COLOMBO, May 10, SPA -- U.S. Assistant Secretary ofState Richard Boucher began talks with Sri Lanka'spresident today, the final day of his three-day trip todiscuss the South Asian nation's stuttering peace process. According to the Associated Press, no details were immediately available but Boucher, who held meetings with Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama today, was scheduled to brief reporters later in the day. He traveled to the Jaffna peninsula, a predominantlyethnic Tamil area, where he met yesterday with localgovernment, military and civic leaders, the Sri LankanForeign Ministry said. Boucher said the United States would try to help alleviatethe suffering of civilians living on the war-ravagedpeninsula. «We'll try to do our part to try and solve someof these problems,» he said, without elaborating. -- SPA www.spa.gov.sa/448400