Oct 26 (Reuters) Stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday, retreating from all-time highs as investors skimmed profits after two weeks of strong gains in the leisure sector, brokers said. The key Colombo all-share index closed down a provisional 0.83 percent or 12.97 points at 1,545.33 points. more..

Oct 26 (AP) The Canadian Embassy in Sri Lanka may reopen on Friday after a suspicious white powder found in a passport and feared to be anthrax is tested, an official said. A Buddhist monk with powder on his passport sparked a security scare at the Canadian High Commission on Monday, prompting authorities to close the building and evacuate staff. more..

Oct 26 (AN) The grand iftar party for all Sri Lankans living in the Kingdom will be held at the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh on Thursday. The party is being organized by a group of Sri Lankan philanthropists in the capital on the initiative of Sri Lankan Ambassador Ibrahim Sahib Ansar who will be the chief host at the breakfast. more..

Oct 26 (LT) House Affairs Committee of the parliament has decided to increase prices of meals those are given to parliamentarians at a very cheap price. The new price after proposed hike will be ten times than the current price, parliament sources reported. more..

Oct 26 (LT) Former UNP parliamentarian Lilantha Perera, the suspect who was charged for selling of galvanized shelter sheets was bailed out by the courts for Rs. 10million. This bail includes personal and cash bonds. Lilantha Perera was a Member of Parliament during the former UNP regime. more..

Oct 26 (LT) The budget the UPFA government is to present is a fraud says Bandula Gunawardene. Several bogus projects have been included in the budget to be presented says Bandula Gunawardene. more..

Oct 26 (ANN) Hundreds of striking fishermen had on Sunday made preparations for their proposed sail to Sri Lanka on October 28 as part of their plan to protest against the detention of fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, The Hindu reported. more..

Oct 26 (PSL) President Kumaratunga who also holds the Cabinet portfolio for Education has decided to enhance facilities for tertiary education. Work in this regard will commence with immediate effect. more..

Oct 26 (PSL) National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) has launched on several projects to uplift the living conditions of village dwellers in the Eastern districts. A majority of the populace in these rural areas are Muslims. more..

Oct 26 (PSL) The first meeting of this Political Committee of the National Advisory Committee for Peace and Reconciliation NACPR will be held on Monday 1st November, 2004. Two representatives from each political party represented in Parliament have been invited to attend these meetings. more..

Oct 26 (AT) President has appointed S.M.J.Senaratne, a retired Sri Lanka Administrative Service Officer and the former Secretary of the Presidential Truth Commission on Ethnic Violence (1981 � 1984), as the new Secretary General of the National Advisory Committee for Peace and Reconciliation. more..

Oct 26 (AT) Rumors are afloat about the resignation of Jayantha Dhanapala from his position as the Secretary General of the Peace Secretariat, for undisclosed reasons and as rumors persistently emerges, especially from outside Sri Lanka, details remains more and more sketchy. more..

Oct 26 (MIC) An application of Tamil Eela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal-TamilEela People's Liberation Tigers to be registered as a recognised political party in Sri Lanka is now under consideration of the Commissioner of Elections. The party was formed under the leadership of Karuna one month ago. more..

Oct 26 (PIS) Ending days of speculation that LTTE's Sea Tiger Chief Thillayampalan Sivanesan alias Soosai had split from the Wanni leadership, Soosai returned to the Wanni yesterday morning after receiving medical treatment in Singapore. more..

Oct 26 (PIS) The LTTE is reported to have asked the TNA to prevent Karuna and his supporters from gaining ground. The discomfiture caused to the LTTE by Karuna's moves in challenging the Tiger organisation, accusing it of even killing 20,000 Tamils and forming alliances with anti-LTTE groups, is understandable. more..

Oct 26 (DN) The Health Ministry has launched a special investigation into a multi-million rupee financial scandal that has rocked the Colombo National Hospital (CNH). The mastermind behind the scam is said to be an Accounts Clerk of the CNH, alleged to have channelled doctors' salaries into his personal account. more..

Oct 26 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers killed a Swiss national in a grenade attack on Monday night, police said -- the first foreigner to die at the hands of the rebels since a 2002 ceasefire halted two decades of civil war. more..

