Mar 28 (AFP) Sri Lanka's coach John Dyson came under severe criticism in the local media with calls to review his contract after the national team's dismal performance against Australia. "One wonders whether Sri Lankan cricket today is dying with Dyson," more..

Mar 28 (Reuters) Hashan Tillakaratne resigned as test captain after Sri Lanka were whitewashed 3-0 by Australia on Sunday. Tillakaratne was appointed as an interim test skipper after the resignation of Sanath Jayasuriya last year but won just one test in his 10-match tenure. more..

Mar 28 (CI) Does Muralitharan throw, or not? That is the question that, in recent years, has thrown what promises to be the greatest Test bowling career ever into a spin. The throwing issue has repeatedly raised its head through the history of the game. more..

Mar 28 (Gulf) It appears that economic ties between the two Asian neighbours, Sri Lanka and India, are poised for an unprecedented boost, having recorded remarkable progress with India recently emerging as the island's second largest trade partner from its earlier position of 22. more..

Mar 28 (HT) Women constitute 49% of the population of Sri Lanka. Its women tea pluckers and garment factory workers, not to speak of the lakhs of housemaids working in the Middle East, rake in the bulk of the country's foreign exchange. But women have virtually no place in the country's political system or its decision making apparatus. more..

Mar 28 (AFP) Saffron-robed monks are preaching against Coca-Cola and McDonald's in their campaign for next week's elections with a promise to save Sri Lanka's heritage. Buddhist monk Athuraliya Ratana speaks out against "cultural pollution" and also vows to take sexually explicit movies off national television if his party are made king-makers more..

Mar 28 (AFP) Sri Lanka's security forces have stepped up their guard after gunmen shot and wounded a top election official and a candidate amid fears of more violence ahead of April 2 elections, officials said. more..

Mar 29 (TN) European Union Election Observer Mission Chief Observer Mr.John Cushnahan accompanied by EU Sri Lankan delegation head Mr.Wouter Wilton arrived in Jaffna Sunday morning and held discussions regarding the forthcoming general election with top officials of the Sri Lanka Army based in the peninsula. more..

Mar 29 (TN) The General Secretary of Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU), Mr.T.Mahasivam, Sunday addressing an election seminar held for CTTU Trincomalee zonal branch teachers Sunday told its members to cast one of their preferential votes to the lead candidate of the TNA in every district in the northeast province more..

Mar 29 (ST) Sri Lanka's bitter war of terror - one that practically invented the infamy of the suicide bomber - had been showing signs of abating of late. But a bitter power struggle between President and Prime Minister and a schism among the rebel Tamil Tigers now threaten to re-ignite the violence. more..

Mar 29 (CI) Muttiah Muralitharan has again been reported to the ICC for having a suspect action. Chris Broad, the former England batsman who is the match referee for the Test series between Sri Lanka and Australia, has reported that in his opinion the action with which Muralitharan delivers the doosra - his "wrong'un" that turns from leg to off - is not legitimate. more..

Mar 29 (CI) Chris Broad's decision to report Muttiah Muralitharan for a suspect bowling action will reverberate far beyond the cricket field in Sri Lanka. There is genuine anger here. Not quite of effigy-burning proportions. But anger all the same. This seems odd, even absurd to some outsiders. more..

Mar 29 (Stuff) Spin twins Paul Wiseman and Bruce Martin left the Sri Lankan cricketers reeling to set New Zealand A on course for a series clean-sweep in the third match in Christchurch today. But the duo did it with the bat rather than the ball, both smacking their maiden first-class centuries more..

Mar 29 (AP) Just before dusk settles over this remote village, three Tamil farmers sit on a fallen mango tree and do something they haven't done in 20 years _ they talk about how they will vote in national parliamentary elections Friday. more..

Mar 29 (GL) The Tamil National Alliance will contest the April 2 Sri Lankan parliamentary elections on a platform calling for the creation of an interim self-governing authority for the north-eastern part of the island. more..

