Oct 3 (HT) Amidst loud protests in Sri Lanka over India's plan to dig a shipping channel through the Pak Strait, a Tamil geographer of Jaffna University has come to its defence saying that the project will be a boon rather than a bane for the war-shattered economy of Jaffna. more..

Oct 3 (AFP) Latest bid to revive the peace process with Tiger rebels has suffered a stillbirth with the country's main opposition calling for a boycott of the new initiative, political sources said. President Chandrika Kumaratunga is due to launch a "National Advisory Council for Peace and Reconciliation" on Monday. more..

Oct 3 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's leading singer Nanda Malini (L) pays her last respects to slain film idol Gamini Fonseka, during a funeral ceremony at the Independence Square in Colombo, October 3, 2004. more..

Oct 3 (Reuters) Sri Lankan silver screen idol Gamini Fonseka was honoured with a state funeral on Sunday, his remains paraded through Colombo by thousands of fans in tribute to a man credited with transforming Sinhala-language cinema. more..

Oct 4 (HT) The Indian Football Association's (IFA) efforts to give the IFA Shield a look of sub-continental championships fell flat at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday when the Sri Lankan side, Renown Sports Club, lost to Mohun Bagan by nine goals. more..

Oct 4 (TN) Over thousands of Upcountry workers staged a protest campaign at Hatton main market, today afternoon, demanding increase in salary for estate workers and demanding that Collective Agreement (CA) should include other trade unions and should not be exclusive to Ceylon workers congress (CWC), more..

Oct 4 (TN) Mr.Soorasingham Prakash aged 19 was admitted Sunday night to the Valvettithurai government hospital with serious injuries alleged assaulted by a group of soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army stationed at the Viyaparimoolai army check point in Vadamaradchchi division in Jaffna district, more..

Oct 4 (TN) Majority of paddy fields in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district cannot be cultivated during the forthcoming season as several channels located inside the high security zones are blocked by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), preventing water flow into the sea, more..

Oct 4 (TN) Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Erik Solheim Sunday addressed the LTTE Constitutional Affairs Committee meeting in Geneva during its third day sessions, sources in Geneva said. more..

Oct 4 (LT) A proposal to abolish the pensions to the Parliamentarians has been submitted to budget proposals by the JVP. The people�s servant who gets elected to serve the people should be a model to the people says the JVP. more..

Oct 4 (AT) President Chandrika Kumaratunga while expressing her disappointment over Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe's decision not to participate at the National Advisory Council on Peace and Reconciliation (NACPR) on Sunday urged him to reconsider his decision. more..

Oct 4 (AT) The National Advisory Council on Peace and Reconciliation (NAC) convened by President Chandrika Kumaratunga in a bid to reach consensus among political parties over the resumption of peace talks with LTTE and on a final solution to the ethnic problem is ready to have its first meeting today in Colombo. more..

Oct 4 (AT) President Chandrika Kumaratunga in a letter addressed to Ranil Wickremasinghe said that through the NACPR she was not seeking a consensus as a precondition to either begin talks with the LTTE or to make the NACPR responsible for decisions regarding the commencement and continuation of talks with the LTTE. more..

Oct 4 (BBC) Large crowds braved the rainy weather to pay there last respects to the emperor of the Sinhala silver screen, Gamini Fonseka. Around six thirty in the evening clouds of smoke emerged above the chithakaya and the man who was an unchallenged hero for decades begun to turn in to ashes. more..

Oct 4 (TP) The UNP and the Jathika Hela Urumaya, a group of Buddhist monks in parliament, will provide the UPFA government with conditional support to pass the Elections (Special Provisions) Bill making the national identity cards (NIC) compulsory for voters at all future elections. more..

Oct 4 (TP) The UNP and the Jathika Hela Urumaya, a group of Buddhist monks in parliament, will provide the UPFA government with conditional support to pass the Elections (Special Provisions) Bill making the national identity cards (NIC) compulsory for voters at all future elections. more..

Oct 4 (TN) A civilian was shot dead by gunmen suspected to members of the paramilitary lead by renegade Liberation Tigers commander �Karuna� Sunday night around 8 in Omadiyamadu, an interior village near the Batticaloa-Polannaruwa district border, Police said. more..

