Oct 13 (DN) The Government will shortly engage in a multi-pronged drive to foster industrial harmony through the creation of a forum for industrial facilitation, lifting ailing industries and the mediation in industrial disputes and the creation of employment opportunities. more..

Oct 13 (IANS) A Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebel leader's request for a meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham during his upcoming visit to the country has been turned down, Xinhua reported. more..

Oct 13 (IL) The Road Development Authority hopes to look into the possibility of re-launching the construction of the Colombo-Katunayake expressway, which has been held up over the past few months. more..

Oct 13 (IL) In the prevailing atmosphere of peace and tranquillity in the country, elaborate arrangements are underway to celebrate the Hindu Deepavali Festival as a national festival on the direction of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. more..

Oct 13 (Hindu) The LTTE has banned the controversial Tamil film, Boys, in rebel-held Sri Lanka, for "crude sexuality" and "imparting false values" among youngsters. The movie, which ran to packed houses in the first couple of weeks in Colombo, was ruled by the LTTE's `film review committee' as one that "dissipated Tamil youth from value traditions, particularly education", more..

Oct 13 (LBO) Local apparels sector will get American assistance to overcome non-quota fears post 2005. A US government delegation is due in Colombo this week to finalise Sri Lanka-US trade pacts on the free trade agreement and the Fabric Forward agreement prior to Prime Minister’s visit to Washington. more..

Oct 13 (LBO) Eight companies have shown interest in starting domestic helicopter operations from December, catering to the tourist boom expected during the winter season. The Civil Aviation Department is expected to give the green light to these operators, as soon as inspections into technicalities of the helicopters and operational matters are sorted out. more..

Oct 13 (LBO) The Colombo stock market is trading close to historic highs, leaving brokers and analyst guessing as to how long the Bull Run can be sustained. Market watchers say there are still good buying opportunities in the Colombo bourse but had varying views on how long the run will last. more..

Oct 13 (TN) “Society should not forget the fact that, as a result of war, children have been facing severe problems with respect to education and nutrition. Poor nutrition affects the development of the body and the brain. If these effects on the children are not immediately addressed, nothing could ever be done later, as the effects would be permanent. more..

Oct 13 (TN) Tamil Rehabilitation Organization in Trincomalee district opened its third divisional office Sunday evening at Kuchchaveli village which is located about 34 km off north of east port town. Trincomalee district political head of LTTE Mr.S.Thilak unveiled the name board more..

Oct 13 (NT) The family of Sri Lankan Tamils, five of whom were killed in a gruesome road accident near Tiruchi today, had none to grieve at their house in West Saidapet, which remained locked. Even the neighbours did not have the keys to the house, in which the family of seven were living for the last eight years. more..

Oct 13 (UNI) External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha will arrive here tomorrow on a three-day visit and will have discussions on bilateral issues, especially in relation to the Indo-Lanka Joint Commission. more..

Oct 13 (DJ) After a successful initial public offering, Sri Lankan diversified company Hemas Holdings Ltd. will debut on the Colombo Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The company will be listed on the bourse's main board and will be classified under the diversified holdings sector, more..

Oct 13 (SLA) Suspected LTTE men, in what was seen as a retaliatory measure against students who opposed LTTE's continuing abduction of their comrades for reasons best known only to the LTTE, have vandalized several houses in the general areas of PUDUKUDYRUPPU and VALAICHCHENAI on 10 October 2003 between 9.00-9.30 p.m. more..

Oct 13 (SLA) LTTE continued to raise its flag at MANNAR STADIUM and also during a football tournament held on 11 October 2003 at the same venue, violating provisions of the Ceasefire Agreement. Similarly, the LTTE has raised its flag in the general area of VAVUNIYA town more..

Oct 13 (SLA) An unidentified group suspected to be from LTTE has reportedly disconnected power supply to about 36 households in the general area of TAMBILUVIL, about 20 km southeast of AMPARA town. more..

