Apr 15 (Reuters) Skipper Marvan Atapattu hopes Zimbabwe resolve their player crisis and field a full-strength side during his team's forthcoming tour. Sri Lanka travel to Zimbabwe on Thursday with Atapattu, worried about motivating his players against second string opposition. more..

Apr 15 (Reuters) Sri Lanka cricket chief Mohan de Silva is confident that Muttiah Muralitharan's controversial 'doosra' or wrong'un delivery will be cleared following a biomechanical report on his action. more..

Apr 15 (Hindu) The LTTE said that a three-pronged offensive on the expelled military commander, V. Muralitharan (`Col.' Karuna) made it possible for the main group to retake rebel-held Batticaloa region. more..

Apr 15 (LBO) The European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (ECCSL) will offer some final words of wisdom to the small and medium scale garment manufacturers on how to survive in the post 2005 quota free era. more..

Apr 15 (Rupavahini) The secretary of parliament says a special information centre will be maintained at the parliamentary premises from today until the 17th of this month for the benefit of newly elected MPs. more..

Apr 15 (Rupavahini) Cases will be filed against 6 persons including two sons of former minister S.B. Dissanayake and son of former minister Mahinda Wijesekera. They have been released on bail for damaging a vehicle of the ministry of tertiary education at a leading hotel in Colombo. more..

Apr 15 (LT) The president house at Colombo invited JVP high rankers for a discussion. The problem of ministries allocated for the JVP would have been discussed in these UPFA discussions, political commentators predicted. more..

Apr 15 (G2L) The Sinhala film “Yakada Pihatu” (Iron Feathers) will be screened at the Los Angeles Film School Cinema Hall on Sunset Blvd. , April 17 at 9 p.m. The film presented by Asian Film and Drama Foundation is starred by Ranjan Ramanayaka, Anoja Weerasinghe, Dilhani Ekanayaka and Samini Iddamalgoda. more..

Apr 15 (NW) Unconfirmed reports said that LTTE breakway leader Karuna left the shores of Sri Lanka with the assistance of the government forces. Reports from Eastern Sri Lanka said that Karuna was frisked out of his hide-out on early Wednesday morning and was being "shipped" out an undisclosed location. more..

Apr 15 (CI) Marvan Atapattu, leading the Sri Lankan Test team in a series for the first time, has called for his batsmen to accept greater responsibility and take a leaf out of Brian Lara's book. more..

Apr 15 (BBC) A meeting is shortly due to take place between the Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan army. It is the first since a split in the rebel movement earlier this year, and signals a return to normalcy. It coincides with the news that a senior Tamil Tiger rebel was killed by the leader of the breakaway faction, Colonel Karuna. more..

Apr 15 (Sify) Mahinda Rajapakse, 58, was sworn in as new prime minister last week after the UPFA won the general elections. One of his first acts on assumption of office was to assure the world that the uncertainty generated over the stalled peace process, exacerbated by the Tamil Tigers' threat to resume insurgency, would be one of his chief concerns. more..

Apr 15 (EI) A WEEK after the Anti-Terrorist Squad busted a fake currency racket allegedly controlled by operatives of the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, an ATS team on Tuesday evening arrested one Sailesh Parekh from New Delhi. more..

Apr 15 (Guardian) Sri Lanka Cricket heightened speculation that Muttiah Muralitharan's "doosra" is illegal by refusing yesterday to reveal details of the independent report into the spin bowler's action. more..

Apr 15 (AFP) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Thursday it will lend about $15 million to Sri Lanka to overhaul the country's deteriorating road network. The loan will help the government efficiently manage the early stages of road projects to avoid delays in implementation, more..

Apr 15 (AP) For 42 days, one of the best-known commanders in the Tamil Tigers' ruthless fighting machine held onto his fiefdom after breaking away from the main rebel group. Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan had 6,000 fighters, a secure supply line and an arsenal that included artillery and mortars. more..

