Oct 31 (TN) Thirty two war affected families from refugee camps in Adapankulam, Poonthottam, Sithamparapuram and Manik Farm in Chettikulam moved Sunday morning at 10 a.m into a new resettlement village in Puliyankulam North built by Tamil Rehabilitaion Organization with funding support from NewZealand Tamil expatriates, more..

Oct 31 (SLA) CONTINUING CYCLE of Tamil Tiger terror tactics against Security Forces and the Police as well as civilians in BATTICALOA, TRINCOMALEE, VAVUNIYA and JAFFNA districts within a span of 24 hours (30th October 2005) inflicted serious injuries on four Army soldiers and three Policemen in separate violent incidents and grenade attacks. more..

Oct 31 (SLA) AN LTTE CADRE, alleged to be from LTTE’s KARUNA faction had reportedly come under hand grenade attack on 30 October 2005 around 5.30 in the morning while the LTTE cadre was in un-cleared THIRUVUCHENA jungle areas in WELIKANDA. more..

Oct 31 (SLA) SIX TAMIL TIGERS from LTTE PRABHAKARAN faction stormed a shop on KOKKUVIL road, SINNA URANI in BATTICALOA on Saturday (29) night at about 11.00 p.m. and got away with cash and valuables after threatening the shopkeeper with death. more..

Oct 31 (PRIU) I am indeed happy to greet today the followers of Hinduism in our land and throughout the world. Deepavali or the festival lights is of great significance, it is an event which celebrates prosperity which dispels ignorance and cruelty and spreads the light of wisdom. more..

Oct 31 (LBO) Sri Lanka's inflation rate for October eased marginally to 12.5 percent due to a price reduction in some food items, the Census & Statistics Board said Monday. Authorities use the annual moving average – as measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index – to calculate the country's inflation data. more..

Oct 31 (LBO) Despite increased demand for sand, available stocks of sea sand are not being used to fill in tsunami reconstruction sand needs. From January to now only 30,000 cubes from the two million metre cubes of sea sand stockpile in Muthurajawela, has been sold, says the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation. more..

Oct 31 (PRIU) The Government in a message condemning the terror attack on the Indian capital said ‘it was deeply distressed to learn of the bomb blasts’. The explosions in New Delhi on Saturday evening caused significant casualties. more..

Oct 31 (LM) Disbanding the Army was the solution Somawansa Amarasinghe had proposed; ‘of course they do not need a military, since they themselves are an army. Should their alliance win the Presidential election it will lead to a Milatary like regime in Sri Lanka' warned Hakeem more..

Oct 31 (LM) While a federal solution remains the best option to resolve the North and East conflict, the LTTE has to give up violence and prove itself a trustworthy talking partner for the south to accept federalism, former US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said yesterday. more..

Oct 31 (UNP) UNP Presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday condemned the killing of Lt Col Meedin by the LTTE and warned that the increasing trend of killings of government and LTTE members could snowball into a war, unless urgent action was taken to reverse this process. more..

Oct 31 (CT) Leading local entrepreneurs and the trade chamber officials seek government intervention to launch proposed power projects including Norochcholai coal power plant. They said that their industries need uninterrupted and cheap power sources to produce their products and services and reduce cost of production. more..

Oct 31 (SLBC) The Election Coordinating office of the SLFP has condemned the assassination of the Army Intelligence Chief Lieutenant Colonel Thuan Rizzle Meedin. In a release Minister Susil Premajayanth has expressed deep condolences to the family of the deceased. more..

Oct 31 (SLBC) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse says he has drafted a comprehensive action plan to address the problems faced by the estate community. Under his programme each family will be given a plot of land of 7 perches ending their hard lives spent in congested line houses for over 150 years. more..

Oct 31 (GU) 'It is the intention of Mr Ranil Wickramasinghe to generate a 'mod' farmer without hanging cheeks and whose buttocks are not visible as in the traditional clothing." So read a pre-election press release this month by one Dr Rajitha Senaratne, MP and member of the leading opposition UNP, more..

Oct 31 (AFP) Sri Lanka will cut international direct dialling to 13 countries next week in a bid to stop "modem hijacking" and Internet porn scams. The main international gateway operator, Sri Lanka Telecom, was asked to halt direct dialling to the 13 nations after complaints that subscribers were billed for long-distance calls they never made. more..

Oct 31 (PIS) The TULF yesterday said the LTTE are never be grateful. They seek the protection from the Army and then kill them, said V. Anandasangaree. Condemning the latest killing of Army intelligence officer, Anandasangaree said "I strongly condemn the killing of the officer whoever it may be. No one has the right to kill anybody. more..

Oct 31 (PIS) Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) leader V. Anandasangaree said he wants to meet John Cushnahan, the Chief Observer of the European Union, election observation mission, to ask him to watch the LTTE during the forthcoming Presidential elections. more..