Oct 13 (SLA) An LTTE leader in the general area of VELLAVELY was compelled to tender his apology to VELLAVELY Police station on 10 October 2003 around 8.00 a.m. over an allegation made by LTTE against Security Forces who were on night patrol in the area the previous night. more..

Oct 13 (SLA) Father of three youths, who fell victim to LTTE assaults while his sons were in the general area of PONNALAIKADDUWAN, about 8 km east of PALALY on 07 October 2003, has retaliated after stabbing an LTTE cadre whom he came across while he was returning from his paddy field on 12 Oct 2003 more..

Oct 13 (BT) At a recently held Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association (SLAEA), Minister of Enterprise Development Professor G.L. Peiris said that apparel industry in Sril Lanka has not made profits at the expense of social responsibility. more..

Oct 13 (BT) Sri Lankan apparel exporters will get a five percent duty reduction in the European Union market (EU), Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Commerce, announced recently. He was speaking at a seminar to discuss Sri Lanka's performance at the failed Cancun ministerial meeting. more..

Oct 13 (TB) Offline carrier SriLankan Airlines reported a 15 per cent increase in Australian and New Zealand sales last month. “Although it does not fly here in its own right, SriLankan has continued to build its sales through wholesalers and retailers in Australia and New Zealand, more..

Oct 13 (PSL) The President’s Office notes with interest the recent press statement issued by the TNA regarding the situation in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Due to several misconceived and wrong perceptions created regarding the policies of the President, it becomes necessary to set the record straight. more..

Oct 13 (PSL) More than 800 business leaders and politicians are in Singapore this week for the World Economic Forum's (WEF's) annual East Asia summit with globalization again under the spotlight. President Kumaratunga who is on a state visit to Singapore is among the Asian leaders due to address the summit. more..

Oct 13 (DM) President Kumaratunga in a letter to Power and Energy Minister Karu Jayasuriya has said that the combined cycle plants and gas turbines, which were commissioned recently at Kelanitissa including the Marubeni plant, the AES plant, the Fiat GT, have fallen far short of original expectations. more..

Oct 13 (HT) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MG Ramachandran (MGR) was perhaps the greatest benefactor of the LTTE. Till date, sixteen years after his death, he retains their unalloyed love and affection. But in the beginning, he was suspicious of the Tigers, thinking that they were Naxalites. more..

Oct 13 (TN) Journalists in Jaffna protested Sunday against the Sri Lankan armed forces for attacking four reporters in the northern peninsula Saturday night. "This attack calls the bluff that Tamil journalists face no problems now in the Sri Lankan government controlled areas of the northeast", more..

Oct 13 (AFP) Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has defended increased foreign involvement in the island's fragile peace bid and rejected opposition claims this was diluting the island's sovereignty. more..

Oct 13 (HT) Frustrated by the failure to overthrow the anti-LTTE leadership of the TULF, the pro-LTTE elements in that party have revived the Tamil Arasu Katchi (TAK), hoping that TAK's hallowed name will rekindle radicalism in the TULF and prove to be a powerful rallying point. more..

Oct 13 (AP) Prime minister said Monday that foreign involvement has been crucial to the island's peace efforts, rejecting accusations that the government has sacrificed sovereignty. "For the first time the LTTE have sat and put down a set of proposals. This is due to the involvement of the international community," more..

Oct 13 (Reuters) Hashan Tillakaratne has been confirmed as Sri Lanka test captain and Marvan Atapattu will skipper the one-day team for England's six-week tour starting next month. more..

Oct 13 (AFP) Tamil Tiger rebels will hold talks in Norway with Foreign Minister Jan Petersen and other peace brokers before unveiling their power-sharing plan for Sri Lanka's stalled peace process, the Norwegian embassy here said Monday. more..

Oct 13 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels will be forced to make substantive proposals for the first time when they offer power-sharing plans to end the island's civil war, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Monday. more..

Oct 13 (AFP) The army will send some 4,000 of its drivers on refresher courses following a spate of fatal accidents involving military vehicles. The move followed investigations into several deadly accidents involving army drivers which occurred on the island's northern peninsula of Jaffna, more..

