Oct 8 (AT) Since of late, it is observed that the LTTE has intensified its killing spree against the Tamil rival groups, especially against EPDP. Furthermore the rebel outfit is seriously concentrating in targeting EPDP leader Douglas Devananda, who is elected as by the Tamils of the Jaffna peninsula as their Member of Parliament. more..

Oct 8 (TN) The UNP will hold a presidential election rally, the first to be held after handing in nominations, in the hill town of Kandy, Saturday evening. UNP presidential candidate Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe with the leaders of the CWC, SLMC and the UPF will address the meeting, political sources in Kandy said. more..

Oct 8 (SLA) A tractor load of metal which was being taken to the un-cleared area has been forcibly taken to an undisclosed destination by one Tamil Tiger in the general area of MAVADICHENAI, TRINCOMALEE on Thursday (06) afternoon, stated a complained lodge at SERUNUWARA Police on Friday (07). more..

Oct 8 (SLA) Two more teenagers have been reported missing from the general area of KUDAPOKUNA, about 15 km northwest of WELIKANDA, since Yesterday (07) morning according to the Police. Their fathers AMURTHALIGAMA and WELAUDAN have complained to the Police that their sons, K. AMURTHALINGAM (15) and WELAUDAN (14) did not return home after they went of home. more..

Oct 8 (SLA) Two Tamil persons employed as masons in the general area of VINAYAGAPURA, BATTICALOA, have died and nine more injured in a hand grenade attack on Friday (07) around 7.05 p.m. According to information, the deceases SELVARAJ SELVAKUMAR (14) and ARUMUGAM PARAMANADAN (26) were in the company of the injured persons when an unidentified gang of four threw a hand grenade towards them causing their death. more..

Oct 8 (SLA) A ten-year old Tamil boy who was abducted by Tamil Tigers while he was at the residence of one of his relatives in the general area of KILINOCHCHI, JAFFNA a few days back has surrendered to the troops at OMANTHAI Entry/Exit point Friday (07) around 7.30 p.m. more..

Oct 8 (SLA) One thousand seven hundreds and thirty four lorry (1,734) loads of food and other essential items had been dispatched to un-cleared areas in the northern province during the period between 30 September 2005 and 05 October 2005. more..

Oct 8 (SLA) Special Hindu pujas, Prayer sessions of Islamic and Catholic faiths, attended by large numbers of Senior Army Officers and Other Ranks were among a series of religious observances that preceded the forthcoming 56th Anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lanka Army and its Army Day (10th October). more..

Oct 8 (LBO) Top buyers like Liz Claiborne may not jump Sri Lanka’s ship yet, but next to fabric, are demanding polished up design skills, as suppliers become much more than just a sewing house. more..

Oct 8 (LM) ‘The support pledged by the Ceylon Workers Congress and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress would place the UNP leader and Presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe in a commanding lead at the November 17 election' said UNP's Kegalle district M.P, Kabeer Hashim at a meeting in Mawanella. more..

Oct 8 (CT) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse’s Chief Campaign Coordinator, Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday said that public funds have not been used for food and drink at Temple Trees. Samaraweera addressing a press briefing claimed that funds for entertaining supporters have been allocated under the election campaign fund and that they were all private funds. more..

Oct 8 (CT) The SLFP manifesto committee yesterday decided to leave out reference to a unitary state in a bid to reach a compromise between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse. The SLFP manifesto committee, which met yesterday, went through the draft forwarded by Rajapakse’s campaign committee and made several observations to ensure there was no conflict with SLFP policy. more..

Oct 8 (CP) Thousands of men and women who were victims of the ’88-’89 JVP insurrections yesterday thronged the UNP headquarters for relief, with UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya assuring them of employment. Jayasuriya pledged to eradicate the unemployment problem among those who lost family members during the ’88-’89 periods on a priority basis. more..

Oct 8 (SN) JHU conducted a Historical Pooja (Dharma Chakra Saddharma Pradeepa Pooja) which is a special type of a pooja held in ancient Sri Lanka to invoke blessings by the Sanga to the King to rule the country. This pooja was held at Kuppiyawattha Jayasekarama Temple with the presence of Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero & Ven. Rajawatthe Wappa Thero. more..

Oct 8 (LT) After handing over nomination papers Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse visited Vidyalankara Pirivena at Kelaniya for religious observances. Several Ministers and Parliamentarians of UPFA too joined him. Vidyalankara Pirivena was declared as an International Buddhist Center by the Prime Minister. more..

Oct 8 (LT) Rauff Hakeem, leader of Muslim Congress is to be questioned on the death of Kumari Cooray who committed suicide by setting herself on fire opposite Hakeem’s residence. The three wheeler driver who had brought Kumari Cooray to Hakeem’s residence had said that three of Hakeems security personnel had assaulted Kumari Cooray when she came to Hakeem’s residence. more..

