COLOMBO, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - Separatist Tamil Tiger rebels on Thursday accused the Sri Lankan government of launching a 'genocidal war' against northern Tamils.

Responding to concerns expressed by New Delhi and major political parties in India's southern Tamil Nadu state over ongoing military operations, the rebels accused the military of 'indiscriminate shelling and bombardments.'

COLOMBO, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - At least one person was killed in a blast near the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Thursday that police described as a suspected suicide attack on a government minister.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said a further three people were injured in the explosion which occured near a Buddhist temple just outside the city.

COLOMBO, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - A Sri Lankan military advance on the stronghold of the rebel Tamil Tigers in the island's northeast triggered heavy fighting that claimed casualties on both sides, the defence ministry said Thursday.

COLOMBO, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - At least two people were hurt in an explosion Thursday outside the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, a military spokesman said.

'At least two people were injured' in the explosion which occured near a Buddhist temple, the military spokesman said, adding that the cause of the blast was not immediately known.

MINNERIYA, Sri Lanka, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - As evening falls, a female elephant and her pink-skinned baby emerge from the jungle for a leafy snack around an ancient artificial lake in Sri Lanka.

They are just two of hundreds of wild elephants that gather each evening along the banks of the Minneriya reservoir for food, water, shelter -- and match-making.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday condemned the latest suicide attacks in Sri Lanka, including one which killed at least 27 people.

'The secretary general strongly condemns acts of this kind that have caused death and injury of many civilians throughout Sri Lanka,' said a statement issued by his spokeswoman Michele Montas.

COLOMBO, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - A Tamil Tiger suicide bomber triggered a blast near offices of the main opposition party in northern Sri Lanka on Monday, killing at least 22 people, officials said.

COLOMBO, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - A Tamil Tiger suicide bomber triggered a blast inside offices of the main opposition party in Sri Lanka on Monday, killing at least 27 people, including a retired senior general, officials said.

COLOMBO, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - A Tamil Tiger suicide bomber triggered a blast inside offices of the main opposition party in northern Sri Lanka on Monday, killing at least 27 people, including a senior retired general, officials said.

COLOMBO, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - At least 20 people were killed in a Tamil Tiger suicide attack in Sri Lanka's northern town of Anuradhapura on Monday, the defence ministry said.

'The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) set off a suicide explosion. At least 20 people are dead,' said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara.