Sep 21 (LBO) Public sector trade unions in Sri Lanka demand legal changes to trade union laws to lobby under a common front. Sri Lanka’s public sector contains around 800 trade unions but trade unions say they are restricted by law, from joining together. more..

Sep 21 (Reuters) Flanked by hardline Marxists and Buddhist monks in saffron robes, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse made his election pitch on Tuesday to a sea of red flags despite a policy rift in his party. more..

Sep 21 (ANN) The ancient Sinhalese showed considerable skill in the utilisation of water. Water was used in a variety of ways. It was used for landscaping, as at Sigiriya where there are fountains and waterways. There were royal watercourses, such as Madulupitiya, ela and Kendala ela in Uva. (Brohier. Pt 3. p34) more..

Sep 21 (HT) By sewing up alliances with extremist Sinhala nationalist parties like the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Sri Lankan Presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa has shown that he knows his political arithmetic. more..

Sep 21 (ANN) While accusing the LTTE of carrying out political assassinations to undermine the truce, the Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference, yesterday (Sept 20) warned local political parties against undermining the fragile peace process while campaigning for the forthcoming presidential poll. more..

Sep 21 (ANN) Ambassador Jeffrey Lunstead has said the US lacks evidence to take action against the LTTE front Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) raising funds for war in Sri Lanka. What has happened to America? more..

Sep 21 (TN) Parliament began a one day debate Wednesday morning on extending the State of Emergency in the island for another month. The Sri Government declared State of Emergency on August 13 following the killing of its Foreign Minister Mr.Lakshman Kadirgamar allegedly by a sniper. more..

Sep 21 (TN) Tamil speaking people observed a general shut down in Trincomalee town and its suburbs, Wednesday, putting forward 8 demands, including the immediate removal of the unlawfully erected Buddha statue in the vicinity of the central bus terminal, about five months, and to lift the military occupation of the town since then. more..

Sep 21 (SLA) Continuing cycle of Tamil Tiger violence against Security Forces, Policemen and civilians in the east was repeated once again this afternoon (21) at about 1.00 p.m. by two motorbike-riding Tamil Tigers at IRUDIYAPURAM, BATTICALOA after throwing a grenade at a foot patrol. more..

Sep 21 (SLA) Security in the general area of TRINCOMALEE town was intensified this morning (21) after Tamil Tigers forced shop keepers, private and state institutions, schools and transport operators to keep off from their services since they have declared a day of general protest on Wednesday (21). more..

Sep 21 (SLA) Students at Eastern University in VANDARAMOOLAI, BATTICALOA staged an hour-long protest on Tuesday (20) at noon in order to condemn the Tamil Tiger grenade attack on the house of a lecturer on 13 September 2005. more..

Sep 21 (SLA) A Tamil Tiger from the Sea Tiger wing with a grenade was arrested by the Navy on Tuesday (20) around 10.00 a.m. while he was in the general area of MATHAGAL in JAFFNA. Investigations confirmed that the arrested Tamil Tiger, IRAMEAM SUWENDRAN (29) of ILLAVALAI, PALALY, was on a Tamil Tiger reconnaissance mission more..

Sep 21 (LBO) Over half the people that lost their jobs in Sri Lanka because of the tsunami, have found some kind of work but women and older people are facing difficulties. The tsunami left 9 out of 10 working men and women, in tsunami affected parts of Sri Lanka, jobless by end December last year. more..

Sep 21 (CT) After 9 months of the tsunami, some affected fishermen are still in their temporary huts and looking for alternative jobs to maintain their day-to-day needs in the devastated areas. Most NGOs are still with the affected community, but there are no signs from other responsible authorities to fulfill the demands of the affected community. more..

Sep 21 (GT) GOVERNMENT spokesman Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva has said that they were still undecided about who would fill the late foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar’s vacancy in parliament. Kadirgamar, assassinated on August 12, was appointed through the People’s Alliance (PA) national list. more..

Sep 21 (wsws) Mahinda Rajapakse, Sri Lanka’s prime minister and presidential candidate for the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), signed a election deal last week with the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a Sinhala supremacist party under the leadership of right-wing Buddhist monks. more..

