Oct 19 (LM) Even after the SLFP manifesto was launched at a BMICH ceremony, SLFP Prime Ministerial candidate Anura Bandaranaike was yet to catch a glimpse of the document and he insisted on the need to have a joint mechanism with the LTTE on tsunami reconstruction — "be it Mahinda -TOMS or P- TOMS". more..

Oct 19 (GT) THE government is to construct a highway linking Negombo and Trincomalee soon, Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Sarath Amunugama said at the inauguration of the Buyers-Sellers meet and SME fair of the construction industry at the BMICH, Colombo. more..

Oct 19 (TP) If election promises are to be believed, then Sri Lanka’s one million migrant workers — mostly in the Middle East — are in for a bonanza. Bandula Gunawardene, an opposition politician says that if Ranil Wickremesinghe, UNP Presidential candidate, wins the presidential poll, every migrant worker returning home would be entitled to a new, tax-free vehicle. more..

Oct 19 (TP) Deputy Tourism Minister Faizer Musthapha is to be expelled from the Ceylon Workers’ Congress at the next party congress, CWC deputy leader R Yogarajan told newspapers. He said the party was compelled to take this course of action as Musthapha continued to hold on to his portfolio while more..

Oct 19 (CI) Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lankan wicketkeeper, believes that a positive approach can help his side upstage India in the forthcoming seven-match one-day series, starting at Nagpur on October 25. "Our goal I believe is to go out there and from day one to make sure that everyone means business," said Sangakkara, more..

Oct 19 (PIS) Cornering the LTTE into making a commitment on human rights has been a mammoth task. Almost two and a half years into their initial rejection of an international monitoring mission on human rights, at the Hakone talks in March 2003, the LTTE has once again dodged the subject, insisting last week that the immediate need was for talks on the ceasefire. more..

Oct 19 (PIS) The South Indian Karnataka State Government has decided to deploy armed police personnel at 12 major reservoirs in the wake of fresh threats from the LTTE to blow them up, the Bangalore based ‘The Star of Mysore’ reported on Monday. more..

Oct 19 (PIS) Karuna aka V. Muralitharan, the breakaway LTTE eastern commander has appealed to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who heads the European Union, to take strong and firm action to proscribe the LTTE in the European Union member countries. more..

Oct 19 (SAMN) The United National Party has appealed to the Elections Commissioner to halt the use of government vehicles for electioneering. The party alleges that a stage and vehicles belonging to the Petroleum Corporation, 42-5215, 42-5089, GG 6011, GQ 3968, GH 4430, GD 9920, 57-1492, 68-2120 are being used in the campaign. more..

Oct 19 (SAMN) Executive Director of PAFFREL Kingsley Rodrigo yesterday appealed to leaders of the two mainstream parties to refrain from putting up 10,446 party offices countrywide as allowed under the Presidential Elections Act as it would only invitie further trouble in the run up to the elections already marred by two deaths and violence. more..

Oct 19 (LNP) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse yesterday said he will not tolerate separatism and he strongly believed in achieving peace without going to war. Addressing a large gathering at the BMICH after releasing his manifesto titled `Mahinda Chinthanaya` he said `I will not tolerate separatism and I strongly believe in achieving peace without going to war. more..

Oct 19 (LNP) 'The leader of the UNP hopes to issue fertilizer to farmers at Rs 550 as a subsidy, however, we will issue fertilizer at Rs 350 to farmers as an investment,' declared Presidential candidate Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse addressing a meeting at Galgamuwa. more..

Oct 19 (LNP) The Central Environment Authority (CEA) is allegedly ignoring a blatant act of pollution of the Kandy lake with solid waste by a leading hotel in Kandy, which is sabotaging the multi million rupee project to rehabilitate the Kandy Lake. more..

Oct 19 (DN) Presidential candidate Victor Hettigoda de Silva Wijedasa of the Eksath Lanka Pudujana Party (ELJPP) said that he has complained to the Commissioner of Elections that only two candidates are being given coverage with their photographs while eleven others have been ignored by the media. more..

Oct 19 (LBO) The government will replace 60 multi-day fishing boats out of the 195 destroyed in last December’s tsunami – hopefully before the first anniversary of the disaster. Fisheries Ministry officials on Tuesday said the 60 boats is only the initial installment more..

Oct 19 (NIP) The Sri Lankan fisherfolks including some women staged a demonstration in front of the Sri Lankan Naval base condemning the usage of banned nets by the Indian fishermen, said N J Bose, general secretary of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry Fishermen Federation, here on Tuesday. more..

