Apr 7 (EI) THE Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Gujarat Police on Monday arrested the son of erstwhile Mumbai underworld don Vardharajan Mudaliyar with fake Indian currency notes worth Rs 8 lakh. more..

Apr 7 (KT) THE call by new Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse to revive the island’s frozen peace process comes as a pleasant surprise. The new man at the helm lost no time in sending a loud and clear message to his Sinhala countrymen and the hard line Tamil Tiger rebels that despite the change of guard, peace is Sri Lanka’s ultimate goal. more..

Apr 7 (NP) New Prime Minister, Machinda Rajapakse, took the oath of office on Tuesday. Rajapakse who is a leading member of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's Freedom Alliance party, says he will continue the Norwegian-brokered peace negotiations with the LTTE guerillas. more..

Apr 7 (Xinhua) A political party representing people of Indian origin Tamils said Tuesday that it does not rule out the possibility of joining the new freedom alliance government. "We are keeping our options open," Arumugam Thondaman, leader of the Ceylon Worker's Congress (CWC) told reporters here. more..

Apr 7 (HD) President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has sent a message to Mahinda Rajapakse, in which he extended warm congratulations and sincere good wishes to him, on behalf of the government and people of the Maldives, and that of his own, on Rajapakse’s assumption of office as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. more..

Apr 7 (TN) Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse, Sri Lanka's new Prime Minister of the minority government postponed the naming of his new cabinet to either Thursday or Friday, foreign news agencies reported from Colombo. The cabinet was earlier expected to be sworn in on Wednesday. more..

Apr 7 (AAP) STEVE Waugh hopes Muttiah Muralitharan is cleared of chucking allegations, and has suggested the laws casting doubt on the Sri Lankan champion should be changed. The former Australian captain applauded the ICC-ordered tests conducted in Perth on Murali, more..

Apr 7 (DN) JVP Propaganda Secretary Wimal Weerawansa in a media release yesterday said that he has received information that many UNP supporters employed in the State sector are being harassed and intimidated following the Freedom Alliance victory, a process contrary to the policy of the Freedom Alliance. more..

Apr 7 (Rupavahini) The European Union issuing press release said the money will be utilized for improving the living conditions of internally displaced people refugees and returnees. The statement added that this program will help approximately 250,000 new returnees to rebuild their livelihoods, more..

Apr 7 (Guardian) "President Chandrika Kumaratunga has prevailed in her virtual coup against her prime minister, staged in November last year when she sequestered the defence, internal security and information portfolios in a move to claw back what she saw as his reckless show of licence when dealing with the LTTE. more..

Apr 7 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's cabinet could be sworn in as soon as Thursday with President Chandrika Kumaratunga likely to keep top posts for herself, and with deal-making still under way after Friday's vote left her party shy of a majority. more..

Apr 7 (AP) President Chandrika Kumaratunga and her rival, former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, were preparing Wednesday to meet for their first talks since they failed late last year to resolve a feud, leading to last week's snap elections, officials said. more..

Apr 7 (AP) With Tamil Tiger rebels threatening to return to war, Sri Lanka's new prime minister moved swiftly Tuesday asking giant neighbor India to get involved in the stalled peace process with the rebels. more..

Apr 7 (HT) Following the assassination of his protégé, Rajan Sathiamoorthy, and the digging up of his body by men sent by LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, the rebel LTTE leader Col. Karuna has commenced a series of operations against Prabhakaran’s men. more..

Apr 7 (AFP) Sri Lanka's new prime minister has delayed naming a cabinet as his party is struggling to find allies to provide crucial support for a minority government in a hung parliament, officials said. more..

Apr 7 (AFP) Sri Lanka's new government was preparing to open peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels, President Chandrika Kumaratunga said over national television. Kumaratunga said her government had set out as a priority the need to revive peace negotiations with the rebel LTTE. more..

Apr 7 (PTI) Describing Indo-Sri Lanka relations as being on the "verge of a golden era," the island's Foreign Minister-designate Laksman Kadirgamar, today said discussions would be held to involve India in the peace process with LTTE. more..

