Sep 14 (TP) Services in the government�s health sector that are inefficient and difficult to perform would be outsourced to the private sector while ensuring free health care service to the patients, a top official told the Daily Mirror. more..

Sep 14 (Xinhua) The US Agency for International Development (USAID) on Tuesday provided a grant of 100,000 US dollars to the Sri Lanka Red Cross (SLRC) for provision of emergency drinking water to 12,000 drought-hit families in the country. more..

Sep 14 (DN) The Judiciary is committed and dedicated to serve the cause of justice without fear or favour, free of any kind of discrimination even to the slightest degree, said Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva. Speaking as chief guest at the opening of the newly constructed court complex in Trincomalee on Sunday, more..

Sep 14 (AT) The visiting Indian Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash expressed confidence of solving the problem related to the fishermen poaching the territorial waters of the two countries can be solved through the 'good will' existing between India and Sri Lanka. more..

Sep 14 (AFP) Norway�s special envoy Erik Solheim opened talks with Sri Lankan leaders here Tuesday after arriving overnight to launch a fresh bid to jumpstart the island�s stalled peace talks, officials said. more..

Sep 14 (CI) Sri Lanka made a successful start to their opening match of their Champions Trophy campaign at a crisp and cold Oval, as their bowlers - backed up by some slick catching - squeezed Zimbabwe's innings to 63 for 4 from 21 overs on a batsman-friendly pitch before a light shower held up play briefly. more..

Sep 15 (TN) Director of National Peace Council, Dr. Jehan Perera, and a group of about forty journalists from South met with Head of LTTE Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan, at LTTE Planning and Development Secretariat in Kilinochchi Tuesday, sources from Vanni said. more..

Sep 15 (TN) Government officials Tuesday began surveying state lands in the environs of Vavuniya town on which 296 families have encroached illegally. Some encroachments on the catchment areas of local reservoirs were backed by paramilitaries during the war, officials said. more..

Sep 15 (TN) The International Students' Association of Thamileelam (ISAT), in a press release issued Tuesday, said that the military and financial assistance of United States to the Government of Sri Lanka and the visit of Indian Navy Commander to Sri Lanka would not help in finding a peaceful solution to the conflict but would lead to renewed hostilities. more..

Sep 15 (TN) Shops and government offices were closed in the large Muslim town of Kattankudy, south of Batticaloa, Tuesday as a protest by orthodox Muslims against an Islamic sect that preaches pantheism. A large group of orthordox Muslims marched through the town chanting slogans against Rauf Mowlavi, the head of the pantheistic sect, and his followers. more..

Sep 15 (AFP) The Sri Lankan women's handball squad has disappeared and is believed to be travelling to France to seek political asylum it was announced by police on Tuesday. "There are no new developments," said a police spokesman. more..

Sep 15 (BBC) Were it not for Adam Gilchrist, Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara would be hailed the finest wicket-keeper/batsmen in world cricket. They entered the Champions Trophy in red-hot form after winning the Asia Cup and thrashing South Africa 5-0. more..

Sep 15 (Rupavahini) The minister of information and media, Mangala Samaraweera has pledged to introduce a media tradition which is responsible for the people. He added that all state owned media will follow a code of ethics and act in an exemplarity manner with affect from next Thursday. more..

Sep 15 (CI) Sri Lanka made hard work of their four-wicket win against unfancied Zimbabwe at the Oval as they successfully, if not entirely convincingly, chased a somewhat-surprising 191. The 18-year-old Elton Chigumbara shone for Zimbabwe with a sparkling allround performance, more..

Sep 15 (TN) Members of Tamil Nationall Alliance's (TNA's) Foreign Affairs Committee, Parliamentarians Joseph Pararajasingham and Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, met with Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Akio Suda and Second Secretary Mr. Kenji Miyata at 4pm Tuesday, sources said. more..

Sep 15 (SL) Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu admits his side will need to improve to reach the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy at the expense of England. Atapattu's side opened their campaign with an unimpressive four-wicket win over Zimbabwe at The Oval on Tuesday. more..

