In brief
Asylum seekers
Two ships with 116 Sri Lankans were detained at Yemen in early September. All were returned and they were taken into custody by police on arrival in Sri Lanka on 29 September.
Authorities say that 24 Sri Lankans who illegally entered Australia in boats in April would be returned. The decision follows the conviction in September of nine people accused of smuggling them into the country.
Twenty six Sri Lankan asylum seekers, suffering from severe dehydration and effects of breathing fumes, were found in the back of a van at Dover. A German woman suspected of smuggling them into Britain was arrested.
Negombo police say they arrested in mid-September the captain of a ship which was scheduled to take 123 Sri Lankans illegally to Italy. A Sri Lankan millionaire was detained.
Ceasefire
Following the request of UNICEF, the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government agreed to observe a ceasefire on 21- 22 September and 19-20 October for vaccination of children in the north-east against polio. UNICEF hopes to eradicate the disease by the year 2005.
Banned
The Army imposed a ban on fishing in the north-east Vadamaratchy area of Jaffna from 1 September. Reports say 4,000 fisher families face starvation.
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