Oct 18 (TN) Fifth death anniversary of Mr.Mylvaganam Nimalarajan a BBC reporter in Jaffna who was shot dead by suspected members of a Tamil para-military group on October 19, 2000 was commemorated in an event held at the Offices of the International Students Union located in Nallur Jaffna. more..

Oct 18 (SLA) A civilian serving in canteen of a Post Office in the general area of BATTICALOA was shot and injured today (18) morning around 6.45 by two unidentified motorbike riding pistol men. The victim, KADIRAGAMAR THAMBI VELUPILLAI (49) of THIMILATIVU Road, PUTTUR, was riding his motorbike to the work more..

Oct 18 (UNP) UNP leader and presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday the UPFA presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse had virtually rejected an opportunity for peace under pressure from extremist elements like the JVP. more..

Oct 18 (LBO) After two years on the shelf, a new law to revamp the Tourist Board was passed in Parliament on Tuesday, with reforms to kick in over the next few weeks. The Tourism Development Bill officially becomes law with one amendment and the signature of the Speaker of Parliament, expected in a few days. more..

Oct 18 (LBO) Failed asylum seekers living on in the United Kingdom and Europe are flocking back home to Sri Lanka, as London gets tough on illegal immigrants. Asylum seekers are no longer that popular in Europe and the recent London bombing inspired crackdown on terrorists and suspect foreigners has made them even less so. more..

Oct 18 (LBO) Sri Lanka backing world trade talks on trade facilitation as long as commitments come with aid. At the moment World Trade Organisation (WTO) member countries are debating over 50 proposals on how to improve the flow of goods across international borders. more..

Oct 18 (LM) In a television programme named ‘News Line' on October 13, Bhikku Parliamentarian Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera had said that the 1983 black July violence unleashed against the Tamil community was an act by the thugs and Muslims, a media release, condemning the thera's statement by the Secretary General of the Muslim United Liberation Front (MULF) says. more..

Oct 18 (LM) A new anti LTTE -North East based English site had emerged to counter the LTTE propaganda and misinformation on the internet. The emergence of anti LTTE sites had been on rise since the start of the ceasefire agreement in 2002. more..

Oct 18 (LM) Every person returning to Sri Lanka after overseas employment will be allowed to bring a tax free new vehicle to the country once Ranil Wickremesinghe comes to power, declared former Deputy Finance Minister Bandula Gunawardena more..

Oct 18 (LM) UPFA presidential candidate Preimer Mahinda Rajapakse's election manifesto "Mahinda Chinthana" was launched this morning at the BMICH, Colombo. "This manifesto did not fall from the sky; this is an outcome of the feedbacks from masses in every part of Sri Lanka, suggestions we have taken from the Interlectual, Professionals and the Clergy" more..

Oct 18 (LeN) Defence sectors have thwarted an attempt on UNP presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe's life at Trincomalee. Wickremesinghe arrived around 12.15 yesterday afternoon for a UNP propaganda rally held at Trincomalee bus stand. more..

Oct 18 (LT) TULF President Mr Anandasangari in a press release states that the assassination of two principals of leading colleges in Jaffna has sent a shock wave among the teaching community and had caused immense grief to the students, parents and teachers. more..

Oct 18 (AT) Reacting to the EU travel ban on the LTTE, V. Navaratnam, the former Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK – Federal Party) MP, now residing in Canada, states that “the position of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs has become irrelevant in Parliamentary and diplomatic life in Colombo” they should “resign their seats in Parliament en bloc and get out of Colombo.” more..

Oct 18 (AT) Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, told the UN that the LTTE has committed "four grave violations" against the children: (i) attacks against schools and civilian centres; (ii) abduction of children; (iii) denial of humanitarian access for children; and (iv) use of children in armed conflict. more..

Oct 18 (AT) Australian Foreign Office is quoted in the media as saying that its Consular officials in Colombo are "helping" Charles Gnanakone who is detained "in relation to his alleged links to the LTTE and the assassination of the former foreign minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar. The foreign office is also assisting their family in Australia. more..

Oct 18 (PIS) Peace Secretariat Chief Jayantha Dhanapala yesterday reiterated to the Norwegian government the need for the full functioning of the ceasefire agreement to carry forward the peace process. During a meeting with Norwegian peace envoy Trond Furuhovde at the Peace secretariat, Mr. Dhanapala also highlighted the need to resume direct talks for the implementation of the ceasefire agreement. more..

Oct 18 (PIS) The assassination of two principals of Jaffna schools within a span of 24 hours should be condemned by everybody. These killings have sent a shock wave through the teaching community and caused immense grief to students and parents, TULF leader V. "Ananadasangaree said yesterday (17). more..

