Oct 1 (UTPD) The presidential secretariat announced today that, Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Ports, Aviation, Information and Media and Deputy Minister of Education, is appointed to the Executive Board by HE the president Chandrika Kumaratunga. more..

Oct 1 (UTPD) A celebration to mark the National Day of the People�s Republic of China was held in Colombo BMICH. The Chinese Ambassador Hon. Sun Gukxiang attended the event as the guest of honour and Hon Vijitha Herath, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage also attended the celebration. more..

Oct 1 (TN) Major General Sunil Tennekoon, Jaffna area commander of the Sri Lanka Army Thursday said during a discussion he had with the representatives of the People's Committee for Peace and Goodwill (PCPG) in Jaffna district that he is taking every possible step to open A9 highway from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. more..

Oct 1 (TN) About one hundred members of the North-East Part Time English Teachers' Association Thursday morning held a picketing in front of the Jaffna district office of the Additional Provincial Director of Education demanding permanent appointment without delay. The picket continued till after noon about 2 p.m., more..

Oct 1 (Rupavahini) Minister of ports and aviation Mangala Samaraweera says that air transport renowned as the safest mode of transport in the world continues to be severely threatened by suicidal terrorism that has escalated to unparallel proportions. more..

Oct 1 (HT) South Asian youngsters, participating in a UNICEF-sponsored conference in Colombo, have demanded that adults guilty of sexually exploiting and trafficking in children, should be given a life sentence. more..

Oct 1 (BBC) Cinema idols, producers as well as politicians were moved by cinema maestro Gamini Fonseka's demise at the age of 68 on Thursday. Sinhala cinema actor and producer Gamini Fonseka passed away Thursday at his residence in Ja ela. more..

Oct 1 (AT) The Leader of the EPDP, and Hindu Affairs Minister Douglas Devananda said on Thursday as his party entered to the mainstream democratic politics, they never intend to take arms again to defend themselves from the threats of the LTTE. more..

Oct 1 (LBO) High net worth tourists are here to stay, with foreign guest nights in all graded hotels up a sizeable 16.8 percent in the second quarter this year. Sri Lanka has been pitching for high value tourism, with niche boutique hotels springing up and many hotels being refurbished, upgraded or expanded over the past two years. more..

Oct 1 (LBO) Singapore is looking at setting up a free trade zone for Singaporean investors in Sri Lanka, before expanding formal economic ties between the two countries. A team from Jurong is studying the question of a free trade zone for Singaporean investors in Sri Lanka more..

Oct 1 (AT) UNP and some media have made infantile attempts at creating confusion over the President�s address at the UNGA states a statement released by the president�s office regarding President Chandrika Kumaratunga�s speech at the 59th sessions of the UN General Assembly. more..

Oct 1 (TN) "UNP will not participate in the All Political Party Advisory Council proposed by President since we believe that involving a multiparty council would lead to inordinate delays in peace talks. Instead, Ms.Kumaratunge should take a firm stand against JVP's opposition to talks and strive to move peace process forward," more..

Oct 1 (TN) "Statements by International Community including the United States of America consistently attempt to blame the LTTE for the stalled peace talks. These statements fail to highlight the fact that internal dissentions and resulting inconsistent policies of the ruling UPFA government more..

Oct 1 (TN) Curfew was declared in Mannar Friday morning after a group of Muslims attacked the administrative office of the Liberation Tigers in the island town on northwestern coast around midnight. The attack was linked to the killing of a man suspected to be a drug smuggler on Thursday night near Pesalai, 15 kilometres west of Mannar. more..

Oct 1 (TN) People's Committee for Peace and Goodwill (PCPG) in Jaffna district Thursday handed over a memorandum to Major General Sunil Tennekoon, Jaffna area commander of the Sri Lanka Army, requesting him to take steps to reopen Sangupiddy-Kerativu road to link peninsula from the south, civil sources said. more..

Oct 1 (TN) The Water-Cutting (Theertham) festival of the historic Vallipuram Alvar Temple was held Tuesday in the seacoast of Vallipuram in Vadamarachchi division in Jaffna district. Several thousands of pilgrims participated in the event after several years, sources said. more..

Oct 1 (TN) Sixteen Tamil artistes most of them from remote villages in the Trincomalee district who are excelled in various forms of Tamil arts were honoured at the fifteenth anniversary of a leading musical club in Trincomalee �Super Sangeeth� held recently at Trincomalee St.Joseph's College auditorium. more..

