Sep 28 (ANN) It is a matter for happiness that the European Union (EU) is beginning to see the LTTE for what it really is. The stern actions it has adopted against the outfit are timely and salutary. The UK deserves praise for having taken the lead in prompting the EU to react, the way it has, to LTTE violence, which is an insurmountable roadblock on the path to peace. more..

Sep 28 (BBC) There is no electricity for daily tasks in Malar Malligai's simple, concrete home in central Sri Lanka. Gripping her baby with one hand, she pounds the flour for the family's daily meals with the other. Two generations of her family have worked on tea plantations in the country, which are some of the most deprived places on the island. more..

Sep 28 (CT) Colombo is a haven for selected groups, but it is a hell for the low income groups who resides in shanties. “Shanties” is not a new concept for the Colombo residents. Most residents do not want to move with the shanties, because they thought the shanty dwellers are very notorious and low cast masses. more..

Sep 28 (SAMN) The UNP’s presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe Tuesday launched his manifesto aimed at ending hunger, unemployment and separatism while the ruling coalition’s candidate Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse’s campaign coordinator announced that their manifesto would be a revision of the Rata Perata program, more..

Sep 28 (SAMN) General Hamilton Wanasinghe, former Army Commander and Chief of Joint Operations Command (JOC) on Tuesday admitted that there was political interference in the armed forces but denied that the forces had been politicised. more..

Sep 28 (LNP) 'No organization can have a separate army in a Unitary State, other than the legitimate government of a country. Similarly, it is illegal, and morally wrong, for any group or organization to levy separate taxes from a section of the people,' said the Deputy Minister of Defence Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka, more..

Sep 28 (LNP) The CID has been ordered by Colombo Chief Magistrate Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena to impound the two passports of businessman, Charles Gnanakone who is said to have had a close relationship with assassinated foreign Minister Laksman Kadirgamar. more..

Sep 28 (LNP) Acting Transport Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna yesterday assured a quality, dependable and a safe public bus transport service by the new-look and commuter-oriented Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), which is to be re-established today at a colourful ceremony at Attanagalla, more..

Sep 28 (Xinhua) A sports kindergarten for Sri Lankan tsunami affected children will be set up in the Trincomalee District in Oct. by the Asian German Sports Exchange Program (AGSEP), Daily News reported Wednesday. The sports kindergarten is being set up with funds donated by well wishers from Germany, the paper said. more..

Sep 28 (Xinhua) Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse has pledged to establish a Children's Ministry to protect the rights of children and a systematic mechanism to secure women's rights if he is elected president, Daily News reported Wednesday. more..

Sep 28 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka's main left party the JVP or the People's Liberation Front has challenged the main opposition presidential candidate to reveal its method to solve the separatist armed conflict. more..

Sep 28 (HT) In his manifesto released here on Tuesday, Ranil Wickremesinghe, the candidate of the United National Party (UNP) for the Presidency, has laid stress on the economic problems facing the common man and down played the controversial issues relating to the peace process. more..

Sep 28 (BTA) MARCO Polo called Sri Lanka 'the finest island of its size in the world' - to others, it's an investment opportunity. The island, once called Ceylon, is now officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the teardrop-shaped country with 20 million inhabitants nestling at the foot of India. more..

Sep 28 (AP) American schools affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita might follow tsunami-affected Sri Lanka's example by encouraging children to discuss their trauma, a global aid executive said Wednesday. more..

Sep 28 (AP) Hundreds of Sri Lankan prison officers on Wednesday refused to escort suspects to court and demanded more security after gunmen fatally shot three of their colleagues aboard prison bus, an official said. more..

Sep 28 (AFP) Sri Lanka's Supreme Court ordered that a criminal investigation into the prime minister's handling of tsunami aid be suspended for almost three months after the premier claimed his election campaign was suffering. more..

Sep 28 (AP) The LTTE on Wednesday denounced as unfair and one-sided the European Union's decision to bar the Sri Lankan separatists from entering EU member countries. "The Tamil people and the Liberation Tigers are shocked at this decision by the EU," the guerillas' political wing chief S.P. Thamilselvan more..

