Apr 8 (BBC) It is more than just coincidence Sri Lanka are seeking a captain and a coach at the same time. And there are no outstanding candidates to take on either role and no obvious blueprint for the future. more..

Apr 8 (TN) Thousands of expatriate tamils from United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, France and other European countries, Monday, joined a march to the United Nations (UN) building in Geneva where sessions on Human Rights issues are being held at the UN, more..

Apr 8 (AFP) Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga is scheduled to visit Bangladesh later this month, a foreign ministry source said Tuesday. "It will be a two-day official visit from April 19," the source said. more..

Apr 8 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels agreed on Tuesday to stop moving their cadres through government-controlled areas at night, truce monitors said. more..

Apr 8 (IANS) For a bunch of Sinhalese actors, it is like reliving a war-ravaged past every time they go up on stage. The characters of soldiers without legs in their dance drama are actually played by soldiers without legs -- limbs lost while fighting in Sri Lanka's 20-year-old ethnic conflict. more..

Apr 8 (BBC) A Buddhist monk has been found guilty of the murder of a hotel worker whose body he dumped in a suitcase. Nalaka Thero Rathmalane, 36, from Sri Lanka, has been convicted of killing his colleague Siriwimala Thero Patapiliyagoda, 30, who was also Sri Lankan and known throughout the trial as Wimal. more..

Apr 8 (UNI) Rejecting the report of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) over the mid-sea attack on the Chinese trawler as "unsatisfactory and biased," President Chandrika Kumaratunga has asked the Navy Commander to submit a report within two weeks on the issue, more..

Apr 9 (TN) The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and the LTTE Tuesday agreed to hold a meeting with the local heads of Sri Lankan Government armed forces on April 21 at the no-man zone in the Mutur area, south of Trincomalee town, more..

Apr 9 (BL) By all accounts, Sri Lanka is a good country to travel to these days. Colombo is a happening place with its famous parties, memories of bomb blasts and wars have receded, there is no SARS here yet, the seafood is fresh and delicious, and above all everybody is either reaping a peace dividend, or is waiting for one to reach them eventually. more..

Apr 9 (AFP) Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga has accused Scandinavian truce monitors of bias and said they were trying to place Tamil Tiger rebels on a par with her government, her office said Tuesday. more..

Apr 9 (Island) The opposition PA yesterday termed the proposed Peace Bill referendum of the government as a "lunatic act" and said that it was useless to ask the people whether they like peace or not when even the government does not know what the final solution is going to be. more..

Apr 9 (LBO) Nivasiepura, one of the large suburban housing developments in the country, has announced the launch of a new two-storey semi-luxury model to its range in a major enhancement of options to customers. more..

Apr 9 (LBO) Questions are being raised over a 20 Mhz of frequency allocation in the 1800 Mhz spectrum range to Electroteks Private Limited for free. Reliable sources close to the TRC said that Themia Hurulle, Director General of the Commission had approved the allocation at the previous frequency spectrum meeting, against the wishes of the rest of the committee. more..

Apr 9 (TN) Sri Lankan armed force soldiers who are on a hunger strike in front of the Fort Railway Station in downtown Colombo in protest against their dismissal from service said Wednesday they would fast unto death in batches of four until their grievance is addressed by the Ministry of Defence. more..

Apr 9 (TN) Within the last week, the telephone cables have been mysteriously cut in three regions of the Batticaloa district. In the Kathankudy area, the cables were methodically cut at several important locations on Saturday and thousands of telephone connections were lost, sources said. more..

Apr 9 (TN) "We are not against the Sinhalese and we are not for violence; we do not use the word 'peace' as a mere slogan. Our future depends on the success of peace," said Jaffna district political head of the LTTE, Mr.C.Ilamparuthi, more..

