Apr 2 (TN) Twenty thousand voters in remote areas in the Mullaithivu district have been brought to the Liberation Tigers’ checkpoint in Puliyankulam until Thursday evening for voting in the general elections on Friday at the clustered polling stations in Omanthai, about 10 k.m. south of Puliyankulam, more..

Apr 2 (Age) Muttiah Muralitharan last night bowled the five most important overs of his career in a bid to clear himself of the charge of being a chucker. High-speed electronic tape of Muralitharan bowling at the University of Western Australia's human movement department will be used either to clear him of chucking his doosra more..

Apr 2 (NW) The controversial LTTE build Manirasakulam camp in Kinniya continues to stand strong, nearly five months after President Chandrika Kumaratunga took over the Defence and Interior Ministries citing security reasons, sources said. more..

Apr 2 (NW) The Ministry of Power and Energy yesterday reiterated that the Ceylon Electricity Board would be able to maintain a continuous power supply to the country, despite having to face the worst drought in 50 years. more..

Apr 2 (NW) DIG (elections) Gamini Navaratne said that the police have even been ordered to shoot anybody creating disturbances at polling booths in order to maintain law and order. The police said that they were taking the security measures in the wake of the killings of election candidates, attack on party supporters and damage caused to vehicles and property. more..

Apr 2 (AP) Sri Lankan soldiers escorted at least three Tamil Tiger rebels to Colombo ahead of a trip Friday to Switzerland, a senior government official said. The three - a Tiger official known as Karikalan and at least two others - are expected to attend a protest later this month in Geneva more..

Apr 2 (BBC) On the eve of one of Sri Lanka's most crucial elections in recent times, PMK Mulawathi, says she can no longer understand what is going on in her country. "Everything is in a flux. Elections are held every other year. Politicians seem to be least bothered with what people are thinking," more..

Apr 2 (PT) Pakistan has surpassed Srilanka in the volleyball match held on Thursday at Liaquat gymnasium. This win over Srilanka qualifies Pakistan for the semi finals. It was a straight win as Pakistan won all the sets. The Pakistani players provided their competitors with a tough competition. more..

Apr 2 (AP) Soldiers were out in force for this war-savaged country's parliamentary vote Friday seen as a showdown between the president and prime minister - but which was also likely to give increased power to the country's smaller parties. more..

Apr 2 (Reuters) Sri Lankans began voting on Friday in an election forecast to end in a hung parliament, which could further weaken efforts to revive a peace bid with the island's separatist Tamil Tigers. more..

Apr 2 (LT) Advertisements related to the General Election were transmitted by a few private media today violating Election law. Some of the media institutes that violated election law this way are Sirasa, MTV, Shakthi, Sha and Hiru. more..

Apr 2 (LBO) Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves plunged 5.7 percent in January 2004, according to the latest data released by the Central Bank. Official or Central Bank reserves fell by US$ 33 mn while total reserves, which also includes private holdings, fell by only 1.3 percent. more..

Apr 2 (LBO) Residents of Colombo stocked up on essential items in anticipation of curfew after the closure of polling booths on Election Day. Despite a week of comparatively low election violence in Colombo, residents started stocking up essentials a few days ahead of Friday. more..

Apr 2 (SLA) Six medical specialists and nine doctors of JAFFNA origin, attached to the BATTICALOA General Hospital had reportedly vacated their posts and areas on 01 April 2004 subsequent to a public announcement made by LTTE’s KARUNA faction in the general area of BATTICALOA. more..

Apr 2 (SLA) On the request of the VALACHCHENAI Police, an unexploded hand grenade found inside the compound of a civilian has been defused by Army Engineer troops on 01 April 2004. more..

Apr 2 (SLA) An official vehicle belonging to the Norwegian Embassy carrying KARIKALAN and a few LTTE cadres reached the OMANTHAI Entry/Exit point on 01 April 2004 around 08.55 a.m. in order to proceed to COLOMBO. more..

Apr 2 (SLA) Fishermen, who were detained in LTTE custody in the general area of NACHCHIKUDA, have been released by the LTTE on 01 April 2004. Eleven fishermen, who left GURUNAGAR jetty for fishing on three trawlers, were taken into custody by the LTTE along with their trawlers in the general area of NACHCHIKUDA on 30 March 2004 more..

