Apr 24 (DN) The Cabinet of Ministers, at its meeting last night, appointed a four member sub committee to study methods of combating the possible impacts of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) through a possible outbreak in Sri Lanka, political sources told more..

Apr 24 (DM) A senior government official yesterday rebuffed the LTTE for its allegations that the ceasefire agreement had not brought any tangible benefits to the Tamil people of the North and East. more..

Apr 24 (IANS) Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone, founder of the India Caucus, has taken over as co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan Americans. His Republican counterpart is Rep. Jerry Weller who joined Pallone to announce the new agenda for the caucus in the 108th Congress. more..

Apr 24 (Reuters) Stocks closed virtually flat on Thursday on improved volumes as local investors weighed concerns of a Tamil Tiger rebel pull out of peace talks against prospects for more donor aid this year. more..

Apr 24 (DJ) The Sri Lankan government said both the Tamil Tiger rebels and the authorities must make a joint appeal if they want to secure much- needed loans from multilateral banks and donor funds at a conference in June. more..

Apr 24 (AFP) Sri Lanka moved to speed up delivery on its promises to Tamil Tiger rebels, who pulled out of another key element of a Norwegian-backed peace process to protest delays. more..

Apr 24 (CI) Perhaps the biggest surprise of recent weeks - a period packed with resignations, sackings and appointments - was the appointment of Aravinda de Silva as a selector. The cricket board was uneasy but the sports minister was insistent. more..

Apr 24 (TN) The trial-at-bar comprising three High Court Judges Wednesday rejected a motion by the fifteen accused in the Udathalawinne massacre case, including the General Anurudha Ratwatte and his two sons, seeking permission to file a bail application at the Supreme Court against a previous order refusing bail, more..

Apr 24 (AN) Around 500 Buddhist monks mounted a blockade at the entrance to the Norwegian embassy in Sri Lanka's capital on Thursday. They were protesting a Norwegian-brokered peace plan that they claim gives unfair advantages to Tamil Tiger rebels. more..

Apr 24 (Reuters) The United States on Thursday urged Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers to return to the negotiating table, telling the rebels that was the only way to settle their grievances. more..

Apr 24 (TN) The TNA Wednesday requested the government to formulate and implement a new approach that could provide speedy relief to the grievances of several thousands displaced Tamils without further delay fulfilling the justifiable expectations of Tamils since the signing of the ceasefire agreement, more..

Apr 24 (HT) Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Tuesday that his government had rejected the LTTE's demand that its naval wing, the Sea Tigers, be given a status equal to the Sri Lankan Navy, informed sources told Hindustan Times. more..

Apr 24 (OW) The recent anti-Muslim riots in the east Sri Lankan village of Muttur, in which four people were killed and 20,000 displaced, have firmed popular Muslim opinion that the battle must be taken into the Tamil guerrillas' camp. more..

Apr 24 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels, who have pulled out of peace talks to end two decades of civil war, said on Thursday they had also walked away from a planned meeting on humanitarian issues. more..

Apr 24 (AP) Sri Lanka's new captain Hashan Tillakaratne says two years in the wilderness made him a better cricketer, but he's finding it difficult to believe the turn of events that propelled him to the helm of the test team. more..

Apr 24 (TN) "We will not take any step that could derail the present peace process. We have not completely abandoned the peace talks. We have only suspended our participation in the peace talks for the time being," said Mr.Pappa, head of the Sports Department of the LTTE more..

Apr 24 (AFP) France has asked Tamil Tiger rebels and the Sri Lankan government to overcome their differences and resume their Norwegian-backed peace talks, the French embassy here said Thursday. more..

Apr 25 (IL) The Colombo Municipal Council will demolish all unauthorized hoardings and those not displaying the authorization number found within the city by May 2 Municipal Commissioner Dr. Jayantha Liyanage said yesterday. more..

Apr 25 (IL) In a joint statement issued yesterday, eight organizations of Sri Lankan expatriates domiciled in Australia and New Zealand have stated that Sri Lanka's territorial sea cannot be handed over to a terrorist organisation to subvert democracy and create a separate state in Sri Lanka. more..

Apr 25 (Hindu) Exerting pressure on the LTTE to renounce separatism and return to the negotiating table, the United States today slammed it for "prolonging the conflict" by "pursuing a violent, separatist agenda". more..

Apr 25 (Island) UNP General Secretary Senarath Kapukotuwa yesterday accused the JVP and the SLFP-led PA of taking political advantage of a disputed Tiger decision to suspend peace talks with the government. more..

Apr 25 (AN) The 13-year-old boy who died in Jeddah recently of what could be the Kingdom�s first case of SARS was not Sri Lankan, as was incorrectly reported in the print edition of Arab News yesterday. more..

Apr 25 (UNI) A 19-year-old Sri Lankan college student was found murdered at her house at the posh Anna Nagar area in the city on Thursday. Police said the body of Mayurini, daughter of a government official at Trincomalee in Eastern Sri Lanka, was found in a decomposed state by the house-owner, more..

Apr 25 (SLA) An unidentified group, suspected to be from LTTE on a vehicle without number plate, has hurled a hand grenade at several PLOTE members on 24 April 2003 while they were near their office in the general area of 1st CROSS STREET in JAFFNA. more..

Apr 25 (SLA) Two suspected LTTE cadres on a motorbike without number-plate have hurled a hand grenade at a boutique in the general area of JAFFNA town and escaped, states a complaint made by P. SIVASIKUMARAN of No. 10, HOSPITAL ROAD, JAFFNA on 24 April 2003. more..