Sep 21 (LT) Parents’ Community in Trincomalee today launched a Hartal in Trincomalee against the LTTE and handed over a communique of their grievances to the Human Rights Commission in Trincomalee. The communiqué states that the Principals of schools in the area face various threats and influence by the Consortium of Tamil Peoples – more..

Sep 21 (LT) Mr Vijitha Herath, the Politbureau Member of the JVP in a press release alerts on a crucial exposure over the National Television news broadcast on the last 17th regarding UNP Parliamentarian Dr Jayalath Jayawardena. more..

Sep 21 (LT) It is reported that Karuna fraction has distributed leaflets throughout Eastern Province urging Wanni tigers to join them or to leave the country before 24th of this month, according to Security sources. The Security spokesman added that the leaflet says that those who do not adhere to either of these factors would be assassinated. more..

Sep 21 (LT) No one will be allowed to divide the Motherland pledged Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse, Prime Minister and UPFA Presidential Candidate before thousands of people thronged to Town Hall Grounds yesterday. more..

Sep 21 (AT) Bail was denied to Prof. K.T. Ganeshalingam, popularly known as ‘Pongu Thamil Ganesh’ of the University of Jaffna, accused of sexually abusing well over 40 times, a thirteen-year girl Muthiah Yogeswary, who was employed as a domestic servant at his house, more..

Sep 21 (PIS) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse yesterday pledged not to breach the trust placed in him by the Nation, for restoring peace and prosperity to the Motherland. "I will create an environment for people of all ethnic communities and faiths to live in peace and harmony sans fear nor suspicion," more..

Sep 21 (LNP) The UNP yesterday accused the government of trying to turn the country into a sex worker`s paradise by amending the law to lower the age of statutory rape thus encouraging permissive sex among teenagers over 13. more..

Sep 21 (LNP) A doctor attached to the Medical Supplies Division, who was responsible for the purchase of the contaminated syringes, had been named as the head of a 4-man committee tasked with investigating the purchase, health ministry sources revealed yesterday. more..

Sep 21 (LNP) UNP condemned attempts by the government to lower the age of consent for girls to 13 from 16. `The cabinet last week decided to lower the age of consent for girls to 13 years from the present 16 years. Is the rape of young girls the priority in this country',` asked UNP Parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake. more..

Sep 21 (CI) Dale Steyn bowled South Africa A to a thumping ten-wicket victory in their opening one-day match at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, taking 5 for 20 in seven overs as Sri Lanka A were routed for 45 in just 21.4 overs. South Africa's openers, Andrew Puttick and Loots Bosman, then rattled off the required runs in a mere 29 balls. more..

Sep 21 (Xinhua) Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka for the first eight months increased by 11.7 percent over the same period last year, the Daily News reported Wednesday. A total of 51, 216 tourists arrived last month, showing an increase of 5.2 percent compared to the corresponding month in 2004, more..

Sep 21 (Xinhua) Legislators representing the Tamil minority opposed the motion to extend the state of emergency in Sri Lanka's parliament here Wednesday. The state of emergency gives sweeping powers to security forces to detain and question people and restrict public rallies and processions. more..

Sep 21 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) has planned to combat child sex tourism with a view to creating a socially responsible travel and tourism industry. The growth in international tourism does not only represent an economic boom for most tourist destinations. more..

Sep 21 (AFP) Tamil Tigers have no security cameras or guards protecting their bank. Yet they say it is the safest place for customers to deposit cash and gold both in times of war and peace. The Bank of Tamileelam (BOT) is not recognised by Sri Lanka's Central Bank but the rebel financial institution in Kilinochchi, more..

Sep 21 (IANS) Sri Lanka's peace process, increasingly getting bloodied by killings, is showing no "forward movement", says the country's Foreign Minister Anura Bandaranaike. "At the moment there is no forward movement," the brother of Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga said more..

Sep 21 (KT) THAT’S where the ruler of Nepal resides, my Kathmandu journalist friends pointed to a stately home fortified by a massive parapet wall interspersed with watchtowers. It did not take me much time to decipher the sarcasm because I saw the tri-colour Indian flag fluttering in the air in full mast. more..

Sep 21 (CI) Dilhara Fernando left Bangladesh reeling at 186 for 9, still trailing by 271 runs and facing the prospect of another follow on, when rain interrupted play shortly before tea on the second day at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo. Fernando produced menacing spells either side of lunch to finish with 5 for 60, more..

