Apr 5 (AT) Tamil political parties expressed grave concern over the killings of Tamil officials by the Tamil Tigers. Condemning the murder spree unleashed by the LTTE despite the ceasefire agreement, the leading Tamil political parties including the TULF, PLOTE and EPDP urged the SLMM to take immediate action to stop the systematic assassinations by the LTTE. more..

Apr 5 (LM) The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) views President Chandrika Kumaratunga's decision to abolish the executive presidency as 'eye wash.' The party's position is that President Kumaratunga is yet again playing politics to stay in power. more..

Apr 5 (SLBC) The tax proposals presented by the recent budget, has been implemented since first of April. The Commission General of Inland Revenue R.P.L. Weerasinghe stated that the Parliament has approved the tax proposals. more..

Apr 5 (SLBC) Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has said the estimation report on the research carried out to investigate oil sources in Sri Lanka will be released in June. The Director General Titus Jayawardena stated that the research was over in the last month. more..

Apr 5 (LBO) Destitute Hambantota entreprenuers, who were hit by the tsunami, then battered by the government's buffer zone rules, are now caught in another vicious trap as banks value their remaining land at rock bottom prices. more..

Apr 5 (LBO) Sri Lanka's main opposition party Tuesday cancelled an anti-government protest after a day of national mourning was declared for Pope John Paul II. The UNP said the demonstration scheduled for Tuesday evening at a busy intersection in the capital will now be held Wednesday. more..

Apr 5 (CNA) The Singapore Sinhala Association is trying to put together some S$1 million to launch a Singapore Village project in the south of Sri Lanka to help tsunami victims. The project entails building 75 houses for displaced families around a community hub containing an educational centre, a trade vocational centre and a library. more..

Apr 5 (PTI) A doctor fell to his death while trying to rescue people trapped in a hospital elevator during a nation-wide blackout. The doctor forced open the elevator door in darkness and accidentally stepped into the elevator shaft and fell four flours to his death during Monday's power failure, more..

Apr 5 (RW) The remains of 16 tsunami victims, still unidentified after extensive forensic testing, but believed to be foreigners, were buried in a Colombo cemetery on 1 April. The remains of 53 other tsunami victims who are foreigners but unidentified remain in mobile refrigeration units in the city. more..

Apr 5 (TP) Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama has been entrusted with guiding the powerful state-owned Lake House group of newspapers, he told a meeting in central town of Kandy. He later told the Daily Mirror newspaper that he would not be taking over the administration of Lake house but would only be conducting weekly meetings with its Editorial staff. more..

Apr 5 (CI) New Zealand's middle and lower order piled on the misery for Sri Lanka on the second day, building on the foundations laid on the opening day by Hamish Marshall. Nathan Astle cashed in with his tenth Test hundred, Brendon McCullum entertained with a fine 99 and James Franklin showed off some potential with 55. more..

Apr 5 (AFP) National carrier SriLankan on Tuesday announced a floating mechanism to adjust fares in keeping with sharply increasing international oil prices. A fuel surcharge levied by the airline would be further increased after the latest surge in oil prices saw prices topping 58 dollars per barrel on Monday. more..

Apr 5 (HT) The parliament will have a "conscience vote" on the controversial bill to curb "unethical" religious conversions, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has said. Revealing this in an interview to the Sunday Observer, the Prime Minister said that this was a demonstration of the existence of democracy in Sri Lanka. more..

Apr 5 (USE) The US Embassy in Colombo announced yesterday that effective immediately Sri Lankans travelling to the United States will be eligible to receive multiple entry visas valid for a five year period. more..

Apr 5 (DN) The government will bring in legislation to fully ban the tuition classes on Sundays with a focus to make the day dedicated for religious activities and observances. This will replace the current Cabinet Paper, envisioned to introduce a half-a-day ban on tuition on Sundays. more..

Apr 5 (AP) Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels hurled a grenade at the office of a rival Tamil political group but no one was injured in the latest attack in Sri Lanka's volatile east, the military and police said Tuesday. more..

Apr 5 (AP) Tamil Tiger rebels have recruited 106 children into their ranks since the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami, in some cases taking young recruits directly from relief camps, the U.N. children's agency said Tuesday. UNICEF has accused the rebels of recruiting children orphaned or displaced by the tsunami. more..

