunga's office said she agreed to appoint Agricultural Minister S.B. Dissanayake to the additional responsibility of social welfare, or Samurdhi, a few hours after insisting she saw no reason for the move. More... Published: Tue Feb 19 22:48:08 EST 2002

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Ask Mahinda The Lanka Academic is delighted to announce the 8th guest in its series of Q & A sessions: Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Leader of the Opposition in the Sri Lankan Parliament. With the recent change in leadership in the Sri Lankan government, the peace process appears to be gaining fresh new momentum. This is your opportunity to ask questions from Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa related to Sri Lankan politics and receive answers by clicking here. The answers will appear here.

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AG orders Anuruddha's arrest Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 5.30 p.m. SLT Tuesday February 19. The Attorney General, K. C. Kamalasabeyson, this evening ordered the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to arrest former deputy defence minister, General Anuruddha Ratwatte...

Anuruddha arrested CDN, 20 February 2002. General Anuruddha Ratwatte was arrested last night. The CID's arrest of the former Power and Energy Minister and Deputy Defence Minister was made at his Rajagiriya residence on a directive of the Attorney General, in connection with the Udathalawinna massacre on December 5, last year...

Project ministers refuse to take oaths without SB Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 9.p.m. SLT Tuesday February 19. At least four project ministers today refused to take oaths before President Chandrika Kumaratunge...

JVP questions government plan to sign MoU with rebels gulf News, february 20. The Marxist JVP (People's Liberation Front) has demanded the ruling United National Front government clarify whether it backed the proposed memorandum of understanding (MoU) to be signed between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil guerrillas after sections of the MoU appeared in local newspapers...

Give strong support to efforts for peace in Sri Lanka - An Editorial Ashai Com, february 19. Sri Lanka, an insular country in the Indian Ocean, is struggling to free itself from the scourge of protracted civil war following the end of the armed conflict in Afghanistan...

Row in Lanka govt over Cabinet appointment Deccan Herald, COLOMBO, Feb 19 (AFP) Sri Lanka's uneasy co. Sri Lanka's uneasy cohabitation government was today locked in its first major confrontation over a crucial cabinet appointment, officials said...

Interpol conference opens in Colombo BBC South Asia, Tuesday, 19 February, 2002, 14:52 GMT . More than 100 police chiefs and senior law enforcers from Asia and the Middle East have gathered in the Sri Lankan capital to improve international co-operation in the fight against crime...

MOU between government and LTTE not ready yet Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 9.30 p.m. SLT Tuesday February 19. Minister G. L. Peiris in response to a question raised in Parliament today by the JVP's Wimal Weeravansa said that a Memorandum of Understanding to evolve a permanent ceasefire between the government and the LTTE is not yet ready...

Tea estate Tamil leaders woo LTTE The Hindu (International), 20 February 2002. Leaders of Sri Lanka's Tamil tea estate workers are falling over one another to woo the leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE)...

Lanka bans carnival, shop lights to save power TOI, 7:01:51 PM Tuesday, February 19, 2002. Sri Lanka on Tuesday announced a ban on the use of mains electricity for lighting carnivals, shop windows and advertising billboards in a desperate bid to avoid a total blackout...

S.Lanka to soften budget cuts by curb on monopolies Yahoo Singapore, 19 February 2002. Sri Lanka's new government will push painful spending cuts in its first budget next month, risking public wrath to placate donors, a senior minister said on Tuesday...

Nairobi Hit in Sri Lanka Tour Nothern Light, Tuesday, February 19, 2002 9:20 AM EST . Sri Lanka 'A' completed a three-nil clean sweep in their unofficial Test series against Kenya on Sunday when they defeated the visitors by 199 runs at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium...

Sri Lanka says military budget in disarray Yahoo India, 19 February 2002. Sri Lanka's military budget for the current year was in disarray because the government did not know how much money was spent on some major items in the past year, Defence Minister Tilak Marapane said on Monday...

Clear instructions given to Navy: Sri Lankan Minister The Hindu (International), 19 February 2002. Sri Lanka's Defence Minister, Mr. Tilak Marapana, said today the Navy had "clear instructions'' to confront any boat it considered to be engaging in illegal activity amid reports that the LTTE was using the ceasefire to smuggle in weapons by sea...

