The United Nations said it will launch an emergency appeal for funds to help those affected by floods that have ravaged Sri Lanka’s east for days.

Assassins killed two Tamils in separate incidents in Sri Lanka’s north, the rebels and the military said today.

Unidentified gunmen shot and killed a pro-rebel legislator as he attended midnight Mass at a church in eastern Sri Lanka, the Defence Ministry said today, sparking fears of a return to civil war in the island nation.

Envoys from Asia and Europe met Tamil Tiger rebels’ top political leader today, expressing concern that growing violence was threatening to shatter the country’s cease-fire, officials and the rebels said.