Sep 24 (AT) India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath has said the Rs.2000-Crore-Sethu Samudrum ship Canal Project (approximately USD 1.09 billion) will be environmentally evaluated before the final clearance. more..

Sep 24 (AT) In the wake of LTTE assassinating its 167th member yesterday in Colombo, EPDP urges Sri Lankan Government and the international community to take immediate steps to put an end to the killings of their members by the Liberation Tigers. more..

Sep 24 (AT) President Chandrika Kumaratunga when she met Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the UNICEF explained that the country needed UNICEF support to set apart a comprehensive mechanism to address the issue of psychological trauma in war affected families, orphans and widows in the North and East as well as in the southern parts of the country. more..

Sep 24 (AT) A high level Government delegation left for Trincomalee on Thursday evening under the direction of President to survey the explosive situation in the Trincomalee area due to the protest campaign launched by the civilians in the district demanding the release of the two home guards held under by the LTTE. more..

Sep 24 (LBO) The United States is putting down US$ 30,000 into two projects in the Ampara District, to demonstrate the benefits of peace and reduce incidents of violence in conflict-prone communities. Around 20,000 Sri Lankans in the region will benefit from the projects. more..

Sep 24 (LBO) Iron deficiency, overall poor nutrition and the wrong type of shoes are running down Sri Lanka's chances of winning a medal at international sports events. A study shows that nearly 60 percent of Sri Lanka's sportsmen and women are anaemic, short of other vital nutrients and poorly shod to boot. more..

Sep 24 (NIP) Lord Buddha was neither born in Orissa nor had he ever visited Sri Lanka as claimed by a section of scholars. Internationally acclaimed archaeologist and a senior advisor to the Sri Lankan Foreign affairs Ministry Professor Sudarshan Seneviratne revealed this. more..

Sep 24 (Rupavahini) A group of 70 men and 35 women arrived in the island from Saudi Arabia at the Bandaranaike international airport this afternoon. They told our correspondent that the Sri Lankan embassy in Saudi Arabia had failed to provide any relief to them. more..

Sep 24 (NW) A journalist from Divaina Newspaper has filed a civil suit before Colombo District Court against an article published in a Lake House newspaper which has been allegedly written to defame him. more..

Sep 24 (NW) The National Movement Against Terrorism (NMAT) and the Jathika Sangha Sammelanaya yesterday staged a protest opposite the Canadian High Commission calling for the suspension of the Pongu-Thamil festival to be held in Toronto tomorrow. more..

Sep 24 (NW) The North-East Sinhala Organization has threatened to block the supply of fuel and flour from Trincomalee to Colombo for one week if the government fails to get the two home guards released from LTTE custody within three days. more..

Sep 24 (NW) The UNP charged yesterday that the UPFA government was dipping into NRFC accounts to overcome the current crisis over the rapid decline of the rupee in relation to the dollar. more..

Sep 24 (AFP) National carrier Sri Lankan Airlines said Thursday it was negotiating to lease three Airbus planes to start flights to the growing market in China after its annual profits jumped 75 per cent. more..

Sep 24 (SLA) A formal complaint lodged at the Police by a civilian in the general area of AKKARAIPATTU on 22 September 2004 claimed that he was threatened to stop ploughing in his paddy-field at WATTAMADU by three armed LTTE cadres. more..

Sep 24 (SLA) An LTTE cadre of eighteen years of age, who had escaped allegedly from PERIYA PULLUMALAI LTTE camp surrendered to the PULLUMALAI Police post on 23 September 2004 around 7.30 a.m. seeking protection from Security Forces. more..

Sep 24 (SLA) The sit-on fast, launched at TRINCOMALEE by next of kin of two Home Guards being detained by LTTE, continues for the eleventh consecutive day on Friday (24 September 2004) demanding the immediate release of them. more..

Sep 24 (SLA) The Commander of the Army, Lt Gen S.H.S.Kottegoda, attended the ceremony of laying the foundation stone to the proposed new library building and the Relics chamber at the Panagoda Sri Bodhirajaramaya this morning (23 Sept). more..