Apr 7 (TN) The Legal Aid Foundation of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka has honoured seven senior lawyers, Mr.K.Sivapalan of Trincomalee, Ms. Shantha Abimannasingham of Jaffna, Ms C.M.Balalle of Maho, Mr.M.Sittampalam of Vavuniya, and Mr.A.L.M. Hashim of Kegalle, Mr. Ashoka Mahadiulweve of Anuradhapura and Mr. Marshal Perera of Badulla, more..

Apr 7 (Bloomberg) Sri Lanka's new prime minister, Mahinda Rajapakse, said he will stop the government's sale of stakes in banks, railways and some other companies, a program that was key to his predecessor's efforts to bolster the economy. more..

Apr 8 (CI) Sri Lanka have started to rebuild for the 2007 World Cup with the selection of three uncapped players for the forthcoming five-match series against Zimbabwe. The 16-man squad includes Rangana Herath, Farveez Maharoof and Thilina Kandamby, more..

Apr 8 (TN) The general election held on April 2 was conducted in the Jaffna district without any irregularities, said Mr. S. Pathmanathan, the Government Agent for Jaffna and Returning Officer for the elections, according to Wednesday’s edition of the Uthayan, a Tamil newspaper published in Jaffna. more..

Apr 8 (TP) Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday told his UNP parliamentary group that he took full responsibility for the defeat of the party at last week’s polls. According to the Daily Mirror, he was quoted as saying the group could take a decision on his future leadership if they have any doubts about it. more..

Apr 8 (TP) At least two people were killed and several others injured in post-election violence, private election monitors said yesterday. However, the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) said Friday’s vote still remained one the island’s most peaceful in recent times. more..

Apr 8 (LBO) Ten flood damaged rural health centres in the Matara district were reopened for patients on Thursday, with a US$18,000 USAID aid injection for rehabilitation. The rehabilitation of the health centres were initiated by a US$ 18,000 grant to the SouthernProvince Health Sector Authority of Matara, more..

Apr 8 (LBO) The Joint Business Forum on Wednesday, while expressing support for the newly elected Freedom Alliance, rolled out what it saw as a list of priorities for the new government. The top business grouping identified the peace process, the economy, bribery and corruption and infrastructure development as priority areas for the next UPFA government. more..

Apr 8 (LBO) Transparency International urged for accountability past the polls, with less than ten of the over 5600 candidates that contested, discharging statutory duties to disclose assets and liabilities before the election. more..

Apr 8 (AFP) The election of nine Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka's elections has sent parliamentary officials scrambling to make suitable seating and dining arrangements for the "honourable venerable." more..

Apr 8 (SLA) Three civilians on a three-wheeler have been shot by an unidentified gang in the general area of VALAICHCHENAI on 06 April 2004 around 10.15 p.m. while the victims were returning home after a visit to a relative at BATTICALOA. more..

Apr 8 (SLA) An LTTE cadre carrying a lethal knife was arrested by Policemen on duty at the MAHINDAPURA roadblock on 07 April 2004. The LTTE cadre, M.WASANTHA alias WANNIAN of MUTTUR, SAMPOOR 5 was on his way to VERUGAL area from THAMBALAGAMUWA LTTE office when he was arrested with a Rambo knife in his possession. more..

Apr 8 (SLA) Five men on a three-wheeler were arrested by the Police in the general area of PANIKKARPULYANKULAM, about 10 km north of VAVUNIYA town on 06 April 2004 while they were carrying steel parts of the railway track inside the vehicle. more..

Apr 8 (LP) The UPFA which secured 105 seats in the hung parliament at the recently held polls ending the power struggle between the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and President Chandrika Kuamratunga, handed over its national list to the Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake. more..

Apr 8 (Rediff) The hung parliament thrown up by the general election does not augur well for the island nation, or for India. While officially mouthing the standard 'it's their internal matter' spiel, New Delhi cannot but keep a watchful eye on its southern neighbour, which again faces political and social turmoil. more..

Apr 8 (IE) Investigations conducted by the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) have revealed the involvement of another operative of the banned LTTE in the fake currency racket case. The operative has been identified as Rajan, who is a Sri Lankan Tamil and frequents India for conducting such operations, more..

