COLOMBO - SRI Lanka has pledged not to launch attacks inside a 'safe zone' set up as a place of refuge for hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped by the fierce fighting between the military and Tamil rebels, the government said on Wednesday.

The announcement came after repeated reports of army forces firing artillery into the zone, which the government set up on the edge of rebel-held territory for ethnic Tamil civilians to seek shelter from the fighting. Scores of civilians were killed in those attacks, a health official said.

SEOUL - TECH-SAVVY South Korea has nearly as many cell phones as people, officials said on Wednesday.

TOKYO - THREE Japanese diners remained in a critical condition on Wednesday after eating blowfish testicles, a dangerous delicacy prepared by an unlicensed chef, police said.

'The three men remain hospitalised. They are heavily poisoned and their consciousness has been impaired,' said a police official in northern Yamagata prefecture.