Oct 14 (LBO) State side educationalists could soon receive tuition from private sector firms on what the industry needs from the university system. The project builds on the success of a private sector driven mentoring effort for university students, helping them acclimatise to the sector. more..

Oct 14 (LBO) Industry analysts are betting on a competition driven drop in overseas calling rates for the upcoming holiday seasons. Competition in prepaid calling cards segment is expected to drive the drop with more of the 31 licensed overseas call operators coming out with their card options. more..

Oct 14 (LBO) Private Provident Funds could soon become a reality, when the upcoming Superannuation Benefit Fund Commission takes off next year. A Compensation Fund for contributors who suffer financial loss resulting from fraud, theft, misappropriation or negligence of monies, will also be set up, from a cess being charged on the industry. more..

Oct 14 (TN) A conference was held following a message to the SLMM by the Defense Ministry Secretary Mr. Austin Fernando that SLMM should take appropriate steps in consultation with army, police and civil administrative officials if the Sihala Urumaya continued its foot march towards Kurankupanchchan beyond Soorankal, more..

Oct 14 (TN) The Jaffna Magistrate Mr.R.T.Viknarajah Monday released eight Tamil civilians of the ten who were arrested and remanded in connection with some incidents that took place Saturday on bail with a warning that they should not interfere with the police investigation, court sources said. more..

Oct 14 (SLA) Four LTTE cadres, who stormed a house of a civilian in the general area of KALMADU, about 3.5 km. southwest of BATTICALOA on 12 October 2003, demanding surrender of his daughter to the LTTE organization, were refused by her father. more..

Oct 14 (SLA) Six self-claimed LTTE men had robbed jewellery and valuables worth Rs. 87,000 (US $ 906) from a civilian in the general area of KALKUDAH, about 25 km northwest of BATTICALOA town on 12 October 2003 around 11.00 p.m. more..

Oct 14 (SLA) Seventy five dynamite sticks were among a haul of explosives recovered on 11 October 2003 from a Tamil civilian in the general area of UPPUKULAM in addition to 75 detonators and detonating cords that were carried by him, according to Police in MANNAR. more..

Oct 14 (SLA) A civilian, who tried to enter into PALALY restricted zone in the general area of JAFFNA, was nabbed and subsequently delivered to THELIPPALAI Police station for investigations on 13 October 2003. more..

Oct 14 (PSL) President Kumaratunga now on a state visit to Singapore held bilateral talks with her Singaporean counterpart S. R. Nathan yesterday. The two leaders discussed ways and means of improving economic relations between the two countries. more..

Oct 14 (PSL) “Globalisation should be managed in a manner where the developing nations would have the space and the freedom to become partners of the globalized economy, while their specific needs and their right to make their own economic policy choices is recognized,” said President Kumaratunga in her address at the East Asia Economic Summit more..

Oct 14 (Reuters) Most of Sri Lanka's financial community expects the central bank to leave key interest rates unchanged this week, though some said on Tuesday that the bank might cut rates to spur the post-war economy. more..

Oct 14 (DJ) International donors and multilateral banks have so far this year committed a total $649 million to rebuild and develop Sri Lanka's war- battered northeast, said a joint donor press release Tuesday. more..

Oct 14 (CO) The BSNL would soon set up an 80-metre-high communication tower to enable the people of Rameswaram to make calls to Sri Lanka's Mannar region. According to BSNL sources, the tower would provide direct communication link to the island nation from Rameswaram island. more..

Oct 14 (AP) Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham planned to visit the war-torn town of Jaffna during a trip to Sri Lanka beginning Tuesday, as part of efforts to push the island's peace process forward. more..

Oct 14 (AFP) Sri Lanka is seeking to upgrade its trade ties with neighbour India by building on a free trade agreement (FTA) in talks starting Tuesday with visiting Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha, officials said. more..

Oct 14 (DM) A real life drama was enacted by cinema artistes at the National Film Corporation (NFC) where they held a protest meeting against actress and Director Operations, NFC, Sureni Senarath. more..

