Lanka to extend emergency

President Chandrika Kumarat-unga summoned an emergency session of parliament for Thursday to extend the emergency powers, invoked Saturday for an initial 10 days, which allow searches without a warrant and detention without charges.

Kumaratunga has blamed Tamil Tiger rebels for Friday's sniper attack on Lakshman Kadirgamar, which sparked fears that a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire in place since February 2002 could break down.

A soldier was killed by a suspected Tamil rebel sniper in the northeast on Tuesday, the military said, adding that a separate search was under way in the area for the attacker.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen and his deputy Vidar Helgesen met the president and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse to discuss the peace process after attending Kadirgamar's state funeral Monday.

A spokesman for Rajapakse said the government stressed the need for the international community to pressure the Tigers to abide by the truce.

"The prime minister talked about the need for greater international pressure on the Tigers," the spokesman said without giving details.

Police and troops conducted searches throughout the capital Tuesday for the assassins and other suspected Tamil rebels.

"Our information is that a lot of Tigers have infiltrated the city in recent years," defence ministry spokesman Daya Ratnayake said. "A lot of searches are going on now. We are assisting the police and the idea is to get at the infiltrators and their weapons."