Archbishop urges followers to donate blood

The Roman Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has urged followers to donate blood to treat soldiers wounded while fighting Tamil Tiger rebels.

The Archbishop of Colombo, Nicholas Marcus Fernando, made his plea in a pastoral letter, where he also asked Catholics to show their solidarity with government soldiers by cutting down on celebrations and to devote two days at the end of May the 27th and 28th as special days of prayers for peace. Government troops are locked in fierce combat with the separatist Tiger rebels in the northern peninsula of Jaffna.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service