Oct 16 (SLBC) The Education and Information exhibition, celebrating childhood organized by the Ministry of Mass Communication in connection with the Universal Children?s Day will commence at the BMICH today. It will be held for three days. more..

Oct 16 (PTI) BSNL and Sri Lanka Telecom had plans to lay an India-Sri Lanka submarine cable to meet the growing demand for telecommunications, Dayanidhi Maran, the Union Minister for Communication and Information Technology, said here today. more..

Oct 16 (NT) The inauguration of the direct link for international long distance telecom services between India and Sri Lanka today is yet another step in strengthening the growing bilateral ties between the two countries. more..

Oct 16 (SN) Mr Udaya Gammanpila, former Propaganda Secretary of the JHU yesterday denied the rumor that he was joining UNP. There was a rumor that Mr Gammanpila was invited by the UNP to be their Maharagama Organizer. Making a strong denial Mr Gammanpila had told Daily Mirror that he prefers grave over UNP. more..

Oct 16 (SN) The Supreme Sangha Council decided to take over the functions of the party hierarchy from lay posts," the party parliamentary group leader Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera said SinhalaNet more..

Oct 16 (Gulf) The Sri Lankan government is carefully studying the possible impact of a controversial ship canal project to be launched by India off the northern and north western coast of the country. more..

Oct 16 (IANS) Two Italian women tourists and their Sri Lankan driver were killed in an accident Friday night in Sri Lanka's Habarana town, 170 km from here. Four other Italians were injured in the mishap, and were admitted to a nearby hospital, reports Xinhua. more..

Oct 16 (DN) President Chandrika Kumaratunga yesterday stressed the need to conserve existing natural resources and implementing new tree planting projects, a press release from the President's Office said. more..

Oct 16 (Xinhua) Tamil Tiger rebels have said that they are willing to discuss the counter proposals worked out by the government when the two sides resume the stalled peace talks, the state-owned Daily News reported on Saturday. more..

Oct 16 (HT) The LTTE has denied that it has diluted its condition to begin peace talks with the Government. Denying reports in the media that a breakthrough had been achieved and that the militant group had agreed to discuss the government's counter proposal on Interim Administration in the country's North Eastern Province, LTTE's spokesman Daya Master said that there was no change in the stand. more..

Oct 16 (AT) The LTTE released the two home guards under their arrest on Saturday afternoon following a meeting C. Elilan, Trincomalee area LTTE Political Wing leader had with the SLMM and the senior Police officers in the Trincomalee district on Saturday afternoon. more..

Oct 16 (TN) Hundreds of Tamil, Sinhala and Muslim youths, both boys and girls, from more than sixteen regions in Batticaloa district, assembled in Batticaloa town for a three day Youth Peace Convention from Friday to Sunday to stress the urgency for peace and unity between the communities, more..

Oct 16 (TN) Liberation Tigers’ Political Strategist and Chief Negotiator, Mr. Anton Balasingham, in his new book published this month, provides “a critical elucidation of all peace efforts the LTTE participated in, from Thimpu talks to the recent Norwegian facilitated negotiations,” the books publishers said this week. more..

Oct 16 (CI) Under lights at the Gaddafi in Lahore, Sri Lanka held aloft the Paktel Cup. They had won when it mattered most, and had weathered every crisis of the day. The dew factor, that scourge of bowlers under lights at this ground, was made irrelevant as they kept the pressure on Pakistan's stroke-makers, who stumbled, crumbled and hit the dust. more..

Oct 17 (TN) The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Saturday launched its first district political awareness campaign in Trincomalee district by organizing a discussion with a group of prominent Muslim citizens in the east port town at Trincomalee New Silver Star Hotel, TNA sources said. more..

Oct 17 (TN) "We released the two Sinhala home guards as a goodwill gesture to the efforts taken by the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM) for the release of ten cadres of the LTTE," said Mr.S.Elilan, LTTE Trincomalee district political head of the LTTE. more..

