81.   An air force jet crashed Tuesday soon after taking off for a bombing mission against Tamil rebel positions in the north, officials said.

82.   And the military said it intercepted a Tamil rebel radio transmission saying that rebels had shot the aircraft down.

83.   An International Red Cross boat exploded and sank Sunday, apparently after striking a floating mine planted by Tamil rebels, military officials said.

84.   Any agreement made with Tamil rebels would be binding, even after a change of government.

85.   Army troops soon afterward sealed off the city center, which has been a target in the past for Tamil rebel commandos and suicide-bombers.

86.   Armored columns advanced toward the Tamil rebel stronghold of Jaffna in the bloodiest day of a two-week-old offensive, the government said Monday.

87.   As thousands of troops sealed off the Tamil rebel stronghold of Jaffna city, President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Thursday called for negotiations to end the war.

88.   As government troops prepare to storm the Tamil rebel stronghold of Jaffna, relief agencies in the war zone face mounting accusations that their work is aiding the guerrillas.

89.   As thousands of troops sealed off the Tamil rebel stronghold of Jaffna city, President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Thursday said called for negotiations to end the war.

90.   At least four people, including two civilians, were killed in clashes between Tamil rebels and government troops in eastern Sri Lanka, a military official said Friday.