Apr 9 (LNP) Numerous private and state sector institutions have lined up to provide employment to Commonwealth Games weightlifting gold medallist, Chinthana Vidanage, but his aim is to pursue higher studies in Sports Science. `If I have travelled a certain distance, it`s because of sports and I certainly would like to master this art,` Chinthana said, more..

Apr 9 (SAMN) A SriLankan Airlines flight to New Delhi from Colombo on Thursday night was delayed after an undeclared revolver was found in the possession of the Norwegian peace delegation led by International Development Minister Erik Solheim. The weapon had not been declared on their arrival to the country, more..

Apr 9 (SAMN) The tax fraud at the Inland Revenue Department could run into around 24 billion rupees, CID investigations reveal. Inspector General of Police Chandra Fernando said though initial investigations reveal the amount to be 3.57 billion rupees, sleuths would also trace the where-abouts of a total of 24 billion rupees which was paid as VAT repayment. more..

Apr 9 (SAMN) Deshabhimanaya Peramuna, a non-political organisation, has appealed to the Election Commissioner to further postpone polls for the 22 local councils where elections were not held on March 30 due to legal and security reasons as it would disrupt the Vesak celebrations. The election for the 22 local councils has been scheduled for May 18. more..

Apr 9 (SAMN) Following a discussion at Friday�s parliamentary group meeting at Sirikotha, the UNP plans to expel JVP MPs from opposition benches. The MPs pointed out the absurdity of the JVP, which contested the last parliamentary elections together with the government, taking opposition benches and thereby depriving genuine opposition MPs. more..

Apr 9 (SO) The leafy sidewalks of the famous Vihara Maha Devi park bounding the Public Library and the National Art Gallery, which was usually filled with valentines walking hand- in-hand, was unusually busy with artists converged from all parts of the island to showcase their talents, and to sell their invaluable pieces of artistic excellence. more..

Apr 9 (SO) Call it Aluth Avurudhu or Puththandu, in a few days' time Sri Lankans will celebrate the National New Year. Our own New Year that is not celebrated elsewhere in the world, is unique to Sri Lanka, a New Year that is suffused with all things auspicious. Sri Lankans will make any excuse to return to their hometowns to be with their loved ones. This is a time for re-union. more..

Apr 9 (WS) Severe discrepancies haunt the recently sealed Norochcholai coal power plant deal including technical irregularities which could lead to many dilemmas when the plant begins operation, the Weekend Standard reliably learns. The US $ 455 million plant which would be built in three separate stages of 300 MW each by China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation will also be funded by the Chinese Government. more..

Apr 9 (HT) The Tamils of Sri Lanka consider "Tamil Eelam" in the North East of their island, as their "motherland", and India as their "fatherland", says the LTTE's chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham. In an interview to the popular Chennai-based weekly Ananda Vikatan, which has been widely reproduced here, Balasingham said that the Sri Lankan Tamils had "always looked upon India as their fatherland." more..

Apr 9 (IANS) Amid indications that President Mahinda Rajapakse is prepared to walk the extra mile for peace, India does not want the upcoming Geneva talks between Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers to get confined to 'Colonel' Karuna, the LTTE renegade. Whatever the strengths of the arguments advanced by the LTTE vis-�-vis its former commander, more..

Apr 9 (IANS) Renowned spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living, has expressed his readiness to meet Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran to facilitate the peace process. Sri Sri, whose four-day visit to Sri Lanka ended Sunday, stated this while answering a question at a public event in the northern town of Jaffna Friday, a statement from his office said. more..

Apr 9 (AP) Sri Lanka's top donors and backers of the peace process with Tamil Tiger rebels are traveling to guerrilla-held territory on Monday to urge the rebels to stay committed to a peaceful settlement of the island nation's two-decade conflict. The European Union, Japan and Norway expressed concern Sunday about the commitment of both the government and LTTE rebels to upcoming peace talks in Geneva, more..