Sep 29 (TN) TNA parliamentarians Mr. R.Sampanthan and Mr. Joseph Pararajasingam told the Japanese envoy in Colombo, Mr Akio Suda, Tuesday that International Community must play an unbiased role in advancing the the Sri Lankan peace process and expressed their concern over the stalled peace process between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Government, more..

Sep 29 (LBO) The fisheries ministry says it will foot 40 % of the cost of a new multi-day fishing boat, in its attempt to restock Sri Lanka’s fishing fleet that was lost to the tsunami. Officials estimate that the 40 % component would equal between Rs. 2 million and Rs. 3 million per boat which costs an average Rs. 6 million. more..

Sep 29 (LBO) Sri Lankan artistes with raw talent, a little Punjabi sound fused with Sinhalese and some management help are finding a ready springboard into India's music world. Household names in Sri Lanka, 'Bhathiya & Santhush' and 'Iraj Weeraratne', have made it on Universal Music India's newest album 'Number One Hits on the Continent', alongside other Indian stars. more..

Sep 29 (AP) A security guard died when unidentified attackers hurled grenades at a Tamil relief agency in Sri Lanka's volatile east Wednesday, police said. At least two grenades were flung at the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization in Batticaloa, 220 kilometers (135 miles) east of the capital, Colombo, more..

Sep 29 (AT) In an e-mail communication sent to Ms. Anne McLellan, the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, SLUNA of Canada has asked “we have yet to hear of any steps against LTTE, the terrorist organization in Canada, which allows it to conduct wide scale propaganda by operating several newspapers and broadcasting stations to shore up support and also raise funds for its terrorist warfare in Sri Lanka. more..

Sep 29 (BP) His father was in the driver’s seat of the family car Dec. 26 -- the day the tsunami hit. But now, at age 21, Nishan is head of the family. Responsibilities came quickly. The day after the tsunami, a local newspaper published a front-page photo of his father’s body -- along with others -- strewn haphazardly on the floor of a hospital in Galle, more..

Sep 29 (BP) Tailors have sewing machines again. Masons and carpenters have tools. A chicken farmer has a new coop. Families have houses in which to live. Children have smiles on their faces. And Sri Lankans are asking why. Why have Southern Baptists come to help them? more..

Sep 29 (BP) One hundred meters doesn’t seem that far -- but it’s a chasm preventing many Sri Lankans from returning to the lives they knew before the Dec. 26 tsunami changed everything. The government of this South Asian island nation now prohibits most Sri Lankans from building within 100 meters of the Indian Ocean’s edge. more..

Sep 29 (AT) United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan questioned about Norway’s passive role as a facilitator while dealing with violent acts including political assassinations and abduction of youths by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). more..

Sep 29 (AT) The statement made to the Parliament of New South Wales, Australia, by the Ms. Virginia Judge, on her return from a brief visit to Sri Lanka, caused a furore, with most of her critics challenging her on the misleading facts and figures quoted by her in defence of her LTTE hosts. more..

Sep 29 (TN) About five thousand Tamil people who came from LTTE controlled areas through Uyilankulam checkpoint to attend Tamil Resurgence Convention Wednesday were stranded in Mannar town when the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) failed to honor the agreement to reopen the checkpoint from 8 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. more..

Sep 29 (SLA) Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), once again violated the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) publicly on 28 September 2005 around 4.35 p.m. when they hoisted their flag during an LTTE event in the MANNAR municipal grounds. more..

Sep 29 (SLA) An instance where Tamil Tigers have advanced their Forward Defence Line (FDL) in the general area of NAGARKOVIL, about 31 km east of JAFFNA town was intimated to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) by the troops on 28 September 2005 around 9.55 a.m. more..

Sep 29 (wsws) Wije Dias, the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) candidate in the November 17 Sri Lankan presidential elections, will speak at the first public meeting of the party’s election campaign next week. Dias is SEP General Secretary and a member of the World Socialist Web Site editorial board. more..

Sep 29 (LT) Several awards were conferred to intellectuals at the State Literature Awards festival which was held at the BMICH yesterday. The Minister of Cultural Affairs Mr Mahindayapa Abeywardena was the chief guest at this ceremony. more..

Sep 29 (LT) Solutions could be found for all disputes including the National question says Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse. The Leader of the Opposition had said he wanted fifteen years to develop the country but he was not sure why he needed so much time for that said Mr. Rajapakse. more..

