21.   Police suspect the explosives were being carried by Tamil rebels.

22.   Polonnaruwa, famous for its ancient ruins, borders a province where Tamil rebels want to set up an independent homeland for the minority Tamils.

23.   Parliament Tuesday ratified the nationwide state of emergency, which President Chandrika Kumaratunga imposed last week to deal with the threat posed by Tamil rebels.

24.   Police arrested three suspected Tamil rebels Monday after discovering a cache of powerful arms in a rented suburban Colombo home, officials said.

25.   Police have arrested a journalist under anti-terrorism laws for erroneously reporting that Tamil rebels had overrun a police commando camp in eastern Sri Lanka.

26.   Police have detained thousands of Tamil civilians in the Sri Lankan capital after the Tamil rebels ended a three-month truce and resumed fighting.

27.   Police have warned Sri Lankans that May Day parades could be marred by Tamil rebel violence on Monday, but only one of the celebrations has been canceled.

28.   Police kill Tamil rebels dressed as schoolboys.

29.   A Colombo judge had been called in because the main Tamil rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, had ordered courts in Jaffna to close.

30.   A congressman of a moderate Tamil party and four civilians were killed in a suspected Tamil rebel attack in northeastern Sri Lanka Saturday, military officials said.