Sep 24 (PSL) All forms of bribery and corruption should be brought to light to punish offenders, President Chandrika Kumaratunga told a press conference at the UN on Wednesday. In response to a question by a Sri Lankan journalist on the arrest of a senior DIG of Police on bribery charges, President said she had always held the view that bribery and corruption should not be tolerated. more..

Sep 24 (PSL) An island-wide Campaign to End Violence Against Women (CEVAW) was launched today with the aim to reduce social acceptance of violence against women. The objective of this three-year campaign initiated by funded by Oxfam GB is to create an enabling environment for public dialogue on violence against women more..

Sep 24 (PSL) President Chandrika Kumaratunga yesterday met Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in New York and had bilateral discussions on issues of mutual and regional interests. President also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for discussions on Sri Lanka tea exports and tourism between the two countries. more..

Sep 24 (PSL) President Chandrika Kumaratunga received Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Peterson at the United Nations headquarters on Thursday 23 September. They reviewed developments in the Sri Lanka Peace Process since Minister Peterson’s visit to Sri Lanka in May this year. more..

Sep 24 (PSL) UN Secretary General Kofi Annan received President Chandrika Kumaratunga at his office at the UN Headquarters in New York yesterday. At the meeting the President discussed a wide range of issues with the Secretary General. Mr. Kofi Annan briefed the President about the plans for the UN Millennium Development Goals and UN reforms. more..

Sep 24 (PTI) The Sri Lankan police today arrested 61 Bangladeshi men for overstaying after the expiry of their visas, a police officer said here. The men were taken into custody following a tip-off that they were planning to leave the island illegally and travel to Italy in fishing boats, the officer said. more..

Sep 24 (Reuters) The Central Bank of Sri Lanka said on Friday the country's gross official reserves at the end of July stood at a provisional $1.95 billion, down 16.1 percent from $2.33 billion at the end of 2003. more..

Sep 24 (Reuters) The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) in Sri Lanka held a public lecture on September 17 in Colombo to warn of the dangers of a return to open civil war and to indict the entire political establishment for its failure to bring genuine peace to the island. more..

Sep 24 (DPA) German authorities have put 23 men claiming to be Sri Lanka's national handball team on their wanted list after the sportsmen absconded two weeks ago, possibly to work as illegal immigrants. more..

Sep 24 (AT) While the death in combat of Reggie, Karuna’s brother and de-facto commander of he Karuna forces in the East, is a major victory for Prabhakaran and a stunning blow to the anti-fascist armed resistance, it is not a death blow, a decapitation. more..

Sep 24 (AT) Indian government has renewed the ban on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Tamilnadu Liberation Army (TNLA) and Tamil National Retrieval Troops (TNRT) besides Al Qaeda and all naxalite groups. In all the 32 outfits remain proscribed across India. more..

Sep 24 (DN) People who come by vehicles and dump garbage along road will be dealt with according to the law if detected and arrested by the Mobile Special Police Task Force. Minister A. H. M. Fowzie said the Special Enforcement Unit which came into operation on September 21, has been empowered to arrest and detain wilful violators of the law who pollute the environment. more..

Sep 24 (TN) President Chandrika Kumaratunge's speech at the UN General Assembly "does not reflect true factual position...We urge the President to refrain from making rhetorical statements and focus on resolute action that would enable the recommencement of talks and meaningful consensus-building that would ensure the success of the negotiations," more..

Sep 24 (Xinhua) Main opposition UNP is to reject an offer by President Kumaratunga to nominate members to an advisory council on the peace process with Tamil Tiger rebels. President Kumaratunga intends to appoint an all political partyadvisory council as part of her efforts to revive the stalled peace talks with the LTTE rebels. more..

Sep 24 (AFP) The Sri Lankan government said a wave of killings blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels was undermining confidence in the peace process which has been stalled since April 2003. Suspected Tigers gunned down another rival political activist Friday, more..

Sep 24 (HT) A small but increasing number of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs are now venturing into India, attracted by the growing market there for foreign brands following the liberalisation of the economy. more..