Apr 25 (SLA) of kin of a missing ex-Tamil soldier who has deserted the Army, in a complaint made to BATTICALOA Army camp claimed that the ex-soldier concerned has been allegedly abducted by LTTE on 23 April 2003 while he was in the general area of ARASADI, BATTICALOA. more..

Apr 25 (SLA) On information received to the effect that a suspicious vessel was sailing in the general sea area off POTTUVIL on 24 April 2003, Ministry of Defence took steps to immediately dispatch an Air Force reconnaissance craft to the area. more..

Apr 25 (PRIU) The death occurred today of Bishop of Jaffna, the Most Rev. Dr. B. Deogupillai. He was 86. Bishop Deogupillai was ordained a Catholic priest in 1941 after his Ecclesiastical studies in Rome. more..

Apr 25 (PRIU) The US Ambassador here in Colombo has urged the LTTE to return to peace talks. The US Ambassador called on both the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka to continue to honour the terms of the ceasefire agreement even while talks are in abeyance. more..

Apr 25 (DJ) Recent inflows of donor funds into Sri Lanka don't necessarily facilitate adjusting interest rates lower, a senior central bank official said Friday. "The International Monetary Fund-supported program will help in macro stability and management," more..

Apr 25 (HT) While the Sri Lankan government would do its utmost to persuade the LTTE attend the mega "Aid Lanka" consortium meeting in Tokyo scheduled to be held in early June, it would go ahead and have the meeting without the LTTE, if the latter chose not to come, more..

Apr 25 (DM) The controversial Bangkok based billionaire businessman Joe Sim - who was deported from Sri Lanka 12 years ago after being embroiled in a high level political casinos scandal - is back in the country with hundreds of millions of dollars and big plans. more..

Apr 25 (TN) The ceasefire agreement signed last year by the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE is still in force and there is no threat of resumption of war following the pull out by the LTTE from peace talks, said Minister G.L. Peiris, more..

Apr 25 (DN) The Employment and Labour Ministry will hold this year's National May Day celebrations in and around the Colombo Municipal Council premises in a carnival atmosphere under the theme "Tribute to the workers" (Shrama Upahara). more..

Apr 25 (Gulf) The ever rising cost of living has become one of the burning issues in Sri Lanka. The unbearable living cost was one of the main issues during the last general elections which brought the United National Front government to power about a year and a half ago. more..

Apr 25 (Reuters) Stocks finished up on Friday as buying in John Keells Holdings Ltd helped push the market to a three-month high. The key Colombo all-share index closed up a provisional 0.42 percent, or 3.43 points, at 818.05 points. more..

Apr 25 (Gulf) The Consulate of Sri Lanka will remain open tomorrow to help amnesty seekers. This is a departure from the usual procedure followed by the consulate, which remains closed on Fridays and Saturdays. more..

Apr 25 (PTI) Former Chief Minister of Jaffna province, Varadhrajan Permual, who is living in India, was shifted to an undisclosed location from here following a directive from the Centre recently, official sources said today. more..

Apr 25 (SI) The Tamil pop scene, in recent times, is witnessing a boom. Many a new singer-composer have produced albums, hoping that it will catch the attention of film producers or directors in South. Unfortunately no one has been able to make a foray into the tinsel world. more..

Apr 25 (Reuters) Key donors fear Sri Lanka's peace process could suffer a setback if Tamil Tiger rebels make good a threat to pull out of a crucial donor conference in June. The rebels suspended peace talks with the government on Monday more..

Apr 25 (AFP) Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga's party announced that India could send monitors to observe a tenuous truce between government forces and Tamil rebels. more..

Apr 25 (BBC) Sri Lanka's chances of accessing aid to rebuild after two decades of civil war could be undermined if the Tamil Tiger rebels carry out their threat to boycott peace talks, donors are warning. more..

Apr 25 (AFP) Stephen Fleming hit an unbeaten 112 in a record 172-run stand with Mark Richardson as New Zealand kept Sri Lanka's spin attack at bay on the opening day of the first Test here on Friday. more..

Apr 25 (AP) The Asian Development Bank said Friday it is considering US$800 million in economic aid to help Sri Lanka's battered economy recover from 19 years of civil war. But the final amount to be disbursed during the four-year more..

Apr 25 (PSL) President Chandrika Kumaratunga appointed new members to the Human Rights Commission in accordance with Article 41 B (1) of the Constitution and Section 3(2) of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Act No. 21 of 1996. more..

Apr 25 (PSL) Representatives of the Opposition political parties represented in Parliament met President Kumaratunga yesterday. The main focus of the discussion was the security situation in the country after the LTTE�s unilateral decision to suspend the peace talks. more..

Apr 25 (OW) Despite stiff opposition, the government has cleared a controversial macro hydro project, which environmentalists say will desecrate the eco-sensitive and much visited Nuwara Eliya mountain range in the central province. more..

Apr 25 (FL) As the Norway-mediated entente between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE x known as the "peace process" x enters a complicated and challenging phase, the role of international players in providing incentives and disincentives has become increasingly prominent. more..

Apr 25 (FL) Having bombed its way to the negotiating table, the LTTE now finds its claim to being the "sole representative" of Sri Lankan Tamils being seriously challenged by two major international players - India and the United States. more..

Apr 25 (FL) Participants in a seminar held in Washington have pledged $3.5 billion to be paid over a three-year period for the reconstruction and development of war-ravaged Sri Lanka. more..