Apr 3 (LT) Increasing the 9.1 percent vote in 2001 to 12 percent at the mini polls on 30th instant people have strengthened its hands to influence the Government better than earlier, said the JVP General Secretary Mr Tilvin Silva. Addressing a media conference in Colombo this morning (03), to brief its position after the results he said the party will use this mandate to pressurize the Government for the benefit of the people in the future. more..

Apr 3 (LT) The autocracy of Mr Ranil Wickramasinghe is apparent with his expulsion from the Working Committee of the UNP and from the organizer post of the party in Matara District, said UNP Parliamentarian, Mr Mahinda Wijesekera, Mr Wijesekara responding to the media said that he has sent a reply to Mr Ranil Wickramasinghe’s letter yesterday (02) which indicated that he had been removed from the above positions. more..

Apr 3 (AT) Two popular online Tamil news websites became the latest victims of the April Fool’s day hoaxes by Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror of 01 April 2006. Without knowing that they were hoax news stories meant for the April Fools day by the Daily Mirror, Tamil news websites thought them as real news and published the Tamil translations of those news stories, more..

Apr 3 (Hindu) Pakistan and Sri Lanka have expressed their resolve to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations for the preservation of shared values and principles and in the interest of peace and progress of their societies. A joint statement issued said in the course of the interaction between the two sides the leaders agreed that combating terrorism is the great challenge of our times. more..

Apr 3 (LNP) Muslim women, traditionally steeped in Islamic religious tenets, can now show their mettle. The United Muslim Party of Ulamas (UMPU) stated yesterday that there was no objection to Muslim women joining the proposed Muslim Unit of the Sri Lanka Army. more..

Apr 3 (LNP) Inquiries revealed that the child, whose photograph was carried in The Island and Divaina last Thursday, carrying a ballot box, was assigned the task by a Vice Principal of a school. The Vice Principal, assigned for polls work at the D. S. Senanayake College, had directed his elder brother`s son to carry the ballot box. more..

Apr 3 (LNP) The CID arrested another wanted suspect in connection with the massive VAT scam, making the total of five suspects in the custody up to now. The suspect identified as Mohamed Ashraff, a millionaire businessman was arrested at his Cinnamon Gardens residence by a team of CID sleuths who paid a surprise visit on Friday night. more..

Apr 3 (SAMN) President Mahinda Rajapakse is exploring the possibility of setting up independent commissions under the 17th Amendment, bypassing the now defunct Constitutional Council, but legal experts shot down the idea saying either the Constitution should be obeyed or amended. more..

Apr 3 (SAMN) SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena Sunday ruled out a snap general election and said there would not be an election for several years. Sirisena expressed confidence in the continued support of the JVP and JHU to President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government. more..

Apr 3 (SAMN) UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has decided to appoint Dehiwela organiser Sunethra Ranasighe as the Dehiwela-Mt. Lavinia Mayor ending the dispute between her and incumbent Mayor Dhanasiri Amaratunga. Mr. Amaratunga who was at loggerheads with Ms. Ranasinghe said Mr. Wickremasinghe had informed him to step down more..

Apr 3 (DN) Segu Alawudeen, the candidate for Chairman in the Kalpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha miraculously escaped death when he was shot yesterday by unidentified persons. Eleven bullets had pierced the vehicle in which Alawudeen was travelling. No one was injured. more..

Apr 3 (CI) It might be Sanath Jayasuriya's last Test and he might have been the one to haunt Pakistan over the years, but clearly in Kumar Sangakkara, another quite different left-hander is taking over. Pakistan will remember Jayasuriya for his 48-ball century at Singapore and the 253 at Faisalabad but they won't forget Sangakkara too soon. more..

Apr 3 (IPS) The humbling of President Mahinda Rajapakse's nationalist allies, in last week's local body elections, has vastly improved chances for the Norway-mediated peace talks in Geneva between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels. The electoral verdict was overwhelmingly in favour of Rajapakse's UPFA, which claimed 225 of the 266 local councils. more..

Apr 3 (UTHR) Once again international pressure on the LTTE pulled Sri Lanka back from the brink of war. But the continuing failure of would-be peacemakers to insist on democratic pluralism and effective mechanisms to enforce accountability for such fundamental violations as murder will necessarily doom their efforts. more..

Apr 3 (Reuters) A breakaway faction of Tamil Tigers vowed on Monday to shoot dead supporters of the mainstream rebel group unless they return thousands of homes and businesses appropriated from Muslims in the 1990s. The group led by breakaway former commander Colonel Karuna, who is locked in a deadly feud with the Tigers that threatens to rekindle a two-decade civil war, more..

Apr 3 (AFP) Norway's new peace envoy to Sri Lanka began work, discussing how to shore up a fragile ceasefire ahead of meetings with Tamil rebels and the government. Jon Hanssen-Bauer, on his first visit to the island, went straight into meetings with experts from think-tanks and development organisations after his arrival, more..