Apr 2 (TN) Brisk polling is reported from the clustered polling stations, which are located in Kattaiparichchan, and Mahindapura for voters residing the LTTE controlled Muttur east villages and Eachilampathu division in the Trincomalee district. more..

Apr 2 (TN) Thousands of enthusiastic voters from the Mullaithivu district and the northern parts of the Vavuniya district which are controlled by the Liberation Tigers swarmed to polling stations in Omanthai Friday morning to cast their ballots. more..

Apr 2 (TN) Brisk polling is reported in Muslim areas such as Kattankudy, Oddamavadi and Eravur in Batticaloa district and low polling in Tamil areas till one p.m. Friday, Batticaloa District Returning Officer Mr.S.Punnyamoorthy said more..

Apr 2 (TN) High polling was recorded in the clustered polling stations located in the Muhamalai area for voters residing in the LTTE controlled Killinochchi district and villages in the Vadamaradchchi east division in the Jaffna district. more..

Apr 2 (wsws) More than 12 million voters go to the polls today amid a continuing political crisis. Whatever the immediate outcome, the election has set the stage for an intensification of the bitter infighting within the country’s political elites that led to the poll in the first place. more..

Apr 2 (NYT) The stolen bag did not contain much in the way of material value. But its sudden absence greatly distressed the Buddhist monk who had been victimized, and so the police were summoned to the scene of the crime: a Starbucks at the opulent Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. more..

Apr 2 (SLE) As authorities finalised arrangements for today’s parliamentary election, Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake warned major political parties not to engage in organised violence as he intends to annul the result of any polling booth affected by rigging. more..

Apr 2 (LT) Tomorrow, the day of the General Election a conspiracy has been hatched to commit a horrendous assassination says Mr.Wimal Weerawanse, Propaganda Secretary of the JVP. He revealed this at a media briefing by UPFA held in Sri Lanka foundation Institute in Colombo today. more..

Apr 2 (LT) A supporter of the UNF has been taken into custody in Matara having a large number of forged polling cards in his possession. The police say that these forged polling cards which are very similar to the official election cards have been printed to be used for some sort of a conspiracy act to be carried out on the Election Day. more..

Apr 2 (PSL) Today more than 12 million Sri Lankans will elect 196 members for the country’s 225 member legislature in the 13th Parliamentary Election since 1948. President Chandrika Kumaratunga yesterday appealed to all citizens to ensure that today’s election is a free and fair one. more..

Apr 2 (TS) Incense wafts across the field as the drumbeat draws near. Young disciples blow into conch shells and a gong sounds. For thousands of Buddhist devotees gathered under the steaming tropical sun, it's not merely the call to prayer time. It's showtime on the campaign trail. more..

Apr 2 (Reuters) Following are the main personalities in Sri Lanka's parliamentary elections: PRESIDENT CHANDRIKA KUMARATUNGA - Though not a candidate herself in the election, Kumaratunga will seek to avenge her party's defeat in 2001 parliamentary polls when she was forced to ask arch-rival Ranil Wickremesinghe to form a government. more..

Apr 2 (MD) With at least four people killed, violence, malpractice and corruption have marked the run up to Sri Lanka’s 13th general election being held in the island today. All in all, however, the candidates have conducted themselves, uncharacteristically well, despite the gross attitudes adopted by some, particularly on TV. more..

Apr 2 (DN) The scene outside the Jaffna District Secretariat was one of comings and goings yesterday, but the centre of attraction were not the officials, but the brown coloured sealed boxes they were carrying and being escorted out of the premises by Policemen. more..

Apr 2 (Geo) Pakistan will hold a textile exhibition in Sri Lanka, this year Vice-Chairman of All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association Abdullah Rafi informed the Sri Lankan Consul General at Karachi, Ms Menal d'Silva in a meeting here. more..

Apr 2 (Reuters) Tamils from Sri Lanka's rebel-held areas turned out in large numbers on Friday to cast votes in a general election that could boost support for candidates allied to the Tamil Tigers. more..

