Oct 7 (TN) The European Union’s one-sided criticism of the Liberation Tigers for the ongoing violence in the east, has “reduced the complex security milieu in Sri Lanka to the dangerously simple logic of petulant aggression on the LTTE’s part,” the Tamil Guardian said in its editorial this week. more..

Oct 7 (TN) Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse, Prime Minister and Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, UNP leader and eleven others from other parties handed in their nominations to contest the forthcoming presidential election, which is fixed for November 17. more..

Oct 7 (TN) Eluthumaduval North Government Tamil Mixed School located in the high security zone of Thenmaradchchi in Jaffna reopened in its own buildings, after six years. Students, teachers and well-wishers led by the Principal entered the school buildings Thursday and cleaned the class-rooms, sources said. more..

Oct 7 (TN) Mannar Magistrate Mr.N.M.M.Abdullah Friday reprimanded the Mannar Police for taking into custody a Muslim woman while observing the islamic ritual " Iththa" after the death of her husband. more..

Oct 7 (TN) 131 teachers, 35 principals and 14 in-service advisors selected from all the twenty four education zones in the eight districts of the northeast province were felicitated for their services towards the development of education, more..

Oct 7 (SLA) CHAIRMAN FOR KOLOMBUTHURAI, UYILANADANKULAM HINDU Kovil (temple), JAFFNA was brutally decimated by Tamil Tiger pistol men this morning (07th October 2005) around 9.30 a.m. in north KARAIYUR area close to JAFFNA centre while he was on his way home after dropping his small child in school. more..

Oct 7 (SLA) TROOPS ON DUTY in the general area of KERATIVU jetty, about 22 km southeast of JAFFNA town, observed explosion of several rounds of Tamil Tiger mortar bombs in un-cleared areas in POONARYN on 6 October 2005 around 5.45 p.m. more..

Oct 7 (SLA) TWO TAMIL TIGER - ABDUCTED TEENAGE BOYS, during a religious ceremony at a Kovil (Hindu temple) and while returning from school some time ago ran away from LTTE detention and surrendered to Naval troops at NORWAY Island, TRINCOMALEE on Thursday (06) around 12.20 noon. more..

Oct 7 (SLA) ONE ARMY OFFICER, Two soldiers and a woman narrowly escaped death when unidentified Tamil Tigers (LTTE) detonated a hand grenade on SEA VIEW Avenue in the general area of TRINCOMALEE town on Thursday (06) night around 8.35 p.m. with the intention of provoking members of the Security Forces. more..

Oct 7 (SLA) REPORTS EMANATING from general areas of VAKANERI, about 07 km west of VALAICHCHENAI confirmed that a few hundreds of armed Tamil Tigers (LTTE) continue to roam about villages, south of VAKANERI as late as Thursday (06) night even after they were asked to get back to un-cleared areas, earlier on the same day. more..

Oct 7 (wsws) The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) in Sri Lanka held the first public meeting in its campaign for the November 17 presidential election in Colombo on October 4. More than 100 workers, young people and professionals came to listen to the SEP’s candidate Wije Dias and other SEP speakers, who addressed the meeting in both Sinhala and Tamil. more..

Oct 7 (UNP) The Bribery Commission on tuesday directed its Investigations Unit to commence investigations into the ‘Helping Hambantota’ issue following a complaint made by the UNP. The complaint to the commission was handed over yesterday by the Galle District MP, Gayantha Karunatilleke, more..

Oct 7 (wsws) One out of three children under the age of five in Sri Lanka underweight despite impressive social indicators. “With nearly one out of three children aged five or under being underweight, Sri Lanka has unusually high rates of child malnutrition, not only in absolute terms but also in relation to its income,” more..

Oct 7 (LBO) Sri Lanka's foreign donors are falling over themselves to channel aid to similar projects, but a lots needs to be done to co-ordinate and channel assistance to large projects, the island’s treasury secretary said Friday. more..

Oct 7 (LT) Being an alleged suspect of a roofing sheet theft, United National Party Deputy Mayor of Kotte Municipal Council Mr R Chinthaka Udayashantha was remanded till the 11th of this month by the Chief Magistrate and Additional District Judge Mrs Padmini N Ranawaka Gunatillake at Gangodawila Courts yesterday. more..

Oct 7 (LM) Doctors were yesterday battling to save the life of Kumari Cooray, who attempted to self-immolate herself in the compound of SLMC Leader Rauf Hakeem's private residence at Kollupitiya junction around 3 a.m., hospital sources said. A spokesman for the SLMC leader said that Hakeem had been shocked and saddened by the whole incident. more..