Apr 9 (TW) �JVP�s demand for the expulsion of Norway is absurd and irrational and can only be characterised as political infantilism� Says LTTE Chief Negotiator Anton Balasingham in an interview to the Sunday Leader. The LTTE has warned that the peace process in Sri Lanka will certainly collapse if Norway withdraws its facilitation and will eventually lead to war. more..

Apr 9 (TS) The federal government will list the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist group, enraging those in Toronto's Tamil community who believe labelling the group will hurt Sri Lanka's peace process. "I am disappointed that the government has not consulted the community on its views," said Sri-Guggan Sri-Kanda-Rajjah, a prominent member of the Tamil community in Toronto. more..

Apr 10 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka beat injury-hit Chinese Taipei 3-0 to march into the semifinal of the inaugural Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup on Saturday in Chittagong, the second biggest city of Bangladesh. Chinese Taipei, being handicapped after losing three main players through injury, played a defensive game. more..

Apr 10 (TN) Liberation Tigers' Political Head Mr. S.P.Thamilchelvan, rejecting Colombo's offer that suggested the LTTE's eastern commanders to travel unarmed in Sri Lankan vessel from East to North, has informed the Head of SLMM, Major General Ulf Henricsson, Sunday, that Tiger Commanders were not prepared to travel in Sri Lankan naval vessels. more..

Apr 10 (AT) The Boston Thamil Center (BTC) was inaugurated on Wednesday April 5, 7:30 PM with traditional "Milk boiling Ceremony" or Paal Kaachal. Mr. Gajendrakumar G. Ponnambalam, (TNA, Sri Lanka Member of Parliament), and several Boston Tamil families were present at this inaugural ceremony. more..

Apr 10 (TW) It is very remarkable to note that the Canadian Tamil community in many ways has enhanced the prosperity of the Greater Toronto Area with their diverse contributions towards the society. �I want to thank the Tamil Community for their hard work and contribution made to the prosperity of Ontario in so many different ways, such as economically, socially and culturally. more..

Apr 10 (AT) Could anyone believe a man who has been a member of a local government body for 15 years to live in a ramshackle planked hut? It is true in Ja-Ela with this man living in this tiny planked shed whose mother is still running a wayside small beetle shop (Bulath Kade). more..

Apr 10 (AT) The Free Trade Zone Manufacturers Association (FTZMA), under the leadership of its Chairman, Hemaranjana Fernando and with the able support of all the member manufacturers are contributing heavily for social welfare, while serving the needs of its members wherever possible for the large number of working girls. more..

Apr 10 (AT) 03 LTTE cadres were killed and 05 seriously injured, while LTTE killed a Sri Lanka soldier and injuring another, in two separate unconnected incidents reported from Muttur region, in Trincomalee districts on Saturday. According to a report, 03 LTTE rebels were killed and 05 severely injured when their mini camp, more..

Apr 10 (AT) Ananthan Kanagaratnam Chairman of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization in Denmark has expressed fears to visit Sri Lanka, as he has been alleged of having links with the terrorists� organization, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. This was disclosed in an interview he gave recently in Denmark. more..

Apr 10 (TW) The �Katpulaththu Manonmany Ambal� temple is situated in Nanthavil, Kokuvil East in Jaffna Peninsula. This temple is one of the many famous �Amman� temples in Jaffna district. It was built in 18th century. It was destroyed like other Hindu temples in the district during the war. Later it was rebuilt, and all the �Poojas� performed. The annual temple festival takes place in June. more..

Apr 10 (AT) TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal led by the breakaway rebel leader, Colonel Karuna, will officially declare open their first Political Office in Batticaloa today. The new office, "Meenagam", will be the Headquarters of the Eastern Province and it will be located at Govindan Road in the heart of the Batticaloa town. more..

Apr 10 (AT) After a long lapse a commemoration lecture on the late Appapillai Amirthalingam, the elected leader of the Tamils and the successor to S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, the founding father of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (Federal Party) will be held by The Asian Tribune at the BMICH in Colombo. more..