Apr 2 (HT) Opinion surveys and political pundits suggest that the April 2 parliamentary elections may throw up a hung parliament with a slight edge for the UPFA led by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, over the UNF led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. more..

Apr 2 (HT) The bitter struggle for supremacy between the LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran and the breakaway Eastern Commander Colonel Karuna has cast a dark shadow on the voting in the Tamil areas in Sri Lanka's parliamentary elections that began on Friday. more..

Apr 2 (Reuters) Sri Lankans began voting on Friday in an election forecast to end in a hung parliament, which could further weaken efforts to revive a peace bid with the island's separatist Tamil Tigers. more..

Apr 2 (AP) Sri Lankans voted in strong numbers and under heavy security on Friday in snap parliamentary elections seen as a showdown over negotiations with a brutal separatist group that controls a third of the country. more..

Apr 2 (Reuters) Sri Lankans voted in large numbers on Friday, but there was no indication so far they had broken a political logjam that has frozen efforts to revive a peace bid with the island's separatist Tamil Tigers. more..

Apr 2 (BBC) Sri Lankans have gone to the polls in large numbers to vote in a general election dominated by the peace process with Tamil Tiger rebels. The country has been in crisis since a bitter dispute erupted between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe. more..

Apr 2 (TN) Civil society sources in Jaffna said that there was high voter turnout in Chunnakam and Mallakam area. However, reports from Erlalai said that the booths at Erlalai Saiva Shanmarga Vidiyalayam were suddenly closed around 3.55pm and the gates were locked preventing further voting. more..

Apr 2 (HT) The rift between the two factions of the LTTE can kill the peace process, Indian experts have said. "Both factions are espousing the same cause - that of Tamil nationality," Dr S Chandrasekharan, director of the South Asia Analysis Group, a New Delhi-based think tank, told more..

Apr 2 (HT) Polling for the Sri Lankan parliament, which was held on Friday, was peaceful throughout the island. But parties opposed to the LTTE, alleged "massive" rigging by the LTTE in the Tamil-dominated areas of the North Eastern Province (NEP). more..

Apr 2 (TN) Elections officials in Jaffna said Friday that thousands of voters from Kilinochchi walked a kilometre in scorching sun across the line of control between the areas controlled by the LTTE and the Sri Lanka army in the southern part of peninsula to cast their ballot. more..

Apr 2 (AN) “The difficult situation in Sri Lanka must be dealt with by all citizens calmly and with a willingness to collaborate, since peace in society is not just about reaching agreements with Tamil (Tigers) but also about finding solutions to various socio-economic issues facing the country,” Colombo’s auxiliary bishop, Msgr. Marius Spirit, more..

Apr 2 (Bloomberg) About three-quarters of Sri Lanka's 12.8 million eligible voters cast ballots today in parliamentary elections likely to determine the direction of peace talks with Tamil rebels seen as crucial to maintaining growth in the island's $16 billion economy. more..

Apr 2 (AFP) Elusive Tamil Tiger supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran is not a candidate in Friday's elections, but he could end up calling the shots in parliament. Prabhakaran, 49, has for the first time openly backed candidates from the Tamil minority and was about to clinch political clout in the election when his military might was bruised by a renegade rebel. more..

Apr 2 (TN) The United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) took the most number of votes in postal voting in three districts in the South, Election Department announced Friday night. The main constituent parties of the UPFA are the SLFP and the JVP. more..

Apr 3 (SLE) Passport chief Mervyn Wijesekera yesterday scotched reports that he was being pressurised to prevent several key politicians from leaving the country immediately after Friday’s general election. “There is not an iota of truth in these claims,” Wijesekera told more..

Apr 3 (SLE) Contrary to widespread fears that the election would be marred by violence and malpractice, yesterday’s polling ended peacefully and with minimum incident for the first time in many years. Initial reports from the Elections Department placed voter turnout at 75 per cent. more..

Apr 3 (Reuters) Sri Lankans held one of their most peaceful elections in decades but still did not know early on Saturday if the result would break a political deadlock that has stalled efforts to end a two-decade civil war. more..