Apr 3 (HT) Sri Lanka's indigenous Muslims, called Ceylon Moors, like other communities in the island, have had historical ties with India, especially Tamil Nadu and Kerala in South India. Today, sadly, these links are very weak, if they exist at all. And they are neither remembered nor acknowledged. more..

Apr 3 (HT) This week is going to be "Sri Lanka Week" in the Indian capital. Over the next few days, beginning on Monday, top Sri Lankan government officials, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Norwegian peace facilitators will be in New Delhi to brief Indian leaders about the peace process in the island. more..

Apr 3 (BBC) Hundreds of people gathered to Polonnaruwa to welcome Sri Lankan gold medallist in Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne. The district weightlifting association has organised a march from Minneriya to Polonnaruwa to welcome Chintana Vidanage. He was the sole success for Sri Lanka at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games. more..

Apr 3 (TW) The post-Geneva Talks debates highlight the difficulties in the path to negotiated peace in Sri Lanka. Primary among them is the increasing gulf that exists between Tamil nationalism as represented by the LTTE and Sinhalese nationalism of the JVP and JHU. Sri Lanka’s politics seem to polarise around these two nationalist axes. more..

Apr 3 (BBC) Sri Lanka is a country divided not just by war, but also by time. Officially the country is six hours ahead of GMT. But in Tamil Tiger controlled areas, the time difference is five and a half hours ahead of GMT, the same as in India. Now that may change. The change in time zone is under discussion. If it happens, it is likely to coincide with the Tamil and Sinhala New Year on 14 April. more..

Apr 4 (TN) Under the 10,000 Tanks Restoration Project of the Government of Sri Lanka, the Irrigation Ministry has allocated eight million rupees for the reconstruction of only 10 agricultural tanks, sources in Mannar said.Mannar district secretariat has been appealing for assistance in restoring twenty tanks but the appeal was not successful, sources added. more..

Mar 4 (ET) Tyre major, MRF has set up an industrial unit in Sri Lanka to make pre-cure rubber for tyre retreading products. It will source the rubber for retreading operations in India. It is also looking at opportunities to manufacture tyres for helicopters. “We have set up a small unit for making pre-cure rubber for retreading products. The unit has started test productions,” more..

Mar 4 (AT) President Mahinda Rajapaksa has urged the business community of Pakistan and Sri Lanka to play their positive role for further cementing the existing bilateral trade relations between the two countries. President said after the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries, the volume of trade is on the increase and there is a great scope of further enhancement in trade and economic cooperation. more..

Apr 4 (FSL) Results of the local government election held on March 30 do not indicate a major change in the politics in the country. The only significant political outcome of this election is the setback suffered by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) by not being able to emerge as a major political force in the countryside. more..

Apr 4 (TW) The Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) of February 2002 had brought a formal end to the fierce armed combat that was then going on, the past three months have seen a ‘virtual’ war, waged between the same old protagonists at both the military and political fronts, which appears to be almost as deadly as the ‘real’ one. more..

Apr 4 (FSL) The path to Geneva II seems to be quite difficult. We hear sabre rattling in the South as well as the North. Sri Lanka’s army commander has been using a rather straight language to describe the on-going war preparedness, although President Rajapakse insists on peace. more..

Apr 4 (LE) Sri Lanka lost one of her ultra-talented musicians earlier in March 2006, when news trickled in from Moratuwa of the sad passing away of 49-year old Cumar Peiris. A member of the famous GYPSIES group since 1995, Cumar was one of Sri Lanka?s leading keyboardists and also an acclaimed music arraigner. more..

Apr 4 (LeN) At a discussion held at a prominent UNP politico this afternoon, deputy UNP leader Karu Jayasuriya is reported to have expressed over the expulsion of parliamentarian from the UNP executive committee. Meanwhile the majority in the UNP Executive Committee say that party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe cannot take a decision on his own to sack Wijesekara from the executive committee and Matara District leadership. more..

Apr 4 (LeN) Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga says the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna should at least realize their strength now. She has stated this in a special congratulatory message sent to President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the SLFP led People's Alliance from London on the victory of the Freedom Alliance at the local government polls. more..

Apr 4 (LeN) Matara District UNP parliamentarian Mahinda Wijesekara insists that he will not resign from any of the posts, even though he has been informed in writing by party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to step down from the Executive Committee and as Matara district organizer. more..

Apr 4 (LeN) As sensational disclosures of the racketeers involved in the 3.57 billion rupee VAT scam are being made, 'Lanka e News' has reliably learnt that the mastermind of the alleged fraud Kamil Kuthubdeen has given money generously to leading politicians of the government as well as the opposition. more..

Apr 4 (LT) 300 trade unions agreed that all tentative solutions taken so far to solve the salary anomaly crisis should be opposed and an alternative programme should be implemented. This agreement was reached at a discussion of trade unions held at auditorium of the Railways head office at Maradana today at 10.00 a.m. presided by Mr. Lal Kanthe, President of National Trade Union Centre. more..

