Nepal’s new prime minister announced a cabinet today that includes a communist party leader as his deputy, and he faces the daunting tasks of negotiating peace with Maoist rebels and cementing the return of democracy.

The Tamil Tiger rebels said today that the Sri Lankan government has failed to honour a pledge made at peace talks in Geneva earlier this year to disarm paramilitary groups.

SRI LANKA’S president and the leader of Tamil Tiger rebels agreed yesterday to resume peace talks, raising hopes the tsunami-ravaged island nation may avoid sliding back into civil war after months of escalating violence.

The Tamil Tiger rebels accused the Sri Lankan navy today of barring Tamil fishermen from going to the sea, a day after suspected insurgents rammed a fishing boat packed with explosives into a navy vessel, killing 13 sailors.

A top Tamil Tiger rebel negotiator returned to Sri Lanka today amid new efforts by Norwegian peace brokers to revive stalled peace talks and prevent the island from sliding back to war.

Tamil Tiger rebels said today they were committed to a Norwegian-brokered cease-fire, allaying fears that a power struggle between Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister would plunge the tropical island back into civil war.

Norwegian envoys who are trying to help broker Sri Lanka’s peace with its Tamil Tiger rebels headed for the island nation today while its president and prime minister remained locked in a power struggle that has thrown uncertainty on the peace process.