Apr 24 (TN) Mr.R.Sampanthan and Mr. Jospeh Pararajasingham, the Secretary General and the Senior Vice President of the TULF respectively, Friday filed an application in Supreme Court, seeking an order to suspend the interim injunction issued by the District Court of Colombo more..

Apr 24 (TN) The leaders of SLFP and JVP jointly addressing a press conference Friday, said that the "true form" of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) has been revealed in parliament when its two parliamentarians voted in the Speaker's election with the main opposition UNF, thereby "joining hands" with the TNA, more..

Apr 24 (TN) The crisis within the UPFA over the allocation of ministries to the JVP, deepened Friday, with the General Secretary of the SLFP, Mr.Maithiripala Sirisena, asserting that the allocation of four ministries to the JVP was consistent with a pre-poll agreement between the leaders of the SLFP and the JVP in forming the alliance. more..

Apr 24 (AT) The response of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) in joining the pro-Tamil Tigers was expected, since the Buddhist monk parliamentarian’s election campaigns were financed by anti-national elements and the monks had to serve their masters said Professor Nalin de Silva more..

Apr 24 (TN) A youth carrying a hand grenade and live ammunition in a fertilizer bag was arrested Thursday by Sri Lanka Army and Police personnel in Main Road at Mavadivembu, about 22 km northwest of Baticaloa town, sources said. more..

Apr 24 (SLA) An Army and Police mobile patrol has taken a married couple into custody on suspicion while they were in the general area of MAVADIVEMBU, about 19 km northwest of BATTICALOA on 22 April 2004 around 9.00 p.m. more..

Apr 24 (SLA) Eight hundred and forty eight (848) lorry loads of food and other essential items had been dispatched to un-cleared areas in the northern province during the period between 16 April 2004 and 22 April 2004. more..

Apr 24 (Hindu) They are Parliamentary debutants who have come a long way from the temples of Sri Lanka. After a day marked by internal dissension and heckling by ruling party MPs, the Buddhist monks from the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) today said they would "prevent a division of the country" more..

Apr 24 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's cricket board have forwarded the official report on Muttiah Muralitharan's doosra to the International Cricket Council, board president Mohan de Silva confirmed on Saturday. more..

Apr 24 (wsws) The opening session of the new arliament on Thursday has again exposed the deep divisions wracking the ruling elites. Convened to appoint a speaker, normally nothing more than a formality, the house descended into chaos as the ruling UPFA and opposition UNF vied for the post. more..

Apr 24 (Sangam) If the point of the April 2 general election was to end the political imbroglio that had deadlocked Sri Lanka's government for months, the results had precisely the opposite effect. more..

Apr 24 (SN) A lot of people were surprised at Hela Urumaya’s sudden decision to cast two votes for Mr W J M Lokubandara at the third round of the election for the Speaker post. Ven Athuraliye Rathana thero explaining the rationale told SinhalaNet, more..

Apr 24 (SN) Seven JVPers having masks to cover their faces, have attacked Bodhirajaramaya in Embilipitiya, last night. This temple belongs to Ven Dr Omalpe Sobhitha thero who is the Deputy Leader of Supreme Sangha Council of the JHU. At that time, Ven Sobhitha thero was in Colombo. more..

Apr 24 (SN) Holding a press conference today in the morning at Asapuwa, Supreme Sangha Council of the JHU set three conditions for the UPFA to restore their cordial relationship. Those are as follows. more..

Apr 24 (NW) United People's Freedom Alliance National list MP Janadasa Peiris resigned at the request of the party yesterday and has been appointed the new Chairman of the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd., with immediate effect. more..

Apr 24 (DN) The first Bill to be presented in Parliament by the UPFA will be the Anti Corruption Bill. It will be based on four main concepts namely accountability, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness. A group of lawyers are drafting the Bill, said SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena. more..

Apr 24 (KT) Security has been intensified in northwestern Sri Lanka for today's provincial council election which is expected to be swept by the ruling Freedom Alliance that won the general elections three weeks ago. more..