Apr 9 (SLA) A protest campaign, demanding the immediate release of two Sinhala civilians who went missing on 05 April 2003 while they were plying on a three wheeler in the general area of ANDANKULAM, about 06 km northwest of TRINCOMALEE town, is now on at TRINCOMALEE town center. (9 April 2003). more..

Apr 9 (SLA) A group of about ten armed men, believed to be from LTTE have robbed a motor bicycle belonging to a civilian in the general area of MALIGATENNA, about 04 km east of ARALAGANWILA on 07 April 2003 around 9.30 p.m. more..

Apr 9 (SLA) A group of LTTE cadres, who stormed the residence of the civilian, A. SUDAHARAN of No. 4, POLICE STATION ROAD, CHENKALADY, have vandalized his house in the general area of CHENKALADY on 07 April 2003 around 8.45 p.m. apparently to take their revenge on him. more..

Apr 9 (Gulf) No team in the history of the game has won a tournament after being led by a reluctant captain and a sacked coach. Sri Lanka was led by Sanath Jayasuriya, who had refused to lead the side in this tournament, and coached by Dav Whatmore, whom the Sri Lankan cricket board have decided not to retain after this tournament. more..

Apr 9 (Gulf) A group of former paramilitary guards who were deployed to guard suspected Tamil guerrillas and other military operations have begun a fast unto death, demanding the payment of compensation and causing embarrassment to the defence establishment. more..

Apr 9 (Gulf) A Tamil guerrilla returning from India with a stock of explosives has been arrested along with 24 other Sri Lankan refugees who were being ferried back to the country by an Indian boatman, reports said. Three Indian nationals and the guerrilla have been remanded pending investigations. more..

Apr 9 (DOI) The Ministry of Industries has started a new project called “Dirigamana Industrial Site and Training Centre” to introduce a new Industrial Culture. It will boost the industrial development in the country. more..

Apr 9 (DOI) Extremely poor people will soon benefit from a Community Based Programme planned by the Ministry of Rural Economy. The project will begin in July, soon after signing of the Aid Agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the World Bank. more..

Apr 9 (DOI) Six hundred youth are soon to benefit from an inter Ministry initiative planned by the Government. In May of this year a new project will be launched to create six hundred poly greenhouses, each of 1000 sq ft in size for local youth to farm at the Uva Paranagama in Badulla District. more..

Apr 9 (DM) A small group behaving like terrorists are trying to take over the Sri Jayawardenapura University but they will be dealt with sternly, Vice Chancellor D.S. Epitawatte vowed yesterday. more..

Apr 9 (DN) The Health Ministry yesterday decided to implement an integrated programme with the private health sector to face any threat posed by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which is fast spreading worldwide. more..

Apr 9 (PTI) Sri Lanka has denied there was any move to shift the jinxed South Asian Federation (SAF) Games from Islamabad to Colombo so that the oft-postponed event could go ahead. more..

Apr 9 (Reuters) Stocks rose on Wednesday on improved volumes as brokers said sentiment had picked up on hopes the war in Iraq could end soon. The key Colombo all-share index finished up 0.78 percent, or 6.09 points, at 786.20 points. more..

Apr 9 (Reuters) Sri Lankan marine fuel bunker barge operator, Lanka Marine Services Ltd, has bought 6,000 tonnes of gas oil for April delivery via tender, a company official said on Wednesday. more..

Apr 9 (Reuters) The International Monetary Fund board will meet next week to approve $560 million in loans to Sri Lanka, an official said on Wednesday, describing the second major credit package this month to back the island's peace bid. more..

Apr 9 (IL) The public administration programme of the Colombo Plan has received a US $200,000 boost from Japan. Japanese Ambassador Seiichiro Otsuka handed over the cheque to Colombo Plan Secretary-General U. Sarat Chandran at a simple ceremony at the embassy on Monday. more..

Apr 9 (IL) Some 5000 workers of the Ceylon Electricity Board are planning to stage a one-day token strike tomorrow while other unions are getting set for strikes after the New Year in support of demands relating to salary anomalies and the proposed restructuring. more..