Oct 1 (TN) "The Police in Mannar are acting in a partial manner in bringing the situation under control", said Vanni Tamil National Alliance MP Mr. Vino Noharathalingam, Friday. "I brought the matter to the notice of the Deputy IGP for Vanni when I met him in Mannar this morning", he said. more..

Oct 1 (SLA) Hundreds of irate villagers and residents in MANNAR town and its suburbs torched two LTTE offices at PESALAI and MANNAR overnight on Thursday (30 September 2004) to protest against the murder of a Muslim civilian by two suspected LTTE motorbike-riding gunmen. more..

Oct 1 (SLA) A twenty-eight year old man resident in the general area of UDUMBIMALI, KIRAN was shot and injured by an unidentified gunman, suspected to be from LTTE (WANNI) faction on 30 September 2004 around 5.45 a.m. while he was at KALMADU area. more..

Oct 1 (WF) The U.S. Department of State will issue 50,000 permanent residency visas to the winners of a lottery that opens for registration November 5. Applications from would-be immigrants in eligible countries will be accepted from November 5 through January 7, 2005, the State Department announced September 29. more..

Oct 1 (VNA) A delegation of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) led by VUFO Vice President Pham Van Chuong paid a nine-day visit to Sri Lanka ending Sept. 27 under an agreement between the VUFO and the Sri Lanka-Viet Nam Solidarity Association. more..

Oct 1 (CI) After the disappointment of their early exit from the Champions Trophy, after an error-strewn fielding performance on a bitterly cold autumnal day at the Rose Bowl, John Dyson, Sri Lanka's ever-upbeat coach, has predicted a quick resumption of Sri Lanka's winning run in Pakistan this month. more..

Oct 1 (Reuters) Stocks fell slightly in thin volume trade on Friday as retailers skimmed profits on small counters after recent gains, but there was renewed foreign interest in some bluechips, brokers said. The key Colombo all-share index fell a provisional 0.1 percent or 1.42 points, to 1,449.40. more..

Oct 1 (LT) The leader of the JVP, Somawansa Amarasinghe says that the pronouncements made by certain people that the existence of a formidable state sector, the domination of the state ownership of property and a socialist party being in the government have deterred the flow of foreign investment into the country have been proved utterly wrong in today�s world. more..

Oct 1 (LT) Value Added Tax levied on essential food stuffs will be taken off with immediate effect. The Cabinet has decided to remove VAt from rice, sugar and dhal. The government says that this decision was taken to relieve the people of the burden of the rising cost of living. more..

Oct 1 (SLBC) One of the greatest of Sinhala cinema has passed away yesterday after a rewarding life of an actor, director, producer, politician and an administrator. Starting from Daiwayogaya he went on to act beautifully in about 30 to 40 films representing all types of characters ranging from a troublemaker to a playboy. more..

Oct 1 (LBO) With 100 MW of electricity capacity kicking in on Wednesday and 55 MW on the way, Sri Lanka�s power situation looks better next quarter than it did six months ago. The 100 MW thermal plant � a joint venture between Hemas and locally owned independent power producer Lakhdhanavi, was commissioned in Puttalam yesterday. more..

Oct 1 (DJ) Sri Lanka's Housing Development and Finance Corp plans to raise LKR500 million via an issue of shares to the public in late October or early November, the managers of the issue said Friday. more..

Oct 1 (AT) Gamini Fonseka passed away yesterday leaving behind a living record of his talents and contributions to the Sri Lankan cinematic art. He and the Sinhala film industry grew almost together as twins. more..

Oct 1 (AT) Bernard P Tilakaratna, former Foreign Secretary passed away on the last day of September. He was the first Foreign Service officer to become Foreign Secretary. As a junior officer who served under him on two assignments at the Sri Lanka High Commission in New Delhi, it is with gratitude and affection that I pen this appreciation to a great diplomat, more..

Oct 1 (Sun) DMK president M Karunanidhi on Thursday accused the Sinhalese of conspiring against the Sethu Samuthiram Project and called upon the Tamils to defeat their designs. "They have instigated some people against the project. more..

Oct 1 (NT) A 37-year-old man, who tried to board a Sri Lankan Airways flight bound for Colombo with fake passports, was arrested at the Chennai international airport this morning. According to police, the man identified as Ahmed Shamsuddin, a resident of Nadu Theru in Erwadi, had planned to reach Colombo with fake passports. more..

