Sri Lankan soldiers have cornered the Tamil Tiger separatists in an area of less than 45 square km (17 sq miles) in the Indian Ocean island's northeastern shore, aiming to deliver a final blow to a separatist war that has raged off and on since 1983.

Aid agencies say tens of thousands of civilians are being kept at gunpoint by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) inside a military-demarcated no-fire zone on the coast, a sandy 12-km strip of coconut groves with water on both sides.

"One route will lead north past Challai and the other south past Mullaittivu town. The ICRC has been invited to facilitate the movement along these routes," the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is the only agency allowed a permanent presence in the war zone. It said one of its Sri Lankan workers was killed and his nine-year-old son wounded by shrapnel outside the no-fire zone on Wednesday.

Two military officials and another senior government official also speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the plan, which was decided by the president's security council on Thursday.

More...Discuss this story Published: Thu Mar 5 13:37:15 EST 2009

Sales from tea shipments fell to 6.9 billion rupees (61.37 million dollars) in January, compared to 9.8 billion rupees in the same period a year earlier, official figures showed.

Volumes of tea exports also fell 25 percent to 17.76 million kilograms (39.07 million pounds) in January, over the same month in 2008, the board said. More...Discuss this story Published: Thu Mar 5 22:28:36 EST 2009