Oct 9 (HT) The UNP, Sri Lanka's main opposition, feels that India should underwrite the final settlement of the ethnic problem in the island country. "It is up to India to decide what role it should play in the peace process here. It should play a role that it is most comfortable with. more..

Oct 9 (KT) In an exclusive interview Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse tells about the hitches in the country's system of governance, the latest in the peace initiative with LTTE rebels, his government's developmental efforts, revival of the tourism sector, and on the possibility of changes in the Constitution to facilitate continuation of Chandrika Kumaratunga as President for a third term. more..

Oct 10 (TN) Delegation of LTTE will be travelling to Holland Sunday for meetings with Dutch Government officials, sources close to the delegation told TamilNet. The LTTE delegation is currently on a tour of European countries and are completing a three-day stay in Vienna, Austria, following their arrival in Geneva Switzerland on 1st October. more..

Oct 10 (TN) Commander of the Sea Tigers, Col. Soosai, will be the special guest at the final day rally to mark the women's day of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Daya Master, media co-ordinator of the LTTE told TamilNet Saturday. He said Col. Soosai will deliver the keynote address at the public meeting. more..

Oct 10 (TN) Buisness owners, auto drivers and residents of Kaithady protested for more than an hour from 11.30am Saturday in Kaithady junction on Kaithady-Chavakachcheri portion of A9 highway against the Sri Lanka Army's attempt to build a new checkpoint at an existing Auto-stop near the junction, sources from Kaithady said. more..

Oct 10 (TN) Sri Lanka Police fired in the air and assaulted civilians in Kasthuriyar Road in Jaffna town Saturday around 8.30 following a fracas between some locals and traffic Policemen. Police and military patrols were immediately stepped in Kasthuryiar Road and KKS Road in the northern town. more..

Oct 10 (TN) Lay leaders of Jathika Hela Urumaya(JHU), a key Sinhala Buddhist nationalist party in the Parliament, agreed Saturday to discuss next week a proposal to completely restructure the organisation. more..

Oct 10 (TN) First day of the Tamil Literary Festival-2004 organized by the Cultural section of the NorthEast Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs started at 8.30am at the Jaffna Hindu Ladies College Hall, Saturday, civil sources in Jaffna said. more..

Oct 10 (TN) A TNA parliamentary delegation is to meet Mahanayake Theras of Malwatte Chapter and Asgiriya Chapter on Monday to brief them on the current situation of the stalled peace process and to solicit their support for the establishment of the ISGA proposals of the LTTE, more..

Oct 10 (Xinhua) The minority Tamil and Muslim parties held talks late Friday aimed at closer cooperation betweenthe two communities in the face of continued delay in resuming peace negotiations between the Sri Lankan government and the TamilTiger rebels, officials said on Saturday. more..

Oct 10 (Rupavahini) The public services united nurses union has decided to suspend their strike at the Colombo national hospital. This decision was taken at a discussion between the official of the health ministry and representatives of the union, this morning. more..

Oct 10 (Rupavahini) Swiss foreign minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday on a four day official visit. She called on foreign minister Laxman Kadirgamar andehld bilateral talks. She was accompanied by a special Swiss delegation. more..

Oct 10 (AT) For Ranil Wickremsinghe the road to Presidency lies through the jungles of Wanni. The figures are unassailable. Mr. Wickremesinghe cannot win the next Presidential election unless the Tigers can deliver the North East Tamil vote to him in its entirety. more..

Oct 10 (AT) Asia had seen only a few genuine leaders who were truthful and dedicated to their country and the people. The late Mrs. Sirimavo R.D.Bandaranaike reverently called by all Sri Lankans as �Methini� is one such personality for whom Sri Lanka and its people were more precious than her own self. more..

Oct 10 (LT) The Sea Tigers� leader Soosai has warned Prabhakaran�s leadership against harassments done to the suspended eastern Tiger leader Ramesh. Sea Tiger leader has been maintaining power in his own style within the area around Chalei where the Sea Tiger base located. more..