Oct 31 (SAMN) “Monks from various parts of the country will assemble on November 8, at 9.00 a.m. at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium to mobilise to defeat separation, protect the motherland from non-national forces and elect a patriotic leader” declared the Registrar of the Samastha Lanka Pavidi Organization more..

Oct 31 (SAMN) IT is the responsibility of the people to see that the programmes initiated by the Government for qualitative improvement in the country are taken forward by electing an honest leader and guiding him on the correct path through their constructive criticism, President Kumaratunga said Sunday. more..

Oct 31 (AT) Tamil Eelam Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TVMP), the political formation led by V. Muralitharan alias Colonel Karuna has slammed a newspaper report emanating from Colombo for publishing news report alleging them of involved in a threat campaign against the UNP Presidential election candidates. more..

Oct 31 (LNP) Initial police investigations into Saturday night`s killing, of senior Military Intelligence officer, Lt. Col. T. Rizvi Meedin, had revealed that the shots were fired by a person who had been travelling with the officer in his official car. more..

Oct 31 (LNP) The UNP yesterday accused the government of destroying unused tsunami relief material that has been lying in storage for over ten months. UNP Member of Parliament Gamini Lokuge told a press conference that stocks of material such as medicine and foodstuff that were given by the foreign donors which have not been used have been burnt by the government to show the public that no misdeeds have been committed. more..

Oct 31 (LNP) There is much hullabaloo over the abuse by the government of the state media. The Opposition is demanding that it be stopped forthwith and has sought the assistance of the Polls Chief for that purpose. The state media has always been in the same predicament as a damsel trapped in a brothel run by thugs. more..

Oct 31 (Reuters) In a presidential election race still seen too close to call, the votes of Sri Lankan tsunami survivors like 54-year-old R. Gunarathna Silva could be critical -- and he is not happy with the government. The retired driver was sitting on the beach on the morning of December 26 when the wave hit. more..

Oct 31 (CI) Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the difference between India and Sri Lanka as what appeared to be an even contest turned out to be another romp for the home team at Jaipur. Set a stiff run-chase of 299, India eased to victory - and a 3-0 lead in the seven-match series - with 23 balls to spare, thanks to an astonishing 145-ball 183 not out by Dhoni, more..

Oct 31 (DN) THERE has been no signing of a memorandum with the Jathika Hela Urumaya in respect of religion, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse said Friday. "Information has been received that leaflets are being distributed carrying information to say we have signed such agreements. This is false," more..

Oct 31 (TN) A delegation from the European Union Election Observation Mission led by Mr. Cushnahan and accompanied by the Head of the EU Delegation to Sri Lanka, Ambassador Julian Wilson, and by the EU EOM Election Expert Ms. Idoia Aranceta met the Election Commissioner today, at 11.30 am at the Election Secretariat. more..

Oct 31 (TN) In a press release issued Monday, the SLMM condemned the killing of Lieutenant Colonel Meedin in Colombo Saturday and urged "the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to work together to end the violence in the country so that the confidence between the two Parties can be restored and the Peace Process continued." more..

Oct 31 (AN) Oxfam has begun reconstruction of the tsunami-damaged schools in Sri Lanka. The foundation stone for the first school to be rebuilt Oxfam, was laid on Friday by Oxfam International’s Lead Regional Manager Chris Eijkemans at Shariputra Mahavidyalaya at Ahangama in Galle. more..

Oct 31 (Xinhua) A Sri Lankan independent polls watch group said Monday that the run up to Sri Lanka's Nov. 17 presidential poll has been of a less violent nature in comparison with previous elections. more..

Oct 31 (TP) Police have imposed a news blackout on the media in relation to the number of polls-related incidents and abuse of state property by politicians. The Sunday Times said Police Chief Chandra Fernando took the decision after consulting Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake. more..

Oct 31 (AP) Investigators have uncovered several key clues in the killing of a top intelligence officer by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels, Sri Lanka's police chief said Monday. Lt. Col. Rizwi Meedin was fatally shot late Saturday near his home just outside the capital, Colombo. more..

Oct 31 (AP) Government on Monday condemned the killing of a top intelligence officer and called for immediate talks with Tamil Tiger rebels to review a rapidly fraying cease-fire. Lt. Col. Rizwi Meedin was fatally shot late Saturday near his home just outside the capital, Colombo. more..

Oct 31 (HT) If Mahinda Rajapaksa, candidate of the ruling SLFP for the Presidency, is the darling of the voters in south Sri Lanka, it is because he is from the south. "He is a southern man," people of the south say, when asked why they prefer him to his principal rival, Ranil Wickremesinghe of the opposition UNP. more..