The Tigers refused to forgive Douglas Devananda and tried to assassinate him repeatedly. He later said: "(LTTE chief Velupillai) Prabhakaran cannot kill me." Destiny proved him right.
The two sides are also likely to firm up a currency swap framework and seal several other agreements including one on debt restructuring following talks between Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disanayaka on April 5, people familiar with the matter said.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disanayaka assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that his country's soil will not be used against India's interests, addressing concerns over China's growing influence in Colombo. The two leaders discussed a range of issues, including a defense cooperation agreement, energy ties, and debt restructuring. They also agreed to initiate a ferry service between Rameshwaram and Talaimannar, and to adopt a "humanitarian approach" to the fishermen issue.
Since June, India's ministry of external affairs has intensified its diplomatic calendar, hosting several heads of state and government, foreign ministers, and key trade delegations.
Pakistan survived a wonderful spell from an enraged spinner Wanindu Hasaranga to beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in an intense Super 4 match to stay alive in the Asia Cup, in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
He said that the Sri Lankan authorities have arrested more of their associates but it won't be right to reveal any more details on them as the investigation is going on.
Season 3 belongs to Jaideep Ahlawat who, despite the not so well-etched character, owns Rukma and gives the confrontation with Srikant Tiwari the missing edge of the earlier two seasons, observes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
After uncovering attempts of Tamil Tigers to build crude submarines, Sri Lankan forces on Thursday said they had unearthed a possible rebel aircraft research wing that apparently studied ways to either repair planes or construct new ones.
Notwithstanding pressure from Tamil political parties, government has no immediate plan to stop training Sri Lankan military personnel in India but joint exercises are expected to be put on hold for the time-being.
Neeraj Chopra is set to face Nadeem for the first time after the 2024 Paris Olympics, giving him a chance to avenge his second-place finish in the French capital.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Sri Lanka, where he will hold talks with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and strengthen ties through agreements on defence, energy security, and digitalisation. This visit aims to further bolster the already strong relationship between the two nations and is expected to include several outcomes, including a defence cooperation agreement, debt restructuring, and a currency swap. This visit comes at a time when Sri Lanka is recovering from an economic crisis, where India played a significant role in providing financial assistance.
After stepping up attacks on the Union government over India's participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka last month, chorus is mounting in Tamil Nadu among opposition parties over the country's offer to train Sri Lankan Naval personnel.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday expressed regret over an objectionable article on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa posted on the Defence Ministry website that triggered a furore in India.
Sri Lankan police searched a flight arriving in Colombo from Chennai after receiving a tip that a suspect linked to the Pahalgam terror attack could be on board. The search was conducted in coordination with local authorities following an alert from the Chennai Area Control Centre. The aircraft was thoroughly inspected and cleared for further operations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Sri Lanka is expected to yield at least 10 ambitious outcomes, including a defense cooperation agreement and frameworks for deeper engagement in the energy sector. The visit comes at a time when Sri Lanka is recovering from an economic crisis, with India providing significant financial assistance. Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will also dedicate several projects built with India's assistance and virtually inaugurate the Sampur solar energy project.
India's concerns over a planned naval exercise between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the strategically important waters of Trincomalee led to the shelving of the drills weeks ago. The exercise was planned as part of regular engagements between the two navies, but India expressed its apprehensions to the Sri Lankan government. Trincomalee, situated on Sri Lanka's northeastern coast, is considered a significant hub in the Indian Ocean region, particularly for India's maritime security interests. The Pakistani Navy's close cooperation with China's PLA Navy has raised concerns in New Delhi about any Pakistani warship presence in Trincomalee. This incident follows previous diplomatic rows between India and Sri Lanka over the docking of Chinese vessels at Sri Lankan ports. India has been actively supporting Sri Lanka's development of Trincomalee's energy infrastructure and has recently signed a defense pact with the country to boost military cooperation.
During the visit, he will be presiding over the Passing Out Parade of the Spring Term 23 at Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, he said.
'Granting the country's highest civilian honour to Prime Minister Modi was surprising as it indicated the government was going out of its way to have India as a close partner.'
Jayalalithaa-led All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Centre, charging it with 'insulting' Tamils by imparting military training to Sri Lankan defence personnel.
'These efforts by Beijing can be weaponised one day with economic, security and political implications for India.'
The Indian Navy rescued an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel with 19 Pakistani crew members and a Sri Lankan trawler in two swift operations after armed pirates hijacked the boats in the Arabian Sea amid deteriorating security situation arising out of Iran-backed Houthi rebels targeting various cargo ships in the region.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on Gota's flight in the middle of the night.
'This was a decision taken and executed by Prabhakaran and his intelligence chief Pottu Amman. Both were convinced that the assassination would not be linked to them.'
India thrash Sri Lanka 8-0 in SAFF U19 C'ship opener
A high-tech Chinese research ship docked at the strategically important Hambantota port departed from Sri Lankan waters on Monday after a controversial six-day visit.
India has reached out to Denmark and other non-permanent members of the UN Security Council to apprise them of the Pahalgam terror attack and its cross-border linkages. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has spoken to his counterparts from several nations, conveying India's resolve to bring the perpetrators to justice. The outreach comes as India mulls options for responding to the attack, with Prime Minister Modi assuring the harshest response for the "perpetrators and conspirators." India has also received condolences and condemnations from world leaders, including US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Expressing dismay over reports of Indian Coast Guard participating in naval exercises with Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to recall the two ships and Coast Guard personnel participating in the event in the island nation.
Sri Lankan national Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana, who was lynched by a mob in Pakistan's Punjab province over allegations of blasphemy last week, was buried according to Buddhist and Catholic rites at Ganemulla, a suburb north of Colombo, on Wednesday.
Seven-time champions India were held to a goalless draw by 205th ranked Sri Lanka despite a dominant display in their second SAFF Championships match, in Male, on Thursday.
There are apprehensions about the possibility of the vessel's tracking systems attempting to snoop on Indian installations while being on its way to the Sri Lankan port.
A Sri Lankan court on Friday named former president Maithripala Sirisena as a suspect in the 2019 Easter bombings in which 270 people, including 11 Indians, were killed.
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.
Sri Lanka's main Opposition parties on Sunday agreed to form an all-party interim government after the anticipated resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday, following unprecedented political turmoil that forced him and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to offer their resignations over the mishandling of the nation's crippling economic crisis.
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."
Virat Kohli anchored a tricky chase with an unbeaten 100.
It was Prime Minister Modi's first such virtual bilateral engagement with a leader of a neighbouring country. For Rajapaksa, it was the first diplomatic engagement with a leader of a foreign country after he was sworn in as prime minister.
Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday met Defence Minister A K Antony in New Delhi. Rajapaksa and his Indian counterpart Shashikant Sharma had discussed increasing the frequency of joint exercises, training of Lankan officers in Indian institutes, supply of non-lethal defence equipment and other issues.
'We have to keep a watch because India-Sri Lanka has a history that whenever there has been a change in government, either the connectivity projects have been questioned or cancelled or revived.'
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is currently facing public demand for his resignation over his mishandling of the economic crisis, is the man who ruthlessly ended Sri Lanka's nearly 30-year civil war with the LTTE with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran in 2009.
Sri Lankan Army General Sarath Fonseka, who presided over the military offensive on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, has been asked by the United States authorities to testify before them against Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse over allegations of widespread human rights abuse during the war.