Oct 26 (Reuters) Sri Lankan police on Tuesday accused Tamil Tiger guerrillas of killing a Swiss national in a grenade attack, but the rebel group denied any involvement and monitors of a two-year ceasefire said they had found no proof. more..

Oct 26 (Reuters) Drinking tea may help protect against Alzheimer's disease, though it is by no means a cure for the brain-crippling illness, British scientists said on Tuesday. Scientists at Newcastle University in England said their research shows that a regular "cuppa" could slow development of the affliction that fogs the memory of otherwise healthy people. more..

Oct 26 (Bernama) -- One of India's biggest ocean development ventures - the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project - has drawn strong protests from both Indian and Sri Lankan environmentalists who say it would destroy the ecosystem and reduce fish stocks in that part of the sea. more..

Oct 26 (SLA) One Tamil man was killed and three others were seriously injured in the general area of WELLAWATTE, COLOMBO-6 on 25 October 2004 around 9.15 p.m. when an unidentified group of suspected LTTE men from WANNI faction fired at them for reasons best known only to the assassins. more..

Oct 26 (SLA) An attempt by two female LTTE cadres to take a tool kit of the T-56 weapon into cleared areas across the MANKERNI Entry/Exit point was prevented on 25 October 2004 around 7.45 a.m. by the policemen and troops on duty at the roadblock. more..

Oct 26 (SLA) Major General Karl Eikenberry, Director for Strategic Planning and Policy, US Pacific Command along with three more senior US Army Officers was in Jaffna on Friday (22) during an official visit to Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 26 (Xinhua) Main opposition said on Tuesday the narrow political agenda of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's government has cast a shadow over her efforts to revive the stalled peace negotiations with the Tamil Tiger rebels. more..

Oct 26 (AT) Hans Ulrich (61) a Swiss national residing in Jayanthipura in the eastern town of Batticaloa was killed in a grenade attack, allegedly by unidentified men suspected to be from the LTTE on Tuesday, night around 7.30 pm local time military sources said. more..

Oct 27 (TN) The Vallai Bridge, the main link between the Vadamaradchi and Valigamam divisions of Jaffna, collapsed Monday afternoon, causing severe traffic problems on the major artery between Pt. Pedro and Jaffna towns. more..

Oct 27 (TN) Supreme Court Tuesday directed the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to submit a report by 3rd December on the possibility of allowing cultivation in the agricultural lands in the high security zones (HSZ) occupied by the SLA soldiers in the Jaffna district, more..

Oct 27 (TN) Several civil groups Monday held a demonstration and a sit-in-protest in front of the Uduvil Divisional Secretariat demanding the closure of a liquor shop that opened from businees Monday morning in Inuvil area in Valigamam division in Jaffna district, more..

Oct 27 (TN) The basic daily salary for estate workers is to increase by Rs.14 to Rs.135, according to a joint agreement reached between Plantation Owners Association (POA) and Upcountry Trade Unions in Colombo Tuesday, sources said. more..

Oct 27 (TN) UNP would take every possible step to stop President Chandrika Kumarathunge's move to extend her Presidency through a referendum by extra-constitutional means for another term, said UNP's media spokesman Professor G.L. Peiris addressing a press briefing in Colombo Tuesday. more..

Oct 27 (BS) The government plans to bar crude oil carriers from traversing the proposed Sethusamudram Canal owing to environmental concerns. Vessels carrying petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) cargo would, however, be allowed. more..

Oct 27 (HT) The Lanka Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC) is to put up a US$ 4.5 million lubricant plant at Trincomalee in Eastern Sri Lanka by March-April 2005. The Trincomalee plant with an annual capacity of 15,000 metric tones, would be making industrial as well as automotive lubricants. more..

Oct 27 (AFP) Sri Lanka's Australian coach John Dyson said his side had started to emulate some of the gritty toughness of world champions Australia and was putting its new attitude to good use against Pakistan. more..

Oct 27 (AFP) Sri Lankan star Muttiah Muralitharan hopes he will be allowed to bowl his controversial 'doosra' delivery after the International Cricket Council announced it was holding a review on illegal bowling. more..