Oct 18 (PIS) Norwegian ambassador Hans Brattskar is in Olso to brief the new government on the state of the peace process in Sri Lanka. A Norwegian embassy spokeswoman said Mr. Brattskar travelled to Norway last week to meet the new government of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg who assumed duties this week. more..

Oct 18 (SAMN) The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress decided not to support Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse at the presidential election because of disunity among the parties that back him, SLMC National Organiser K A Baiz said yesterday. more..

Oct 18 (SAMN) The Court of Appeal issued an interim order staying the operation of an earlier direction of the Commissioner Department of Motor Traffic and directed him to register motor vehicles manufactured by the petitioner provided such motor vehicle comply with the provisions of the motor traffic act without taking into consideration whether excise duty for the vehicles has been paid or not. more..

Oct 18 (LNP) Minister of Justice and Judicial Reforms W. D. J. Seneviratne said special commando training will be given to team of Prison officers and guards, who will in the future escort prisoners and remanded suspects, who are known to be members of underworld gangs, more..

Oct 18 (LNP) A group of thugs, who were under the influence of liquor, had on Saturday night entered the official quarters of the Kadugannawa Station Master and brutally assaulted him and his wife after being told not to paste posters of the UNP presidential candidate on their walls. more..

Oct 18 (LNP) The notorious drug trafficker Lal Peiris alias Kudu Lal who was recently sworn in as a Justice of the Peace is wanted by the Indian government in connection with a massive ten kilo drug bust, a Police Narcotics Bureau official said yesterday. more..

Oct 18 (DN) Every effort should be made to enforce election laws to ensure an election free of violence during the run up to the poll and after the elections, Public Security, Law and Order Ministry Secretary Tilak Ranaviraja told Inspector General of Police Chandra Fernando and senior DIGs. more..

Oct 18 (Xinhua) The US government has granted 1.13million US dollars to Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Program (CPDAP) to conduct drug reduction. The program includes several major international and regional initiatives focusing on faith-based organizations in drug demand reduction and many training programs more..

Oct 18 (Dawn) Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers have imposed dress restrictions for Tamil youth, sources in Jaffna said. Posters put up by the LTTE have detailed separate dress codes for females and males. The growth of beard and long hair have been forbidden for young men. more..

Oct 18 (GT) Red alert was sounded in Colombo following the discovery of a claymore bomb near the Kelani Nadi Vihara in Modera on Sunday morning. DIG Pujitha Jayasundara said the C-4 type explosive weighing 1.5 kilos could have caused extensive damage. “The explosive was found near a wayside garbage dump, stuffed inside a biscuit tin,” he said. more..

Oct 18 (DJ) Prime minister Tuesday pledged to boost economic growth, ease the cost of living through subsidies, and offer incentives to local industries should he become the island nation's next president. "We support a free economy which will encourage foreign investments, while providing adequate protection to local industries," more..

Oct 18 (Reuters) Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse on Tuesday promised a tough line in peace talks with the Tamil Tigers if elected president, vowing not to privatise key state assets and pledging a raft of subsidies. more..

Oct 18 (AP) An ethnic Tamil man was shot and wounded Tuesday in what authorities believe was an attack linked to fighting between rival rebel factions in Sri Lanka's volatile east. Two unidentified gunmen shot Kadirgamar Thambivelupillai, 49, while he was riding his motorbike to work in Batticaloa, more..

Oct 18 (AFP) Prime minister has pledged to launch a new initiative to end decades of ethnic bloodshed but ruled out a homeland for minority Tamils if he wins next month's presidential elections. Premier Mahinda Rajapakse said he would solve the conflict within a "unitary state," effectively scrapping a deal with the LTTE rebels to share power in a federal set-up. more..

Oct 18 (TW) It's renaissance time again for the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress! Plagued by internal dissensions and defections in recent times the party was in the doldrums. If the vicious criticism against the SLMC leader by his political rivals was a proper measure to go by then the leadership days of Rauff Hakeem seemed numbered. more..

Oct 18 (BBC) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse has launched his presidential campaign by rejecting the Tamil Tigers' demands for Tamil autonomy. Unveiling his election manifesto in the capital, Colombo, Mr Rajapakse also indicated that Norway would no longer play a role as peace broker. more..

Oct 19 (BBC) All arrangements will be made for people in unclear areas to come and vote in polling stations in government controlled areas without delay, says Government Agent (GA) for Batticaloa G.Punyamoorthi. He told Sandesaya that checks would be done by the security forces at shortest possible time provided voters did not carry parcels and bags with them. more..

Oct 19 (AP) Suspected Tamil Tiger gunmen shot dead a policeman and wounded another in Sri Lanka's volatile east Tuesday, the military said. The shooting came hours after an ethnic Tamil civilian was shot and wounded in what authorities said was an attack linked to fighting between rival rebel factions. more..

