Colombo  - President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) recorded convincing victories in two of the nine provinces where local elections were held on Saturday, officials said.

The victories in the Central and North Western Provinces were widely seen as an endorsement of the military campaign against Tamil rebels in the northern part of the country.

Colombo  - President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) recorded convincing victories in two of the nine provinces where local elections were held on Saturday, officials said.

The victories in the Central and North Western Provinces were widely seen as an endorsement of the military campaign against Tamil rebels in the northern part of the country.

Colombo- The ruling party was poised to win elections in two of Sri Lanka's nine provinces Saturday in what was widely seen as a prelude to snap parliamentary polls this year.

The voting to select members of provincial councils was being held in the Central and North-Western provinces, where more than 3.4 million voters were registered to vote.

The ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has campaigned heavily on the government's military achievements in its ongoing offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam.

Colombo, Feb 14, : Sri Lankan Government has appointed the founder of IT major Infosys, Narayana Murthy, as the international advisor to President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona described this step as a bid to increase investments into the Information Technology sector in Sri Lanka.

"N. R. Narayana Murthy was appointed as the international adviser to the Sri Lankan President and he has accepted it," he said.

Colombo  - The ruling party was poised to win elections being held Saturday in two of Sri Lanka's nine provinces in what was widely seen as a prelude to snap parliamentary polls this year.

The voting to select members of provincial councils was being held in the Central and North-Western provinces, where more than 3.4 million voters were registered to vote.

Colombo- Sri Lanka has officially rejected a proposal by the British government to send a special envoy to Colombo to look into humanitarian issues and help work out a political solution to the conflict between the government and separatist Tamil rebels, a senior minister said Friday.