Oct 27 (Rupavahini) A UNP provincial councilor has assaulted a staff correspondent of the Dinamina newspaper who was assigned to cover the UNP protest demonstration in Kandy. Dinamina staff correspondent Sanjaya Asela Mathurata who sustained injuries in the attack has been admitted to the Kandy general hospital. more..

Oct 27 (Rupavahini) The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna steps into transform the maiden budget of the government to a major initiative to fulfill the aspirations of the people. The leader of the MEP, minister Dinesh Gunawardene has said that a series of proposals have been made by them to include in the budget with a view to strengthen the local economy. more..

Oct 27 (AT) The pistol gang of the LTTE, in their ruthless terror campaign against the loyalists of the breakaway leader Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Colonel Karuna, gunned down another Karuna loyalist in Tamil populated area in Colombo on Monday night. more..

Oct 27 (AT) India and Sri Lanka are in the final stages of concluding a bilateral defense cooperation agreement. The proposed pact, which is expected to be signed by the end of the year, could see India's role in the island nation increase significantly. more..

Oct 27 (AT) The peace diplomats are coming back to Sri Lanka, a sign to many in the country the LTTE could be ready to head back to the bargaining table. Japan's special envoy for the peace process, Yasushi Akashi, is scheduled to arrive this week. more..

Oct 27 (IL) Hitting out at the Wanni LTTE faction yesterday, the Government's main ally the JVP demanded an immediate stop to the LTTE killings and abductions. The party has launched a protest to the slayings and kidnappings in yet another island-wide poster blitzkrieg in all three languages. more..

Oct 27 (IL) Norway has warned that Sri Lanka's peace process might be pushed to the backyard if the government and the LTTE did not take concrete steps to resume peace talks soon. The Tiger Peace Secretariat quoted Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen as making the statement when he met LTTE political Wing leader S.P. Tamilselvan in Oslo. more..

Oct 27 (BBC) The police in Sri Lanka say that an extraordinary partnership forged between an army deserter and a former LTTE militant has yielded a fortune. A band led by the two former rivals in Sri Lanka's decades old war have masterminded a number of vehicle thefts, assassinations and extortion of ransoms, told the Vavunia police. more..

Oct 27 (BBC) Sri Lanka's influential Buddhist clergy is demanding an apology from the Canadian High Commission in Colombo. Venerable Kotapola Amarakiththi told Sandeshaya on Tuesday that three Buddhist priests who called at the high commission for visa were forcibly disrobed, searched and forced to shower. more..

Oct 27 (TP) Engineers at Sri Lanka�s Ceylon Electricity Board have warned they will resort to trade union action if immediate steps are not taken to accelerate the implementation of the long-delayed Upper Kotmale and Norochcholai power projects. more..

Oct 27 (TP) Muslim parliamentarians have been assured by Sri Lanka�s Peace Secretariat that consideration would be given for an independent Muslim delegation to be included when Sri Lankan peace talks resume. more..

Oct 27 (TP) The import of �babul� betel � widely used by Sri Lankan schoolchildren as a stimulant drug � is to be banned. Public Security Law and Order Ministry Secretary Tilak Ranaviraja has asked the Controller of Imports and Exports to ban the import of �babul� betel. more..

Oct 27 (SLBC) About 600 Sri Lankan female workers in Kuwait returned to the country during the last two months after encountering difficulties at the hands of their employers. The housemaids had been sent home by Sri Lankan authorities in Kuwait after studying their cases.

Oct 27 (LBO) Any new levies that the government proposes for its 2005 budget shouldn't be applied retroactively, as such a policy will erode foreign investor confidence, a tax expert warned Monday. The government, due to present its budget for 2005 on Nov. 18, is expected to propose new taxes to cut its budget deficit. more..

Oct 27 (LBO) The odds for star-spangled Sri Lankans to strike it rich in a game of chance just got better, with a third lottery operator now active in the market. The Mahapola Authority�s lotteries subsidiary launched its first in the series of scratch or instant lotteries in October, more..

Oct 27 (TN) Mr.Wagn Wikel, a Danish citizen with a diplomatic and military background, has been appointed Deputy Head of the SLMM and will assume duties on November 8. He will be replacing Mr.Hagrup Haukland who has been serving in this capacity for about two years, more..