Apr 24 (Gulf) New government has moved swiftly to support the current momentum in the tourism industry. Underscoring the importance of the industry to the development of the country, President Chandrika Kumaratunga has appointed Anura Bandaranaike as the new Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment Promotion. more..

Apr 24 (KN) The regional context in which the Indian general election is being held will necessitate for whichever party that comes to power to deal with the critical political developments in the neighbouring countries, India : were excessively compromising in Kumaratunga's view, as also in the opinion of the majority Sinhalese population. more..

Apr 24 (AP) Voting began Saturday to elect one of Sri Lanka's key regional government bodies -a vote that could be a test of support to the country's new minority government. President Chandrika Kumaratunga's UPFA won the April 2 Parliamentary election but, still eight seats short to secure an absolute majority in the 225-member parliament. more..

Apr 24 (HT) Given its failure to get its candidate elected as Speaker of the Sri Lankan parliament, the UPFA government has indefinitely postponed its plan to turn the current parliament into a Constituent Assembly for drafting a new constitution for the country. more..

Apr 24 (AP) Sri Lankan voters turned out in small numbers Friday to elect representatives for a key regional government body -a vote that could also be a test of support to the country's new minority government, observers said. more..

Apr 25 (LBO) Dr. Ranee Jayamaha succeeded Mr. P.M.Nagahawatte, Deputy Governor who retired from the Central Bank on April 18, 2004. This is the first time a lady has been appointed to hold this position of the Bank. more..

Apr 25 (TN) Members of National Anti-War Front, a coalition of more than one hundred Sinhala peace movements across Sri Lanka, in a conference held in Colombo yesterday, expressed their opposition to war and resolved to raise public awareness against a return to a state of war, a popular Canadian radio broadcast said. more..

Apr 25 (TN) Senior leaders of the SLFP and the JVP, two major constituents of the ruling UPFA are scheduled to meet Sunday in the President's House to take a final decision on the dispute over the allocation of ministries to the JVP, government sources said. more..

Apr 25 (TN) A training programme on Non-violent Communication Skills for Youths was inaugurated Saturday in the Trincomalee campus of the Eastern University with the financial support of the USAID. Ms Brenda Barret, Regional Programme Officer of the USAID in Trincomalee district was the chief guest at the occasion, more..

Apr 25 (UNI) The main Opposition UNP, led by former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, today welcomed President Chandrika Kumaratunga's move to invite officially the Norwegian facilitators in a bid to resume the presently stalled peace process with the Tamil Tiger rebels. more..

Apr 25 (SMH) Biomechanics expert Bruce Elliott has lambasted the Sri Lanka cricket board for leaking information about his report into Muttiah Muralitharan's action, saying it had confused the situation. more..

Apr 25 (AFP) Ricky Ponting says it would have been easy for Muralitharan to bowl with a straighter arm than normal while being tested for throwing. The Australian captain believes the ICC needs to view footage of Muralitharan bowling in match conditions before making a proper assessment of his action when he delivers his controversial 'doosra'. more..

Apr 25 (SL) As the unexpected but titillating scenario arose, blossoming into a full scale tug of war between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and her new partners, the JVP for a portfolio that would include the Mahaweli Authority, what has emerged is that the battle is for an empire of magnificent worth. Hence, the fight. more..

Apr 25 (SL) The saga of the missing monks proved to be the final catalyst which decided the future of D.E.W. Gunasekera - the nominee for the pivotal post of speaker by the new government - while Sri Lanka's 13th parliament marking its maiden appearance last Thursday was thrown into chaos and confusion. more..

Apr 25 (SO) Fifty five thousand unemployed graduates and non graduates are being provided with employment commencing next Friday, under the Rata Perata programme as promised in the Freedom Alliance General Election manifesto. more..

Apr 25 (TI) Now it can be told. Barely six months before the Congress lost the elections in 1989, and even after Sri Lanka had given marching orders to the IPKF, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi made a last-ditch attempt to retrieve the situation for implementing the India-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987. more..