Oct 14 (OW) Analysts say last week's Tamil-Muslim clashes in Kinniya, in the Eastern district of Trincomalee, are just the tip of the iceberg, as simmering tensions between the two communities are threatening the region's fragile peace. more..

Oct 14 (AFP) Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga has added her voice to the increasingly powerful movement of poor nations striving for economic equality, hitting out at rich countries for hypocrisy in the global trade system. more..

Oct 14 (UNI) Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will pay a four-day official visit to India from Sunday, during which he will have wide ranging talks with Indian leaders on bilateral issues and the progress in the ongoing peace process in the island. more..

Oct 14 (AP) Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Josette Sheeran Shiner arrived in Sri Lanka Tuesday to strengthen and expand bilateral ties through a possible free trade agreement, officials said. more..

Oct 14 (HT) Despite the freezing of an estimated $4 billion of its funds and the curbs put by the US and UK, where it is banned, the LTTE is managing to collect a lot of money for its war chest. Reports say that the global collections from Sri Lankan Tamil expatriates averages $1 million a month. more..

Oct 14 (CNN) It's a parent's worst nightmare: the peace process is faltering and Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels are recruiting again -- abducting unsuspecting children at the rate of nearly two a day. The U.N. agency for children's rights, UNICEF, says it received reports that 52 children were recruited in September. more..

Oct 14 (Reuters) The Sri Lankan army blocked hundreds of ethnic Sinhalese protesters on Tuesday from marching on a Tamil Tiger rebel camp in the island's northeast, fearing a confrontation between the two might turn violent. more..

Oct 14 (HD) President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Kumaratunga has sent a letter of felicitations to President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom on his unanimous endorsement by the Peoples’ Majilis (parliament) to stand for re-election in the forthcoming public referendum which will be held on Friday. more..

Oct 15 (TN) "The World Bank, the ADB, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNDP, the World Food Program, the European Commission, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States have committed a total of US$ 649 million to the North East to date. more..

Oct 15 (TN) The political advisor of the SLMM Mr.Geir Sjøberg Tuesday held discussion with the Jaffna LTTE leaders at the office of the Jaffna LTTE political secretariat. Jaffna district political head of the LTTE Mr.C.Ilamparuthi, women political head Ms Kayalvilzi and education head Mr.Kavianban participated in the discussion, more..

Oct 15 (TN) A group of Muslim protesters carrying placards at the Al Aksa college junction in Kinniya, in the Trincomalee district, set fire to copies of the Tamil daily with the largest circulation in Sri Lanka, The Virakesari, as the group considered the newspaper's coverage of Muslim-Tamil ethnic clashes in the area as unfavorable, more..

Oct 15 (TN) The Northern Province Principals' Association (NPPA) said Tuesday that it has sent a memorandum to Mr. Velupillai Pirapakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers, urging him to ensure that the proposed Interim Administration (IA) for the Northeast is vested with fiscal, executive and judicial powers. more..

Oct 15 (TN) The UNDP has launched a transition programme fisheries project in Trincomalee funded by AusAID to strengthen the capacity of fisheries department and fisheries co-operative societies to enable fishermen to improve their livelihoods more..

Oct 15 (TN) The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka is to take up the matter of increased involvement of army vehicles in road accidents in Jaffna district in recent times with the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Lionel Balagalle following a report from its regional office in Jaffna, HRC sources said. more..

Oct 15 (IHT) President on Tuesday threatened to dismiss the country's prime minister and cabinet over deep differences in peace talks with rebels. President Chandrika Kumaratunga said the prime minister had betrayed the country by allowing the LTTE to rearm and form a de facto separate state. more..

Oct 15 (Island) The Ministry of Health will decide today (October 14) on how the issue between the minor workers of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children and the nurses living in hospital quarters should be settled. more..

Oct 15 (IOL) Having been outclassed and outplayed the entire tour, the Sri Lanka A cricket side were further burdened with an injury crisis on Tuesday. With still a day to play in the four day international fixture against South Africa A at the North West Oval, Sri Lanka are without three players. more..