Apr 5 (BBC) Tamil Tiger rebels have opened fire on a Sri Lankan navy ship carrying an international cease-fire monitor, a military spokesman said. The monitor sustained minor injuries after diving for cover when the ship was attacked near the eastern port of Trincomalee, reports said. more..

Apr 6 (USE) The Mike del Ferro Quartet, featuring vocalist Adrienne West, arrives in Sri Lanka Tuesday to give a series of concerts in Sri Lanka. The concerts represent a joint effort between Sri Lanka's Sirasa FM, American Voices Association for the promotion of American music, and the American Center of the United States Embassy. more..

Apr 6 (TN) The Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Trincomalee District (CCITD) has launched a project to assist tsunami affected micro entrepreneurs of the district. It distributed about one hundred thousand rupees worth materials and equipments more..

Apr 6 (Xinhua) An activist belonging to a rival political party of the Tamil Tigers was gunned down in the EasternProvince Tuesday, police said. John Silva Amerasingham, a member of the EPDP was fired at around 5:45 p.m. local time in the eastern provincial town of Kathankudy. more..

Apr 6 (BBC) Government's coalition partner JVP on Tuesday said the party will campaign against a federal system of government in Sri Lanka. Addressing the 34th commemorative meeting of the 1971 uprising, party leader Somawansa Amerasinghe said that the JVP would fight tooth and nail against federalism in any future referendum. more..

Apr 6 (BBC) A Sri Lankan navy boat was fired at near Muttur while patrolling in Trincomalee bay Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said. SLMM spokesman Helen Olaffsdottir told the BBC that the boat was fired at about 0400GMT off the LTTE-controlled coastal area. more..

Apr 6 (DY) After 20 years of a "life of expo," the commissioner general of the Sri Lankan Pavilion will say goodbye to such events when 2005 World Exposition Aichi ends in September. Hubert Jayakody, 68, has been involved with nine world expositions since serving as the commissioner general of Sri Lanka at Tsukuba Expo in 1985 more..

Apr 6 (BBC) Legal authorities are opposing a move to stop investigations against Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) by the police. The elected board led by Thilanga Sumathipala is accused of preventing the members of the interim cricket board, appointed by the sports minister, entering the premises of the SLC in Colombo. more..

Apr 6 (FE) For the first time, a foreign air carrier has been allowed to do passenger survey at Indian airports. Market Research major AC Nielsen has already started tracking traveller data at all main Indian airports on behalf of Sri Lankan Airlines. more..

Apr 6 (AT) The Railway control officers called off their strike, which was launched Monday night demanding the reinstatement of one of their colleagues, following discussions with Transport Minister Felix Perera on Tuesday. more..

Apr 6 (AT) The finance minister and energy minister told the leading ministers of the Marxist ally, the JVP the imperative need for restructuring the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) as the treasury is unable to pump in massive funds to sustain the CPC. more..

Apr 6 (AT) Leader of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), Minister Dinesh Gunawardene, on Tuesday met Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse at the Parliamentary complex in Kotte, to discuss the restructuring of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC). more..

Apr 6 (AT) Sri Lanka expressed serious concerns over certain Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) that use the ethnic issue to work towards hidden political agendas. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof Wiswa Warnapala said that some NGOs had developed into an organized network associated with the country's ethnic question and warned that it was a very dangerous trend. more..

Apr 6 (SAMN) SLMM Tuesday repeated its concern over continuing lawlessness in LTTE and government controlled areas in the East. Spokeswoman Helen Olafsdottir said the killings of Vocational Training Ministry director Thiyagarajah Kailanandan in Batticaloa on Monday was a serious matter and the monitors were probing it. more..

Apr 6 (LNP) Sri Lanka`s biggest ever commercial and shopping complex, the Kandy City Centre, at Dalada Vidiya Kandy would be opened in August. The total cost for the project is Rs. 4.7 Billion. more..

Apr 6 (LNP) Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake has requested divisional secretaries (returning officers) of the north and east to report back to him on the practicality of holding local government elections as scheduled in the North and east on April 23rd 2005. more..

Apr 6 (LT) A no confidence motion against Reginald Cooray, Chief Minister of Western Provincial Council was tabled today. The no confidence motion has been signed by the UNP Provincial Councilors Luxmun Abeygunawardene, Douglas M. Fernando and U. George Perera. more..