Apr 15 (DN) Over 300 children from all over the country will convene at the BMICH on April 20 to address national leaders and civil society to mark Global Action Week. Global Action Week is organized around the world by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) and over 100 countries will participate in the event this year. more..

Apr 15 (AFP) Sri Lanka had expected Tiger rebels to crush a revolt before resuming Norwegian-backed peace negotiations, but diplomats and analysts say a swift end to the crisis has not brought them closer to talks. more..

Apr 15 (HT) The Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC), the largest party of Indian Origin Tamils (IOT) in Sri Lanka, has serious reservations about joining the United Peoples' Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, Hindustan Times learns. more..

Apr 15 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's military denied on Thursday it was harbouring a breakaway rebel commander as the Tamil Tigers warned any assistance to the renegade they ousted at the weekend would damage the island's peace process. more..

Apr 15 (HT) When he raised the banner of revolt against the LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaan in early March, the breakaway Eastern Commander, Col Karuna, had 6,000 men under him. The array of weapons in his hands was impressive, with artillery and heavy mortars to give the punch. more..

Apr 15 (AFP) Sri Lanka's cricket authorities are confident ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan will be allowed to bowl using his controversial new delivery after receiving a report on his bowling action. more..

Apr 15 (ET) Not YET Somebody Big in biz, but got a lurking global dream? But don’t know where to begin? Take heart. Sri Lanka, the original land of serendipity located just 650 km off Chennai by air, can well be your launchpad for a global take-off, even if only for an experimental flight. more..

Apr 15 (TT) The Union of Missing Persons’ Parents stated that at least 600 civilians were reported to have been arrested by the security forces during 1996 and 1997 and their whereabouts are not known. more..

Apr 16 (Reuters) Thirteen of Zimbabwe's most experienced players including former captain Heath Streak have refused to play in the home series against Sri Lanka starting next week. The players said they took the decision after a row over selection. more..

Apr 16 (TN) The Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lanka army held discussions Wednesday afternoon on restoring relations in the Batticaloa and Amparai districts in Vavunathivu, 5 kilometres northwest of the Batticaloa town. more..

Apr 16 (TN) The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian from the Jaffna district, Mr.S.Gajendran, said Thursday that the international community has accepted that the Liberation Tigers’ military wing safeguards and protects the Tamil people. more..

Apr 16 (TN) Hundreds of residents, men and women, Thursday held a picketing campaign in front of the district government hospital in Thampalakamam, an agricultural village located about 27 km southwest of Trincomalee town, protesting against the failure of the health administration to fill several vacancies for medical officers, more..

Apr 16 (TN) The first parliamentary group meeting of the UPFA is scheduled to be held on April 17, coinciding with the birthday of the late Prime Minister, Ms.Srimavo Bandaranaike, the mother of the President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, sources said. more..

Apr 16 (SN) The UPFA has replaced Mr Ratnasiri Wickremanayake by Mr D E W Gunasekera as the candidate for the speaker post. Mr D E W Gunasekera is the general secretary of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka and had been a parliamentarian since 1994. more..

Apr 16 (SN) The appointment of the JVP ministers has further postponed since they sticked to their demands. They have demanded to include State Film Corporation to Ministry of Cultural Affairs and to include Mahaweli Ministry to Ministry of Agriculture. more..

Apr 16 (SN) Buddhist monks who elected to the parliament at the last election, made their inaugural visit to the parliament today. Ven Ellawela Medhananda, Dr Omalpe Sobhitha, Kotapola Amarakitti, Athuraliye Rathana and Uduwe Dhammaloka thero joined this visit. more..

Apr 16 (AFP) Tiger rebels on Thursday named the poisonous glory lily as their 'national flower' and have asked residents in rebel-held areas to grow the tropical creeper. The yellow and red flower shares the colours of the Tamil Tigers' flag, more..

Apr 16 (KT) The Embassy of Sri Lanka is organising a week-long Sri lankan Film Festival at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation in the capital from April 20 to 24 to screen six award winning movies on social and contemporary issues. more..