Oct 4 (SLA) Two civilians who came under attack by LTTE gunmen in the general un-cleared area of VALAICHCHENAI on 02 October 2004 died on the spot, a complaint made to the Police by a civilian stated. more..

Oct 4 (SLA) A resident from KALKUDAH area, who had received gunshot injuries in the general un-cleared areas of KIRAN, VAKARAI on 30 September 2004 around 6.00 a.m. had been admitted to the POLONNARUWA hospital. more..

Oct 4 (SLA) A twenty-four year old LTTE female cadre, who tried to commit suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule had been admitted to the BATTICALOA hospital at about 11.45 p.m. on 02nd October 2004. more..

Oct 4 (SLA) The LTTE flag was once again hoisted at a ceremony, headed by Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarian Hon. Ms. PADMINI SIDAMBARANATHAN (MP) in the general area of JAFFNA on 03 October 2004 around 10.30 a.m. more..

Oct 4 (SLA) A group of fishermen in the general area of MADURUOYA had found two T-56 weapons from the jungle areas of KANDEGAMA on 02 October 2004. These items had been handed over to the ARALAGANWILA Police station. more..

Oct 4 (PRIU) Gamini Fonseka was an honest and forthright artiste who took pain to assign pride of place to local cinema as well as to the members of his fraternity, President Chandrika Kumaratunga said in a condolence message issued yesterday. more..

Oct 4 (CI) Marvan Atapattu knows the value of home advantage, and he certainly thinks beating Pakistan in Pakistan will be a challenge. "Cricket is a game of uncertainties and I wouldn't want to predict anything at this stage," said Atapattu, as Sri Lanka departed for Pakistan on Sunday more..

Oct 4 (TI) The petroleum ministry has pulled up ONGC and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) for meddling around in Indian Oil Corporation�s (IOC) turf in Sri Lanka. Sources disclose that petroleum ministry has instructed ONGC and BPCL to shelve their downstream marketing plans in Sri Lanka, more..

Oct 4 (SLBC) The Government has decided to allocate Rs 6.5 billion for the railway sector under its short term action plan to upgrade the train service. The allocation is aimed at providing better facilities and attracting more commuters to the train service, the most efficient and cheapest mode of public transport

Oct 4 (Rupavahini) A special programme is to be implemented to strengthen security in Mannar especially for the benefit of Muslim and other communities. Clashes in the area were intensified owing to the tense situation erupted recently. more..

Oct 4 (ET) The Sri Lankan trade ministerJeyaraj Fernandopulle has said the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which is in the process of negotiation between the two countries, will address the shortcomings in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). more..

Oct 4 (PTI) Indian fishermen have been advised not to cross the International Border Line in the Palk Straits, due to the tense situation prevailing in Northern Sri Lanka after a person was murdered in a clash between the LTTE and Muslims, more..

Oct 4 (GL) The plight of hundreds of Sri Lankan asylum seekers, many of them living in Australia without the right to work, Medicare or government benefits, was largely invisible until the Victorian Tamil Cultural Association raised the alarm on September 18. more..

Oct 4 (TP) Overseas Sri Lankans applying for a new passport are now required to submit originals of both birth certificate and national identity card along with their copies with the application forms. more..

Oct 4 (Gulf) Tamil guerrilla's "judicial system" has gained popularity in the guerrilla controlled northern part of the country prompting many of the people living in the region to rely on the system to resolve their disputes ranging from issues related to fraudulent money transactions to land disputes. more..

Oct 4 (FE) The successful operation of the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Sri Lanka is an example of how developing countries can benefit through bilateral trade and gradually move towards a regional free trade area. more..

Oct 4 (TN) "It is our considered view that if the government takes clear and courageous action to recommence the negotiations, which the Government's has hitherto to failed do, the peace process can be taken forward... We would strongly urge you to implement what you enunciated at the meeting with the TNA parliamentary group on 10th June," more..