Oct 15 (AFP) Denmark Tuesday urged resumption of peace talks in Sri Lanka, warning that a unique opportunity for peace and stability will be lost if Tamil Tiger rebels do not commit themselves fully to the stalled peace process. more..

Oct 15 (DN) With increasing reports of violent incidences occurring in schools, indiscipline is becoming a major concern for not only many parents but also the government. But now a new pilot project is being launched in an attempt to prevent abuse towards and between children and regain greater control in schools. more..

Oct 15 (UNI) External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha today said India has been demanding Sri Lanka to extradite LTTE leader V Prabhakaran, a proclaimed offender in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. more..

Oct 15 (LBO) Local telco operators have teamed up, to oppose a possible merger between Sri Lanka Telecom and Lanka Bell. In a hard-hitting letter, operators – Celltel, Dialog, Suntel, Hutchison and GoTel Networks – have protested of an impending monopoly situation, if the merger goes through. more..

Oct 15 (LBO) Canadian consultants studying the Hambantota Port project have come up with a US$ 1,700 mn three-phased development plan as being feasible. Southern Development Minister Ananda Kularatne said the cost also includes US$ 240 mn for a breakwater and dredging. more..

Oct 15 (LBO) The Civil Aviation Authority says it is processing applications to allow local firms to operate a few international schedule flights from Sri Lanka. The international operations will materialise through charter flights to neighbouring countries, the aviation watchdog said in a statement on Tuesday. more..

Oct 15 (LBO) Telecom policymakers are re-considering the option to set up national points of interconnection, to fix the current impasse in reaching call termination agreement. Setting up national points of interconnections will allow in-discriminatory access to all operators, including External Gateway Operators to terminate calls locally. more..

Oct 15 (SLA) An armed group of LTTE men stormed and looted money from three civilians in the general area of KALMADU, about 3.5 km southwest of BATTICALOA, prompting one of their next of kin to set fire to a stock of cadjans in front of a house in anger on 12 October 2003 around 10.30 p.m. more..

Oct 15 (SLA) A civilian, who went in search of his brother who left for Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) office, has been abducted by an LTTE cadre, named MODDACHCHE and several others on 13 October 2003 near VALAICHCHENAI Super Market while he was returning home. more..

Oct 15 (SLA) Fishing groups in the general area of PERIYAKADDIAI in MANNAR staged a protest campaign on 14 October 2003 around 7.00 a.m. against LTTE’s ban on catching of sea leeches and fishing. more..

Oct 15 (SLA) Three LTTE men, led by LTTE ’s VAVUNIYA political leader, who carried a dead body of an LTTE cadre, draped with an LTTE flag, were held at entry/exit point at OMANTHAI on 14 October 2003 around 11.00 a.m. since they wanted to take the remains to cleared areas beyond this entry/exit point. more..

Oct 15 (SLA) Four LTTE men, who visited a graveyard in the general area of IRREIKERNY PALMUNA, about 20 km southeast of AMPARA town on 12 October 2003 around 4.30 p.m. have exhumed about six human skeletons and videoed them for reasons best known only to LTTE. more..

Oct 15 (PSL) Today 15th October is ‘ International White Cane Day’. The white cane is a universal symbol; it immediately indicates that the bearer is visually impaired. The Day serves as a reminder that though most visually impaired persons manage to lead independent lives without burdening society, they still deserve our consideration. more..

Oct 15 (Reuters) Asia can be a very crowded place, especially if you are an elephant. The shrinking natural habitat of Asian elephants in recent decades has forced them into increased and often violent contact with humans, said environmentalists and wildlife experts who met recently in Colombo to find ways to tackle the problem. more..

Oct 15 (DM) The twists and turns of the sudden retirement of Inspector General T. E. Anandarajah have left the country's law enforcement headless and the Police Service in crisis. more..

Oct 15 (DJ) Sri Lanka is unlikely to launch large new infrastructure projects in the near-term due to fiscal constraints in providing government funds to supplement foreign aid, said the local representative of the Japan Bank of International Cooperation, or JBIC. more..