Sep 15 (AT) V. Anandasangaree leader of the TULF has brought to the notice of the Canadian authorities, atrocities inflicted by the members and supporters of the LTTE in Canada against the Sri Lankan Tamil Diasporas living in Canada, more..

Sep 15 (AT) Government of Sri Lanka has decided to observe 21 September as International Peace day according to the resolution adopted by the the United Nations General Assembly, announced Sri Lanka Government Peace Secretariat. more..

Sep 15 (AT) The Sri Lankan Constitution is in need of change, but President Kumaratunga seeks to remove precisely that feature which needs reform rather than replacement. A strong Presidency is the most suited for decision�making in the conflict and crisis ridden times that we live in. more..

Sep 15 (NW) Confusion and serious question marks have arisen over the proposed new traffic arrangement on Galle Road and Duplication Road. Police Chief Indra De Silva said yesterday this new traffic arrangement would begin shortly but the National Traffic Committee was still discussing it with various stakeholders. more..

Sep 15 (NW) Former Minister S.B.Dissanayake yesterday apologised to the Supreme Court, for any disrespect that he might have possibly shown to the court by making some controversial remarks. more..

Sep 15 (NW) The LTTE said yesterday its ISGA proposals were not rigid or final and it was ready to negotiate the issue but it saw the lack of clarity on the part of the government as the main stumbling block, for the resumption of peace talks. more..

Sep 15 (NW) The appointment of an ombudsman to tackle complaints and the setting up of a committee to ensure that teledramas and advertisements are of high standards are among the major reforms envisaged in the state media restructuring programme announced yesterday. more..

Sep 15 (NW) Cultural Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath yesterday urged Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar to call for a complete ban on the controversial movie Hollywood Buddha which has created an uproar among Buddhists around the world. more..

Sep 15 (LBO) The Central Bank of Sri Lanka expressed concern on State sponsored subsidies, but said overall growth remains on track, to ensure there need not be a change in short-term interest rates for September. more..

Sep 15 (TN) Norwegian special envoy Eric Solheim Tuesday evening met with Leader of the SLMC, Rauff Hakim, and Secretary General of the EPDP, Douglas Devananda, and discussed in detail about the resumption of peace talks between the Government and LTTE suspended from April last year, political sources in Colombo said. more..

Sep 15 (TN) A group of forty six Buddhist monks from the South of Sri Lanka Tuesday told the Jaffna political leadership of the LTTE that not all Buddhist priests are against the peace process and only a few leading prelates in the south are espousing racism. more..

Sep 15 (TN) The Norwegian government has decided to grant US $ 145.000 to FAO�s efforts to assist the Sri Lankans affected by the drought in Anuradhapura, Puttalam and Kurunegala, according to a press release from the Royal Embassy of Norway Wednesday. more..

Sep 15 (TN) Jaffna civil groups and non-governmental organizations Wednesday handed over memoranda to the Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Eric Solheim detailing the sufferings of Tamil people, especially hundreds of thousands of internally displaced families more..

Sep 15 (SLA) A sit-on fast demanding the immediate release of two Home Guards, being detained by LTTE after they were abducted on 10 August 2004, was launched at the Clock Tower in TRINCOMALEE on 14 September 2004 by a section of agitators including wives and children of the Home Guards. more..

Sep 15 (SLA) A nineteen-year old LTTE cadre with gunshot injuries sought admission to the BATTICALOA hospital on 13 September 2004 around 2.30 p.m. claiming that he was shot in his legs by LTTE cadres of the RAMANAN Group. more..

Sep 15 (SLA) Troops on Observation Post (OP) duty at the NAGARKOVIL Forward Defence Line (FDL) in JAFFNA on 14 September 2004 around 1.00 p.m. observed the FDL of the Security Forces being photographed by two LTTE females for reasons best known only to the LTTE. more..

Sep 15 (SLA) Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri, who takes on the mantle of the office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) today (15th September 2004), is the first Naval Chief to be elevated to this key appointment in the history of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. more..