Apr 16 (Hindu) The LTTE, V. Muralitharan (`Col.' Karuna), the new regional rebel leadership and the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) today agreed to restore relations in the east and continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement. more..

Apr 16 (HT) The LTTE is honouring a man who was allegedly involved in the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. While the bodies of others killed by the renegade commander, Karuna, were kept in Batticaloa, that of 'Lt. Colonel' Neelan was taken to the Wanni on Wednesday to enable the LTTE top leaders, including Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, to pay homage. more..

Apr 16 (Reuters) Sri Lanka stocks eased on Friday in thin trade at the end of a holiday-shortened week, with investors on the sidelines waiting for political signals from the island's new government. more..

Apr 16 (Reuters) The Central Bank of Sri Lanka left its key policy interest rates unchanged on Friday, saying strong growth remained likely this year but political uncertainty could slow investment. more..

Apr 16 (SLA) Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army Lieutenant General L. P. Balagalle along with Principal Staff Officers, Officers and Other Ranks celebrated the dawn of Sinhala and Hindu New Year at a tea party organized at the Army Headquarters premises today (16) morning. more..

Apr 16 (SLA) Five locally manufactured Armored Personnel Vehicles (APV), popularly known as buffels, were ceremonially delivered to the Special Task Forces of the Sri Lanka Police at the Army Headquarters premises today (16) at 9.00 a.m. more..

Apr 16 (TN) Kanagasabai Pathmanathan, the TNA MP for Digamadulla (Amparai) district, in a memorandum released to the Tamil people of his district, praised the Amparai Tamil people for rejecting regionalism and showing the international community that Liberation Tigers are the undisputed leaders of the Tamil people, more..

Apr 16 (Rupavahini) New ministers have pledged to commit themselves to implement the policies of the alliance government. Five new ministers assumed their duties at their respective ministries in Colombo today. more..

Apr 16 (GM) A violent split in the Tamil Tiger rebels and the shaky re-election of nationalist president Chandrika Kumaratunga have combined to cast a shadow over Canadian-supported peace efforts in Sri Lanka. more..

Apr 16 (wsws) Even before Sri Lanka’s new minority UPFA government has begun to function, sharp differences have emerged between the two major coalition partners—President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s SLFP and the JVP. more..

Apr 16 (NW) A major confronation between a group of Sri Lankan soldiers and Tiger cadres was averted in eastern Sri Lanka on Thursday, military officers said. The confronations were averted when Sri Lankan troops held their guns when threatened with death by several senior LTTE cadres. more..

Apr 16 (NW) A meeting was held between GOC Brigadier Vajira Wijeyagoonewardena, Sri Lanka Army 23 Division, and Colonel Thambirajah Ramesh, Special Commander, Batticaloa and Ampara district and their delegations yesterday. more..

Apr 16 (DN) Budgetary funds allocated for the health sector will be increased from the present 1.3 per cent of the GDP to 2.5 per cent, the new Minister of Healthcare and Nutrition Nimal Siripala de Silva pledged yesterday. more..

Apr 16 (TT) Former skipper Hashan Tillekeratne was not included in the Sri Lankan squad to tour Zimbabwe. Tillekeratne quit as captain following the 0-3 Test series loss to Australia last month — Sri Lanka’s first on home soil since 2001 — but had made himself available as a batsman. more..

Apr 16 (SLA) A complain made at the KODIKAMAM Police says that an ex LTTE home guard has been kidnapped by a group of persons from the general area of KODIKAMAM, about 6.5 km northeast of CHAVAKACHCHERI on 14 April 2004 around 5.00 p.m. more..

Apr 16 (SLA) The troops on duty in the general area west of KAVATHAMUNAI, about 2 km southwest of VALACHCHENAI, have been disregarded by a group of about two hundred armed LTTE cadres on 14 April 2004 when troops tried to question the group leader about their move. more..