Sep 21 (Reuters) Sri Lanka on Wednesday extended a state of emergency imposed in the wake of the August assassination of is foreign minister, a murder the government blames on Tamil Tiger rebels though it has yet to find proof. more..

Sep 21 (AFP) Public transport came to standstill and offices, schools and banks remained shut in Sri Lanka's embattled northeast as Tamil residents protested a heavy military presence in the region. more..

Sep 22 (BBC) Three soldiers and a police constable were admitted to hospital after a bomb attack in the eastern Batticaloa district. The four were injured when a hand grenade was thrown at them in Iruthayapuram, outside Batticaloa town. more..

Sep 22 (BBC) Parliament of Sri Lanka has passed the extension of the State of Emergency for another month with a majority of 94 votes. Main opposition UNP has voted with the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to extend the Emergency Regulations. more..

Sep 22 (BBC) A solution for the national question could only be found under a federal structure within united Sri Lanka, the New Left Front (NLF) said. NLF Presidential candidate Chamil Jayaneththi said Sri Lanka will be divided into two countries under the unitary state structure proposed by some candidates. more..

Sep 22 (LBO) Sri Lanka's Central Bank is ramping up efforts to stamp out forged notes, after a steep rise in counterfeiting activities in the past few months, officials said Tuesday. Confirmed counterfeit cases went up to 2,009 last year, over 690 in 2003. more..

Sep 22 (LBO) November Presidential polls could stall an already delayed south port project, making Sri Lanka’s port sector more vulnerable to regional competition. After a number of failed starts later, earlier this year port officials said they expected to construction of a new container ports south of the Colombo Post to commence by October 2005. more..

Sep 22 (IANS) Inspections were carried out Wednesday at Dhanushkodi and Mandapam in Tamil Nadu for the location of the central office for the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project. The project, with an estimated cost of Rs.24.27 billion ($553 million), envisages a direct shipping link between India's west and east coasts that will not require ships moving around Sri Lanka. more..

Sep 22 (Reuters) With a burst of colour and a cacophony of beats, drummers from Ivory Coast to Iran kicked off a music festival in Sri Lanka on Wednesday that seeks to lure back tourists scared off by the ravages of Asia's tsunami. more..

Sep 22 (TN) "The government must end the emergency rule, if it wishes peace to prevail in the country," insisted Mr. R. Sampanthan, leader of the TNA parliamentary group Wednesday, during the debate in parliament on extending the Emergency Regulations. more..

Sep 22 (AP) Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels launched two attacks in eastern Sri Lanka Wednesday, killing a village counselor and injuring six others, as Parliament voted to extend a state of emergency rule by an overwhelming majority. more..

Sep 22 (TN) Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) Wednesday began its inquiry into complaints that Sri Lankan government security forces has again introduced the compulsory pass system for the fishermen of Vadaramaradchchi division in Jaffna district for fishing in northern sea. more..

Sep 22 (TN) Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers at the Muhamalai checkpoint refused to allow a lorry belonging to Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) taking cement for its rehabilitation work into Jaffna, Thursday morning, TRO officials said. more..

Sep 22 (SLA) One more roadblock of the Security Forces in the general area of MANKERNI, BATTICALOA came under LTTE hand grenade attack Wednesday (21) night around 10.15 p.m.. However, the grenade failed to explode. Later, troops conducted a search in the area. more..

Sep 22 (SLA) A sit-on fast, staged by six imprisoned Tamil Tigers demanding the presence of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarians at the BATTICALOA prison to intervene and secure their release, was finally dropped Wednesday (21) evening by those protesters after lawyers for them assured them of speedy action. more..

Sep 22 (LT) A request is calling the European Union (EU) to enlist LTTE as a terrorist body according to a spokesman for the British High Commission in Colombo. He added that the UK is committed to combating terrorism in all its forms, according to a news report. It further said that the UK banned the fundraising activities of LTTE IN 2001. more..

Sep 22 (LT) The United National Party says the they will gain huge victory of Ranil Wickramasinghe in the presidential fray. It has been planned to hold 120 main rallies which the leader of the opposition will address and with which the number of mass rallies will exceed 150. more..