Oct 17 (AT) Elder statesman of India, Inder Kumar Gujral is clearly allergic to India either perceiving itself as a Big Brother or letting other nations of the region see it a Big Brother. more..

Oct 17 (AT) While every rational, moderate and progressive minded person the world over hopes John Kerry will beat George Bush, invader of independent Iraq, Sinhala hardliners already denounced him some months ago for allegedly supporting the LTTE (Sunday Island, Aug 1). more..

Oct 17 (AT) An absurd principle is nursed by the modern scientists that Darwin’s theory provides the instrument that helps dissect, how evolution of species takes place, notwithstanding the fact that ‘Natural selection’ is lacking the most rudimentary mechanisms involved with an individual creature’s battle for survival. Indeed this hypothesis disregards; more..

Oct 17 (PTI) Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar on Saturday described leg-spinner Shane Warne’s record breaking feat of claiming 533 Test wickets as a brilliant one and said the Aussie’s rivalry with Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralidharan was “a healthy competition”. more..

Oct 17 (Reuters) Critical comments by Sri Lanka's chief selector Asantha De Mel spurred Sri Lanka on to win the three-nation one-day final against Pakistan on Saturday said captain Marvan Atapattu. more..

Oct 17 (Rupavahini) They also seized 09 passports with photographs of Tamil Nationals from the possession of the suspect. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect was the master mind of a racket to send people to foreign countries illegally using forged passports. more..

Oct 17 (Rupavahini) President Kumaratunge said that the time is opportune for everyone to join hands for a revolutionary change to build a humane Society based on knowledge and moral values. The country's better social Environment was badly affected by sudden decisions taken by certain rulers. more..

Oct 17 (LBO) Treasury bond auctions on Thursday for three and four year bonds bring in over Rs 4 bn each. At the Treasury bond auctions held on Thursday bonds maturing in 2007 and 2008 were offered to the market. more..

Oct 17 (AFP) Sri Lanka’s government said it was ready with new proposals to resume peace talks with Tamil Tiger guerrillas and hammer out a political solution to the island’s bloody ethnic conflict. more..

Oct 17 (UO) Sri Lanka, which has been wrecked by many years of civil war, needs investors with construction expertise and experience, its finance minister, Dr Sarath Arumugama, said Tuesday. more..

Oct 17 (SO) Reports of seven missing Indian fishermen since the sinking of two Indian trawlers, September 7, close to the coast of Talaimannar is considered another Indian hoax to continue poaching in the island's lucrative waters. more..

Oct 17 (SLA) A Tamil civilian resident in the general area of PUTUR, BATTICALOA came under hand grenade attack late night on Saturday (16) while victim was inside his house a sleep. more..

Oct 17 (SLBC) A stock of books valued at 350,000 rupees will be donated to the Jaffna library. The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Sri Lanka Arts Council will make the donation in Jaffna next Saturday. more..

Oct 17 (SLBC) A stock of books valued at 350,000 rupees will be donated to the Jaffna library. The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Sri Lanka Arts Council will make the donation in Jaffna next Saturday. more..

Oct 17 (HT) The LTTE has denied widespread rumours that the supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran and the group's naval chief Soosai have fallen out. Anton Balasingham, the LTTE's political advisor, told the Tamil daily Sudar Oli, that the rumour was "baseless" more..

Oct 17 (JT) A Royal Jordanian Airbus 310 heading for Amman with 173 people on board on Friday encountered unusually strong turbulence 70 minutes after take off from Colombo Airport in Sri Lanka. A Royal Jordanian source said six passengers and three crew members sustained light bruises as a result of the incident. more..

Oct 17 (Xinhua) Japanese special envoy Yasushi Akashi will arrive here later this month to push for the early resumption of peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels, the state-owned Sunday Observer newspaper reported. more..

Oct 17 (ANN) Lanka IOC, the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Indian Oil Corporation, has proposed a major bunkering hub in Trincomalee, in the eastern province of Sri Lanka, which has one of the world’s finest natural harbors. more..