Apr 9 (AFP) Sri Lanka is to study the South African process of "national reunification" as a model to end the island's decades-old conflict with Tamil rebels, an official has said. The top government peace negotiator, G. L. Peiris, leaves for South Africa to undertake the study, an aide said Tuesday. more..

Apr 9 (wsws) The sixth round of peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE went ahead in Japan on March 18-21 despite threats by LTTE leaders to pull out following the sinking of one of their vessels by the Sri Lankan navy on March 10. more..

Apr 9 (TN) Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Lieutenant General Lionel Balagalle, and Additional Secretary to Ministry of Defence, Karaliyadde, are arriving in Jaffna Wednesday afternoon for discussions with Tamil Officials related to identifying a suitable location to move the existing SLA garrison, more..

Apr 9 (IPS) Despite the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, workers from Sri Lanka are continuing to travel to countries like Kuwait next door, even as Asian labour-sending countries try to see what role there would be for their workers in the Middle East after this war. more..

Apr 9 (AFP) The next round of Sri Lankan peace talks which are due to be held in Thailand could take place elsewhere because of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak, government officials have said. more..

Apr 9 (HNS) A Maldivian woman was found murdered on Monday in her Colombo apartment. Ramiza Ahmed, 50, of H. Hudhuruvaamaage, went to Sri Lanka for medical purposes and was found murdered in her beachfront apartment in Mount Lavinia. more..

Apr 9 (AFP) Sri Lanka's Foreign Correspondents' Association Wednesday expressed dismay over the killings of journalists in Iraq and called for an independent inquiry. more..

Apr 10 (TN) The TNA’s talks with the defense ministry officials at the Jaffna district secretariat Wednesday afternoon failed to arrive at a consensus on the question of finding an alternative site for the SLA’s Jaffna town brigade headquarters, more..

Apr 10 (Island) Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said only the President has powers to call for a referendum according to the constitution of the country and that the government cannot call for a referendum on its own. more..

Apr 10 (Hindu) The LTTE has called upon India and the U.S. to "rethink" their policies on the organisation banned by both the countries. "Our wish is that India should forget the bitterness that existed between us in the past and work with us to bring a just solution for our people's suffering," Anton S. Balasingham, reportedly told more..

Apr 10 (AFP) The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers are to finalise an "action plan' to help demobilise hundreds of child soldiers, the UN agency said Wednesday. more..

Apr 10 (LBO) Sri Lankans can now get their empty gas cylinder refilled from any manufacturer or trader of liquid petroleum gas. The Internal Trade Dept. announced its controversial decision on Wednesday, to support new LPG entrant Mundo Gas. more..

Apr 10 (SLA) Naval troops on duty in the general area of PODUWAKATTU took three men suspected to have been involved in criminal activities into custody on 9 April 2003 on suspicion. more..

Apr 10 (SLA) The protest campaign launched by sections of Sinhala organizations on Wednesday (9) at TRINCOMALEE town center demanding the immediate release of two Sinhala civilians from suspected LTTE custody, ended peacefully after agitators handed over a memorandum to the representatives of the SLMM. more..

Apr 10 (SLA) On information provided by civilians, Policemen have arrested five suspicious persons from the general area of PALLAIMUNAI, about 01 km. northeast of MANNAR town on 08 April 2003 around 9.40 p.m. along with some items. more..

Apr 10 (DOI) The Ministry of Industries has started a new project called “Dirigamana Industrial Site and Training Centre” to introduce a new Industrial Culture. It will boost the industrial development in the country. more..

Apr 10 (Reuters) Sanath Jayasuriya has stood down as Sri Lanka captain. The 33-year-old all-rounder quit the job in the wake of Sri Lanka's disappointing performance at the Sharjah Cup and has already indicated he would like to see Marvan Atapattu appointed as his successor. more..