Oct 13 (SLA) Commander of the Army, Lt. Gen. L. P Balagalle has appointed a special Board consisting senior Army Officers to probe into the causes that led to the high incidence of military accidents in the northeast in recent weeks, and recommend corrective measures if any, needed to rectify and curb the growing trend. more..

Oct 13 (AP) A Sri Lanka nationalist party vowed Monday, to march toward a controversial rebel camp and demand its removal despite a warning by the government against the move. "We will go somehow," Thilak Karunaratne, president of the Sinhala Heritage party told reporters. more..

Oct 14 (AP) India's foreign minister is traveling to Sri Lanka to discuss bilateral issues and the island's peace process, and to resume discussions of a joint commission that hasn't met for five years, officials said Monday. more..

Oct 14 (TN) The leader of the EPDP in Batticaloa district, Mr. Paraneetharan Pratheepan, and his wife are absconding from the police as the police have been ordered by the Batticaloa Magistrate to produce him in court regarding violations of the law during the elections conducted on December 03, 2000, more..

Oct 14 (TN) A meeting to discuss land issues of Muslim people in the Amparai district was held Sunday at the Amaparai district political secretariat, sources in Amparai said. On behalf of the LTTE, district political head, Mr. Bawa, and his deputy, Kuyilinpan, participated at the meeting. more..

Oct 14 (AFP) Police chief T. E. Anandarajah retired Monday amid an investigation into his alleged links with a drug dealer, a police official said. Anandarajah was under a cloud after police discovered a video tape recently which showed that he had attended a party given by a man described as a drug baron, more..

Oct 14 (N24) South Africa A cricket captain Ashwell Prince scored a career best 182 not out on Monday at the North West Oval to effectively shut Sri Lanka A out of the match, and by extension, the series as well. At stumps on day two, the visitors had recovered from a shaky start to post 115 for three, more..

Oct 14 (TN) A lecture to commemorate Mr. Mylvaganam Nimalarajan, a Tamil journalist based in Jaffna who was murdered allegedly by gunmen of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) in 2000, will be held at the London School of Economics in London, UK, on October 30, sources said. more..

Oct 14 (IL) Kandy has been gripped with the fear of a dengue outbreak following the detection of 63 cases in the month of September. Kandy Mayor Keshara Senanayake made these alarming revelations to councillors of the Kandy Municipality in order to push them into action and bring the situation under control. more..

Oct 14 (IL) Young Entrepreneurs Sri Lanka (YESL) member nation and franchise holder of the Junior Achievement International (JAI), the world’s largest and fastest growing business and economic education programme spread over 112 countries, held its annual awards ceremony today at the BMICH. more..

Oct 14 (IL) Peace does not mean victory to a single party, it should bring victory to all parties concerned. Achieving such a last and durable peace is not an easy task it involves an exchange of ideas said Mass Communications Minister Imthiaz Bakeer Markar. more..

Oct 14 (DN) Commercial Banks in Sri Lanka will create 1,800 new jobs before the end of this year. Preference will be given to graduates from Sri Lankan universities in the recruitment process. This arrangement was made at extensive discussions between Finance Minister K. N. Choksy and Chief Executive Officers of the commercial banks. more..

Oct 14 (Island) Doctors of the Central Province called upon the Department of Health to implement the punishment transfer order given to the Central Provincial Director of Health at least now. more..

Oct 14 (TN) The National Peace Council, a Sri Lankan peace group called on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's government Monday to investigate and prevent recent attacks on Christian churches. more..

Oct 14 (Xinhua) The minority Muslim community holds the key to the success of Sri Lanka's fragile peace process with the Tamil Tiger rebels, leader of the main Muslim political party Rauff Hakeem has said. more..

Oct 14 (Jang) The customs authorities are the major hurdle in finalising the much-awaited Free Trade Agreement (FTA), between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, who have failed to lower the duties on certain number of items from Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 14 (AP) The prosecutor wore a cheap black suit. The judge, sitting on a raised dais, stared down coldly. And in the stand marked "accused," a young man and woman were careful not to look at one another as the charges were read. more..