Apr 10 (GN) The state sponsored New Year oil anointing ceremony will be held at the Mulgirigala Raja Maha Viharaya in Hambantota under President Mahinda Rajapaksa's patronage on April 15 at the auspicious time of 7.39 a.m. The ceremony is organised by the Ministry of Indigenous medicine. more..

Apr 10 (GN) The Aluth Sahal Mangalyya, organised by the Agrarian Development Department will be held early today with the participation of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremenayake. The festival will begin with the observing of the traditional boiling of the milk at the four entrances to the Sri Maha Bodhiya. more..

Apr 10 (Xinhua) SriLankan Airlines will increase its Colombo-Beijing service and hopes to expand services to Shanghai by the end of 2006 in a bid to become the No 1 choice for Chinese travellers, according to a chief representative from the company. "By the end of 2006, SriLankan Airlines will increase its Colombo-Beijing service from three times a week to five times a week more..

Apr 10 (TN) Mr.M.H.Cegu Issadeen, Deputy Minister for Media and the founder of the Muslim Nationalists' Movement said Sunday at a press conference that it is meaningless to demand for a separate Muslim delegation in the peace talks until all Muslim political parties agree on a common programme to find political solution to the Muslim problems. more..

Apr 10 (SLA) TWO TAMIL TIGER (LTTE) PISTOL MEN from the LTTE Wanni faction have shot and injured one school boy and another civilian on a motor bicycle at KARUVANKRNI junction in VALAICHCHENAI Sunday (09) around 7.40 p.m. The injured schoolboy, SIWALINGAM PUSHPARAJA (15), and KRISHNAPILLAI AJITH (21) are residents of KARAPOLA and VALACHCHENAI areas. more..

Apr 10 (SLA) NAVAL TROOPS ON DUTY IN TRINCOMALEE have arrested a stock of gelignite and a few parcels of cannabis while they were being transported in a lorry on Sunday. Navy, after checking the lorry moving from ERAKKANDY to KUCHCHAWELY due to suspicion, have found 24 kg of gelignite and 13 parcels of cannabis hidden inside the lorry. more..

Apr 10 (TW) Many frequently consider the Hindu as a religion of renunciation. They believe that to be good Hindu religious person, one has to renounce the world. But the truth is Hindu religion expect a person to evolve in his spiritual path. A person is expected to go through four stages namely, Bramhachariya, Gragastha, Vanaprastham and Sanyasom. more..

Apr 10 (ANN) Tigers can fool all the Canadians some of the time and some of the Canadians all the time, but they cannot fool all the Canadians all the time. The proscription of the LTTE in Canada, the country with the largest number of Tamil expatriates, is the first ban since the outfit entered the Oslo brokered CFA with the Sri Lanka government. more..

Apr 10 (AT) Declaring April 10 a day of mourning for the Tamil people of the east, TVMP accused both the Vanni Tigers and the former President Chandrika Kumaratunga of joining hands to massacre 175 of their cadres on April 10, 2004. TVMP states that this is the darkest day of their history. more..

Apr 10 (PIS) Police investigating Friday�s assassination of Vanniasingham Vigneswaran, President of the Trincomalee District Tamil Peoples� Forum (TDTPF) yesterday said that two security officers of the main Bank of Ceylon Branch, Trincomalee located along inner harbour road were witnesses to the killing. more..

Apr 10 (PIS) Initial police investigations into Friday's assassination of Tamil People's Forum leader V. Vigneswaran revealed that a group of persons opposed to his being appointed leader of the forum in place of late Joseph Pararajasingham could be the motive for the killing. more..

Apr 10 (CI) Nuwan Zoysa, the left-arm fast bowler, and Prasanna Jayawardene, the wicketkeeper, have been recalled to Sri Lanka's Test squad for the tour of England in April. Zoysa makes a comeback to the national team after two years. He played the last of his 30 Tests against Australia at Cairns in July 2004. more..