Oct 8 (GDN) A NEW plea has gone out to help a Sri Lankan mother, five months after a road accident left her badly injured and unemployed. Former housemaid Warnakulasuriya Vivian Kanthi Fernando has received BD360 from Indian, Sri Lankan, the Filipino and Croatian donors in Bahrain, since her first appeal for help through the GDN, in August. more..

Oct 8 (PIS) Two LTTE members surrendered to Naval troops deployed at Norway island in Trincomalee harbour around 1.30 pm on Thursday (6), Navy sources said yesterday. The LTTE cadres were 18 years and 14 years old and they were residents of Trincomalee town area, sources said adding that the identity of the two boys was withheld with obvious security reasons. more..

Oct 8 (LeN) With presidential election campaigns now on after nominations, within the JVP there is a serious clash of political positions with a strong group of Central Committee members including one time outspoken Minister for Rural Industries and Trade Union leader Lal Kantha opposing the alliance with PM Mahinda Rajapaksa. more..

Oct 8 (LeN) It is reported that a group of SLFP parliamentarians is exerting pressure that the four former JVP Ministers should accept their portfolios again as Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has submitted nominations as the United People's Freedom Alliance presidential candidate. more..

Oct 8 (LeN) It is reported that the Joint Secretary of the Patriotic People's Movement, an affiliated organization of the Freedom Alliance and its constituent partner JVP, Ven.Elle Gunawansa thera has decamped and is working with Sirisena Cooray who recently rejoined the UNP. more..

Oct 8 (SAMN) STRICT guidelines are to be enforced in the operation of hotels, restaurants, clubs, karaokes, casinos and other recreational establishments to ensure that these establishments are not used for activities other than they are approved to cater to. more..

Oct 8 (SAMN) MOKSEVI Prelis, a qualified Engineer and an eminent Banker who was appointed as the new chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board, assumed duties on Friday, October 7. He has been involved in the Power sector as a member of the Power Sector Reforms Steering committee and as a member of the Monitaring and Advisary Committee on Power (MAC). more..

Oct 8 (LNP) Complaints of bribery and corruption against officers in the Public sector registered a significant leap in 2004, with 4626 such complaints being filed at the Bribery Commission. The Annual Performance Report of the Bribery Commission for 2004, presented to Parliament this week revealed that compared to 2003 jumped 26.7 percent, more..

Oct 8 (LNP) Kumari Cooray who hit the headlines after she set herself on fire in front of the residence of SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem, held a match stick and threatened to set herself on fire if she was prevented from seeing Mr. Hakeem, an eye witness said yesterday. more..

Oct 8 (LNP) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse said it is no wonder that the Ceylon Workers Congress leader, Arumugam Thondaman and the SLMC Leader, Rauff Hakeem have decided to be with the UNP at the Presidential Election as they had contested the general elections under the banner of the UNF, but the regional leaders in the areas represented by them are with me. more..

Oct 8 (SPUR) The LTTE is one of the listed Terrorist Outfits (TO) in the UN. It was somewhere in 1998 the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) Olara Otunu was sent to Sri Lanka to investigate into the LTTE's child recruitment as soldiers. more..

Oct 8 (DN) A member of the International Election Observers Team, Daniel Tripp from UK, said that the filing of nominations yesterday for the November 17 presidential poll by candidates of political parties and political groups was peaceful and the officials of the Elections Department, contenders and their supporters were mutually co-operative. more..

Oct 8 (NIP) Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, on Friday, dismissed the bail petition of a Sri Lankan who was charged of illegally transporting and abducting his children from Germany to Sri Lanka. According to the prosecution, Jenarajan alias Krishna Murali of Sri Lanka had attempted to illegally ferry his two children - Vidhushashini and Madhushashini - to the island. more..

Oct 8 (AP) A British human rights adviser arrived Saturday in Sri Lanka for meetings with security officials and Tamil Tiger rebels, a government official said, as sporadic violence continued on the war-torn island. more..

Oct 8 (AFP) Opposition leader launched his presidential election bid from this historic city urging unity among the deeply divided Sinhalese ahead of a peace deal with Tamil rebels. Former premier Ranil Wickremesinghe called on the island's influential Buddhist clergy to help unite the majority Sinhalese community, who mainly follow Buddhism. more..

Oct 8 (AP) A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake near the Pakistan-India border Saturday reduced villages to rubble, triggered landslides and flattened an apartment building, killing hundreds of people in both nations. Pakistan's army called the devastation "a national tragedy." more..

Oct 9 (TN) Pointing out that political killings "meticulously planned to apportion blame on [the LTTE]" in military occupied areas have reached a climax and that this "political vendetta" is claiming lives of innocent people, the Liberation Tigers in a letter to Head of the SLMM Mr Hagrup Haukland, requested the SLMM to more..