Apr 6 (LT) Concealed in a consignment of tsunami aid the Navy has found 424 camouflaged combat uniforms, a haul of Jeans and 10 stretches used for carrying the injured in a war in their regular checks at the Colombo Port. These goods had been sent to TRO in two containers from Switzerland. more..

Apr 6 (LT) It is reported that the UNP has got alarmed as soon as it was disclosed that the SLFP was seriously studying the 3rd amendment to the constitution made in 1982. Their attention had not been drawn to it until then. Hence, the legal bigwigs of the UNP have started re-studying the constitution. more..

Apr 6 (SAMN) Parliament Tuesday joined the world in paying a glowing tribute to the late Pope John Paul II, describing him as a champion of human freedom and a crusader for the downtrodden people. more..

Apr 6 (SAMN) The Government has already commenced a National program to safeguard people from future natural disasters including tsunamis through an early warning mechanism connected to the International systems and the whole country should support the Government's initiative overlooking petty differences, more..

Apr 6 (TN) Democratic Congressman from Chicago, Illinois, Danny K Davis arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport Tuesday morning 11.45am after his visit to Tsunami affected areas in NorthEast of Sri Lanka. He was received at the airport by members of the Tamil community in Washington Area. more..

Apr 6 (SLA) UN Secretary General Kofi A. Annan in a special message of condolence and appreciation on the death of Sri Lankan Army’s Lance Corporal J.B.J.A.JAYASINHE while serving UN peace-keeping contingent in Haiti on 21st March 2005, more..

Apr 6 (SLA) One Police man who was on security duty at a tsunami ration store at KALMUNAKUDY in the general area of KALMUNAI has been shot dead by an unidentified group of gunmen on 6 April 2005 around 4.10 a.m. more..

Apr 6 (SLA) State authorities on a magisterial directive took necessary steps on 04 April 2005 to dispose of the mortal remains of the two LTTE PRABHAKARAN faction cadres at state expense after the POLONNARUWA hospital mortuary retained them for over two weeks. more..

Apr 6 (LBO) The Public Enterprises Reform Commission (PERC) has billed just over a million rupees for the government so far, selling its minority stakes in listed companies. Small parcels including stakes in Commercial Bank, Distilleries and Kelani Tires have been sold recently, while 177,300 shares in National Development Bank was sold late last year. more..

Apr 6 (PRIU) The Government yesterday condemned the killing of the Director of the Vocational Training Center, Ministry of Agriculture Marketing Development, T. Kailanathan. Mr. Kailanathan at the time of his killing on Monday (April 4) was attending to his official duties at the Technical College in Batticaloa. more..

Apr 6 (PRIU) On the 26th of November 2003, the Parliament of France passed a law that requires all foreigners who apply for a visa from the French authorities to get their fingerprints and picture stored in a central database. With effect from Wednesday 6th of April 2005, the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka will start issuing biometrics Schengen visas. more..

Apr 6 (SN) Mr.Karunaratne Paranawithana who was a very confidant of the President CBK had resigned to make way for a pro-nationalization, inclined replacement. The replacement is going to be propagating the virtue of ignoring the election promises which were anti-privatization. more..

Apr 6 (SLBC) Minister of Information and Media Mangala Samaraweera says state media should be reorganized according to modern strategies after attending to the administrative and institutional problems. This would help to implement the state media policy for the benefit of the society. more..

Apr 6 (AP) Sri Lanka's economic growth is likely to slow to 5.2 percent in 2005 from 5.5 percent last year due to the impact of the December tsunami, the Asian Development Bank said Wednesday. But the bank warned that the greatest risk to growth continued to be uncertainty over the peace process between Tamil Tiger rebels and the government. more..

Apr 6 (TP) The new Sri Lankan ambassador-designate Atugoda will arrive in Doha tomorrow, a senior official of the Sri Lankan embassy said yesterday. Atugoda is a career diplomat who previously served as Sri Lankan ambassador to Germany, more..

Apr 6 (Dawn) Only 34 overs were bowled on Tuesday as the first unofficial Test between Sri Lanka 'A' and Pakistan 'A' at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy was interrupted by further delays because of poor weather conditions. more..