Oct 19 (LeN) UNP leader and presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday the UPFA presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse had virtually rejected an opportunity for peace under pressure from extremist elements like the JVP. more..

Oct 19 (NDTV) On the field things are looking reasonably good for the Sri Lankan cricket team as they are at second place in the ICC one-day rankings. But off the field it is a different story. An interim committee set up by the government is running the Sri Lankan cricket board, forcing the ousted board president Thilanga Sumathipala to go to court. more..

Oct 19 (AFP) Sleaze watchdog Transparency International reported that Chad, Bangladesh, Turkmenistan and Myanmar were perceived as the most corrupt countries in the world, while Iceland was the cleanest. Transparency International said in its annual report that serious levels of corruption existed in two thirds of the 159 countries surveyed, more..

Oct 19 (AT) The assassinations of the Principals of two leading Colleges in Jaffna is a condemnable act and should be condemned by everybody said V.Anandasangaree, the leader of the TULF. He pointed out, “These killings have sent a shock waves through out the Teaching Community and have caused immense grief to the students, parents and teachers.” more..

Oct 19 (TN) Tsunami affected families living in temporary shelters in several parts of the Trincomalee district are facing another displacement with the looming monsoon rains and associated flooding that will make the temporary shelters inhabitable. more..

Oct 19 (TN) An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) launched from the Joseph camp in Vavuniya for surveillance mission into the Liberation Tigers controlled area has come down in Vanni Wednesday afternoon, sources in Kilinochchi said. A UAV was seen coming down in Vignanikulam between 9th Mile and Karappukuththi, around 20 km northeast of Omanthai, more..

Oct 19 (SLA) FIVE YOUNG TAMIL TIGERS, claimed to have been abducted, conscripted and given weapon training for over eleven months by LTTE escaped from LTTE camp in PANICHCHANKERNI, VAKARAI and surrendered to troops at KADJUWATTE Army detachment, about 45 km southeast of BATTICALOA on Tuesday (18) at about 8.15 a.m. more..

Oct 19 (SLA) THE ASSOCIATION OF PRINCIPALS in TRINCOMALEE kept all government schools in TRINCOMALEE town and its suburbs closed on Tuesday (18) as a token of protest against assassination of school principals in JAFFNA by Tamil Tigers (LTTE). more..

Oct 19 (SLA) NAVAL TROOPS on duty in the general sea area off POINT PEDRO north have observed about 120 Indian fishing trawlers poaching in the Sri Lankan waters on 18 October 2005. Meanwhile, naval troops on 18 October 2005 arrested three fibre glass dinghies and sixteen fishermen from KUCHCHAWELI areas in MULLAITTIVU while they were engaged in fishing using explosives.

Oct 19 (UNP) UPFA presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse released his belated election manifesto yesterday proving that he is the candidate of the extremist JVP rather than the moderate SLFP. The manifesto took a hardline Sinhala Buddhist stance on the ethnic issue and the peace process, and put aside to any meaningful future negotiations with the LTTE. more..

Oct 19 (CT) Sri Lanka’s opposition says the Prime Minister’s policy statement has been presented in a new perspective. Addressing a media briefing at the office of the leader of opposition Tuesday, Deputy Secretary General of the UNP Tissa Attanayake challenged the Prime Minister to bring the JVP and the JHU to single platform. more..

Oct 19 (LT) In a press release the Religious Forum requests the whole society to protect democratic rights avoiding hostilities done by the saboteurs in the society. Ven. Bellanwila Wimalaratana on behalf of the Buddhists,, Arch Bishop Rev. Oswald Gomis on behalf of Roman Catholics, Kandiah Thilakanathan on behalf of Hindus, Rev. Dulip Sigera on behalf of Non-christians and Aksain Abdul Nasaar on behalf of Islam have signed this press release. more..

Oct 19 (LT) At a media conference following the launch of UPFA Presidential candidate Mr Mahinda Rajapakse’s manifesto last morning at BMICH, Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that ‘Mahinda Chintana’ is a ‘Vision Statement’, which is a deviation from a conventional manifesto. more..

Oct 19 (LT) Central Provincial Councilor Arugasamy says that United National Party Policy Declaration contains no provision for the wellbeing of the Tamil people. Mr. Arugasamy therefore emphasizes that Tamil people in such context should work for the victory of Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksha. more..

Oct 19 (LM) Parliamentarians should always respect the Speaker irrespective of whether they agreed or disagreed with any ruling from the Chair. I also was once a Speaker of this House but I am very sad about the conduct of members of our side of the House this morning, Foreign Affairs and Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike said in Parliament yesterday (18). more..