Oct 7 (AT) Norway has come up with a sudden spurt of diplomatic maneuvering to bring an end to the fast slipping international environment against Norway’s involvement in Sri Lanka under control, after the European Unions declaration imposing travel ban on the Tamil rebel outfit on last 26 September more..

Oct 7 (RW) As political problems persist in Sri Lanka, recruitment of child combatants by the LTTE is rising. In the wake of the tsunami in Sri Lanka, there was a brief interlude of harmony as Sinhalese and Tamils worked together to rescue survivors of the tsunami and rebuild damaged coastal areas. more..

Oct 7 (PIS) Child recruitment and continued abductions in the North and East by suspected LTTE cadres are going to be high on the agenda of Human Rights expert Ian Martin who is expected in the country tomorrow. more..

Oct 7 (PIS) Norway yesterday requested the LTTE to ensure the conduct of a violence free Presidential election, especially in the North and East. This request was made when Norwegian ambassador Hans Brattskar met LTTE political head S.P Thamilselvam in Kilinochchi. more..

Oct 7 (PIS) Former Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission Chief Trond Furuhovde and international human rights expert Ian Martin will arrive in Sri Lanka next week for a comprehensive discussion on security and human rights aspects of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA), Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said yesterday. more..

Oct 7 (PIS) The government said yesterday it was hopeful that an atmosphere conducive for peace talks would come out of the visit of former SLMM Chief Trond Furuhovde next week. Spokesman and senior minister Nimal Siripala De Silva told a news conference the government hoped the visit would help lead to the resumption of peace talks. more..

Oct 7 (LNP) The Supreme Council of the Muslim National Alliance (MNA), led by its Presidential candidate Hafiz Nazeer Ahamed, met leaders of the PA and UNP on October 3 to discuss 20 demands. The discussions, according to the MNA, had been cordial and promising. No final decision has been taken by the MNA who to support. more..

Oct 7 (LNP) The UNP has reason to celebrate the clinching of a deal with the CWC and the SLMC in the run up to the presidential election, where numbers do matter most. In the on-going war for percentages, both candidates are desperate for alliances, big or small. more..

Oct 7 (LNP) CEB Chairman Ananda Gunasekera revealed that the Board sustains a staggering Rs 40 million loss on a daily basis. `The present Board, during the last one and a half-year period, have been involved in an extremely difficult task of managing an Organisation which makes daily losses around Rs. 40 million. more..

Oct 7 (DN) The Government of Japan has committed over Japanese Yen 19 billion (approximately Rs. 17 billion) towards the construction of the Southern Expressway under Yen Loan Programme, and construction work commenced yesterday. Presently, Colombo, the economic centre of the country, and main cities in Southern Province such as Galle and Matara are mainly linked by National A2 Road, which is also known as Galle Road. more..

Oct 7 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka is hosting the first international spice festival with chefs from 13 countries, including India, attending the event that began Friday. The ten-day World Spice Festival includes a seven-day food promotion event with the participation of some of Colombo's top hotels, more..

Oct 7 (CI) Adam Gilchrist rocked the Telstra Dome with an innings of scintillating brilliance as Australia gained an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match one-day series with a 55-run win in Melbourne. After a tepid opening match, there were plenty of fireworks on display in the second game: more..

Oct 7 (AP) An unidentified gunman on Friday killed an ethnic Tamil man in northern Sri Lanka who was seeking employment with a party opposed to the Tamil Tiger guerrillas, the military and a relative said. Kandasamy Senthilkumaran, 45, was gunned down in Jaffna town by a man riding on the back of a motorcycle and died immediately, more..

Oct 7 (HT) The LTTE has said that it has not made up its mind about who it should support in the Presidential election because the ruling SLFP is still to bring out its manifesto. SP Tamilselvan, said that the Tamils' attitude towards the election would depend on a comparative analysis of the manifestos of the principal contenders –-Mahinda Rajapaksa of the SLFP and Ranil Wickremesinghe of the UNP. more..

Oct 7 (AFP) Peace broker Norway ruled out early direct talks between Tamil Tigers and Sri Lanka to save their truce although the rebels said they were ready for discussions before next month's presidential vote. The LTTE said they were prepared for urgent talks on the ceasefire, more..

Oct 7 (AP) Sri Lanka's prime minister and its top opposition leader filed past soldiers guarding the Election Commission office Friday to register as candidates for a vote that will determine the course of the country's peace process with Tamil rebels. more..

