Oct 6 (Island) All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) leader Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy is convinced that the recommendations of the Parliamentary Select Committee on electoral reforms, would be detrimental to the minorities. more..

Oct 6 (TN) Hindus in Trincomalee town at the conclusion of annual Navarathiri (Nine auspicious nights) religious event celebrated the more than two hundred year old Kumbam festival Sunday evening with pomp and pageantry. Specially constructed "Kumbam" from Hindu temples in the district were taken in procession across the east port town throughout the night of Sunday. more..

Oct 6 (NYT) An opening credit informs us that the Sri Lankan director Lester James Peries's new film, "Mansion by the Lake," which is having its premiere as part of the New York Film Festival, was adapted from "The Cheery Orchard." This misspelling more than summarizes the film; "Mansion by the Lake" is a bland, pitted reconfiguring of Chekhov. more..

Oct 6 (LBO) Uncertainty still prevails about key coal power projects to meet increasing power demand but owners of the AES plant at Kelanitissa say they won’t pull out of the country. AES, an international power company, is building a 160 Mw power plant at Kelanitissa. more..

Oct 6 (LBO) Jewelry Industry is banding together in an effort to add value to products while capitalizing on the image of the Ceylon Sapphire. While the country has a reputation for top quality sapphires very few of them get set into jewelry here. Even fewer go out with local branding. more..

Oct 6 (TN) Two school-going girls aged 15 and 16, who left letters at their homes saying that they were going to join the LTTE, were later found in a vacant home in the Maravankulam settlement in Vavuniya by neighbors, sources in vavuniya said. more..

Oct 6 (TN) The Sri Lanka Army should remove its 23-3 brigade headquarters operating at the Batticaloa Municipal Council buildings and government employees’ quarters, and return the buildings to their rightful owners, the Tax Payers Association of Batticaloa has demanded in a letter to the SLMM, more..

Oct 6 (SLA) A businessman returning home with his daily collection was waylaid by suspected three armed LTTE men in the general area of ANBUVALIPURAM junction and robbed of Rs 61,000/= (US $ 635) and his motorbike on 02 October 2003 around 9.30 p.m., states a complaint lodged at TRINCOMALEE Police on 03 October 2003. more..

Oct 6 (SLA) An attempt by LTTE to abduct a civilian on 02 October 2003 from the general area of BATTICALOA failed as the victim managed to flee from LTTE custody and reported to EPRLF office in BATTICALOA the same day. The victim P. SIVASAMY of ANNAWELANGAIPURAM, BEACH Rd, BATTICALOA is 36 years of age. more..

Oct 6 (SLA) LTTE pistol group shot dead a member of TELO, named SUBRAMANIYAM THIRUBAKARAN (36) of THIRUWETTIKERNI, ARIYAMPATHY, about 7.5 km south of BATTICALOA on 04 October 2003 around 9.00 a.m. while he was in the general area of BATTICALOA. The KATTANKUDY Police are making investigations.

Oct 6 (SLA) Explosion of an improvised bomb in the general area of ARIYAMPATHY, about 7.5 km south of BATTICALOA on 03 October 2003 caused injury to the civilian DHARMALINGAM KANDARUBAN (24) of UPPODY, KALLADY. The victim was admitted to BATTICALOA hospital. more..

Oct 6 (SLA) A member of the former RAZEEK Group wing of EPRLF, in a Police complaint on 04 October 2003, claimed that his National Identity Card (NIC) was snatched and subsequently he was assaulted badly by two LTTE cadres on 01 October 2003 in the general area of BATTICALOA while he was on his way after work. more..

Oct 6 (SLA) An LTTE cadre on a motorbike sans number plates and documents, who tried to carry 28 nine mm Pistol rounds on 03 October 2003 around 3.45 p.m. via MADHU roadblock in the general area of MADHU, was arrested by troops on duty. more..

Oct 6 (PSL) The President said today’s society needs urgent reformation, violence and aggression in our society should be replaced with love and care for the sake of our children. more..

Oct 6 (CI) The Case filed by Clifford Ratwatte on April 5, 1999 against the then President of the Cricket Board Thilanga Sumathipala and other elected Members of the Executive Committee was dismissed on July 17, 2003 more..

Oct 6 (IANS) As thousands of Sri Lankan workers in the Middle East, mainly housemaids who are victims of abuse, wait to return home, the government is yet to sign an employment agreement with any of the countries in that region, OneWorld.net reports. more..

