By Kelum Bandara  

The government has decided to release persons over 60 years of age from the internally displaced camps in Vavuniya so that they could live independently or with their relatives, Vavuniya Government Agent Ms. P. S.M. Charles said.

Tamil Tigers struggle to keep up the fight after 25 years

By Joe Leahy  

The ambulance driver grabbed a late-night cup of tea at a small stall across from the gate of Trincomalee General Hospital.

Kyodo News 

COLOMBO-- The Sri Lankan government on Monday rejected an urgent plea by the Tamil Tiger rebels for a cease-fire without disarming, saying it would only result in giving them a ''lifeline.''

''Our position is that they must lay down their arms and surrender and there is no change in that,'' military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.

''If there is an unconditional surrender, then we can talk about a cease-fire,'' he said.

By M.R. Narayan Swamy 

It will be tempting to assume that the audacious air raid on Colombo by the Tamil Tigers signals the start of a dramatic revival of Sri Lanka's deadly separatist group after a string of losses.  

But the bombing, in the centre of Colombo, Sri Lanka's largest city, which killed two people and wounded another 50, will not derail the military's relentless and ruthless push into rebel territory.