Oct 10 (LT) Muslims at Kaduruwela in Polonnaruwa staged a protest campaign against the atrocities committed against them by the tiger organization. More than 3000 Muslims from villages around Polonnaruwa joined the protest campaign. more..

Oct 10 (SBC) Sri Lanka and Turkmenistan battled out a 2-2 draw in Colombo in an Asian Zone Group 8 World Cup qualifier. The visiting side held a 1-0 advantage at the interval courtesy of Davlet Bayramov's 20th minute strike but soon after the restart Sri Lanka snatched the ascendancy. more..

Oct 10 (LBO) Pepper exports to India are not breaking the Indo-Lanka free trade pact or destabilising Indian production, say pepper producers in Sri Lanka. �The Indian trade delegation from Delhi that was here in August were not able to pinpoint any discrepancy in pepper exports,� more..

Oct 10 (AT) Sri Lanka's Opposition Leader , Ranil Wickremesinghe accompanied by MP Milinda Moragodais is schedule to leave for India on Sunday on an invitation extended by Indian Prime Dr. Manmohan Singh. more..

Oct 10 (AT) He was given just a week�s time in which to decide on his joining politics. The decision was not easy even for a man who had spent nearly four decades of civil administration that involved day-to-day decision-making. more..

Oct 10 (SN) Jathika Hela Urumaya national organizer MP Ven Kolonnawe Sumangala Thera was resigned from parliament yesterday. Ven. thera submitted his resignation letter to Parliament Secretary General Priyanee Wijesekara at 1.15 PM saying he (Ven Kolonnawe Sumangala Thera) wanted to spend more time on religious activities. more..

Oct 10 (SO) The Tigers have recruited 1,424 children, out of which 45 have been abducted during the last 28-month truce period ending August 31. They have also abducted 359 adults during the same period, a spokesman of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said. more..

Oct 10 (TN) The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has completely stopped the transportation of building materials such as cement, steel and timber through Muhamalai check point to the villages of Pallai, Iyakkahchi, Maruthankerni, Thalaiyadi, Vembadi, Mamunai and Kaddaikadu, which are located in the LTTE, controlled areas. more..

Oct 10 (TN) Republican Iowa Congressman James A. Leach, chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific of the House International Relations Committee, expressed concern about the rising level of political violence in Sri Lanka and called for a resumption of the peace talks between the government and the LTTE, more..

Oct 10 (SLA) The Sri Lanka Army, now poised to celebrate its 55th birthday to coincide with the Army Day (10th October) held a series of religious ceremonies to mark the event, a precursor of the main highlight today, 10th October 2004 at Army Headquarters. more..

Oct 10 (SLA) Newly-appointed Inspector General of Police Mr Chandra Fernando on Thursday (07) morning paid a courtesy call on Commander of the Army, Lt. Gen S. H. S Kottegoda at Army Headquarters. more..

Oct 10 (IANS) With a majority of Indians used to the flavour of hard tea, Sri Lanka's leading tea company Dilmah is seeking to tempt the Indian palate with finer varieties of the cup that cheers. more..

Oct 10 (AFP) Sri Lanka's foreign reserves are falling, inflation is galloping, balance of payments are in the red, but the island is banking on petroleum price boom to get out of the woods. more..

Oct 10 (PIS) The LTTE delegation that visited Switzerland this week insisted on the peace process resuming on the basis of ISGA (Interim Self-Governing Authority), the Sri Lanka government was told yesterday. more..

Oct 10 (UNI) Rejecting the offers from both India and the US, the Sri Lankan government has decided to renovate on its own the runway at the Air Force base at Palaly in Jaffna peninsula at a cost of Rs 360 million. more..

Oct 10 (SLBC) Parliamentarian Sajith Premadasa says the political committee of the UNP should conduct investigations against prominent members who are facing corruption charges. He was commenting on the disciplinary inquiry that is to be held by the UNP against him for not being present in Parliament during voting on the tax amnesty regulation bill. more..