Sep 29 (LT) The closing date for applications for postal votes has been extended until the 10th October. Earlier it was scheduled to close the applications yesterday. The office of the Commissioner of Elections has indicated that the day will not be extended further. more..

Sep 29 (CT) In common sense, businessmen expect a high profit margin, if they invest millions of Rupees in any business venture. However they never pay high salaries or over time payments for their workforce, without studying their profits. more..

Sep 29 (LBO) Sri Lanka’s traffic police have sought new armory to force insurance companies to report road accidents, after discovering empty pages in national road safety records. There has been an average 20 percent drop in reported accidents, which traffic police allege is not due to a good driving habits. more..

Sep 29 (LBO) The EU donates satellite pictures of Sri Lanka’s coastline before and after the tsunami, to help reconstruction. “As an essential contribution to help post-tsunami reconstruction in Sri Lanka, the European Commission (EC) has delivered to the Sri Lankan authorities, more..

Sep 29 (Hindu) After years of equivocation, the European Union has finally woken up to the terrorist character of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. That it took the brutal assassination of Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar for the EU to realise this is no consolation, but it could mean his death was not totally in vain. more..

Sep 29 (ANN) The United Nations is funding an SLMC-NUA (Sri Lanka Muslim Congress-National Unity Alliance) effort to evolve a common position for the Muslims in the peace process. The Island learns that the UN Development Programme is releasing US$40,000 directly to the Peace Secretariat for Muslims (PSM), more..

Sep 29 (LM) Today our Traditional moral values have declined to such an unimaginable extent, that our mothers and sisters are not safe even at their own homes. It is impossible to predict the future of this society, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse told a gathering of over 6,000 women party supporters at Temple Trees, on Monday Sept. 26. more..

Sep 29 (SAMN) Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, A. H. M. Fowzie has requested Sarath Ekanayake, Chief Minister of the Central Province to permit Muslim girls in Tamil schools in the Central province to wear headscarf hijab in keeping with the Islamic tradition, a Ministry press release said on Tuesday. more..

Sep 29 (UNP) The UNP on Tuesday issued the following statement on an Island newspaper report of september 27, 2005 headlined “PNM wants Ranil’s connection with Gnanakoon probed”. The Patriotic National Movement a well known appendage of the JVP is backing Prime Minister Rajapakse for the presidency against Wickremesinghe. more..

Sep 29 (LNP) UNP Presidential Candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said he would revise every agreement including the Norochcholai power project entered into by the government after August 25. This was the date when the Supreme Court ruled that a Presidential Election should be held this year. more..

Sep 29 (LNP) The Jatika Hela Urumaya (JHU) yesterday condemned the statement made by Jaffna Bishop Rt.Rev.Dr.Thomas Soundaranayagam, who urged the international community to facilitate the granting of self governance to LTTE in the North and Eastern provinces. more..

Sep 29 (LNP) The Combined Organization to Protect the Samurdhi Movement yesterday invited UNP presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesighe or parliamentarian Sajith Premadasa for an open debate to prove whether the UNP-proposed 'Siya Shakthi' or the 'Samurdhi Movement' was more suited to eliminate poverty. more..

Sep 29 (DN) The Public Enterprises Reform Commission (PERC), functioning under the direction of the President, has finalised bids, offers and investments for several re-development assignments, which are awaiting Cabinet approval for conclusion and implementation, a Government news release said. more..

Sep 29 (CI) Anura Tennekoon, former Sri Lanka captain and currently manager of the Sri Lanka A team, called on the Sri Lankan cricket authorities to seriously consider preparing pitches with pace, bounce and grass at home if the country is to arrest the decline in quality batsmen. more..

Sep 29 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga has pledged to extend government support to both public and private bus operators to upgrade their services and help them run as profit making ventures. more..

Sep 29 (KUNA) Ambassador of Sri Lanka here Yousef Izzuddin appreciated help of Kuwait government and people during the Tsunami crisis that hit his country. He said in a news conference Wednesday that the Kuwaiti people have donated over KD 30,000 to overcome the crisis. more..

Sep 29 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's economy grew 6.0 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the government statistics department said on Thursday, outpacing a first quarter expansion of 4.8 percent due to growth in services and industry. more..