Sri Lanka Government Officials

President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated Saturday by a suicide bomber on a bicycle at a May Day rally, bringing a violent end to the career of a man who sought peace for Sri Lanka. At least 14 other people, including the police commissioner, were killed in the huge explosion in the center of Colombo, police said. Prime Minister Dingiri Wijetunge was appointed acting president, and a curfew was imposed across this island nation off the southern tip of India.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the world's first female prime minister and the matriarch of Sri Lankan politics, was remembered at a state funeral Saturday with fondness and respect. Hundreds of mourners stood under the blazing afternoon sun to catch a glimpse of her flower-covered casket as it was carried through the streets in a military procession. The coffin was lowered into the ground after a 19-gun salute.

This island nation's president narrowly escaped a suicide bomb attack here Saturday that wounded her and killed at least 14 people three days before a presidential election. President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who had been speaking at her final campaign rally in the run-up to Tuesday's vote, was rushed to a hospital after suffering shrapnel wounds. Officials reported that she was out of danger, although one piece of shrapnel lodged behind her right eye.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga claimed Thursday to have won enough support in parliamentary elections to form a government but not enough to push through a constitution aimed at ending a 17-year civil war. Kumaratunga had campaigned on a pledge to end the war with Tamil Tiger rebels by offering the minority Tamils greater autonomy in a new constitution. The rebels' fight for an independent homeland for Tamils has killed more than 62,000 people since 1983.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga claimed Thursday to have won enough support in parliamentary elections to form a government but not enough to push through a constitution aimed at ending a 17-year civil war. Kumaratunga had campaigned on a pledge to end the war with Tamil Tiger rebels by offering the minority Tamils greater autonomy in a new constitution. The rebels' fight for an independent homeland for Tamils has killed more than 62,000 people since 1983.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the world's first female prime minister and the matriarch of Sri Lankan politics, was remembered at a state funeral Saturday with fondness and respect. Hundreds of mourners stood under the blazing afternoon sun to catch a glimpse of her flower-covered casket as it was carried through the streets in a military procession. The coffin was lowered into the ground after a 19-gun salute.

President Ranasinghe Premadasa on Friday appointed Finance Minister Dingiri Wijetunge as Sri Lanka's new prime minister, ending weeks of maneuvering within the ruling United National Party for the post. As prime minister, Wijetunge will be Premadasa's main representative in Parliament and the head of the ruling party legislative delegation, which won 125 of 225 seats in Feb. 15 general elections. He will retain the finance portfolio.

Two government officials were wounded and Prime Minister Dingiri Wijetunge narrowly escaped injury when unidentified attackers hurled two grenades during a college rally near Colombo on Sunday, police said. The incident occurred minutes after the conclusion of a youth committee session of the ruling United National Party at Prince of Wales College in Moratuwa.

Ranasinghe Premadasa was sworn in as president of Sri Lanka on Monday in a Buddhist ceremony at the Temple of the Tooth, and he again appealed for an end to the ethnic violence that has devastated the island nation. "Further delay in finding a solution will enable certain elements to destroy many more innocent lives. This destruction must end because democracy cannot tolerate it," Premadasa said in his inaugural address.

The suicide bomber who killed one of Sri Lanka's most respected leaders seemed intent on cutting away the last bits of middle ground left on the shattered island. Neelan Tiruchelvam, a prominent member of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority, died Thursday when a man laden with explosives dashed into the street and threw himself on Tiruchelvam's idling car in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital. Tiruchelvam and the attacker died instantly, and five others were injured.

A Muslim politician often called a kingmaker was killed along with 14 others Saturday when a Sri Lankan air force helicopter crashed into a hill and exploded, officials said. The copter was flying between the capital, Colombo, and Ampara, 130 miles to the east, where Ports Minister Mohammed H.M. Ashraff was to attend election meetings. Police ruled out the possibility that the helicopter had been shot down by Tamil rebels, who are fighting to establish a separate homeland in Sri Lanka.

This island nation's president narrowly escaped a suicide bomb attack here Saturday that wounded her and killed at least 14 people three days before a presidential election. President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who had been speaking at her final campaign rally in the run-up to Tuesday's vote, was rushed to a hospital after suffering shrapnel wounds. Officials reported that she was out of danger, although one piece of shrapnel lodged behind her right eye.

The suicide bomber who killed one of Sri Lanka's most respected leaders seemed intent on cutting away the last bits of middle ground left on the shattered island. Neelan Tiruchelvam, a prominent member of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority, died Thursday when a man laden with explosives dashed into the street and threw himself on Tiruchelvam's idling car in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital. Tiruchelvam and the attacker died instantly, and five others were injured.

A noted Tamil lawmaker was killed here today when a suicide bomber threw himself at his car, police officials said. They said Neelan Tiruchelvam was killed and two of his bodyguards wounded. Tiruchelvam, an expert in constitutional law, was largely seen as a moderate. Sri Lanka is in the grip of a 16-year-old war between government troops and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which is fighting for a separate homeland.

Buoyed by a landslide margin of nearly 2 million votes, President-elect Chandrika Kumaratunga on Thursday claimed a "clear and massive mandate" to press on with her quest for a peaceful end to Sri Lanka's 11-year civil war.

President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated Saturday by a suicide bomber on a bicycle at a May Day rally, bringing a violent end to the career of a man who sought peace for Sri Lanka. At least 14 other people, including the police commissioner, were killed in the huge explosion in the center of Colombo, police said. Prime Minister Dingiri Wijetunge was appointed acting president, and a curfew was imposed across this island nation off the southern tip of India.

A Muslim politician often called a kingmaker was killed along with 14 others Saturday when a Sri Lankan air force helicopter crashed into a hill and exploded, officials said. The copter was flying between the capital, Colombo, and Ampara, 130 miles to the east, where Ports Minister Mohammed H.M. Ashraff was to attend election meetings. Police ruled out the possibility that the helicopter had been shot down by Tamil rebels, who are fighting to establish a separate homeland in Sri Lanka.

A noted Tamil lawmaker was killed here today when a suicide bomber threw himself at his car, police officials said. They said Neelan Tiruchelvam was killed and two of his bodyguards wounded. Tiruchelvam, an expert in constitutional law, was largely seen as a moderate. Sri Lanka is in the grip of a 16-year-old war between government troops and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which is fighting for a separate homeland.

When a handful of dissidents in the Cabinet of Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa filed unprecedented impeachment proceedings against him late last year, they accused him of 15 specific violations of the nation's constitution. The impeachment charges were part of a generally unremarkable legal document.

A car bomb exploded Saturday as the head of the government's fight against Tamil separatists drove by, killing him and 18 other people, officials said. At least 73 people were injured. The 120-pound bomb, planted in a parked car, went off as Deputy Defense Minister Ranjan Wijeratne drove to his office during the morning rush hour, said military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.