Oct 19 (AP) Dozens of university students Wednesday protested outside the embassy of peace broker Norway in the Sri Lankan capital against a spate of attacks - including the killings of two school principals - allegedly by Tamil Tiger rebels. more..

Oct 19 (KT) THE Friday sermon at mosques across Sri Lanka was about the earthquake in Pakistan. The imams extolled the virtues of charity and urged the people to give freely to earthquake victims of our neighbouring country, which came to our help when we were hit by the tsunami catastrophe ten months ago. more..

Oct 19 (LBO) Sleaze watchdog Transparency International says it is concerned about aid flows into Sri Lanka, with the country more corrupt than last year and little political effort to spruce up its act. Sri Lanka has slipped on the global Corruption Index rankings, scoring a low 3.2 on ten over 3.5 last year, showing greater perception of corruption. more..

Oct 19 (AP) An unmanned Sri Lankan air force spy plane on a test mission crashed Wednesday in northern Sri Lanka, parts of which are under Tamil Tiger rebel control, the military said. The UAV had taken off from Vavuniya, 210 kilometers (130 miles) north of the capital, Colombo, more..

Oct 19 (CI) Sri Lanka's captain, Marvan Atapattu, has said that the tour of India will assess how well his team can perform away from home. Sri Lanka boast a formidable home record, with 30 wins from 77 matches, but they have recorded just 11 wins in 75 overseas matches. more..

Oct 19 (Reuters) Nearly 10 months after he was found among tsunami debris to become a beacon of hope and Sri Lanka's best-known survivor, 'Baby 81' celebrated his first birthday on Wednesday with a trip to a Hindu temple. more..

Oct 19 (IHT) Prime minister, Mahinda Rajapakse, has pledged to stop state asset sales to overseas investors if elected president in the Nov. 17 election. Sri Lanka's economy will be bolstered by developing agriculture, fisheries, construction and industry, according to a manifesto he released on Tuesday. more..

Oct 19 (LeN) The Tourist Development Authority Bill aimed at promoting country's tourist industry and setting up a fund for this purpose was passed in Parliament yesterday (18). During the second reading of the Bill, Foreign Affairs and Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike said the existing Tourist Board will be replaced by a Tourist Bureau and Hotel School will be upgraded with international assistance. more..

Oct 19 (BBC) Sri Lankan military confirmed reports of an air force unmanned spy plane crashing inside Tamil rebel territory on Wednesday. "LTTE had informed us and the report was confirmed by the government saying they have a missing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)" said the spokesman for the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Helen Olafsdottir. more..

Oct 20 (AT) In two separate communiqué s issued to the Asian Tribune Chitranganee Wagiswara, Sri Lanka's Ambassador to France, and Eric Fernando, director General of the President's Media Unit, have denied that President Chandrika Kumaratunga had a secret meeting with two LTTE apparatchiks when she visited Paris recently. more..

Oct 20 (Reuters) Sri Lankan allrounder Sanath Jayasuriya's recovery from a dislocated shoulder has suffered a setback after a freak accident playing water polo when he collided with the team physiotherapist. more..

Oct 20 (AP) Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels fatally shot a village official in northern Sri Lanka Wednesday while dozens of university students protested outside the embassy of peace broker Norway against a spate of alleged attacks by the guerrillas, military and students said. more..

Oct 20 (Hindu) President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Wednesday said she extended “full support and co-operation” to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse for the November 17 presidential poll. Ms. Kumaratunga denied reports in sections of the media of differences within the ruling SLFP and blamed the UNP for attempting to split it. more..

Oct 20 (AT) Science and Technology Minister Prof. Tissa Witharana decided to transfer Science and Technological innovations to rural areas through VIDATHA centers [Centre, which transfer technology for rural masses] and hope to use traditional street dramas to educate the masses about science and technology. more..

Oct 20 (TP) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse unveiled his long-awaited presidential election manifesto on Tuesday offering a host of welfare measures to combat the cost of living and promising to end the ethnic conflict through negotiations with all stakeholders instead of only Tamil rebels. more..

Oct 20 (LeN) Hambantota District UNP parliamentarian Sajith Premadasa says while Samurdhi recipients are only paid a meager monthly allowance between Rs. 140 to Rs 350, Samurdhi animators get a monthly allowance of 11,000 rupees. more..

Oct 20 (LeN) The Foreign Employment Bureau has organized 7 public rallies using state funds in support of Freedom Alliance candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa. The first of these rallies will be held on the 30th of this month in Kegalle. more..

