Nov 4 (LNP) Spokesman of the JVP `Alternate Group` (Vikalpa Kandayama) D.R.P.Premachandra, at a press conference in Kandy said that they would be supporting the UNP at the forthcoming presidential election. more..

Nov 4 (DN) Fifty per cent of street children in Sri Lanka are in the age group of 10-16 who are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse, involvement in drug trafficking, prostitution and other anti-social activities, according to a recent study done by the Kelaniya University's Department of Mass Communication more..

Nov 4 (NP) Norway's role in Sri Lanka has come under criticism during the nation's election campaign. Norway is both facilitating the peace talks as well as leading the international observer force in Sri Lanka. more..

Nov 4 (CI) Sri Lanka arrived in India as the overwhelming favourites to wrap up the one-day series - after all, they were the second-best team in the world according to the ICC ratings - but four matches into the series, things have gone completely pear-shaped for them, and all that is left to play for is pride. more..

Nov 4 (Rediff) I will start with a little story. In my times, Aravinda de Silva was keen to open the innings in one-day cricket. His reasons were plain: open spaces in the field offer maximum returns on a shot. It broadens your appeal which, in turn, tilts the scale of commerce. more..

Nov 4 (Xinhua) Tamil Tiger rebels have invited the European Union polls monitors into areas under their control to observe the country's Nov. 17 presidential poll. The Head of the Political Wing of the LTTE S.P. Thamilselvan in a letter to the Norwegian Ambassador in the capital Colombo Hans Brattskar had made the invitation, more..

Nov 4 (Xinhua) The signal system of the Sri Lankan coastal railway line destroyed by the tsunami disaster will be restored with Dutch financial assistance, local newspaper Daily News reported Friday. more..

Nov 4 (TP) The United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) yesterday wrote to Election Chief Dayananda Dissanayake and urged him to allow presidential candidates to speak to Northern and Eastern voters on election day since the candidates have no opportunity to meet them in uncleared areas. more..

Nov 4 (TP) Tourism officials from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka will meet here Friday to discuss opportunities for sub-regional cooperation for sustainable tourism development. The Sixth Tourism Working Group Meeting under the South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) programme of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will be an important event, more..

Nov 4 (Gulf) President Chandrika Kumaratunga wants state media to ensure balanced coverage for all candidates of the presidential election. She was reacting to an appeal from main opposition candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe that he was getting unfair poll coverage from the media. more..

Nov 4 (AP) Sri Lanka's ruling party candidate for president vowed Friday to review a shaky cease-fire with Tamil Tiger rebels as he met with government troops in the country's Tamil heartland. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse flew to a heavily guarded northern air base, where he had breakfast with a group of soldiers. more..

Nov 4 (AP) A wealthy presidential candidate said he will use his personal fortune to buy a cow for every home if he is elected. "Every Sri Lankan home will be gifted with a high milk-yielding cow from (the Indian state of) Kerala which could be expected to yield 10 liters (2.5 gallons) to 16 liters (four gallons) of milk every day," more..

Nov 4 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels say they are completely disinterested in the island's upcoming November17 presidential election, but voters in areas they control are waiting for a lead from the militants. more..

Nov 4 (LBO) Visiting Indians, who pop over for business and shopping bargains, is likely to replace the United Kingdom as the biggest tourism market for Sri Lanka this year, top officials said Friday. more..

Nov 4 (AFP) Prime minister and presidential hopeful met with troops in the Tamil heartland and vowed there would be no more war with Tiger rebels. Premier Mahinda Rajapakse addressed soldiers in the Palaly military complex at the northern tip of the Jaffna peninsula, to drum up support for his candidature at the November 17 presidential election. more..

Nov 4 (HT) One of the distinguishing features of the November 17 presidential election is that the majority Sinhala-Buddhist community seems to be earnestly seeking a "homegrown" and "non-elitist" national leadership to replace the Westernised and elitist one which has held sway since Independence in 1948. more..

Nov 4 (AP) The man who secretly started peace talks in Sri Lanka in 1999 said Friday his new role as Norway's aid minister will not keep him from working to end the bloody conflict. In an interview with The Associated Press, Erik Solheim also vowed to further the Nordic nation's reputation as an international peacemaker and world's top per-capita aid donor. more..

Nov 5 (TN) Commenting on the lack of enthusiasm amongst Sri Lanka’s Tamils for the forthcoming Presidential elections, the Tamil Guardian newspaper this week argued that the two leading contenders are, from a Tamil perspective, indistinguishable. more..