Apr 25 (TP) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, in an apparent attempt to pacify the National Heritage Party (NHP) and its group of Buddhist monks in parliament, on Friday offered alms to the NHP’s Supreme Council at his official Temple Trees residence. more..

Apr 25 (AT) "Asian Tribune" wonders as to how the Government, which through out in the Speaker election had 108 votes, but how they managed to get 109 votes when the Members of Parliament polled in the last round of the election held for the Speaker. more..

Apr 25 (AT) Asaian Tribune has challenged the authenticity of a news broadcast of 23 April by the BBC’s “Thamil Osai”, which claimed that Colonel Karuna, the Commander of the Batti - Amparai Liberation Tigers, had not given an interview to Asian Tribune. more..

Apr 25 (TN) The Liberation Tigers will inform their stand on resuming the peace process if the Norwegian government officially informs the LTTE about the Sri Lankan government's stand, Mr. Daya Master, the media coordinator of the LTTE, told the Tamil media on Saturday. more..

Apr 25 (NDTV) As the LTTE calls upon the Norwegian group to resume mediation in peace negotiations between the militant outfit and the Sri Lankan government, the group insists it first wants to gauge President Chandrika Kumaratunga's stance on the key issues negotiated with the earlier government. more..

Apr 25 (Gulf) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse has directed the Inspector General of Police Indra de Silva to step up security for Buddhist monks after making an assessment of the security situation following two separate politically motivated incidents involving monks. more..

Apr 25 (TNR) Veerasingham Anandasangaree's campaign headquarters is a bunker. Heavily armed soldiers and coils of concertina wire surround the one-story compound on a side street in Jaffna, the largest town on the peninsula of the same name in northern Sri Lanka. more..

Apr 25 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's selectors have called up middle order batsman Thilan Samaraweera, uncapped opener Ian Daniel and wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene into their 19-man squad for the two-test series against Zimbabwe in May. more..

Apr 25 (Rupavahini) Measures have been taken to build an Ayurvedic Hospital at Kavudupelella in Matale at a cost of 43 million rupees. This hospital consists of three wards for residential patients, O.P.D. and a Panchakarma indigenous treatment unit. more..

Apr 25 (SLA) A complaint made by a civilian in the general area of VALACHCHENAI claimed that he was ordered by some unknown LTTE carders to vacate the area immediately leaving all his properties. more..

Apr 25 (CI) The humiliation of the new "expurgated" Zimbabwe cricket team continued at Harare Sports Club as they crashed to 35 all out, the lowest total ever recorded in a one-day international. The Sri Lankan seamers enjoyed themeselves on a helpful pitch, with Chaminda Vaas taking 4 for 11, more..

Apr 25 (AP) President Chandrika Kumaratunga's alliance won a key regional election Saturday, nearly three weeks after it emerged as the single largest party in parliamentary polls. The Election Commission said UPFA took 29 seats in the Northwestern Provincial Council election. UNF got 19. more..

Apr 25 (AP) A high-level delegation from Norway will travel to Sri Lanka in early May to try reviving stalled peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels, a news report said Sunday. more..

Apr 26 (TN) Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government Mr. Janaka Bandara Tennekon Sunday paid a visit to Jaffna district. He was the first minister of the newly formed UPFA government to visit Jaffna, sources said. more..

Apr 26 (TN) Mr.Jeffry Lunstead, the United States Ambassador in Sri Lanka, is to make an official visit to Jaffna Wednesday to open the free surgical unit in the Jaffna Teaching Hospital, which is to be conducted by the US army medical service, sources said. more..

Apr 26 (BBC) Sri Lanka seem to have ended the career of former captain Hashan Tillakaratne by choosing not to pick him for the Test series in Zimbabwe. The selectors called up three Test specialists for the forthcoming two-match series, but not Tillakaratne. more..

Apr 26 (Hindu) The LTTE has said that it would assess the positions adopted by the Sri Lanka President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, on issues such as "sole representative" and "interim administration" before responding to the call for resumption of talks made by her. more..