‘SriLankan Cares’ (which is a foundation set up in aid of tsunami) has stepped in to help the people of Kalmunai by adopting the Islamabad Muslim Vidyalaya - Kalmunai. This school, which originally had 56 students and 7 teachers, has been completely damaged by the tsunami.

This project is estimated to cost SriLankan Airlines Rs. 40 million. A MoU has already been signed by SriLankan Airlines in association with the Ministry of Education and TAFREN (Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation). Various methods for collecting donations have already being designed for this purpose.

“This project bears special significance as the people in the region are most Tamils and Muslims, highlighting the fact that SriLankan Airlines helps all those in need, irrespective of race, religion, caste or creed. Prior to this we also adopted a school in the Ratnapura region where the majority of the population is Sinhalese,” the airline stated. Published: Wed Mar 9 23:38:47 EST 2005

Erik Solheim and London-based Anton Balasingham were to meet later Wednesday in the British capital to discuss the violence that has killed more than a dozen people in the past week, officials involved in the peace process said on condition of anonymity.

The talks - which will also focus on aid to rebel-held areas ravaged by the Dec. 26 tsunami - come a day after European cease-fire monitors have warned that the recent killings threatened the truce.

The Muslim man was found shot dead Wednesday in eastern Batticaloa, which has been the center of violence since a senior Tiger commander broke away from the main rebel group with about 6,000 fighters a year ago.

The military and the Tigers blame each other for the killings.

The dispute has threatened the already fragile cease-fire, which ended 19 years of war that killed 65,000 people. Peace talks broke down in 2003, a year after it was signed, because of disputes over power sharing.

Meanwhile, a rebel delegation led by political chief S.P. Thamilselvan prepared to kick off a European tour Thursday that includes stops in Norway, Sweden, Austria, Finland, the Netherlands, Ireland and Italy.

They were to hold talks Friday with Jan Petersen, Norway's foreign minister, in Oslo.

``We want to inform the international community about the plight of the people in the north and east and request them to pressure the Sri Lankan government to ensure the equitable distribution of foreign aid,'' S. Pulidevan, head of the Tigers' peace secretariat, told The Associated Press.

He said the delegation will stress the importance of a joint mechanism with the Sri Lankan government to ensure that foreign aid reaches guerrilla-held areas hit by the tsunami.

The Tigers have repeatedly demanded access to some of the foreign aid that has poured into Sri Lanka, one of the countries hit hardest by the disaster. But most international donors are reluctant to give funds directly to the rebel group, listed as a terrorist organization in five countries.

The tsunami killed at least 31,000 people in Sri Lanka, and left about a million more homeless.

Norway has played a pivotal role since 1998 to try and end Sri Lanka's conflict. However, efforts to revive stalled peace talks have so far failed. Published: Wed Mar 9 06:14:38 EST 2005

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said donor agencies have so far delivered or promised over 10,000 small canoes to tsunami-hit fishing villages, well over the nearly 7,000 small boats the government estimates were lost. More... Published: Wed Mar 9 09:36:28 EST 2005