Nov 5 (TN) Two men who entered the Liberation Tigers controlled area and attempted to lob grenades at the checkpost were shot while they tried to escape from the Muhamalai checkpoint, civilian sources said. One of the attackers was later rushed to Chavakacheri hospital by the Sri Lanka Army. more..

Nov 5 (BBC) Muslims in the refugee camps in Putalam say their wish is to celebrate the next Ramazan in their own villages in Mannar. Puttalam Lake House correspondent Prasad Purnimal Jayamanna spoke to refugees who have been chased from their native villages by the Tamil Tigers. more..

Nov 5 (AT) Include Muslims and Sinhalese of Jaffna in the happy family of the LTTE Although Tamils claims that they have become oppressors, but Tamils daringly asks the "oppressed" Muslim community to forget, forgive and play happy family just so long as it is against the Sinhalese and help the LTTE claim the north and east as their homeland. more..

Nov 5 (AT) In an ceremony held at the BMICH in Colombo, Omalika Ravindrani Jayatilake, of Ferguson High School, Ratnapura, who is the President of the board of directors of the Skiff Company, was adjudged the ‘Most Outstanding Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2004-2005’ more..

Nov 5 (AT) In the following text Douglas Devananda, the leader of the Eelam Peoples' Democratic Party, presents his case for supporting the presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse. His decision is bound to divide the Tamil votes in the north. more..

Nov 5 (LT) Mr. Mangala Samaraweera was using the death of UNP Parliamentarian Gamini Athukorala for his political advantage says Ms. Thalatha Athukorala. Addressing a media meeting held in the Office of the Leader of the Opposition Ms. Athukorale further said Mr.Mangala Samaraweera was insane. more..

Nov 5 (TN) "Radicalisation of Sri Lanka polity resulting in the realignment of Sinhala Nationalist forces as witnessed by the coalitions for Sri Lanka's presidential elections, raises the spectre of nationlist politics of the 50s and is leading towards imminent collapse of the peace process," said Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, more..

Nov 5 (TN) Mr.C.Ilampartithi, Jaffna district political head of the LTTE said Friday that his organization has not taken any decision regarding the forthcoming presidential poll. "LTTE will not exert any pressure on Tamils on this issue," said Mr.Ilamparithi more..

Nov 5 (UNP) UNP Member of Parliament Milinda Moragoda says Sri Lanka will keep gown on a slippery slope until the south unites and work together. Moragoda said that certain people accused the UNP of appeasing the LTTE but, with no relevance and Ranil Wickremasinghe’s principle vision of being a unifier is the strongest message the party can carry to the people. more..

Nov 5 (UNP) If there’s one thing the JVP is good at, it’s rhetoric. From the party’s inception, the red comrades have been able to spout rabble-rousing, firebrand speeches that have brought about two insurgencies in the last three decades. Despite being part of government on two occasions, what did the JVP achieve? more..

Nov 5 (LeN) Hambantota UNP Parliamentarian Sajith Premadasa has sent a letter of demand claiming Rs. 500 million for an alleged defamatory news item telecast on ITN on October 21,2005. Sajith Premadasa through his attorneys Sudatha Perera Associates stated that the news item attributed to Tangalle UPFA Pradesiya Sabha member more..

Nov 5 (LeN) TULF President V. Anandasangaree yesterday expressed fears that the LTTE may rig the upcoming election in the North East unless adequate measures are taken to prevent such a possibility. more..

Nov 5 (LeN) Often during elections, the state media and government politicians point fingers at the private media, accusing them of being bias. What is this bias? With the launch of election campaigns, during their 2nd week, the tactic adopted by the state media was to give more time for news items and reports that was negative more..

Nov 5 (LBO) Post independent Sri Lanka's budgets have always been instruments to buy votes and make the population collectively poorer from the results, and the upcoming one (if something unforeseen does not happen) would be no different. more..

Nov 5 (LT) Security in the North Sea has been tightened. News has been received that wanni tiger organization is attempting to smuggle in a stock of arms by boats. News also has been received that sea tigers are conducting naval exercises in the North Sea. Naval and Army troops have been deployed along the coastal belt say sources. more..

