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President Clinton to visit Sri Lanka on the 27th.

Former US President Bill Clinton will be in Sri Lanka from 27 to 28 of this month. President Clinton will be visiting Sri Lanka primarily in his capacity as the United Nations Secretary General's Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery. His deputy and former chief of staff Erskine Bowles was here as his representative attending the Development Forum in Kandy. A special taped video message from Clinton was screened at the conference. Clinton's first visit to Sri Lanka along with George Bush (snr) was as a Special Representative of US President George Bush early this year.

Tamil Tiger rebels have recruited 137 children since the December tsunami; nine from relief camps, UNICEF says

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels have recruited 137 children into their ranks since the Indian Ocean tsunami, nine of whom were taken directly from relief camps, the U.N. children's agency said Friday.

Geoffrey Keel, UNICEF spokesman in Colombo, said however the rate of child recruitment by the rebels, accused of enlisting youngsters throughout their two-decade insurgency, appeared to be falling.

``But any recruit is one too many,'' he said, adding the children who have joined Tiger ranks in recent weeks were between 14 and 18 years of age.

``There have been 137 cases of child recruitment since the December tsunami,'' he said, adding that nine of the youths had been taken from tsunami relief camps in Sri Lanka's Tamil-majority north and east, parts of which are under guerrilla control.

There was no immediate response from the rebels, though the Tigers have repeatedly denied actively recruiting children to bolster their ranks. They say any minors who volunteer to join them because of poverty or the loss of parents are sent back home.

Sri Lanka's civil war has killed 65,000 people since 1983, but government troops and the rebels have been observing a cease-fire since February 2002.

In 2003, the rebels agreed with both UNICEF and the Sri Lankan government to discharge all child fighters to rehabilitation centers, where they could receive care and counseling to help them rejoin society.

But the U.N. agency has accused the insurgents of reneging on their promise and says that since the agreement the rebels have recruited more than 1,500 children.

Keel said the latest figures indicate recruitment of children is waning.

``It's a positive sign,'' he said. ``We are happy to see the downward trend and hope it will continue.''

Children accounted for a staggering 40 percent, or 12,000, of Sri Lanka's tsunami death toll of at least 31,000. Nearly 1 million people have been left homeless.