Mar 29 (UL) The UNP today criticized the President's action over the Tax Amnesty Act as hypocritical. UNP Spokesman said, “When the Bill was passed by Parliament the President had the opportunity to question its constitutionality. But she did nothing then. Why in the middle of the General Election does she raise this matter?” more..

Mar 29 (UL) Allegations have been made recently in the press through an unattributed “Paid Advertisement” alleging that the recent UNP delivered to the country a corrupt government. Like any unsigned advertisement, it should have little credence. more..

Mar 29 (UL) Batticaloa Bishop, Rt.Rev.Dr.Kingsly Swamipillai describing the contents of the UPFA manifesto in relation to solving the ethnic conflict as ‘anti peace' says, he feels that the country might go back to a war situation if the UPFA is voted to power. more..

Mar 29 (IL) A further forty Election Observers from the European Union arrived in Colombo today. Already twenty seven EU observers have already been deployed in all electoral districts since the first week of March, a statement of the EU observer mission said. more..

Mar 29 (IL) A further forty Election Observers from the European Union arrived in Colombo today. Already twenty seven EU observers have already been deployed in all electoral districts since the first week of March, a statement of the EU observer mission said. more..

Mar 29 (IL) Christian Affairs Minister John Amaratunga yesterday in a letter to President Chandrika Kumaratunga rejected her allegations that the UNP was behind the attacks on churches, as baseless. more..

Mar 29 (IANS) Sri Lanka's general elections this week could throw up uncertainties, putting at risk Norwegian-brokered efforts that have brought peace to the island nation for an unprecedented well over two years. more..

Mar 29 (LBO) Local private airline operators based here say they are getting ready to compete with the national carrier next month when a provision in the MOU between SriLankan and the government expires. more..

Mar 29 (TN) Kumburupiddy area political head of the LTTE, Mr.M.Sivakumar, Sunday addressing an election seminar in support of the TNA in the Trincomalee district said that the forthcoming general election would be a turning point in the Tamil freedom struggle. more..

Mar 29 (TN) Hundreds of villagers including women and children participated in a four km procession in Thampalakamam, Sunday afternoon carrying photographs of the LTTE national leader Mr.Velupillai Pirapaharan and shouting slogans in support of the TNA candidates, more..

Mar 29 (TN) Unidentified assailants hurled a grenade on the residence of Mr. Raynor Silva, chief executive of the Asian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Sunday night in Colombo. The ABC runs five popular FM radio stations in Sinhala, Tamil and English. more..

Mar 29 (TN) "It is a direct attack on the democracy," said European Union Election Observation Mission Chief Observer Mr John Cushnahan commenting on the attempted murders of a former minister in Colombo and a top government official in Batticaloa district, during his visit to Trincomalee Monday. more..

Mar 29 (SLA) An election campaign organized by a section of members of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) in the general area of KAITTADY in JAFFNA has been disrupted by an unidentified group of people who confronted them on 27 March 2004. more..

Mar 29 (SLA) A private passenger coach proceeding to MANNAR from COLOMBO with 112 dynamite sticks inside it was taken into custody when the bus was checked by the Police on duty close to the MANNAR town on 28 March 2004 around 6.15 a.m. more..

Mar 29 (SLA) An unidentified group has thrown a hand grenade at the residence of a civilian in the general area of ERAVUR on 27 March 2004 causing injury to his brother and damages to a parked three-wheeler and a section of the house. more..

Mar 29 (Reuters) Sri Lanka off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who has been reported again for a suspect bowling action, does not have a "new" delivery, according to cricket board chief executive Duleep Mendis. more..

Mar 29 (AFP) Sri Lanka is seeking stability as it faces its third elections in four years, but opinion polls and analysts say the country may just be heading for more trouble. At the root is the feud between President and Prime Minister, who are at loggerheads over Oslo-backed attempts to end war with Tamil Tiger ethnic rebels. more..

Mar 29 (UL) The backbone of Sri Lanka's economy, the banking sector, which was broken during the PA regime, has regained its lost strength under just two years of UNP rule. An analysis of the top six local banks show that bad loans, built up especially in the ‘parivasa' stages of the PA administration, has come down rapidly. more..