Oct 17 (TP) The government has approved a proposal by Women’s Empowerment and Social Welfare Minister Sumedha Jayasena, for one-third (33 per cent) representation for women in local authorities. more..

Oct 17 (IANS) A cricket bat donated by former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya was auctioned for Rs.2.1 million at a fund-raiser here for the National Commission for Human Development. more..

Oct 17 (AFP) Car prices in Sri Lanka rose sharply as dealers warned that they were being driven out of business by a steep increase in import taxes. The new tax was announced on Friday, prompting dealers to raise prices on old stocks by 1,000 to 3,000 US dollars. more..

Oct 17 (PIS) In a fresh attempt to develop a rapport with the LTTE, Presidential spokesman Harim Peiris has visited the LTTE-held Wanni for talks on continuing rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the uncleared areas. more..

Oct 17 (Xinhua) An illicit love affair led to six deaths including a policeman in Negombo, police said Sunday. The policeman serving in the western coastal town of Negombo, shot dead his wife andher three relatives over an argument Saturday night before he visited his paramour nearby and also killed her. more..

Oct 17 (G2L) The internal clashes between the old Sihala Urumaya members and the bhikku politicians of the Jathika Hela Urumaya have reached its climax making the JHU spokesman Buddhist monk parliamentarian Uduwe Dhammaloka to declare that people connected to the Sihala Urumaya were opportunist self-seekers who were making use of national issues for their own ends. more..

Oct 17 (HT) India and Sri Lanka are yet to negotiate the rules for the use of the strategic military-cum-civil airport at Palaly in Jaffna district, after it is upgraded with Indian technical and financial assistance, according to an official Indian source in New Delhi. more..

Oct 17 (AP) The government said Sunday it was optimistic about reviving peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels, as fresh diplomatic efforts seek to end an 18-month deadlock that has threatened to plunge Sri Lanka back to civil war. more..

Oct 17 (AFP) Sri Lanka's stalled peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels will resume early next month, ending an 18-month deadlock in the Norwegian-backed process, a state-run newspaper reported. more..

Oct 17 (AFP) Dashing Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya said he has one more cricket wish -- to guide his country to another World Cup win in the West Indies in 2007. "The wish is there, if I can guide Sri Lanka to win the World Cup... it would be the best thing I can do for Sri Lankan cricket. But for that I have to keep performing and keep my fitness," more..

Oct 18 (TN) TNA addressing first public rally held in Trincomalee Town Hall Saturday night as a part of the three day political awareness campaign in the district stressed that Tamils should strengthen the hands of the LTTE to establish the ISGA more..

Oct 18 (TN) Liberation Tigers delegation led by Head of Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan, arrived in Brussels Saturday, sources close to the LTTE said. The LTTE delegation is scheduled to meet with European Union (EU) officials on Monday. more..

Oct 18 (UNI) A high level Indian delegation of defence officials will visit Colombo next week "to discuss the proposed Defence Cooperation Agreement" between the two neighbouring countries, a media report said here today. more..

Oct 18 (AT) What was the motive, or the intention behind the launching of a new political formation? Why the policies and the aims of the new party have not been succinctly told right in the beginning? Is he expecting a new power or authority for himself and his cadres by ballot, whereas his former boss - Prabakaran believed in the barrel of the gun? more..

Oct 18 (BBC) Founder leader of Sinhala nationalist party Sihala Urumaya (SU) left it to join the UNP on Sunday. "It is worth joining the UNP than the ruling UPFA with the JVP in it" said Thilak Karunaratne attending a public rally in Bandaragama welcoming him back to the UNP. more..

Oct 18 (BBC) The LTTE says that it has not received any favourable feed back from the government about recommencing peace negotiations in the next month. LTTE political wing leader S P Tamilselvan told the BBC on Sunday that the "LTTE will not conduct talks on any other basis than the ISGA proposals." more..