Colombo - The government will maintain a "safe zone" for civilians fleeing the fighting between security forces and Tamil rebels in northern Sri Lanka, a military spokesman said Sunday.

The announcement came as a 48-hour deadline for Tamil rebels to allow civilians to leave conflict areas and enter army-controlled zones under safe passage lapsed Saturday night, with only about 100 civilians making use of the opportunity.

Colombo - The Sri Lankan government Friday ruled out a truce with Tamil rebels as security forces continued operations and moved further into rebel-held territory in the North.

Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe told reporters that ongoing military operations would continue in the Mullaitivu district, 380 kilometres northeast of Colombo
- but a 48-hour period had been given for civilians to move into safer areas.

Karachi, Jan. 30 : The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to give Shoaib Akhtar one more chance to prove his fitness ahead of the forthcoming two match Test series against Sri Lanka.

According to The News, PCB will be organising two special trial matches next month during which Akhtar's performance will be judged, and a final decision on whether to include him for the Test series or not will be made.

Ahktar, who is struggling to regain his form and fitness, made a comeback in the international arena after a long gap of 14 months, in the recently concluded one-day series against Sri Lanka.

Coimbatore, Jan 30 : Students in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu took to streets on Thursday demanding the government''s intervention to protect Tamils trapped in fighting between the Sri Lankan army and the Tiger rebels.

Over 2,000 students boycotted classes at the Government College in Coimbatore and raised slogans against the Central Government for not hearing the voice of the Tamil people.

New Delhi, Jan 30: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has pledged to give safe passage to thousands of trapped Tamil civilians during the offensive between the security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

He also confirmed to India that he has urged the LTTE to free the civilians within the next two days.

Briefing the media here on Thursday, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said that Sri Lanka would ensure that no harm is done to any civilian in the conflict region.

New Delhi  - A 31-year-old man committed suicide in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu Thursday to highlight the suffering of members of the Tamil ethnic minority caught in the war in Sri Lanka, news reports said.

The man doused himself with kerosene and set himself on fire while chanting pro-Tamil slogans outside a federal government office complex in the state capital, Chennai, the CNN-IBN network reported.

He was moved to a nearby government hospital with burns over 75 per cent of his body and died shortly after being admitted.