Mar 29 (LT) The propaganda secretary of JVP former parliamentarian and Colombo district UPFA candidate Wimal Weerawansa has sent a Letter of Demand to Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs demanding Rs.30 Million as damage. more..

Mar 29 (HP) Sri Lanka’s main parties contesting next week’s elections have vowed to open talks with militant Tamil separatists, but fears of a factional war among the rebels and a persisting feud between the country’s leaders have dimmed hopes of early negotiations. more..

Mar 29 (AFP) Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan must keep bowling to the best of his ability despite further scrutiny of his controversial bowling action, Australian vice-captain Adam Gilchrist has said. more..

Mar 29 (DM) With election day just four days away, in an escalating scenario of election violence now standing at 1,061 since nomination day, three incidents of shooting, several incidents of assault involving candidates and party supporters, the burning of election offices and private houses, more..

Mar 29 (DN) Police has made no breakthrough into the assassination attempts on former Hindu Religious and Cultural Affairs Minister T. Maheswaran, Batticaloa Government Agent R. Maunagurusamy and EPDP candidate Kandaiah Sangaran on Saturday. more..

Mar 29 (HT) In sharp contrast to India, where Bollywood stars are merrily jumping on to the bandwagons of one political party or the other, in Sri Lanka, film stars are shying away from election campaigns. Violence in elections seems to be a major deterrent to the denizens of Colombo's tinsel world. more..

Mar 29 (AFP) When the president’s party formed an unlikely electoral alliance with Marxists, one of their first concerns was choosing an eye-catching logo. With no time to register as a new party, President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s joint force took over a small party in hibernation and changed its butterfly symbol to a betel leaf. more..

Mar 29 (Sun) Breakaway LTTE Commander Karuna has claimed that Tiger fighters have infiltrated into the territory controlled by him. According to Karuna’s spokesperson Varadan, the infiltrators are targeting prominent leaders close to Karuna in the Batticaloa region. more..

Mar 29 (OW) Deprived of the right to plaster public places with promotional posters, politicians have turned tech-savvy in their campaign for the April 2 parliamentary polls, inundating citizens with Short Message Services (SMSes) and electronic mails extolling their virtues. more..

Mar 29 (Gulf) Candidates contesting parliamentary elections on Friday are taking additional security precautions after suspected Tamil guerrillas carried out two separate gun attacks on a top government official conducting the poll and an election candidate, police said yesterday. more..

Mar 29 (AP) Nearly 232,000 residents in areas controlled by Tamil Tiger rebels will be able to vote for the first time in this week's parliamentary polls in Sri Lanka, election officials said yesterday. more..

Mar 29 (Reuters) Sri Lankan troops have stepped up their guard after gunmen shot and wounded a top election official and a candidate amid fears of more violence ahead of this week’s elections, officials said yesterday. more..

Mar 29 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's election commission took over state media on Monday, four days before a general election and after weeks of accusations that newspapers and television favoured President Chandrika Kumaratunga's party. more..

Mar 29 (OO) Until recently Sri Lanka's tiny bourse had been emerging as one of the world's best gainers, but foreign investors are either pulling out or putting plans on hold as fears grow that the country could slip back into civil war. more..

Mar 29 (DJ) AES Kelanitissa (Pvt.) Ltd., a unit of U.S.-based AES Corp. (AES), said Monday its 108-megawatt gas turbine has been repaired after a recent fire. Dave Warden, project director at AES Kelanitissa, told Dow Jones Newswires the turbine is already operational. more..

Mar 29 (Reuters) Buddhist clergy looks set to win a key protest vote at Friday's election, tapping nationalist sentiment in the face of concessions to Tamil rebels and bolstered by a country fed up with mainstream politicians. more..

Mar 29 (BBC) It is dusk and the villagers are seated on straw mats on the floor listening to an election speech by a man sitting cross-legged in front of them, his face lit only by coconut lanterns. There is no heckling here, just quiet campaigning to an orderly crowd of farmers with children asleep in their laps. more..