On the night of July 5, the Tigers launched their first kamikaze operation. Miller took the wheels of the explosive-packed truck, smiled at everyone as he turned the ignition key and drove it slowly towards the Sri Lankan military camp. A few moments later all of Jaffna heard a thunderous explosion that brought the complex crashing down in clouds of dust. Miller had given birth to a deadly tactic that Prabhakaran would employ time and again with devastating consequences to Sri Lanka -- and India. A fascinating excerpt from M R Narayan Swamy's must read new book, The Rout Of Prabhakaran.
As Prabhakaran was leaving his house, Rajiv Gandhi called his son Rahul and asked him to fetch his (Gandhi's) bulletproof jacket. He put the jacket on Prabhakaran's back and remarked with his usual charming smile: "Take care of yourself."
The Sri Lankan Army on Thursday urged the anti-government protesters to desist from violence immediately or be prepared to face the "consequences", warning that the security forces are "legitimately empowered" to exercise force.
Sri Lanka's Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday imposed emergency giving him sweeping powers ahead of the key election on July 20 to pick a new President as he urged the political parties to put aside differences and form an all-party government, with the Opposition dubbing his decision as an 'undemocratic draconian act'.
India boast of a near perfect record against Bangladesh in Tests, having never lost a Test match against their neighbours.
It's intriguing that the prime minister now wants his American partner to help protect the Hindu minority in Bangladesh. That's conceding to the Americans a pre-eminence India has always contested, resented and feared, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The T20 World Cup 2024 promises to be a tournament dominated by bowlers, particularly spinners.
The principal director of plans, policy, and resources management for the Maldives National Defence Force, Colonel Ahmed Mujuthaba Mohamed said that discussions are underway for withdrawing Indian troops from the Maldives.
Sri Lanka, the 1996 winners, kick-started their bid for a place in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup semi-finals in dramatic fashion with a 20-run win against hosts England at Headingley. It took them to six points and off-spinner Dhananjaya de Silva insists they can still finish in the top four of the group despite suffering a pair of washouts in Bristol.
So many players start to panic if they don't get runs during the Powerplay, but Rohit doesn't. Even when he starts slowly, he is dangerous, says former India opener Kris Srikkanth.
Opening up India's market to neighbouring countries can be as strategic as access denial to others. The game should be played both ways, even if it upsets domestic business lobbies, observes T N Ninan.
Bangladesh eye an improved performance from their batters in their 2nd group match against Afghanistan on Sunday in the Asia Cup 2023.
DRDO's failures over the decades have contributed significantly to India becoming the world's biggest weapons importer, points out Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Penpix of the Sri Lanka squad for the 2015 cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Khalistani separatist Lakhbir Singh alias 'Rode', a designated terrorist under the Indian law, has died recently in Pakistan, where he had taken refuge after his uncle Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was killed in 1984 during an army action, officials said on Tuesday.
The presidential secretariat which was occupied by the protesters from July 9 till Friday last is re-opened and the staff reported to work on Monday, officials said.
Will India retain the same playing XI?
Batting great Greg Chappell believes Australia can win the upcoming high-profile four-match Test series as India are "vulnerable" this time with injuries to key players like Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah.
India's Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav were named in the Most Valuable Team of ICC T20 World Cup 2022.
Young Indian shuttler Ashmita Chaliha recorded the first upset of the India Open when she stunned fifth seed Evgeniya Kosetskaya while top seed P V Sindhu sailed into the women's singles second round of the tournament, in Delhi, on Tuesday.
Sanath Jayasuriya has been banned from all cricket for two years after admitting breaching two counts of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.
Learning perhaps from the Kargil debacle, Musharraf tried hard to evolve as a statesman in his dealings with India, recalls Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Before the selectors meet to finalise the squad, you can take on their role and pick 15 players you feel can deliver the World T20 Cup to India.
China has been commissioning three new destroyers every year while India has barely completed one destroyer every 2-3 years.
The defence ministry is shooting to achieve an annual export target of $5 billion by 2025.
Australia's key pace weapon Mitchell Starc roared to the top of the wicket-taking charts at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup - and then made it clear he has no intention of resting on his laurels.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
As government-issued guidelines in many places banned large congregations and setting up of fairs or food stalls, the torching of effigies was restricted to very few venues than usual. The Ramleela Maidan at the iconic Red Fort where every year the Dussehra festivities are attended by dignitaries including the prime minister and the President apart from hundreds of common people, was deserted this time as the annual celebrations were cancelled.
Mani Ratnam is experimenting with a real-life historical in Ponniyin Selvan, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
England's death bowling prowess played a crucial role in their progress to the World Twenty20 final and could be a potent weapon against the big-hitting West Indies batsmen at Eden Gardens on Sunday. While England have eked out victories in their last two matches by being miserly in the final overs, West Indies have largely banked on their powerful batsmen to chase down targets in the tournament. Ben Stokes and Chris Jordan defended 22 runs in the final two overs as England beat Sri Lanka by 10 runs while the fast bowling duo gave away just 20 in the last four in the semi-final against New Zealand. England captain Eoin Morgan said that gave his side extra confidence going into the title clash against the hard-hitting Caribbean team. "It's a small ground here given that it could be a good wicket, that's going to be a key area for us," Morgan told reporters on Saturday.
The Proteas are yet to reach the summit clash of the World Cup, having been knocked out at the semifinal stage four times.
Now the the job of searching out and destroying enemy submarines in the waters off India's coast will fall to the navy's new fleet of a dozen Boeing P-8I aircraft, reports Ajai Shukla.
Pakistan's Shia Ismaili Muslims on Thursday buried the bus attack victims who were killed by Islamic State militants
'For India, the phase of pure restraint has passed.' 'Restraint has failed to reform Pakistan or rein in terrorism,' says Vivek Gumaste.
'The much-awaited decision could be a welcome change at a time when the Indian armed forces are crying for self-reliance and the defence industry is looking forward to more indigenisation,' notes Nitin A Gokhale.
'The military aim in a future conflict, if it can't be avoided, should be to cause maximum damage to the adversary's war waging capability and capture limited amount of territory as a bargaining counter,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The Bangladesh government on Sunday claimed the attackers who slaughtered 20 hostages inside a cafe in Dhaka in the country's worst terror attack were members of "homegrown" Islamist terrorist outfits and not Islamic State of Syria and Iraq militants.
When he walked out to bat, India were in a precarious position with all their top batsmen back in the hut and once again it was Ravindra Jadeja who played the rescue act.
'Look East' policy was first coined by the Narasimha Rao government in the 1990s and has been followed by the successive governments.
It is a sight that both warms and breaks the heart. The women of Shaheen Bagh seem oblivious of the cold, these women and their children, the latter ranging in age from 19 days to early teens, who have been occupying the road for over two weeks now. Some of them have not gone home for days, but their faces are clear, unlined by fatigue, their eyes bright and fierce as those of the falcon, shaheen, the area is named for.