Oct 6 (IL) October 15th, 2003, marks the 5th Anniversary of the First Electronic Novel from Asia , the saadhu testament, by daya dissanayake. The website www.saadhu.com where the saadhu testament is available for free reading, was designed by Raditha Dissanayake, also contains information about Sri Lanka, Sigiriya more..

Oct 6 (AFP) An American guided-missile frigate, the USS Rodney M. Davis, called at the main sea port in Sri Lanka Monday on a brief refuelling stop, the United States embassy said. The visit of the ship with its 230 crew members is "emblematic of the friendship of the people of the United States and the people of Sri Lanka," more..

Oct 6 (DJ) Cabinet Monday approved the sale of government-owned State Timber Corp. as part of efforts to raise funds through divestment. "Cabinet approval has been obtained to convert the corporation into a limited liability company and divest 90% of the issued share capital to a suitable investor," more..

Oct 6 (Hindu) India is all set to sign a memorandum of understanding with Sri Lanka on a ferry service between the two countries, the Union Minister for Shipping, Shatrughan Sinha, has said. "This is a creative project and everything is ready from our side, but for some political clearance. We are hopeful that things should clear up in a few weeks," more..

Oct 6 (DJ) Sri Lanka's state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corp., or Ceypetco, said Monday it has lowered the prices of all its petroleum products in line with easing global oil prices. Effective immediately, the price of gasoline is 52 Sri Lankan rupees ($1= LKR94.60) a liter, down LKR2. more..

Oct 6 (IPS) The 15-year-old child soldier joined LTTE after her father was shot dead by government troops, but is unsure about his future after leaving the rebel group. Another 16-year-old boy joined the rebels eight months ago after being beaten up by soldiers at an army checkpoint. more..

Oct 6 (HT) The Foreign Minister, Tyronne Fernando, has said that the United Nations cannot ignore the United States, just as the US cannot ignore the UN. "In the contemporary unipolar world, the UN needs the US as much as the US needs the UN," Fernando told the World Affairs Council of Los Angeles last week. more..

Oct 6 (Reuters) It's a long way from the jungles of northern Sri Lanka to the pubs of Ireland. And the distance from rebel group to legitimate political organisation may be even greater for the LTTE, analysts and diplomats said. more..

Oct 6 (ND) Sri Lankan doctor Naadhura Nanabutckrama was planning to go to work in London next month, but the United Nations Volunteer Programme (UNVP) was seeking doctors to work in TT and he changed his plans “to serve the community in a place where help is needed.” more..

Oct 6 (DM) The EPDP has expressed its views about the LTTE to former South African President Nelson Mandela and Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen who have been invited to participate as distinguished observers at the LTTE confabulation in Dublin. more..

Oct 6 (TN) LTTE and military officers of the Sri Lanka Army met at the Vavunathivu district secretariat building at 10am Monday morning for two hours, security sources in Batticaloa said. Batticalo district head of the SLMM, Antii Juntunen presided the meeting. more..

Oct 6 (LBO) Eleven firms had sent in proposals as bids closed on Monday, for a consultancy contract to select a site and draw up the paper work for a 300 MW coal power project. The Technical Assistance study will select the best possible site for the project from three available at Trincomalee, Hambantota and Mawella. more..

Oct 6 (AFP) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels abducted at least 23 students to boost their ranks a day after freeing 49 child soldiers under a foreign-funded demobilisation program, independent truce monitors said Monday. more..

Oct 6 (TN) The LTTE and the All Ceylon Jemiyyathul Ulama in Kinniya Monday signed an agreement regarding cultivating paddy lands surrounding the Kurankupanchan LTTE camp area in the Kinniya division in Trincomalee, sources said. more..

Oct 7 (TN) The Twenty thousand-member strong Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) Monday warned that it would launch a massive agitation campaign in collaboration with Tamil political parties if the Western Provincial Council failed to stop posting Sinhalese teachers to Tamil medium schools. more..

Oct 7 (BP) The arrest of three Sri Lankans and the issue of warrants for the arrest of 14 Thais in connection with arms running should prove beyond any doubt that Thailand is being used as an international centre to supply arms to terrorists and insurgency groups. more..

Oct 7 (DN) The Sri Lankan government had not approved the finger printing the British Visa applicants here submitted the Additional Solicitor General Saleem Marsoof PC, before the Supreme Court when the Fundamental Rights application challenging the issue was taken before the Supreme Court, yesterday. more..