Sep 15 (SLBC) The manager of the Asia Pacific programmes of the British Broadcasting Corporation says Sri Lanka is the biggest market of the BBC World Radio. Michel Lobelle further says the new agreement reached with the SLBC has strengthened BBC's relationships with the island. more..

Sep 15 (SLBC) The Ministry of Power and Energy estimates a wastage amounting to around 2 billion rupees annually in the domestic consumption of electricity. Accordingly, around 30 percent of the entire power generation is being wasted in a given year. more..

Sep 15 (SLBC) There is some confusion over the proposed new traffic arrangement on Galle Road and Duplication Road. Police Chief Indra De Silva said yesterday that this new traffic arrangement is yet to be accepted by the National Traffic Committee, which was still discussing it with various stakeholders. more..

Sep 15 (PSL) All of civilization will join to create a Global Ceasefire on the 21st of September and humanity's first day of peace. Ironically President Kumaratunga is to address the 59th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on this day Tuesday 21st September; it also coincides with the UN declared World Peace Day. more..

Sep 15 (PRIU) Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Shoichi Nakagawa pledged his government�s support to enhance technical assistance to Sri Lanka. The pledge was made during a meeting with visiting Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar on Friday, September 10 in Tokyo. more..

Sep 15 (IM) Today sixteen Sri Lankan asylum seekers marked the third anniversary of their controversial arrival in Australia�s migration zone with a heartfelt plea to Minister for Immigration, Amanda Vanstone from Baxter Detention Centre in South Australia. more..

Sep 15 (OW) When great Tamil poet Bharathi conceived of "constructing a road by rising Sethu" in his famous poem Sindhu Nadhein Isai, he surely did not consider its environmental impact but now the potential reality of the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project (SSCP) is endangering the Jaffna Peninsular and Gulf of Mannar. more..

Sep 15 (PIS) The LTTE said yesterday its ISGA proposals were not rigid or final and it was ready to negotiate the issue but it saw the lack of clarity on the part of the government as the main stumbling block, for the resumption of peace talks. more..

Sep 15 (TS) Retired Air Commodore Leonard Birchall, a decorated Second World War pilot dubbed the Saviour of Ceylon by Sir Winston Churchill, has died at age 89. "He was the finest person I know, an inspiration to all of us," said retired Lt.-Gen. Peter Dawe, who called Birchall a true hero. more..

Sep 15 (Gulf) President Chandrika Kumaratunga has accused her key coalition partner and the Tamil guerrillas as the main stumbling blocks towards achieving a political solution to the ethnic conflict. more..

Sep 15 (TP) Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar on Monday announced a new diplomatic initiative aimed at developing ties with India�s key four southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andra Pradesh. more..

Sep 15 (DN) The five Judge Supreme Court Bench yesterday ordered former Samurdhi Minister and UNP Parliamentarian S.B. Dissanayake to furnish cash bail in Rs. 250,000 and a bond of Rs. 250,000 with two sureties. more..

Sep 15 (Xinhua) President Chandrika Kumaratunga will hold bilateral talks with world leaders includingthose from Pakistan and Japan during her visit to the United Nations in New York next week, the official Daily News said on Wednesday. more..

Sep 15 (AFP) Sri Lanka has moved to calm Buddhist monks protesting against a film poster that showed its producer sitting on the head of a Buddha statue, the foreign ministry said. The ministry said Tuesday it distributed copies of a statement from producer expressing his "deepest apology for this inadvertent insult and disrespect". more..

Sep 15 (AP) Norway's top peace envoy flew to the Tamil rebels' heartland of Jaffna today for talks aimed at reviving Sri Lanka's stalled peace process and preventing the island's slide back into civil war. more..

Sep 15 (USE) A PLUS Scholarship puts a U.S. degree within the grasp of the outstanding undergraduate student who previously had little access to such opportunities. Once in the U.S., PLUS students receive intensive English language training and pre-academic preparation before enrolling in an undergraduate studies program more..

Sep 15 (BBC) German authorities say they are puzzled by the disappearance of the entire national handball team from Sri Lanka. German Sports Exchange Programme organiser, Dietmer Doering, said: "We initially thought the team had got lost in nearby woods while jogging." more..