Lasting ceasefire at last Daily Mirror, 19 February 2002. Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE are to sign a memorandum of understanding this week-end, to observe a permanent ceasefire, a diplomatic source told the Daily Mirror yesterday ...

Breaking Off the Battle Time -Asia, february 18. For the past five years, Sri Lanka has been divided at the humble village of Piramanalankulam...

Top official may be indicted Gulf-News, 19 February 2002. The head of the controversial presidential security division, superintendent of police Nihal Karunaratne, a parliamentarian and three others are likely to be indicted by the attorney general's department on conspiracy charges connected with incidents in central Sri Lanka during last December's parliamentary elections...

Recruitment of child soldiers by the LTTE continues Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 2.30 p.m. SLT Monday February 18. There is widespread criticism that the LTTE have stepped up their proscription of child soldiers...

A9 highway in the north cleared and opened Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 3.p.m. SLT Monday February 18. The A9 land route from Omanthai to Killinochchi in the north of Sri Lanka was opened Friday, February 15, 2002 after more than a decade of being closed for all land traffic...

Talks between LTTE and Government by March/April this year Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 3.30 p.m. SLT Monday February 18. Talks between the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are expected to begin in March/April this year...

Sri Lanka Tamil moderates welcome peace talks by March Yahoo/IANS, 19 February 2002. Sri Lanka's main moderate Tamil party Monday welcomed the government moves to open talks with Tamil Tiger guerrillas next month and renewed its call to lift the ban on the group ahead of negotiations...

Lanka navy still packs punch Gulf-News, 19 February 2002. The Sri Lankan navy continues to have the power to engage any vessels involved in illegal activities including attempts to smuggle weapons, the country's Defence Minister Tilak Marapana declared yesterday...

Tigers keep dream of separate state alive Gulf-News, 19 February 2002. A senior leader of the Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam has indicated that the Tigers were not yet prepared to drop their demand for a separate state in the north and eastern parts of Sri Lanka...

Shades of culture Gulf-News, 19 February 2002. Fashion from the emerald isle in the Indian ocean will grace dusky beauties from the sea port nation of Sri Lanka at a special extravaganza tonight...

Tigers for India hosting the talks: Peace talks with LTTE in Mar or April: Ranil Deccan Herald, Tuesday, February 19, 2002 . Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said his government will open preliminary peace talks with the LTTE soon, possibly as early as next month, even as the LTTE is insistent on India hosting the peace talks in its southern region...

India won't play NZ if it refuse to tour Pakistan: Dalmiya Yahoo India, 19 February 2002. Board of Control for Cricket in ndia (BCCI) president Jagmohan Dalmiya has said that India ould not play New Zealand in November if it refused to tour akistan in April-May...

Tisse scores classic first for Lanka Gulf-News, 19 February 2002. Current leader of the UGA Amateur Men's Order of Merit, Tisse Chandradasa yesterday carved his own piece of golfing history by becoming the first Sri Lankan to qualify for the Dubai Desert Classic...

Navy will engage LTTE boats despite truce Press Trust of India, Colombo,Monday, February 18, 2002. The Sri Lankan Navy has been given clear instructions to engage boats that may be doing logistic runs for the LTTE, Defence Minister Tilak Marapane said today, but denied that there have been confrontations at sea with the rebels' sea wing in recent days...

Sri Lanka hopes to begin preliminary peace talks Yahoo India, 18 February 2002. ri Lanka hopes to begin preliminary peace talks in the next two months with Tamil Tiger rebels to end a bitter ethnic war...

Sri Lanka PM returns home Straits Times, 18 February 2002. SRI LANKAN Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe leaves Singapore today after a working visit during which he met Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and other senior government leaders...

Sri Lanka cuts cigarette price, faced with competition from bootleg hoovers.com/AFP, 18 February 2002. Sri Lanka had the world's highest tobacco tax to discourage smoking...

Coast Guard initiates steps to combat terrorism Yahoo India, 18 February 2002. Buoyed by its success in emerging as the world's first maritime force to apprehend armed pirates and in view of its operational role under the naval command control vis-a-vis the recent tension, Indian Coast Guard has initiated steps to combat terrorism in the high seas with plans for acquisitions during the 10th plan period...

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