Oct 8 (RW) W.N. Danawathi has benefited from a British Red Cross cash for work scheme, which has helped her return to growing vegetables to feed her family. The scheme in Matara, southern Sri Lanka, paid Danawathi and others to unblock canals and drain stagnant water from paddy fields and prevent local roads from flooding. more..

Oct 8 (RW) Sri Lanka's fishing industry was ripped apart by the tsunami which destroyed thousands of boats and with them people's livelihoods. The main focus to date has been on repairing and replacing the smaller boats of poorer, individual fishermen. more..

Oct 8 (RW) Cheddipalayam is one of many fishing communities that lay in the path of the Tsunami, and 71 of the village's families have petitioned the Home for Human Rights for support. We go out to visit, and find that the families have gathered in a courtyard and are overflowing into the streets. more..

Oct 8 (RW) The Sewalanka Foundation of Matara has initiated action to promote welfare activities of people affected by the tsunami. Under the proposed programme a total of 1,552 transitional houses have presently been put up for tsunami displaced families in the Weligama, Matara, Devinuwara and Dickwella Divisional Secretariat. more..

Oct 8 (LBO) The two top candidates for Sri Lanka's presidency filed their election nomination papers Friday along with 11 outsiders vying for the all-powerful but low-paid job as head of state for the next six years. Election chief Dayanada Dissanayake said the 13 candidates filed their papers without objections. more..

Oct 8 (Reuters) Thirteen people registered on Friday to run for Sri Lanka's presidency, but the November election is seen as a head-to-head between Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and his predecessor that is too close to call. more..

Oct 8 (LEN) Handing over of nominations for the forthcoming Presidential elections were formally closed today (07th Oct.) at 11.30 am at the Elections Secretariat, Rajagiriya, and the Commissioner of Elections, Mr. Dayananda Dissanayake declared that only two of the 13 candidates had declared their assets and liabilities as required by the law. more..

Oct 8 (LEN) A former Finance Minister Ronnie De Mel who is well known for his fragile political loyalty is to support Freedom Alliance presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa at the presidential election. De Mel who entered politics through the SLFP held various ministerial portfolios under UNP and SLFP governments. more..

Oct 8 (AFP) Two main candidates for presidency, Ranil Wickremesinghe (left) and Mahinda Rajapakse, have filed their election nomination papers along with 11 others vying for the all-powerful but low-paid job of head of state. more..

Oct 8 (LeN) Basics in a Presidential election, like nomination and election days being fixed and deposits being made are over. With dates fixed for nominations, the state media took off by programming most of their air time in favour of the SLFP candidate, Mahinda Rajapaksa. The second phase of that campaign has now been launched. more..

Oct 8 (AP) European cease-fire monitors on Friday demanded that Tamil Tiger rebels release three Sri Lankan policemen who entered the insurgents' territory while pursuing a suspected British pedophile nearly a month ago. "They should be released immediately," said Helen Olafsdottir, a spokeswoman for the team monitoring more..

Oct 8 (TN) Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), a Sri Lanka Government registered NGO working exclusively in the NorthEast, released its six-month report this week on TRO's tsunami activities. TRO was praised by many international relief organizations and media for its effectiveness in attending to the people affected by the disaster. more..

Oct 8 (TN) 131 teachers, 35 principals and 14 in-service advisors selected from all the twenty four education zones in the eight districts of the northeast province were felicitated for their services towards the development of education, at an event organized by the Provincial Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Colombo Ministry of Education more..

Oct 8 (AT) To enhance the capacity and competitiveness of the domestic construction industry (CCI), to meet the increasing demand of the reconstruction and rehabilitation exercise of Tsunami affected areas as well as other development efforts, more..

Oct 8 (AT) The South Asian preparatory meeting for the 4th World Water Forum is to take place in Colombo next Thursday, 13 October. The 4th World Water Forum, is scheduled for Mexico in March, 2006. Meanwhile an important gathering of South Asian water professionals in Colombo would be held on October 11 and 12 more..

Oct 8 (AT) Consequent to the setting up of the Free Trade Zones, specially the first and the large of such FTZ at Katunayake, the authorities for the last 20 years failed to provide hostel facilities. Due to this failure, the private households who provide boarding facilities to a large number of girls have been exploiting them, more..

Oct 8 (LSN) Later this month pro-life leaders from Human Life International and other pro-life groups will travel Sri Lanka on a speaking tour to expose the population control agenda "of the US Government and the United Nations." more..

Oct 8 (BBC) A new report from the World Bank on Sri Lanka poses new challenges to the candidates of the forthcoming presidential elections. The report says, "Even though performance in some key areas has been impressive, fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 will require stepping up efforts to address critical challenges." more..