Melani Manel Perera

The Asian Human Rights Commission releases a damning statement about helpless refugees. Army and rebels are told to respect communication lines and allow “neutral areas” where refugees can find shelter and help.

Food, medical treatment and shelter are in short supply. Fighting intensifies, forcing people to flee. United Nations and other aid agencies pull out of war zone after government says it can no longer ensure their safety.

Presided over by Nigerian cardinal Arinze, its theme is "Liturgy as a Glimpse of Heaven on Earth". Archbishop Ranjith: renewing and promoting the Eucharist by recalling the mystery that it contains.

Air force base is attacked by planes and artillery in main war zone. Air force fighters beat back rebels. The government expels humanitarian workers even though they are the main support for thousands of people displaced by an increasingly vicious war.

Monsignor Rayappu levels harsh accusations against both sides involved in the war for depriving people of home and work. Fishermen are in a difficult situation, prevented from going out to the sea at night.

The population is caught in a crossfire between the two belligerents, the army and Tamil Tiger rebels. The prelate calls for the establishment of “humanitarian corridors” to deliver aid; he also wants to see an “inter-religious group” set up to confront the emergency situation.

The Catholic commission emphasizes the impossibility of celebrating the traditional feast of the Assumption while the area is the theater of violence and massacres. Thousands of people have been forced to abandon their homes to flee from the war between the army and the Tamil Tigers.

March participants, 25 nuns and men religious, want to pass on a message of “peace and harmony” to the nation so that “love for life” may overcome the abhorrent logic of war.

Tomorrow voters in Sabaragamuwa and North Central provinces will cast their ballots. The Elections Commission reports more than 150 attacks against candidates and parties in the last few weeks. The Congress of Religions calls for “free and fair” elections.

More than 75,000 people have been made refugees since June, while fighting intensifies between the army and the Tamil Tigers. The army is blocking humanitarian aid, claiming that it is going to the rebels. Bishop of Mannar: the safety of the population must be guaranteed, and their food needs must be met.

There will be no solemn celebrations on August 15, but from August 12-17 groups of 200 pilgrims will be able to visit the shrine. The army has swept an area around the church for mines, but the zone is still dangerous.

In Myanmar, thousands of soldiers in the streets and in front of the Buddhist monasteries, out of fear of a population weakened by decades of repression and hunger. Protests in Bangkok and Manila. The solidarity of Colombo.