Oct 7 (USE) Mr. Jeffrey J. Lunstead, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, inaugurated the “100 Houses in 60 Days” project near Deniyaya today. The initiative, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), showcases the power of participatory development and the dynamism of youth. more..

Oct 7 (Island) If anyone is interested in the LTTE entering the democratic political mainstream in the country, one need to support an interim administration for the North-East which was the first stepping stone for the LTTE in this process, said TULF MP N. Raviraj on Saturday. more..

Oct 7 (TN) The North East Provincial Department for Social Services, Probation and Childcare Monday launched a project aimed at improving the care for children currently living in children’s homes as well as children at risk of being admitted to children’s homes across the province, more..

Oct 7 (TB) WINE maker Angove's is exporting wine to Sri Lanka – a country better known for its love of cricket than appreciation of a nice drop. Chairman John Angove said the move was part of a strategy to crack untapped markets. more..

Oct 7 (IL) The Commonwealth Press Union launched its Small Newspapers Information Exchange (SNIE) on Friday. SNIE is a free e-forum which was set up following a request from several editors of small newspapers who attended the Commonwealth Editors' Forum in Kandy, Sri Lanka in February this year. more..

Oct 7 (LBO) The Treasury of Sri Lanka’s largest state bank on Monday, snapped up the entire issue of the country’s first dollar denominated two-index linked commercial paper. Hayleys MGT Knitting Mills Ltd., the textile arm of the Hayleys Group, became the first local company to come out with a US$ 700,000 three month commercial paper. more..

Oct 7 (LBO) The European Union has agreed to favour Sri Lanka with a 5% cut in its import tariff. The cut will make local exports to the EU more competitive against other countries who offer duty rebates for their exporters. Sri Lankan exports to the EU added up over Rs. 133.4 bn in 2002, more..

Oct 7 (TN) Livelihood of local fishermen of Mannar district are threatened by Indian poachers and migrant fishermen from south of the country, complained representatives of 34 fisheries co-operative societies federation in Mannar district at a conference held Monday at the federation office, sources said. more..

Oct 7 (TN) Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) in Trincomalee made history Monday honoring sixty pre-school teachers of all communities -Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim under one roof at an event held in connection with the World Teachers' Day at Trincomalee New Silver Star Hotel. more..

Oct 7 (SLA) A sixteen-year old LTTE member, who fled from MORAWEWA LTTE camp, has sought protection from troops at PALAM PATTAR, about 14 km southwest of TRINCOMALEE on 06 October 2003 while he was on his way home after escape. more..

Oct 7 (SLA) A ten-year old boy, who went to see a religious festival at DURGAPURAM Hindu Kovil (temple) in the general area of MALLAKAM, about 11 km north of JAFFNA town on Sunday (5 October 2003), has failed to return home. more..

Oct 7 (SLA) Naval troops on duty in the general area of DELFT ISLAND came across thirty one Sri Lankan refugees who had reportedly disembarked from an Indian fishing trawler on 05 October 2003 in the general area of DELFT PANANGKANY. more..

Oct 7 (SLA) Parents and next of kin of about 24 LTTE abducted youths, including children from the general areas of VALAICHCHENAI and KALKUDAH held a protest campaign outside VALAICHCHENAI Hindu school on Monday demanding SLMM immediate intervention to secure release of their beloved ones from LTTE custody. more..

Oct 7 (UNI) Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani today said he did not think that LTTE could be involved in the recent assassination attempt on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, as reported in the media, even though the PW had developed an expertise in IEDs from the LTTE. more..

Oct 7 (IE) The People's War Group (PWG), which carried out a failed assassination attempt on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, has got links with the LTTE and received expertise in using Improvised Explosive Device (IED) from the Sri Lankan outfit. more..

Oct 7 (LT) Majority of the academic staff of the University of Sri Jayawardenepura is not prepared to accept the present Vice-Chancellor says the Students’ Council. Though 79 of the 475 strong academic staff has signed a petition requesting not to remove D.N. Epitawatte as the VC the rest don’t consider him to be suitable for this position. more..

Oct 7 (LT) A massive protest campaign has been organized by a number of Trade Unions of the opposition tomorrow opposite Fort Railway station to protest against the UNF government. Government Services Trade Union Federation says that several Trade Unions including many Trade Union Federations of the opposition have expressed their willingness to support this campaign. more..