Apr 8 (LT) The present electoral system and the executive presidency which is rejected by the whole society should be abolished and a Constitutional Assembly would be appointed as early as possible to draw up a new constitution said Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, the President. more..

Apr 8 (PSL) Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee congratulated Kumaratunga on the victory of her UPFA in the parliamentary elections. The Indian PM in a letter to the President said “further strengthening the wide ranging partnership between India and Sri Lanka remains a priority for India”. more..

Apr 8 (PSL) President Chandrika Kumaratunga yesterday appointed Lalith Weeratunga as Secretary to the new Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse. Mr. Weeratunga a senior officer in the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) has been in public service for over 25 years. more..

Apr 8 (PSL) President Chandrika Kumaratunga in an address to the nation Wednesday night called on all political parties, organizations and interests groups to rise to the clarion call of the nation, to join hands with the new Government in its programme to take the country forward. more..

Apr 8 (Sangam) The Buddhist lobby succeeded today in forcing President Chandrika Kumaratunga to dump her nominee and appoint its choice as the new prime minister, indicating the hurdles that lie ahead of her in taking forward the peace process. more..

Apr 8 (Sangam) Sachi Sri Kantha’s “Bob Dylan Stares at Sri Lanka” most admirably and humorously stares at presidential politics enthused by Lakshman Kadirgamar. It is well known Kadirgamar is indescribably Ms. Kumaratunge’s mouthpiece, voicing her presidential imaginings to earn him the epitaph summed up by Sachi: “a political clown par excellence.” more..

Apr 8 (AFP) In a spectacular South Asian Federation (SAF) Games closing ceremony, Pakistan passed the host baton to Sri Lanka to stage the 10th games in Colombo in 2005. Syed Arif Hasan, organising committee chairman, handed over the flag to the head of Sri Lanka National Olympic Committee, Hamaysay Fernando, more..

Apr 8 (Gulf) The new prime minister of Sri Lanka has delayed naming a cabinet as his party is struggling to find allies to provide crucial support for a minority government in a hung parliament, officials said yesterday. more..

Apr 8 (DN) The Jatika Hela Urumaya has decided to sit with the opposition until the UPFA government accepts what they describe as "non-negotiable demands" The Secretary of the Party, Thilak Karunaratne explaining the demands said that the Alliance government must first accept the "unitary" status of the country. more..

Apr 8 (TN) Prime Minister, Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse, said Wednesday that he would work to change the constitution and abolish the executive presidency within four months as promised in his party’s election manifesto, and that he would bring the President under parliament, more..

Apr 8 (TN) "In view of the speculative reports in the media, all Members of Parliament elected from the North-Eastern region in the name of Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi emphatically state that we are unequivocally and irrevocably committed to the political aspirations of the Tamil people more..

Apr 8 (AT) While India can be expected to view with caution the welcome mat that Sri Lanka's new prime minister, Mahinda Rajapakse, is laying out for Delhi, the invitation, which is aimed at getting India to play a larger role in the peace process, could signal the start of deepening engagement between the two countries. more..

Apr 8 (BBC) Residents of Jaffna town in the northern heartland of Sri Lanka's minority Tamil community are cautiously optimistic that the new government will resume peace talks with the country's Tamil Tiger rebels. more..

Apr 8 (AFP) Tamil Tiger rebels asked Sri Lanka's incoming government to open talks based on their blueprint for self-rule which had previously been rejected by President Chandrika Kumaratunga. more..

Apr 8 (PIS) A graduation ceremony for Sri Lankan Army Engineers trained under the U. S. Department of State's Humanitarian Demining Project was held today at the Sri Lankan School of Military Engineering, Embilipitiya. more..

Apr 8 (HT) The April 2 parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka will go down in history for two reasons: the entry of a party of Buddhist monks into parliament for one thing, and the astounding performance of the radical Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) for another. more..

Apr 8 (Xinhua) A bipartisan delegation from the US House of Representatives will make a brief visit to Sri Lanka next week, the US embassy here said on Thursday. "Members of the bipartisan delegation include Representative David Dreier, a Republican from California and Chairman of the House Rules Committee; more..