Oct 4 (HT) President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, has asked the leader of the opposition UNP, Ranil Wickremesinghe, to make "honest and workable" suggestions on the way talks should be conducted with the LTTE and change his decision to boycott the consultative council set up by her. more..

Oct 4 (DN) The Government through the Irrigation Ministry will commence two major irrigation projects named Deduruoya and Veheragala next year to provide an uninterrupted water supply to tanks being renovated under the Government's Dahasak Maha Wev project, more..

Oct 4 (BBC) The inaugural meeting of the National Advisory Council on Peace and Reconciliation (NACPR) went ahead as scheduled despite the main opposition and several other parties boycotting the event. The UNP, JHU and TNA were among the political groups who boycotted proceedings. more..

Oct 4 (AFP) Sri Lanka for the first time has decided to slap tolls on cars entering the capital in a bid to discourage oil consumption amid a widening trade gap fuelled by costly petroleum imports, officials said yesterday. more..

Oct 4 (HT) The LTTE, fighting for a separate "Tamil Eelam" in North East Sri Lanka, are "concerned" about the growing political, financial and military influence of the United States in Sri Lanka, according to a knowledgeable Tamil source close to the LTTE. more..

Oct 4 (Reuters) Sri Lanka are learning to win without Muttiah Muralitharan, according to coach John Dyson. "There is no doubt he is a world-class bowler," Dyson told a news conference in Karachi on Monday before his side took part in a one-day triangular event followed by a test series against Pakistan. more..

Oct 4 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's government launched a new all-party forum on Monday to discuss how best to turn a two-year truce with Tamil Tiger rebels into permanent peace -- but a clutch of opposition parties stayed away in a boycott. more..

Oct 4 (ISN) Rather than view the Sir Lankan soldiers as occupiers, the residents of the �Peace Village� in the country�s northern Jaffna peninsula view them as friends, much to the dismay of the LTTE, whose rebel grip on the area seems to be weakening. more..

Oct 5 (PA) Veterinary experts in Sri Lanka saved the life of a sick baby elephant � by getting it back on its feet with the help of a British-built industrial digger, it emerged today. The unusual rescue operation was made possible using the front bucket of a JCB donated by the Staffordshire-based firm to the Born Free Foundation. more..

Oct 5 (TN) Ian Martin, the former Secretary General of Amnesty International, and special envoy to monitor Human rights dimension in Sri Lanka and Pascale Bariswyl, a swiss human rights expert addressed the members of the NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESHOR) in a meeting in Geneva Monday. more..

Oct 5 (TN) �Our office in Mannar town was attacked with the backing of the Sri Lanka Police. It appears to have been well premeditated. Some anti-social elements here that are opposed to our campaign to rid of Mannar of drugs want to attack us and hinder us. more..

Oct 5 (TN) The Bishop of Mannar and the chief Immam of the Mannar Mohideen Jumma Masjid Mosque Monday visted Karisal - the village of the man who was shot dead near Pesalai on Thursday night. The two religious leaders were accompanied by the chairman and secretary of the Mannar Citizens' Committee and the President of the Mohideen Jumma Mosque's board of trustees. more..

Oct 5 (BBC) The call for the National Advisory Council on Peace and Reconciliation (NACPR) by the President is a delaying tactic to postpone the peace talks, alleges the main opposition. Former UNP led government's chief negotiator prof. GL Peiris said that the UNP political committee has once again decided not to change the party�s stance. more..

Oct 5 (TN) Killinochchi Technical Institute functioning under the guidance of Economic Consultancy House and supported by London TR Tech recently inaugurated the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Course. Mr.T.Priapaharan, Principal of the Institute presided over the inaugural event of the course. more..

Oct 5 (AT) There are lots of interesting discussions both in the media and scholastic circle about the LTTE�s claim to be a sole-representative of the Northeast Tamils and its strategy to reach the sole-representative objective. more..

Oct 5 (AT) President Kumaratunga made it clear that the peace talks could only be commenced after conclusion of the National Advisory Council for Peace and Reconciliation (NACPR) meeting. Reiteration her total commitment to peace, she said that her government would do all that is required to persuade the LTTE to return to the negotiating table. more..