Apr 10 (WS) In keeping with her election pledge, newly elected Woman Mayor of Dehiwela and Mount Lavinia Sunethra Ranasinghe will convert the newly built posh �Mayor�s Residence� at Dehiwela, which was constructed by her predecessor Dhanasiri Amaratunga, into a Reception Hall for public use. more..

Apr 10 (WS) The Sinhala people settled in this Island about the sixth century before Christ having migrated from North India and by about the 3rd century BC had made settlements in the North, South, West and East of the Island. They came to this Island as merchant mariners and farmers who used the iron plough for agriculture and weapons and other implements made of iron for other purposes. more..

Apr 10 (LNP) The LTTE`s sudden demand for a sea plane ride out of the country if it is to attend the second round of peace talks in Geneva later this month has intrigued many analysts. `Does the LTTE want to prevent a recurrence of its delegates being searched as happened during their return to the country after the first round of talks or seriously believes there is a security threat`, more..

Apr 10 (LNP) The Mihintale police have initiated inquiries into an incident of cutting and removing rails from the Anuradhapura ' Mihintale railway track. At Kannathiya in the Asokapura area close to Minhintale, a part of the rail, seventy feet long had been cut and removed. more..

Apr 10 (LNP) The government yesterday hailed Canada for deciding to ban the LTTE there. Media Minsiter Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said the government believed the entire world has accepted that negotiation was the only way to solve problems. With the exception of the TNA, the major political parties praised the decision taken by the Candian government more..

Apr 10 (SAMN) An international road show to promote Sri Lankan oil will hit the world stage in May to attract expressions of interest from international bidders to explore deposits in the Mannar basin. Petroleum Resources Development Minister A.H.M Fowzie stressed that the road show plans to promote Lanka�s oil wealth in Houston Texas, London and Australia. more..

Apr 10 (SAMN) The All Ceylon Transport Workers Union alleged that unbridled waste and corruption were ruining the state transport sector. "Our pleas for meaningful intervention have fallen on deaf ears," its General Secretary Sepala Liyanage said Saturday night. more..

Apr 10 (SAMN) A three member committee has been appointed to amend the Sri Lanka Freedom Party constitution. The committee comprises three Ministers, Nimal Siripala de Silva, John Senevirathne and Vishwa Warnapala, party sources said. Under the provisions of the SLFP constitution, a new president cannot be appointed until the resignation or the death of the incumbent president. more..

Apr 10 (DN) Responding to President Mahinda Rajapaksa's request for immediate nomination of all members constituting the Constitutional Council, Speaker W. J. M. Lokubandara has informed the President that all efforts to reach a consensus among party leaders with regard to the nomination of Minor Political Party Representatives, have so far not been fruitful. more..

Apr 10 (BBC) Sri Lanka has been suffering from a growing epidemic of suicide attempts. It is fuelled by the ready availability of poison from the fruit of a common roadside plant. Michael Eddleston is a British doctor who has spent much of the past ten years in Sri Lanka. It is becoming the suicide capital of the world. The poison of choice is the seed of the Yellow Oleander tree. more..

Apr 10 (RW) The first phase of operations of the 50-bed Kuwait Hospital in Puttalam, a project of the Social Service Department of Sri Lanka Jama'ath e Islami, was launched today, 26th March 2006, with a simple Ceremony. The project is sponsored by Zakat House, Kuwait. more..

Apr 10 (AG) Moscow elaborated and started realizing a secret plan of discrediting the Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, reliable sources told AIA. The Kremlin shows a growing discontent with regard of Washington's alleged intention to suggest Vike-Freiberga for the UN Secretary General at the end of this year. more..

Apr 10 (BB) Central bank will probably cut its key interest rate for the first time in more than two years to spur investment and economic growth after four increases last year helped slow inflation. The Central Bank will cut the repurchase rate at which it drains money from the banking system to 8.50 percent from 8.75 percent, more..