Sri Lanka urged to grasp peace

The British government says it wants to help move forward the peace process in Sri Lanka.

The Foreign Office Minister, Peter Hain, who is due to visit Sri Lanka next week, said that every day the fighting continued the country fell further behind.

He said Britain backed new efforts by Norway to broker peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil separatists.

Mr Hain will meet the Prime Minister, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, and opposition politicians during his trip.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service