J.S. Tissainayagam, who edited North Eastern Monthly magazine in Colombo, was told to surrender his passport and to post 50,000 rupees (437 dollars) in bail pending a full appeal hearing, the official said.

Tissainayagam has appealed his conviction in August on charges of raising money for terrorism and of causing racial hatred through his writings about Tamils affected by the country's 37-year separatist conflict.

The sentence of 20 years in jail with hard labour was condemned by the European Union, the United States and international press freedom groups.

In May, US President Barack Obama cited Tissainayagam, who also wrote for the Colombo-based Sunday Times newspaper, as one of the "emblematic examples" of a persecuted journalist. More... Published: Mon Jan 11 13:48:09 EST 2010

A press statement by the Indian High Commission said that the pact was signed at the Ministry of Transport in the presence of the Sri Lanka’s Minister of Transport Dullas Alahapperuma and the High Commissioner of India Ashok K. Kantha and on behalf of IRCON International (a Government of India Undertaking which will construct the railway line) by S.L. Gupta and on behalf of Sri Lanka Railways by P.P. Wijesekara.

The agreement is backed by a Government of India line of credit for USD 185 million. It is part of a larger package of assistance directed at the rehabilitation of railway infrastructure in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, for which Government of India has committed a total amount of USD 425 million in lines of credit, it said. More... Published: Mon Jan 11 10:13:24 EST 2010

The All-Share Price Index .CSE of the Colombo Stock Exchange rose 0.99 percent or 34.64 points to its all-time high 3549.27 during the trade, surpassing the previous record of 3545.56 hit on Wednesday.

It closed 0.03 percent or 1.15 points firmer at 3515.78 due to profit-taking on blue chips.

"Shares are overheated to a greater extent," said Prashan Fernando, executive director at Acuity Stockbrokers. "Foreign trade has been a net outflow and local investors do not have any options for investments due to low interest rates."

Foreign trade has recorded a net outflow of 604.7 million rupees so far for the year. Foreign investors sold a net 785.3 million rupees worth of stocks in 2009, compared to a record net foreign inflow of 13.9 billion in 2008. The sector indices for hotel More... Published: Mon Jan 11 08:11:12 EST 2010