Nov 5 (LT) In an operation conducted by the security forces in Pothuwil area in Batticaloa today around 8.30 a.m. arms and explosives have been recovered from a house. About 30 soldiers took part in the operation where a T-56 rifle, 2 hand grenades, 2 magazines, 6 live bullets and detonating equipment were taken into custody. more..

Nov 5 (wsws) The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) was unable to hold a planned presidential election campaign meeting in Jaffna last Sunday because of threats of violence that were aimed at preventing the local population from hearing the party’s policies. more..

Nov 5 (TI) For centuries, no ship has been able to pass between India and Sri Lanka. The way is blocked by a narrow, 18-mile chain of sand shoals. Known as Adam's Bridge in the West, to devout Hindus it is Ram's Bridge, built by the god Ram to get his army to Sri Lanka to rescue his bride Sita from the demon king Ravana. more..

Nov 5 (TW) Each Presidential election in Sri Lanka has produced "also ran" candidates in addition to the two frontrunners. While the media spotlight is almost always on the two chief contenders at least a few of the others also attract some attention. more..

Nov 5 (TW) Three and a half years into the Ceasefire Agreement, Jaffna continues to live isolated from the political mainstream of the country's life. Switching on the television does not help, neither does the radio. The TV and radio channels that are so numerous in Colombo do not reach Jaffna. more..

Nov 5 (TW) Patience is becoming a key factor in Sri Lanka’s fragile peace process. The country is now anxiously waiting to see which of the two parties, the government or the LTTE, will go over the edge and resume the war that has already seen the lives of more than 60,000 people diminish. more..

Nov 5 (TW) Is our state a secular one or is it some quasi-religious state? The nature of our state is of fundamental concern to us. Secondly, is Mahinda Rajapakse intending to hand over the chickens to the wolf to mind? more..

Nov 5 (PIS) UPFA Presidential candidate Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse addressing the people of Jaffna from the Jaffna Nadeshwara Vidyalaya premises said he was aspiring to become the next President to solve the country''s burning problems peacefully through dialogue and negotiations with all sections rather than wage war. more..

Nov 5 (PIS) UNP Presidential Candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday reiterated his pledge to unite all people of this country under one flag by reaching consensus with the SLFP on the peace process , once he is elected the President. more..

Nov 5 (CO) Hyundai Engineering of Korea, Jan De Nul of Belgium and Boskolis of The Netherlands, have been shortlisted for dredging the remaining stretches of the Sethusamudram Project, Union Shipping Minister T R Baalu said. Jan De Nul and Boskolis have jointly bid for the dredging contract, Baalu told a news conference here today. more..

Nov 5 (IANS) A campaign is building up in Plymouth in Britain to prevent the deportation of an ailing Sri Lankan national whose application for asylum has been rejected. Campaigners are hoping to appeal against the threatened deportation on the ground that it could lead to his death in Sri Lanka. more..

Nov 5 (NER) Residents of Sri Lanka previously experiencing power cuts due to the unsustainability of current power supplies are now looking to wind for relief. Experts predict that wind around areas of Myanmar could be enough to sustain power demands. more..

Nov 5 (DN) THE Government has issued Rs.3 million to the top State official in Kilinochchi to make arrangements for special transport to facilitate voters in uncleared areas on polls day. Kilinochchi Government Agent T. Rasanayagam said the Elections Department has granted him the funds to arrange heavy vehicles operating in uncleared areas to transport voters more..

Nov 5 (KT) TWO huge sixes from Mahendra Singh Dhoni sealed the Videocon Cup for India and gave it a much-needed one-day series victory and now they can seriously look to have a clean sweep for this Sri Lankan side looks totally demoralised and outplayed in all factors of the game. more..

Nov 5 (Xinhua) The government has decided to reconstruct highway network in the country with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). With an estimated cost of 208 million US dollars, the project, which aims at rehabilitating a number of grade A and B roads in western, central and eastern provinces, will receive the assistance from the ADB, more..

Nov 5 (CI) Greg Chappell, the Indian coach, hoped that there would be no let up in intensity for the rest of the series while Tom Moody, his Sri Lankan counterpart, thought that Sri Lanka still had a lot to play for. They, along with Mahela Jayawardene, spoke to the media on the eve of the game. more..

Nov 5 (LM) A suspected JVPer who was arrested with posters defaming UNP presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe was granted bail on Thursday. The suspect Athukoralalage Dharmadasa of Polhengoda Road, Kirulapone was released on Rs. 5000 cash bail and Rs. 100,000 surety bail. more..