Gun-toting commandos stand on guard with whirring helicopters above them and naval boats cruise the Palk Straits near the coastal town of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu state, just an 18-km (11-mile) boat ride from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. More..

As fighting in the north of the country escalates, Colombo's residents seem to have a cause for greater concern. The last thing they want is for the war to spill over again into the guarded peace in "Fortress Colombo". More..

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge meanwhile has reiterated that she will not allow for some half a million people in Jaffna to come under rebel rule.

The military meanwhile reiterates that fierce rebel onslaughts have been repulsed. The government while admitting that fighting continues to rage in the area of Colombuthurai, said that troops fought back attempts by the LTTE to breach its defences. The rebels launched fresh attacks beginning Friday on the Elluthumaduval-Kilali road which is situated north of Elephant Pass.

Meanwhile additional reinforcements are being sent to the area. Major General Janaka Perera Thursday flew to Colombo to brief the President on the situation in the north.

But three days after claiming that Jaffna was "as good as gone", the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) continued to be at the doorstep of the city and failed to break through the defences mounted by the air force.

Neither Sinhalese nor Tamil commentators could come up with any convincing explanation for the continuing lull. More..

At one stroke, Karunanidhi has lent credibility to the charges that Sri Lanka has been making over the years that the Tigers have been supported from India with money and materials, given refuge, trained in special camps set up for the purpose, (against the advice of successive chiefs of army staff, I might add), all to make life more difficult for the Sri Lankan government. More..

The temple's sanctum sanctorum is believed to have been built by Parakrama Bahu, the King of Ceylon, in the 12th century A.D. More..

On the controversial question of whether India was asked to help fight the LTTE, Mr Kadirgamar said the Sri Lankan government had conveyed such a request to the Indian government through the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo, Mr Shivshankar Menon. More..

"It is not just new weapons and ammunition that is being sent up north, but also troops reinforcements to ensure that the Tigers are resisted," a military official said. More.. l

The human rights group said it was the responsibility of both the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE to adhere to international humanitarian laws related to war. More..

A government statement issued in Colombo said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were firing artillery and mortars at densely populated locations of Jaffna town, the cultural capital of their would-be homeland. More..

"That's pie in the sky. There was no such axis," he said. "As a sovereign state we don't require the help or permission of any other state to establish relations with another state." More..

"The ban on LTTE was to expire on Sunday and the government has extended it for another two years", Advani told reporters here. More..

"We have reliable reports that the Tigers are inside Jaffna," a Western diplomat who requested anonymity said on Friday. "But this is nowhere near over." More..

Shame on them. More..

According to defence commentator Taraki, the LTTE does appear to have been checkmated for the moment, thanks to relentless strafing by the Israeli-built Kfir fighter bombers.

"They seem to be helpless against the carpet-bombing of their positions by the deadly Kfirs. Possibly they will try to break out of their bunkers during a lull. Strafing cannot go on endlessly, they would be hoping," he said. More..

The Eelam People's Democratic Party, led by Douglous Devanand, has been more demanding, seeking humanitarian, military intervention in Jaffna on the lines of Tanzania's intervention in Uganda and Vietnam's move into Cambodia, both of which were upheld by the United Nations. "The lives of civilians are in danger, the only way to help the situation is by intervening militarily," Dr Wigneswara, spokesperson for EPDP, said. More..

The US administration has designted the LTTE as a "terrorist organisation," while India is expected to announce extension of the ban on the guerrilla outfit tomorrow. More..

In Colombo, the capital of this small island nation off India's southern coast, President Chandrika Kumaratunga called a Monday meeting of leaders of all political parties to discuss the latest fighting in the north, state-run radio said. More..

There is also the problem posed by extreme right-wing Sinhala groups who are opposed to any move towards federalism. Mr. Gamini Weerakoon, editor of The Island remarked, "Tell me about fringe groups -- these are formed by very respected people, who feel that the interests of the Sinhalese are being sacrificed by the majority parties for a political solution." More..

``Troops repulsed this attack causing terrorists to withdraw with their casualties,'' Rubasinghe said in a fax to The Associated Press. He also said army snipers killed seven rebels today between nine and 15 miles east of Jaffna.

Rubasinghe claimed that life was normal in Jaffna despite the battles. ``Residents are not showing any sign of panic and continue their day to day activities,'' he said. More..

The Lankan soldiers have often described how they are forced to confront LTTE battallions of women, teenage girls and boys, sometime as young as even 10. But, even the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) is not blameless. There are reports of underage soldiers in paramilitary forces like the Lankan Home Guards. More..

Tamil civilians were seen carrying their belongings and fleeing further north from the town of Jaffna, the officials from humanitarian operations in the island said.

"People are leaving Jaffna in large numbers," one said quoting reports from the area. "The residents were taking advantage of the lifting of a curfew there today." More..