Oct 10 (TP) The UNFPA government in a crackdown on adult movies show at local theatres said its Public Performances Board has only approved six films in the category of �X-rated adults only� compared to 25 during the previous regime. more..

Oct 10 (TP) The price of bread, after many years, is to be brought under price control. A spokesman for the Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry told the Daily News that Consumer Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle had taken this decision as another measure of easing the cost of living burden. more..

Oct 10 (TT) The Sri Lankan football federation, in a letter to the Indian Football Association (IFA) on Saturday, has pledged to hold an enquiry into the disastrous performance of Renown Sports Club in the ongoing IFA Shield. more..

Oct 10 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka's main opposition leaderhas asked the government to put its house in order before the revival of peace talks with the Tamil Tiger rebels, a letter released here said. more..

Oct 10 (AFP) Sri Lanka's main opposition, which could make or break a deal with Tamil rebels, said it was giving the Marxist-backed government "carte blanche" to revive stalled peace negotiations. more..

Oct 10 (AFP) Sri Lanka's military chief promised to step up training for the armed forces and praised his rank and file for upholding a truce with Tiger rebels despite provocation. more..

Oct 11 (AFP) Sri Lanka's navy on Sunday seized an Indian fishing craft that strayed into the island's territorial waters, arresting 10 people and impounding a large haul of explosives, a spokesman said. more..

Oct 11 (TT) Less than three weeks before President Chandrika Kumaratunga is scheduled to pay a state visit, her political rival Ranil Wickremesinghe, the leader of the Opposition in the island nation, has arrived in Delhi for consultations with the Indian leadership. more..

Oct 11 (BBC) Leaders of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) agreed to restructure the party outlining the roles of the monks and the laity, party�s former secretary Champika Ranawaka said. Kotapola Amarakitti thero has been appointed as the secretary to carry out the reforms, he added. more..

Oct 11 (BBC) Muslims in border villages can be assured of their security only when their homeguards are given arms said Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakim. He was speaking after a tour in Welikanda area where 2 Muslims were killed by unidentified gunmen last week. more..

Oct 11 (TN) The TNA and the People's Peace Front (PPF) have reached an agreement to conduct common seminars in Sinhala areas in the South to explain the legitimacy of the demands of the Tamil people and the need to take forward the peace negotiations, political sources in Colombo said. more..

Oct 11 (GL) Fears are growing that a renewed war could break out between Sri Lankan government troops and the LTTE. The Tamil guerrillas have complained to Scandinavian peace monitors that government soldiers have participated in attacks on LTTE positions. more..

Oct 11 (Rupavahini) Opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe says that the then UNF government has forwarded three sets of proposals to the LTTE including the relevant structure on the setting up of an interim administration in the North and East. more..

Oct 11 (Rupavahini) President has assured that the government will increase the salaries of public sector employees in the forthcoming budget to meet the cost of living index although it is difficult to bring down the high prices of essential commodities in the face of world fuel crisis. more..

Oct 11 (SLBC) Inspector General of Police Chandra Fernando has indicated that police officers will not show any mercy against those flouting the Highway Code. The IGP's order comes in the wake of a horrendous rise in the number of road accidents which has taken a heavy toll of life. more..

Oct 11 (SLBC) Government is fully committed to do everything possible to improve the living standard of the people, to usher permanent peace and develop the country if only they could bear the present increase in the cost of living thrust on them due to soaring fuel prices in the world market. more..

Oct 11 (AP) Politicians representing the Tamil Tiger rebels planned to ask influential Buddhist clergy Monday to push the government to resume peace talks aimed at permanently ending the country's civil war, a lawmaker said. more..

Oct 11 (LBO) SriLankan Airlines will deploy their first mainline freighter aircraft to carry the increasing cargo loads to China and the Middle East. The airline is looking for a wide-bodied A 310 aircraft to join two smaller regional freighters which feed the Colombo hub. more..

Oct 11 (LBO) Managing the country's forests and wildlife sanctuaries is an expensive business for the cash strapped government. The leisure industry sees huge potential in nature related tourism and is keen to help raise awareness about the wildlife product here and conserve it. more..