Oct 20 (AT) Based on the latest census figures the World Factbook states that the Sri Lankan Tamils who were the second largest community (12%) has come down to 3.9 % in the census figures of 2001. The Sri Lankan Moors have shot up from the third position to No: 2 -- i.e .7.2%. The Indian Tamils is at 4.6%. more..

Oct 20 (TP) Dozens of Sri Lankan health workers went on strike in a one-day protest yesterday crippling work at hospitals and forcing operations to be postponed, local news agencies said. The workers put forward many demands mostly connected to increased wages of the hospitals’ minor and clerical staff, more..

Oct 20 (TN) Journalists and academicians Wednesday addressing the fifth death anniversary of late journalist Mr.Mylvaganam Nimalarajan held at the Media and Research centre of the Jaffna University appealed to the government to take steps to bring the culprits of the murder before court of law without any further delay, attendees to the event said. more..

Oct 20 (TN) The Council for Advancement of Education of Trincomalee District (CAETD) Thursday issued a statement appealing to all students, parents and intelligentsia to attend the Tamil National Resurgence Convention (TNRC) scheduled to be held on Saturday in the east port town in full strength. more..

Oct 20 (TN) Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) met with volunteer teachers at their Head Quarters in Jaffna located in the Sridhar theater Thursday morning and solicited their cooperation to do election propaganda on EPDP's behalf supporting the presidency of Mahinda Rajapakse, more..

Oct 20 (TN) Mr.Jeffry Lunstead, US Ambassador in Sri Lanka, paid a one-day visit to Trincomalee town Wednesday and held discussions with Trincomalee heads of State armed forces and Police and the members of the SLMM based in the east port town. His Secretary, Defense Attache and Political Affairs Secretary accompanied him, diplomatic sources said. more..

Oct 20 (SLA) SEVERAL TAMIL TIGERS (LTTE) with two pistols on two motorbikes have hijacked a lorry belonging to Mineral Sand Corporation, PULMUDAI at Milk Farm junction, LAYAGALA along with its driver and his assistant while it was moving between KINNIYA and VILGAMVEHERA in TRINCOMALEE district on 16 October 2005. more..

Oct 20 (SLA) A twenty-year old Tamil Tiger with his T-56 weapon and ammunition surrendered to the Police post in the general area of PULLUMALAI, about 47k.m. northwest of AMPARA on Wednesday (19) around 10.00 a.m. Disgusted Tamil Tiger cadre has reportedly escaped from an LTTE point in un-cleared areas with his T-56 weapon, more..

Oct 20 (UNP) The Mahinda Chintanaya is part two of the Rata Perata policy statement the UPFA put forward in 2004 to mislead the general public, UNP parliamentarian Kabeer Hashim told the media yesterday. more..

Oct 20 (UNP) The unitary nature of the Constitution has been incorporated in Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse’s Manifesto released on tuesday. SLFP’s federal solution to the national issue has gone with the election wind. more..

Oct 20 (CP) Colombo Bishop Rt. Rev. Duleep de Chickera said that with a view to a negotiated political settlement talks should commence forthwith to ensure dignity and political devolution for the Tamill people within the framework of a united Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 20 (LT) Addressing the media in Colombo yesterday, Mr Wimal Weerawansa, Propaganda Secretary of the JVP remarked that Prime Minister Mr Mahinda Rajapakse has put forward a manifesto with indigenous principles. more..

Oct 20 (LT) A program to enlighten the public on ‘Mahinda Chintana’ was held at a public rally in Vavuniya yesterday which was well attended by Tamil and Muslim community. A house to house campaign to educate the people has also been started. more..

Oct 20 (LT) Ranil Wickramasinghe says that the highest number of deaths reported after the Cease Fire Agreement was signed was from the Tigers Organisation. Addressing a mass rally held in Batticaloa, opposition leader Ranil Wickramasinghe said that about seven or eight Army informants have also been killed. more..

Oct 20 (PRIU) A Special Committee was appointed by President Chandrika Kumaratunga in the first week of August this year to review all aspects of security provided to the two main contenders for the Presidency. Following the findings of this Committee of high ranking Police and Security Forces personnel, more..

Oct 20 (Xinhua) The construction of the Colombo- Katunayake express railway line, Sri Lanka's first ever express rail link system, will commence next month. Railways Ministry sources were quoted as saying that the 200 million US dollars project funded by the Chinese government will be launched in Nov. after receiving Cabinet approval. more..

Oct 20 (LBO) About two million Sri Lankan women suffer from crippling, even fatal bone disease, squeezing an already stretched state healthcare system that spends to look after them. Women, especially aging women, are most susceptible to osteoporosis – a disease where bones lose its calcium, reducing mineral bone density. more..