Already stripped off his military rank and medals, former Sri Lankan Army chief Sarath Fonseka, was held guilty of corruption charges by a second court martial, sentenced to a prison term of three years. Fonseka had been charged with favouring an arms firm headed by his son-in-law in defence deals during his time as army chief.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on a two-day visit during which she is expected to discuss the fishermen's issue and rights of minority Tamils with the Lankan leadership.
Seeking to give a fillip to bilateral military ties, army chief General V K Singh is set to undertake a five-day visit to Sri Lanka from Sunday to discuss defence cooperation.
Sections of top Tamil Tiger leadership on Wednesday began to surrender before rapidly advancing Sri Lankan forces, signalling an imminent collapse of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam after a two-decade long relentless battle.
With the arrest of another Sri Lankan national for alleged spying for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, central security agencies have stepped up surveillance of vital installations including defence and foreign consulates in southern parts of the country.
The Pak defence delegation's visit comes at a crucial time when the Lankan military, emboldened by Colombo's withdrawal from the six-year old ceasefire agreement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, has stepped up its offensive against the rebels.
Waging a desperate battle for survival, the Tamil Tigers launched a wave of suicide attacks on land and sea, but failed to stall the advance of Sri Lankan forces, who broke through their defences as fierce fighting left 44 rebels dead and many soldiers wounded.Two divisions of Lankan forces advancing on the trapped Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam fighters captured a vital causeway which could help them in organising another break out attempt for an estimated 50,000 people.
On a day of high political drama when the ruling coalition of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa suffered serious defections, the election commission on Friday set January 8, 2015 as the date for a snap presidential election.
The Sri Lankan government has taken steps to ensure that the top Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leadership, including its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, from fleeing the country amidst fears that the Tamil Tigers could use their recently acquired aircraft to make their gateway.
Advancing Sri Lankan troops today made further inroads into tiger strongholds capturing the strategic town of Mankulam just adjacent to their prized goal of Kilinochchi as reports said a worried LTTE was sending its top commanders to the battlefront.
Voicing concern over the plight of civilians caught in the Sri Lankan Army offensive against the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam in rebel-held areas, India has asked Colombo to ensure their safety and security.
The National Tawheed Jamath is suspected of plotting the deadly Easter blasts.
The fierce clashes got under way at a time when President Mahinda Rajapaksa unveiled the budget proposals for 2008 in Parliament and vowed to wipe out terrorism completely in the island nation.
Yasin was also responsible for the 2009 attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.
From Sri Lanka's most popular political family to its most despised -- going by the voices on the streets calling for the Rajapaksas' ouster -- what went wrong for the clan? Veteran Sri Lanka watcher N Sathiya Moorthy offers an insight.
Menon, who arrived in Colombo by a special flight just after midnight on Thursday night, is scheduled to meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his younger brothers Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Economic development; and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary, officials said.
The Sri Lankan President appreciated India's gesture and thanked it for the support and solidarity shown, the statement said.
Mani Ratnam is experimenting with a real-life historical in Ponniyin Selvan, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
A Sri Lankan military court of inquiry has given a clean chit to the army and ruled that civilian casualties in the last stage of the military operations "might have occurred due to unlawful acts of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ".
Antony said the government would take all 'humanly possible' steps to protect the rights of fishermen.
Admiral Colombage said that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would have an India first approach as the key to strategic security.
Sri Lanka is seeking naval assistance from India to curb the influx of arms into the island nation.
Over 67 Tamil Tigers and three soldiers were killed in fierce clashes in Sri Lanka's embattled northern region, officials said in Colombo on Thursday.
Perera did not take dressing room help for DRS review: SLC
National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon arrived in Colombo on Monday to hold crucial talks on the controversial 13th amendment on devolution of power in the Tamil-dominated northern province and a trilateral maritime security treaty with Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Police arrest 12 Tamils in connection with minister's slaying
Opener Shikhar Dhawan (94) and KL Rahul (73) restored India's dominance with fluent half-centuries as the hosts erased a 122-run lead to nose ahead in the opening cricket Test against Sri Lanka, in Kolkata on Sunday.
Sri Lankan authorities are verifying with police in Thailand reports about the arrest of top Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam leader Kumaran Padmanathan, who allegedly financed the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
While 18 rebels were killed on Thursday, 20 LTTE cadre were shot dead yesterday, the defence ministry said, adding that seven soldiers were also injured during the operations.
For the first time Sri Lanka on Monday admitted that civilian deaths did occur during the final phase of the country's three decade-long civil war against Tamil rebels but said it was "impossible" to avoid deaths in a military campaign against a ruthless opponent.
The LTTE triggered long-range artillery shelling at the Forward Defence Lines of the military at Muhamalai in the northern Jaffna peninsula.
The elite Special Forces attacked LTTE formations in the northern district of Vavuniya on Saturday, killing 11 in one place and two in another.
Former Sri Lankan army chief and presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka was on Friday convicted and sent to three year imprisonment after the high court found him guilty in the 'white flag' case.
A Delhiite himself, Shikhar Dhawan was on Tuesday candid in his admission that the city's air quality is poor, but insisted that it cannot come in the way of going about their job of playing as professional cricketers.
Forty suspects, including the driver of a van allegedly used by the suicide bombers, have been arrested in connection with the attacks which shook Sri Lanka.
Opener Beth Mooney's brisk half-century helped hosts Australia beat New Zealand by four runs on Monday to seal the last semi-final spot in the Women's Twenty20 World Cup and keep their title defence intact. India, South Africa and England had already advanced to the knockout stage with Monday's last Group A clash between the trans-Tasman rivals deciding the final contender for the trophy.
Dealing with the Sirisena government in Sri Lanka, says G Ganapathy Subramaniam, is a lot easier for India than engaging with the Rajapaksa regime.
The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday held its first ever Cabinet meeting in the Tamil heartland of Kilinochchi, the erstwhile administrative capital of the vanquished Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam."The weekly Cabinet meeting commenced in Kilinochchi at 10 am today under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapakse," a statement said.The meeting was conducted at the administrative building of the defence forces headquarters near the Iranamadu tank.
Both the prosecution and defence made opening statements on the second day of the trial involving the Sri Lankan-born billionaire who faces charges of 14 counts of security fraud and conspiracy.
There was no independent confirmation of the casualties and both sides are known to inflate the losses on the other.
