``There is no military solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka,'' Gordon Brown and Manmohan Singh, the U.K. and Indian prime ministers, said in a statement after talks in the Indian capital, New Delhi, yesterday.

Sri Lanka's All Party Representative Committee is scheduled to present proposals on devolution to the government tomorrow. The TamilNet Web site, in comments two days ago, described the APRC as ``more an albatross than a key to peace.''

President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government last week formally ended its 2002 cease-fire with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, prompting international donors, led by Japan, the U.S., the European Union and Norway, to reaffirm calls for a political solution. The LTTE has been driven back to bases in the north after losing control of the eastern region in its fight for a separate Tamil homeland. More... Discuss this story Published: Mon Jan 21 21:13:57 EST 2008

A group of Tamil rebels opened fire near Thanamalwila village, 260 kilometers (160 miles) southeast of the capital, Colombo, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said. The attack killed three police officers.

No immediate comment was available from the rebels.

Three separate attacks last week killed 42 civilians in the same area.

The Tigers have been fighting since 1983 for an independent state in the north and east for the country's ethnic Tamil minority after decades of being marginalized by Sinhalese-dominated governments. The fighting has killed more than 70,000 people.Discuss this story Published: Mon Jan 21 12:12:43 EST 2008

Diplomacy is in tatters and shows no signs of prudence. The law and order situation is worsening while the country’s human rights record is an international shame. The economy is in a muddle with investor confidence at its lowest.

People seek solutions to all these problems. But the authorities hand out only promises. Bear with us and we will soon overcome the crisis, say the President and his 100 odd ministers. But as the President continues his third year in office, the confidence the people have placed on his government is eroding slowly.

A friend of mine returned to Sri Lanka from Britain with the intention of starting a business. At a checkpoint, an army officer asked him what he was doing. My friend told him that he came back from Britain with the intention of doing business here but he was not going to do it this year. When the puzzled officer asked why, my friend said he would do it next year because “the armed forces chiefs have assured us that by August the war would be over”. The officer advised my friend not to be over-optimistic about deadlines and smiled wryly. Though this officer has not taken seriously what the armed forces chiefs have said, a pro-opposition weekly newspaper has. The newspaper runs a weekly update of statistics complete with tables. One such table was based on the LTTE strength as estimated by Army Commander Sarath Fonseka. More... Discuss this story Published: Mon Jan 21 22:53:07 EST 2008