Oct 11 (Reuters) Stocks closed slightly lower on Monday in thin volume trade as investors waited on the sidelines in the absence of fresh fundamental news, brokers said. The Key Colombo all-share index closed down a provisional 0.26 percent or 3.77 points at 1,445.42 points. more..

Oct 11 (TN) Charging that Government's deliberate delaying of peace talks as a diversionary tactic, Leader of Opposition and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, addressing a group of political and business leaders on the eve of an official trip to India Friday, more..

Oct 11 (TN) "If the Government is unable to defeat the LTTE militarily it should put forward a concrete political solution to end the conflict and not engage in spreading false stories on dissention within LTTE," said Mr.S.Elilan, LTTE Trincomalee district political head more..

Oct 11 (TN) Two associates of renegade Liberation Tigers' commander, 'Karuna', were killed and six wounded when an LTTE special forces group attacked the house in which they were staying in a village near the Batticaloa-Polannaruwa district border in the early hours of Monday morning around 2 a.m. Police said. more..

Oct 11 (TN) TNA MPs called on the Mahanayake Thero of the Malwatte Chapter Thibbottuwe Sri Siddharatha Sumangala Thero Monday 9am and drew his attention to the historial failure thus far to find an equitable solution to the Tamil national question, and impressed on him the necessity for an interim administration for the North East, more..

Oct 11 (SLA) Two LTTE men, believed to be from an LTTE breakaway group were killed and six others badly injured during early hours on Monday when a member suspected to be from of the LTTE WANNI faction hurled a hand grenade and opened fire at them while the victims were in the general un-cleared area of NAGASTENNA, about 4 km north of KADAWATHAMADU,WELIKANDA. more..

Oct 11 (SLA) LTTE organizers in the general town area of TRINCOMALEE on 10 October 2004 around 9.15 a.m. defied a request made by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and the Police to remove the LTTE flag that had been raised in connection with an LTTE commemorative ceremony. more..

Oct 11 (SLA) LTTE men in what could be described as an attempt to break off the relations being maintained between the Police and the public have spearheaded a publicity campaign in JAFFNA peninsula during this weekend asking the public to do away with their relations with the Police. more..

Oct 11 (SLA) An attempt by some civilians to surround and assault two policemen after an arrest of a motorcycle sans proper documents was made by the Police in the general area of JAFFNA on 09 October 2004 around 7.45 p.m. was thwarted when the Police moved in and dispersed the unruly crowd. more..

Oct 11 (PSL) President Chandrika Kumaratunga today appointed four new Deputy Ministers under Article 46 (1) of the Constitution. They are: S. M. Chandrasena - Deputy Minister of Women�s Empowerment and Social Welfare. Mervyn Silva - Deputy Minister of Labour Relation & Foreign Employment. more..

Oct 11 (Dawn) Pakistani golfers continued their winning streak grabbing yet another title when they beat defending champions Sri Lanka to win the one-day Jaywardhene Trophy which was part of the 44th amateur championship of Pakistan at the Lahore Gymkhana course on Sunday. more..

Oct 11 (KT) A 35-year old, mother of three, Sri Lankan housemaid is a victim of her employers physical and mental abuse, resulting in her losing out a finger, and left distraught without any money and hopes of returning home. more..

Oct 11 (AT) The biggest obstacle in overcoming the current impasse in solving the Tamil ethnic problem in Sri Lanka is �the dogmatism prevailing among the Sinhalese on this issue,� says noted Sinhala journalist Victor Ivan. more..

Oct 11 (AFP) Sri Lanka has asked Switzerland to boost bilateral trade and economic ties during the first visit ever by a Swiss foreign minister to the island, the foreign ministry said. more..

Oct 11 (Reuters) Sri Lanka qualified for the final of a three-nation one-day tournament on Monday after their match with Zimbabwe was called off due to overnight rain. Umpires Simon Taufel and Aleem Dar called off the match at 1300 (0800 GMT) after a third inspection of the pitch. more..

Oct 11 (PIS) Jayantha Dhanapala - Secretary-General of the Peace Secretariat (SCOPP) and Senior Adviser to the President - visited Trincomalee on Friday 8th October in pursuance of a policy of visiting the six District Offices of the SLMM for the purpose of ensuring the smooth implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement. more..

Oct 11 (DN) All parties including the United National Party should avoid wasting time and render all necessary cooperation to the National Advisory Council for Peace and Reconciliation (NACPR) initiated by the President to establish lasting peace in the country, more..

