Apr 30 (Reuters) Central bank said on Friday the economy could grow by 5.5 percent this year as export demand climbs and a ceasefire in a long civil war bolsters consumer confidence. But it trimmed its full-year forecast from six percent, more..

Apr 30 (AFP) Sri Lanka wants India to play a role in the reconstruction of the island’s strife-torn north and east, Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar said in an interview published on Friday. more..

Apr 30 (C365) The report into Muttiah Muralitharan's controversial action has been leaked to an Indian newspaper, which says his 'doosra' delivery is legal and he should continue to be allowed to bowl it. more..

Apr 30 (PSL) President Kumaratunga appointed D.H.S. Jayawardena under Article 41 (1) of the Constitution as Senior Advisor to the President on International Trade and Investment, with immediate effect. The business magnate better known as Harry Jayawardena owns a number of blue chip companies in the island.

Apr 30 (PSL) President Chandrika Kumaratunga appointed five new ministry secretaries on Wednesday. These senior officials will function as the chief executives of their ministries and will be responsible for all financial and administrative functions. more..

Apr 30 (AT) In a hard hitting news analysis, “Eelanatham” has called Ranil Wickremasinghe, the former Prime Minister, and the present Leader of the Opposition, as a chauvinist and as the only person in the country longing for the return of the bloodied ethnic conflict. more..

Apr 30 (AT) Since time immemorial the Buddhist monks of this country have been involved in counseling kings and ministers as how to run the country. Apart from that, we definitely need not get ourselves in to the Parliament to rule the nation, said the Mahanayaka of Malwatte, more..

Apr 30 (NW) The conflict between man and elephant in the Wayamba Wild Life Zone has resulted in the death of eleven persons and 17 elephants including tuskers from January 1 to April 25 this year. more..

Apr 30 (NW) LTTE Political Wing leader S.P Tamilselven yesterday informed the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission that any evidence regarding the killings of seven LTTE cadres on Sunday night in Batticloa would be disclosed to the SLMM for further inquiry. more..

Apr 30 (NW) Some 15,000 small arms are still at large in Sri Lanka and about half of them are believed to be in the hands of politicians, a civil rights activist disclosed yesterday. more..

Apr 30 (Gulf) Though the newly elected minority government has not clearly spelt out its economic policy as such, statements of ministers provide clues to the new direction. It is going to be a mixed economy. more..

Apr 30 (DN) Mystery surrounds the leakage of ballot paper, serial number 414 in the first vote to elect the Speaker of the 13th Parliament which had reportedly gone into the hands of two senior UNP Members of Parliament, more..

Apr 30 (AP) A curfew remained in force Friday in a central Sri Lankan town two days after police shot dead at least two Tamils during communal clashes. The curfew barring people from leaving their homes was declared Wednesday after the violence was triggered by a car accident more..

Apr 30 (Xinhua) Situation in the country's central hilly tea plantation town of Kandapola in Nuwara Eliya district has returned normal following the field work of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse on Thursday, the official Daily News said on Friday. more..

Apr 30 (SLA) A high-level diplomatic delegation from the US visited Jaffna Wednesday (April 28) in order to receive an update on the current security situation in the peninsula. more..

Apr 30 (PTI) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels have not renounced terrorism or disbanded its "Black Tiger" suicide squads despite the progress of the peace process, a US State Department report has said. more..

Apr 30 (Xinhua) President Chandrika Kumaratunga has decided to establish a committee with wide powers directly under her instruction to deal with charges of bribery and corruption in the state sector, according to the Presidential Secretariat on Friday. more..