Sep 24 (AP) Thousands of demostrators demanded that the Sri Lankan government resign Friday over its failure to restart peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels or control soaring prices of consumer goods. more..

Sep 25 (TN) "We hate war and we are committed to the current peace process. However, we are militarily strong to face a war if it is thrusted on us," said Mr.S.Elilan, head of LTTE Trincomalee political wing addressing a meeting more..

Sep 25 (TN) The political division of the Liberation for Batticaloa-Amparai said in a statement issued Friday that Karuna’s brother Reggie and two of his associates were shot dead by the special jungle warfare units of the Jeyanthan Regiment around 5.30 a.m. on Tuesday, 21 September 2004. more..

Sep 25 (TN) United States donated US$ 138,000 for four projects in the Batticaloa District the Embassy of United States press release said Friday. The US Embassy this week inaugurated the projects “aimed at improving the health and vocational skills of local residents” according to the press release. more..

Sep 25 (TN) Sea sports meet was held in the Jaffna lagoon Friday after an interval of eight years. Swimming race and boat race were held at all levels with the permission of the Sri Lanka Army on a request made by Gurunagar United Progressive Front, sources said. more..

Sep 25 (AT) Asian Human Rights Commission, a human rights watchdog group based in Hong Kong has expressed its dissatisfaction that legal professional bodies in Sri Lanka did not pay adequate attention to the failing law enforcement agencies. more..

Sep 25 (Rupavahini) The UN Secretary General Kofie Anan has pledged that the UN will extend fullest cooperation to Sri Lanka's peace process at any time. He gave this assurance at a discussion with President Chandrika Kumaratunge at UN headquarters in New York. more..

Sep 25 (SLBC) Acting Minister of Education Dinesh Gunawardena said that academic activities of universities are expected to return normal by Monday. Non-academics decided yesterday to end their work stoppage after a meeting with ministers Dinesh Gunawardena and K.D. Lal Kantha. more..

Sep 25 (SLBC) The Supreme Court has ordered Sri Lanka Medical Council to accept medical degrees obtained from Russian universities. The order was given after hearing a petition by a three judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by chief Justice Sarath N. Silva. more..

Sep 25 (SLBC) The retail selling prices of diesel and Petrol have been increased from midnight today. Accordingly, the revised price of a liter of Lanka Petrol 90 Octane will be 70 rupees within Colombo municipal limits and 68 rupees outside Colombo municipal limits. more..

Sep 25 (NW) The Chilaw Post Office seems to have earned a reputation for drawing pensions of deceased persons, according to revelations made by the Frauds Investigation Division of Chilaw police. more..

Sep 25 (NW) The controversial Wellawaya Magistrate who recently issued an arrest warrant on an SSP allegedly involved in a fatal accident was interdicted yesterday by the Judicial Service Commission. more..

Sep 25 (TS) Sam Piyasena doesn’t like labels. What do you call his kind of job? “I’ve no idea,” said Piyasena to LEONG SIOK HUI when he visited Kuala Lumpur. Sam Piyasena’s name card is simple. Printed with illustrations and photographs, his card contains only his name and website address. more..

Sep 25 (SLA) Students at IGAMBARA COLLEGE were compelled to attend an LTTE organized commemorative event held in the general area of KAPPUTHOO, about 12 km south west of POINT PEDRO on 23 September 2004 morning. The incident was brought to the notice of the SLMM.

Sep 25 (SLA) School children in the general area of MANNAR were compelled to attend an LTTE event held at MANNAR BUS STAND on 24 September 2004 morning during school hours. more..

Sep 25 (SLA) Thirteen Sri Lankan refugees believed to have arrived from India after paying Indian rupees 3000/= per head to Indian trawler had surrendered to the Naval troops on duty in the general area of URUMALAI, TALAIMANNER on 24 September 2004 around 10.30 a.m. more..

Sep 25 (SLA) LTTE cadres during a ceremony at HINDU CULTURAL CENTER in the general area of TRINCOMALEE town on 24 September 2004 hoisted the LTTE flag in contravention of the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). more..