Apr 4 (AT) The Peace Secretariat website of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s alleged that Sri Lanka Army arrested a family in Point Pedro for displaying a picture of Annai Poopathy in their home. In the meantime, Sri Lanka Army reveals that they arrested arms and ammunition from a house along with it’s five occupants during a search and clear operation in Point Pedro area on Sunday (April 2, 2006). more..

Apr 4 (ISL) According to political commentators, a major factor contributed for the landslide election victory of TNA in Tamil areas of Trinco had been the activities of JVP and Sinhalese extremist groups. In the past year, JVP and Sinhalese nationalistic groups had been initiating a campaign of installing Buddha statues in Tamil dominated areas to gain political mileage from the Sinhalese masses living in East. more..

Apr 4 (ISL) In yet another blow to the higher education in Jaffna, LTTE gangs in Jaffna university is threatening Parameswaran, acting Vice Chancellor of Jaffna University from assuming duties. University Grants Commission has appointed Parameswaran of the Medical Faculty as the acting Vice Chancellor last week due to the death threats made by LTTE for the life of Ratnajeevan Hoole, more..

Apr 4 (TN) High Commissioner of India, Ms. Nirupama Rao, Monday handed out certificates of completion of courses in embroidery, cooking, catering and stitching to Tsunami Victims from the Eastern Province conducted as part of the Sustainable Livelihood Project held at the Academy of Adult Education for Women, Kalubowila, said a press release issued by the Indian Embassy in Colombo Monday. more..

Apr 4 (ANN) The government has decided to grant a general amnesty to several thousand foreigners, who have overstayed their visas, some for long periods, Controller of Immigration and Emigration P. Bandula Abeykoon said Monday (April 3). The amnesty is to come into effect in May. more..

Apr 4 (AT) Pilliyan, a special Commander of the Tamil EelaMakkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) and a senior leader of the TMVP, told the Asian Tribune that the LTTE and TMVP are parallel organizations and if one is a "paramilitary" then so is the other. more..

Apr 4 (SLA) POLICEMEN ON INFORMATION received were able to arrest two teenage schoolboys, suspected to be from LTTE’s pistol group with a Chinese-made 9mm pistol from ANANDAPURI, SELVANAYAGAMPURAM area Monday (03) night around 8.00 p.m. Those schoolboys from SELVANAYAGAMPURAM Maha Vidyalaya are said to be students in Year 13 class more..

Apr 4 (TN) Mannar Police Monday afternoon arrested Second Lieutenant Dissanayake of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) on a complaint made by Mr.Upali, a Reserve Police Constable (RPC) that the navy officer, under the influence of liquor, had assaulted him Sunday night, Mannar Police sources said. more..

Apr 4 (TN) "Sri Lanka will have a lot to be proud of when the country celebrates the first International Mine Action Day on April 4 Tuesday- mine related causalities have dropped by 60 percent since the ceasefire agreement. But while this achievement is commendable, work still needs to be done to ensure that the country is totally free of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXOs)," more..

Apr 4 (LBO) Sri Lanka is inviting Pakistani investors to set up factories in a dedicated investment zone and export to the European Union using preferential access channels, following the President Mahinda Rajapakse's recent visit, a top bureaucrat said. more..

Apr 4 (AT) Ambassador of Switzerland Bernardino Regazzoni today participated in the Foundation Stone Laying ceremony for the Sariputra School complex in Matara. The ceremony marked the launch of the construction phase of the school reconstruction programme of Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC in Matara. more..

Apr 4 (GN) Sri Lankan Chief Negotiator to the Geneva talks, Health and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva told the new Norwegian peace envoy yesterday that the Sri Lankan Government had taken all possible measures to implement the decisions arrived at the Geneva talks. more..

Apr 4 (ISL) The root of the Tamil national struggle was embed in the discrimination of education for Tamil students and the obstacles Tamil students faced in the hands of Sinhalese government. Although Tamil community did not like violence, the community was dragged into a circle of violence with genocides put upon the Tamil community from 58 to 83 by the Sinhalese leaders. more..

Apr 4 (ISL) The Sinhalese nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna which boasted for a grand victory at the local government polls had decided to keep a silent profile after the major defeat in the recent LG elections, according to political commentators. more..

Apr 4 (GT) LEADING Sri Lankan music band Bathiya ‘N Santhush will perform at the Sri Lankan School on Friday, April 7. The band has performed in many countries. However, this will be their first visit to Doha.The vocalist duo will be joined by popular singer Ashanthi De Alwis for the Doha event. more..

Apr 4 (LT) The Strike is a sharp tool that trade unions possess and by using it indiscriminately it would get blunt says President Mahinda Rajapakse. This would deny the trade unions of opportunities to win over their rights pointed out the President. President Mahinda Rajapakse made these observations addressing the 6th National Convention of the SLFP trade unions. more..

Apr 4 (Xinhua) The tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka during the first two months of 2006 were 104,918 as against 74,832 in 2005 and 93,534 in 2004. India continued to be the highest prime generating market of tourists accounting for 21 percent of tourist traffic, said the newspaper. The second and third highest are Britain and Germany. more..