1 Four foreign monitors on Monday briefed President Chandrika Kumaratunga about their meeting with the chief of the Tamil rebel group who reportedly favors a formal cease-fire with the government forces.
2 Officials did not give details of Ms. Kumaratunga's meeting with the monitors. They, however, said the rebels were ready for a formal cease-fire.
3 The government troops and the rebels so far have agreed to keep a distance of 600 meters (2,000 feet) and halt all offensive operations. Either side can call off the truce at three days' notice.
4 Velupillai Prabhakaran, commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, reportedly told the monitors on Sunday that six committees set up to oversee the truce in Sri Lanka's ethnic war should start their work soon.
5 The monitors from Norway, Canada and the Netherlands met with Prabhakaran in the rebel stronghold of Jaffna in response to a request made by the militants fighting for a Tamil homeland since 1984 in northern Sri Lanka.
6 The rebel chief also told the monitors that the people were facing a lot of hardships because of war conditions and an economic blockade enforced by the government in the north, said the civilians monitoring the rebel clandestine radio.
7 Prabhakaran wanted more Western officials to visit the strife-torn north, the civilians said.
8 The rebels said the foreign monitors should begin their work after the next round of talks between the guerrillas and government peace negotiators, the civilians said.
9 The arrival of two more foreign monitors is awaited.
10 The truce monitoring committees will include a foreign head and two representatives each from the government and the rebel group.
11 More than 34,000 people have died in the war between the soldiers and the rebels from the minority Tamil community.
12 The rebels accuse the Sinhalese majority of discrimination in education and jobs. The Sinhalese control the government and the military.

Four foreign monitors on Monday briefed President Chandrika Kumaratunga about their meeting with the chief of the Tamil rebel group who reportedly favors a formal cease - fire with the government forces .
favors a formal cease - fire
Why a formal cease-fire?