Oct 1 (Reuters) After 25 years selling fruit and vegetables at a market in downtown Colombo, Sri Lankan trader M.W. Ranjith made an investment that to his amazement transformed his life and his business -- he bought a mobile phone. more..

Oct 1 (DN) Sri Lanka's leading film idol Gamini Fonseka passed away yesterday. He was 68. Gamini, Sinhala cinema's pre-eminent personality, mega star and character actor famous for his tough guy roles was also former Deputy Speaker of Parliament. Gamini who lived a full life as actor, director, politician and company director died of a heart attack. more..

Oct 1 (DJ) Sri Lanka's export earnings crossed the $500 million mark in July for the third time since December 2000, helped by improved exports of textiles and garments, the central bank said Friday. Exports rose 2.5% to $506 million in July compared with the same month last year. more..

Oct 1 (AFP) Police clamped an indefinite curfew in a town in northwestern Sri Lanka after violence broke out over the slaying of a Muslim man by suspected Tamil rebels, officials said. Muslim mobs in the coastal town of Mannar attacked an office of the LTTE blaming the rebel group for the killing of a Muslim man overnight, more..

Oct 1 (HT) The re-emergence of a Tamil-Muslim conflict in North-East Sri Lanka in the past few days is threatening to delay the war-torn country's search for permanent peace. Muslims have been demonstrating against the LTTE and its Tamil supporters in Amparai district in the East, and in Mannar district in the North. more..

Oct 2 (TN) Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has ordered about twenty families who had resettled 600 meters away from the high security zone in Valalai village Palaly, Jaffna district, to vacate their houses and lands immediately, civil sources in Jaffna said. more..

Oct 2 (TN) �It is sad that there are some parts of our country where children can only dream of a normal life�, said Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, chairperson of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission speaking at an art exhibition by refugee children to mark �World Children Day� in Colombo Friday. more..

Oct 2 (Rupavahini) The commissioner of Inland Revenue A.A. Wijepala says that the prices of several essential commodities including rice, flour and sugar could come down following the removal of vat on them. He said that as a result of this move government would lose nearly 450 million rupees annually in revenue. more..

Oct 2 (Rupavahini) President Chandrika Kumaratunge says it is the duty of everybody to create an environment where every child is treated equally and fairly, devoid of discrimination on grounds of differences of ethnicity, religion and cast. more..

Oct 2 (LBO) Sri Lanka�s private sector is not amused by the latest government hat trick of making changes to taxes by putting out press notices and backdating the effective date. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce expressed concerns about the government�s latest attempt at jacking up its revenues. more..

Oct 2 (LBO) Cancer among women is increasing in Sri Lanka and private health care services are rising to the needs with wigs and chests at very competitive prices. Ceylinco Healthcare Service for instance, is taking their cancer treatment facilities a step further by enhancing mental and emotional support. more..

Oct 2 (LBO) The Inland Revenue says it is due five billion rupees in Goods and Services Tax (GST) and that companies and individuals must pay up before December 31, or face penalties. "There is Rs. 5 billion in return GST taxes that businesses and others have collected and not paid in. They must pay up before December 31," more..

Oct 2 (NW) Outrageous acts of corruption in a 90 million dollar highway project in Sri Lanka have been highlighted by US Senator Richard C. Lugar when the Senate discussed corrupt projects in Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 2 (NW) The Colombo Rowing Club was founded by Sir Edward Creasy the Chief Justice of Ceylon as Sri Lanka was then known on the 15th of July 1864. From the available records, this makes the Colombo Rowing Club the oldest club in Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 2 (NW) The Jathika Hela Urumaya yesterday turned down the invitation by the President to join the proposed National Council for Peace and Reconciliation. JHU leader the Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Thera said they had told President Kumaratunga they had no intention of taking part in the work of the NCPR as they saw such a move as a betrayal of the nation. more..

Oct 2 (NW) Curfew was clamped on the Mannar police division yesterday after groups of Muslims attacked two LTTE offices in Pesalai on Thursday night to protest the killing of a Muslim civilian, the military spokesman said. more..

Oct 2 (IE) India and Sri Lanka are on the threshold of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), Sri Lankan Minister of Trade, Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle said Friday. more..