Colombo, Apr. 27 : Sri Lankan armed forces have launched a new assault in the northern war zone despite the Tamil Tigers'' call for a cease-fire.

The rebel TamilNet web site said the military attacked an area in the northeast with heavy gunfire early on Monday even as international protests against the offensive mount, notably in in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where the chief minister has gone on an indefinite fast to save what he calls the lives of innocent Lankan Tamil civilians.

Chennai, Apr 27 : Pushing forward his demand for an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has gone on an indefinite fast here on Monday morning.

The 84-year-old Chief Minister sat on fast at the memorial of late C N Annadurai.

"Let me be one of Sri Lankan President Rajapakse''s victims. This is my sacrifice on behalf of all Tamils," Karunanidhi said.

Karunanidhi also said he did not want the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) men to go on a fast.

Colombo  - Government forces have stepped up operations to capture the last rebel-held area in northern Sri Lanka after rejecting an unilateral ceasefire offered by the Tamil insurgents, a pro-rebel website said Monday.

Troops have launched operations from the north, west and south on Mullivaikkal area, a narrow strip on the coast area of the Mullativu district, 395 kilometres north-east of the capital Colombo, the Tamilnet website said.

Colombo - UN humanitarian chief John Holmes was scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka Saturday as civilians remained the last rebel-held areas in the north-east, while thousands of others have fled to government-controlled areas, officials said. Holmes will meet with government and UN officials in Colombo where he is expected to discuss providing assistance to refugees, but has not sought permission to visit the conflict zone where fighting is in progress, UN spokesman in Colombo Gordon Wise said.

Ace veteran director Bharathiraja has decided to return the prestigious 'Padma Shree' award that was awarded to him by Indian Government.

Bharathiraja take this decision in order to show his disapproval over its inactiveness on the Sri Lankan Tamil matter.

The strike, organized by the Tamil film fraternity Eelam support movement, was held at South Indian Film Chamber Theatre on Thursday, April 23, and saw lots of zealot Tamilians from the film society.

The participants speak against the administration for not controlling the killing of Tamils in Lanka.

Colombo, Apr. 25 : The ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka requires a political not a military solution, says many observers.

"There has to be a political settlement, otherwise, there is always the danger that, having won some sort of respite from the rebels, there will be new support for them," the Christian Science Monitor quoted Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of Colombo''s Center for Policy Alternatives and a leading Tamil intellectual, as saying.