Colombo  - Government troops killed 47 Tamil rebels while suffering six fatalities in offensive operations in northern Sri Lanka, military officials said Wednesday.

The casualties occurred Tuesday in ongoing fighting in central and coastal areas of Killinochchi district, 380 kilometres north of the capital.

Government troops have engaged Tamil rebels on several fronts in continued efforts to recapture more rebel-held areas, including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) administrative centre Kilinochchi town.

Colombo - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on a goodwill mission to the subcontinent, arrived in Colombo Thursday for a short visit aimed at boosting political and technical ties with Sri Lanka, officials said.

Abbas was welcomed by his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa on arrival at the Bandaranaike International airport Thursday afternoon.

He is scheduled to hold talks with the president, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka and opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe before he leaves the country on Friday evening.

Colombo  - A senior Cabinet minister escaped unhurt after a suicide attack by suspected Tamil rebels in the outskirts of Sri Lanka's capital Thursday afternoon, military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

Agriculture Minister Maithripala Sirisena's convoy was hit in the suicide attack at Piliyandala, 12 kilometres south of the capital, but the vehicle with the minister had passed by.

At least one civilian was killed and seven others injured in the blast.

The military spokesman blamed the rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the attack.

Colombo – In a landmark judgment delivered Wednesday, Sri Lanka's former president Chandrika Kumaratunga was fined by the country's Supreme Court for illegally allocating state land to a private golf course project.

Colombo  – Heavy fighting between government troops and Tamil rebels was reported in northern Sri Lanka amidst mounting casualties from both sides, military officials and pro-rebel sources said Wednesday.

The fighting occurred around the Akkarayankulam area, 365 kilometres north of the capital, where government troops fortified their positions before advancing into a town held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Military officials said that at least 19 rebels and six soldiers were killed in Tuesday's fighting around Akkarayankulam.

Colombo - Sri Lanka's opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe Tuesday called for an international investigation into Monday's suicide attack, which killed 28 people in the North Central province.

Former prime minister Wickremesinghe told parliament in a statement that he was not satisfied with the local investigations and asked foreign experts to investigate the attack, which killed retired Major General Janaka Perera and 27 others.