Oct 11 (HT) A top Sri Lankan archaeologist has called for a fresh, unbiased, scientific and multi-disciplinary approach to the history of his island country, in view of the great damage done to the national fabric by unscientific studies and incorrect or biased reading of the past. more..

Oct 11 (Xinhua) More internecine clashes between the Tamil Tiger rebel rival factions in eastern Sri Lanka continued Monday, leaving two dead and wounding four, the police said. Two members belonging to the renegade eastern commander known as Karuna were shot dead more..

Oct 11 (IANS) Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen and former Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe Monday discussed the situation in Sri Lanka with Indian leaders. more..

Oct 11 (Bernama) A Malaysian alleged to have been operating a CD and VCD pirating factory secretly at Athurugiriya, south of the city, has been arrested by Police. Insp S. Perera, of the Special Crimes Unit, said that over 10 million rupees (US$100,000) worth of equipment and over 3,000 CDs were seized. more..

Oct 11 (UTPD) It is recently reported that Sri Lankan Buddha statues and other archeological artifacts of immense historical value are being advertised for sale in the Internet. This not the first time where our national heritage went on sale in the international marketplace and this may not be the last time as well. more..

Oct 12 (TN) Three day North East Tamil Literary Festival concluded Monday evening in Jaffna conferring Governor's Award on eight Tamil scholars and releasing videocassette on the life and literary works of veteran Tamil Professor K.Sivathamby. more..

Oct 12 (TN) Health officials Monday closed down the Vavuniya College of Education for three weeks after seventy students and teachers suffered from dysentery since Sunday night. The Vavuniya Medical Officer of Health (MOH) found stagnating garbage and leaking cesspits in the college when its premises were inspected Monday after students and teachers started to fall ill. more..

Oct 12 (TN) President of the Mannar Mohideen Jummah Mosque, Mr. M. A Cader, Monday accused Police of having a hand in exacerbating friction between religious communities in the region. more..

Oct 12 (BBC) The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had a very successful discussion with the Most Ven. Maha Nayake of Malwatte chapter Thibbotuwawe Sri Sumangala thero said the TNA member of parliament M K Sivajilingam. more..

Oct 12 (BBC) A senior officer of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) headquarters has been arrested by the Bribery Commission. Maj. Gen. Sisira Kumara Wijesuriya has been charged of illegally profiteering while purchasing weapons for the military. more..

Oct 12 (LBO) A Water Board proposal to hike tariffs could see rates doubled, with 70 percent of domestic users in the first 20 unit band, seeing prices raised in three slabs. Proposals are to double rates for the first 10 units from Rs.1.25 to Rs. 2.50, 11 to 15 units, from Rs. 2.50 to Rs. 5.00 and from 16 to 20 units, from Rs. 6.50 to Rs. 15. more..

Oct 12 (NW) A layman and 3 men in robes were taken into custody and granted police bail for allegedly abducting a monk of Dambawela Buddhist Centre in Talatuoya police Division, disrobed, tortured and deserted him in a desolate place. They are to appear before Courts on October 14. more..

Oct 12 (NW) An emergency telephone number 118 has been introduced by the Law and Order and Public Security Ministry for the public to inform of any emergency situation. Addressing a news conference Ministry Secretary Tilak Ranaviraja, said the Ministry decided to introduce such a number to deal with any accidents, crime, theft, etc. more..

Oct 12 (NW) Amid protests and some incidents around the Dalada Maligawa, TNA leaders yesterday held extensive talks with the Mahanayake Thera of the Malwatte Chapter and assured him that the Tamil people though facing a disaster would never return to war and did not want a division of the country. more..

Oct 12 (NW) TNA Parliamentarian K. Sivajilingam said a request made by the TNA to the Asgiriya Chapter Mahanayake Thera for an appointment with him to explain matters relating to the peace process had been refused by the prelate. more..

Oct 12 (TP) Labour Minister Athauda Seneviratne has urged illegal Sri Lankan migrants in South Korea to return home and go back as legitimate workers. �There are around 2,000 Sri Lankan workers (illegally) settled in Korea. There�s no way I could legalise their status unless they come back and then we can send them as legal migrant workers,� he said. more..

Oct 12 (TP) The Sri Lankan government is steaming ahead with plans to scrap the executive presidency through amendments to the constitution which also include introduce electoral reforms and set up several independent commissions, the Sunday Times said. more..

Oct 12 (Rupavahini) A national programme to develop 1000 industrial villages will be started on the 14th of this month. The formal ceremony will be held at the Udukiriwila village at Weeraketiya in Hambantota. more..

Oct 12 (Rupavahini) The secretary to the ministry of public security, law and order Thilak Ranaviraja is confident the two home guards detained by the LTTE would be freed soon. Mr. Ranaviraja said that eight out of the ten cadres whose release had been demanded by the LTTE have now been freed on bail by court. more..

Oct 12 (TN) Ten Indian fishermen arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy with explosives in their fishing trawler in the Sri Lankan territorial waters close to Kankesanthurai harbour area Sunday around midnight were remanded till October 22nd by the Mallakam Magistrate Ms Sarojinidevi Ilankovan, legal sources said. more..

Oct 12 (TN) A top commander in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), addressing a National Security Council meeting last week, had called for a purchase of 98 more battle tanks, the Daily Mirror said Tuesday. Major General Sisira Wijesuriya�s comments were highlighted in the paper�s report on his arrest Tuesday over financial irregularities. more..

Oct 12 (TN) "The ceasefire agreement should be maintained, and it is essential to establish peace. Britain will extend its support," said Graham Allen, leader of the 4-member British Commonwealth Parliamentary delegation that came on an official visit to Sri Lanka last Sunday, more..

Oct 12 (SLA) A teenaged boy who was abducted and later conscripted to the LTTE but managed to escape subsequently from LTTE detention was accompanied to the OMANTHAI Entry/Exit point by the officials of International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), UNICEF and the SLMM on 11 October 2004 around 1.00 p.m. more..

Oct 12 (SLA) LTTE men, despite many rulings given by the SLMM continue to raise the LTTE flag at public places in cleared areas controlled by the government of Sri Lanka. On Monday LTTE men raised their flag at the Municipal Council Grounds in MANNAR during one of their events. more..

Oct 12 (SLBC) President to appoint National Commission on Firearms A National Commission on Firearms will be appointed by President Chandrika Kumaratunga this week. Public Order and Internal Security Ministry Secretary Tilak Ranaviraja told the media yesterday that it is expected to carry out a study of firearms in circulation and look into all aspects of the management of firearms in Sri Lanka.

Oct 12 (LT) Malwathu Maha Nayaka Thero says that he condemns the killing of unarmed civilians by the Wanni Tigers� Organisation. Malwathu Maha Nayaka Thero mentioned this when he met Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians. more..

Oct 12 (CI) Thilanga Sumathipala, the former president of Sri Lanka Cricket, will take up a new formal role as the board's official representative to International Cricket Council this weekend. Sumathipala is scheduled to attend the ICC's executive meeting in Lahore on October 16 and 17. more..

Oct 12 (TN) "There is lack of confidence which could be an obstacle to return to peace talks. This lack of confidence could endanger the cease fire in Sri Lanka. The Liberation Tigers are ready to reconsider the basis for restarting talks. They told our officials their Interim Self Governing Authority proposal is not non-negotiable. more..

Oct 12 (HT) A Sri Lankan cricket enthusiast is claiming credit for being the first to suggest that a team should be given a set number of chances in an innings to call for the use of the Third Umpire. more..

Oct 12 (LBO) From housemaids in the Middle East to engineers in Canada, Sri Lankans away from home keep tabs on news back home through Sri Lankan newspapers online. The Internet is emerging as the next great sales centre for Sri Lankan companies. more..

Oct 12 (AFP) Central Bank has raised the price of its commemorative gold coins by 43.75 percent as it ended a four-month suspension on their sale. A bank spokesman said the 5,000 rupee gold coin which was being sold at 8,000 rupees at the time of the suspension in June was marked at 11,500 rupees for the resumption of sales this week. more..

Oct 12 (ANN) The Government Nursing Officers Association (GNOA) warned they would resort to trade union action if the report on the inquiry into the conflict between a consultant surgeon at the Sri Lanka National Hospital and its nursing staff was not handed over Tuesday to the Health Secretary. more..

Oct 12 (AP) President Chandrika Kumaratunga has urged Sri Lankans to shoulder the burden of escalating living costs triggered by rising oil prices, warning that crucial development funds could be diverted for subsidies, a news report said yesterday. more..