Oct 9 (CI) A galaxy of former and present Sri Lanka Test and one-day international players will line up at the R Premadasa International Stadium today to pay homage to the late Anura Ranasinghe, former Nalanda and Sri Lanka cricketer. They will participate in a day-night encounter between Ananda and Nalanda more..

Oct 9 (CI) When after ten years Muttiah Muralitharan and Darrell Hair got together in the middle in Melbourne, it was a quiet and friendly affair with no hints of the MCG controversy that initially brought them so much notoriety. more..

Oct 9 (CI) Arjuna Ranatunga led the tributes to the late Anura Ranasinghe, by scoring a matchwinning 58 not out in additon to two wickets and a catch, as Old Anandians secured a five-wicket win over their rivals, Nalanda. more..

Oct 9 (LT) Muslims in the Eastern Province have launched protests against the decision by Muslim Congress to support the UNP at the forthcoming presidential election. They have asked the Muslim Congress not to betray Muslim aspirations to the LTTE by joining the UNP. more..

Oct 9 (LT) All parties which have joined Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse’s presidential campaign are not communal say Mr. Ananda Sangaree. “The JVP or the JHU are not communalist parties. They have a high regard for the Tamil people. However, they are against the parties which commit murders and other forms of atrocities. more..

Oct 9 (BBC) The UNP has no intention to control prices in order to bring down the cost of living says former deputy minister of finance Bandula Gunawardana. The UNP has promised to bring down prices of a few food items such as milk food, dhal and dry fish in its election manifesto. more..

Oct 9 (AT) The former United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka Teresita Schaffer, presently the Director of the South Asia Program at the Washington think tank, Center for Strategic and International Studies, advocates that LTTE should be made a legal entity to make it an equal partner with the Government of Sri Lanka more..

Oct 9 (AT) Elections tend to overshadow most things in Sri Lanka. Now that the nomination day has come and gone and the countdown to the election has begun in earnest, it will be unrealistic indeed to expect the South to pay much attention to anything other than the contest between the two main candidates (and the President’s behind the scenes skirmishes against her chosen successor). more..

Oct 9 (AT) Dr Lawrence Perera’s name has gone down in the annals of the history of Sri Lanka as the first man to manufacture utility motor cars in Sri Lanka and is one who risked and took up the challenge of first local manufacture of cars and the product - economical and affordable ‘Micro Car’ is now fast selling in the local market and expected to export soon. more..

Oct 9 (LeN) The Presidential Candidate of the United Lanka People's Party, renowned ayurvedic product businessman Victor Hettigoda says one of his aims is to become friendly with the LTTE, consult their views and make them part of the state machinery. more..

Oct 9 (ANN) Chairman of the Hotel and Catering Management International Association (HCIMA) Kamal Hapuwatte said Sri Lanka is entering into a new era of tourism and hospitality management, after the dark period the industry went through due to the tsunami. more..

Oct 9 (TN) President of the Nallur Sankilian Community center, K Pulendrarasa, and more than one hundred members of the public met with Commissioner of the Jaffna Municipal Council C Sivagnanam in the community hall in Nallur Jaffna to discuss the lead role the Council should take in implementing community projects including the resurrection of the memorial for the Jaffna's last king Sankilian, more..

Oct 9 (LBO) September for Sri Lanka heralds among other things, the beginning of its peak tourism season – when the white skins throng the little island to catch some sun, sand, surf , a safari and a spin around the cultural hot spots. more..

Oct 9 (CI) Mathew Sinclair played a lone hand for New Zealand A with a fighting unbeaten 110 to help them to 192 for 5 at close of play on the second day of their four-day match at Kandy. With the Sri Lankans being bowled out for 284 earlier in the day, the match hung in the balance. more..

Oct 9 (CI) A magnificent innings from Michael Hussey, a top-notch allround display from Shane Watson and a searing first spell from Brett Lee were the main talking points as Australia pulverized an abysmal World XI side to clinch the Super Series by an emphatic 3-0 margin. more..

Oct 9 (SN) Over 5 thousand large crowd were present among the many yellow robed Bikkus and Bikkunis at the Bodu Maha Samuluwa, which was held on yesterday 08th of October 2005, evening at Maharagama. JHU began it’s Presidential Election campaign to support the candidature of Prime Minister Hon. Mahinda Rajapakse from this rally. more..

Oct 9 (LT) IGP has ordered that the security of the main candidates for the presidential election be strengthened. A meeting of the DIGs of all provincials headed by the IGP was held to discuss security for candidates. IGP Chandra Fernando ordered that security for public rallies should be strengthened where main candidates participate. more..