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Sri Lanka peace talks likely to be held soon in Asian state Kyodo News, March 9. Peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels are likely to be held soon in an Asian country, a senior Norwegian official closely involved in the peace process said in a local newspaper report to be published Sunday. Direct negotiations between the two parties to end almost two decades of fighting could start soon in an Asian country, Erik Solheim, Norwegian special envoy to Sri Lanka, said in an interview with the Sunday Island. He did not elaborate. Solheim has been involved in Sri Lankan efforts to make peace with the rebels since Norway was chosen as a facilitator by the country more than two years ago. More... Published: Sat Mar 9 15:11:09 EST 2002

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Ask Mahinda Answers 1-28 now available! 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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LTTE opens its office in Vavuniya Gulf-News, 10 March 2002. Tamil guerrillas of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) opened their first political office in the government controlled northern town of Vavuniya signalling their entry into the political scene...

Fishermen's plea for early release The Hindu (International), march 10. Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu being held in the district jail here for allegedly trespassing into Sri Lankan waters say they are innocent and are appealing for an early release on humanitarian grounds...

Jaffna Bishop appeals for early talks The Hindu (International), march 10. The Bishop of Jaffna, Thomas Sauvunderanayagam, has called on the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to begin early talks to convert the current ceasefire into a permanent peace...

10 policemen, 31 civilians indicted Gulf-News, march 9. The attorney general has indicted 10 police officers and 31 civilians for the alleged massacre of 27 former Tamil guerrillas who were undergoing rehabilitation in government camp in central Sri Lanka two years back, officials said...

ICC, Lanka board clash over tea ad TOI, march 9. Sri Lanka's Cricket Control Board is locked in a row with the sport's world governing body over a battle between Pepsi-Cola and a local tea marketing firm...

Sri Lankan drug traffickers target India NDTV/MSNBC, March 9, 2002 . Most of the drug trafficking, particularly heroin, in India is being carried out by Sri Lankan nationals...

Love affair cause of Kalubowila blast The Island (SundayEdition), March 10, 2002. Police probing Friday night's grenade explosion which killed five persons and injured about 50 others at a UNF rally at Kalubowila, have established that a dispute over a love affair had led to the attack...

Man guilty in fraud linked to Tamil Tigers National Post, 09 March 2002. TORONTO - A Toronto man has pleaded guilty to his role in a sophisticated fraud scheme that used spy cameras hidden in service stations to record customers' debit card information, the RCMP said yesterday...

Lanka party wants end to Tamil promotional activities Times of India, MARCH 08, 2002 6:06:57 PM. : A radical Sinhalese political party has written to the Prime Minister asking him to put a halt to Tamil promotional activities in Sinhalese areas warning that it may otherwise lead to a severe backlash...

Internal security ministry refuses to pay cost of transporting Ratwatta Waruna Karunatilake in Colombo, 1912 slt 08.03.02. The Ministry of Internal security has refused to pay Rs. 236.000 the cost of transporting former Minister Anurudha Ratwatta by helicopter for court hearings in Kandy. The Air Force has sent the bill to the ministry and the prison department for transporting Ratwatta on two occasions...

Rain holds up Sri Lanka BBC South Asia, March 9, 2002, 13:10 GMT. Frequent rain showers - including one or two really heavy ones - meant Saturday was a thoroughly frustrating one for Sri Lanka...

The main suspect in the murder of deputy custom chief arrested Waruna Karunatilake in Colombo, 1907 slt 08.03.02. The main suspect in the murder of the deputy director customs Sujith Prasana Perera was arrested today by a team of CID officers...

10 policemen, 31 civilians indicted Gulf-News, 09 March 2002. The attorney general has indicted 10 police officers and 31 civilians for the alleged massacre of 27 former Tamil guerrillas who were undergoing rehabilitation in government camp in central Sri Lanka two years back, officials said...

Sri Lanka's best-known AIDS victim to use Indian drugs IANS/yahoo, 09 March 2002. Sri Lanka's best-known AIDS patient, a paediatrician who contracted the illness through an infected blood transfusion, will turn to cheaper Indian drugs when a government grant which gave her free treatment runs out...

Hundreds of women languish in Sri Lanka mental hospital Age, 09 March 2002. Hundreds of Sri Lankan women who have fully recovered from mental illnesses are languishing in hospital as their relatives refuse to take them back, officials said today...

ADB Funds Sri Lanka Poverty Reduction Program Xinhuanet, 09 March 2002. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide fund for poverty reduction and improving rural economy in the war-torn Sri Lanka under a poverty reduction partnership program, the official Daily News said on Saturday...

Aid sought as Lanka vows to cut spending Gulf-Dailynews, 09 March 2002. Sri Lanka promised yesterday to slash government spending and trim its budget deficit to 8.5 per cent of gross domestic product this year, saying it was counting on donors to ease the pain of a steep economic decline...

Photo - Head of SLMM and LTTE Leader The Island/Reuters, March 9, 2002. Head of the ceasefire monitoring committee, Trond Furuhovde (L) stands with the leader of the Liberation Tamil Tiger of Eelam (LTTE) Velupillai Prabhakaran (C) and political wing leader of the LTTE, S...

Sri Lankan Tamil group surrenders weapons amid ceasefire Yahoo Singapore, Friday March 8, 8:31 PM. A Tamil political group has surrendered some of its weapons to government forces in northern Sri Lanka in line with a Norwegian-backed truce deal, defence officials said...

Tamil chief sees peace within reach Financial Review, 09 March 2002. The reclusive leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels said yesterday that a "historic" cease-fire agreement he had signed with the Government laid a base to end Sri Lanka's nearly two decade-long ethnic war...

Catholic MP Supports Norochcholai Daily Mirror, March 8, 2002. Gampaha district PA MP Jeyaraj Fernandopulle who often acts as the catholic spokesman for the PA yesterday called upon the government to go ahead with the controversial Norochcholai coal power plant claiming he and some other Catholic MPs were not opposed to the move...

Cricket - Pakistan face innings defeat after Sami hattrick Yahoo India, March 8, 8:31 PM. Pakistan were struggling to avoid an innings defeat in the Asian Test Championship final after stumbling to 193 for five in their second innings against Sri Lanka on Friday...

Ammunition store in Jaffna destroyed Gulf-News, 09 December 2002. An ammunition dump of the Sri Lankan military was destroyed in a major fire in the northern Jaffna peninsula sparking off fears and panic among residents living in the northern region where a ceasefire between the government and the Tamil guerrillas are effective...

No Holding back by Sri Lanka BBC South Asia, 8 March, 2002,. Sri Lankan cricket officials have condemned comments by former West Indies paceman Michael Holding about the bowling action of Muttiah Muralitharan...

Norway battles odds in Lanka peace bid Times of India, FRIDAY, MARCH 08, 2002 . Norwegian-brokered truce has silenced Sri Lanka's guns but analysts said the battle for peace had only just begun...

ADB Opens New Resident Mission Office in Sri Lanka Yahoo Singapore, 08 March 2002. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has opened its new resident mission office in Colombo...

Sangakkara puts Sri Lanka in command NDTV/MSNBC, Thursday, March 7, 2002 . Kumar Sangakkara's scintillating double century put Sri Lanka in a commanding position in the second Asian Test Championship final against Pakistan

Sri Lanka schedule for England and India Yahoo India, 08 March 2002. Sri Lanka will play three tests and take part in a one-day series against England and India when they begin a tour of Britain in late April...

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