"Tributes to former PM Shri Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary," Modi tweeted.
India has once again pressed for the devolution of powers to the provinces under the 13th amendment (13A) of the Sri Lankan constitution and the system of provincial councils as a meaningful step towards better representation of the island's Tamil minority.
The Sri Lankan police have arrested two rights activists under an anti-terrorism law to prevent them from spreading "communal disharmony" in the country's war-torn northern region, ahead of voting on a resolution against the country at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The Sri Lankan government on Thursday sought to assure India that its ongoing offensives on the Tamil Tiger stronghold of Kilinochchi was being carried out by following zero civilian casualty doctrine and all assistance was being provided to displaced Tamil civilians.
'With butterflies in our stomachs, but confident of our mission, we took off for Jaffna on the morning of 24 July 1987.' IAF Veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe recalls a conversation with Air Vice Marshal Harpal Singh Ahluwalia (retd), then a wing commander and mission leader for the clandestine operation.
The actor said he took the decision after founders of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Vaiko and Thol Thirumavalavan respectively, and Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi leader T Velmurugan asked him to consider withdrawing from the programme.
India on Thursday abstained on a draft resolution in the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka which was adopted.
Skeletal remains of 80 bodies have been dug out of a mass grave in a former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam stronghold in Sri Lanka, fuelling speculation that the bodies are of Tamil civilians who disappeared during the war with the rebels.
"The ceasefire should continue and both sides should come to the negotiating table to resolve the problem," the minister said.
The Madras high court has refused bail to two persons, said to be the members of the banned organisation LTTE, who attempted to loot Rs 40 crore lying idle in the savings bank account of a dead man.
With his forces encircling the fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tami Eelam in a tiny strip of land in the northern region of the country, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse held out an olive branch to the Tamil Tigers on Monday, asking them to lay down arms after which they will be 'readily accepted and treated humanely'. The President said all facilities would be made available for the LTTE cadres who lay down their arms and surrender.
As many as 16,000 Sri Lankans -- who disappeared during the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam -- will be issued certificates of absence instead of death certificates, head of a probe panel said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision not to attend the Commonwealth Summit in Colombo was a loss for Sri Lanka as his absence reflected a breakdown of ties between the two countries, the main opposition said on Monday.
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.
Rajiv, who was the sixth and youngest prime minister of India, was assassinated on May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu during a poll campaign.
The Intelligence Bureau has issued an alert about a possible attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi using a human bomb either during his visit to Patna or at the public rally he is scheduled to attend in Muzaffarpur on July 25.
It was the first time in seven years Sri Lanka had imposed the measure. The country was under a state of emergency for nearly three decades when the government fought Tamil rebels Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the civil war that ended in 2009.
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Jubilation gave way to despair at Vellore Jail after the Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the release of convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
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.
Sirisena's sacking of Wickremesinghe was the culmination of an year of bitter relations between them on several policy matters. The president has been critical of the prime minister and his policies, especially on economy and security.
Swaraj saluted "brave Indian soldiers who gave up their lives protecting the cause of peace in Sri Lanka".
India said it will continue to extend its developmental assistance to the friendly people of Sri Lanka.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now the only person to be protected by the about-4,000-personnel-strong SPG.
AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa is all set to return as Tamil Nadu chief minister for the fifth time following her acquittal in the disproportionate assets case.
The Mumbai-born gangster's nationality is listed as "Indian", with a recorded Indian passport which was subsequently revoked by the government of India and then goes on to list a string of Indian and Pakistani passports acquired by him and misused.
Murugan, along with Santhan, both Sri Lankan nationals, were taken in a police vehicle following their release to the special refugee camp in Tiruchirappalli in the state.
Meanwhile, a three-member committee appointed to probe the attacks that killed 258 people, including 11 Indians, on Monday submitted its final report to President Maithripala Sirisena.
The order was also imposed on parliamentarians Johnston Fernando, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Sanjeewa Edirimanne, Kanchana Jayaratne, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, C B Ratnayake, Sampath Athukorala, Renuka Perera, Sanath Nishantha, Senior DIG Deshabandu Thennakoon among others.
The Centre on Thursday expressed its unhappiness over reported Sri Lankan plans to dilute key provisions of the 13th Amendment to its Constitution and termed the island nations's move as "unacceptable".
Maithripala Sirisena, who scored a stunning victory, was on Friday sworn-in as Sri Lankan president, bringing the curtains down on the 10-year rule of Mahinda Rajapaksa, marking a smooth transition of power.
Sri Lanka, under global pressure over its human rights record, on Thursday launched a six-month census to count the number of casualties during the final phase of the brutal civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009.
The film has run into trouble with pro-Tamil outfits.
DMK General Secretary's sought removal of the PP alleging he has not been impartial.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said that the assassination of his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was the "single biggest learning experience" of his life, asserting that he cannot get away from the fact that the event also made him learn things that he would have never learnt otherwise.
Ending months of speculation, Sri Lanka's vanquished former president Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday announced his return to electoral politics, saying he will lead an opposition faction during the general elections in August.
The two brothers led a decisive campaign that helped end the island nation's three decade long civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Maithripala Sirisena, the Sri Lankan president-elect, will be sworn-in on Friday evening following his stunning victory in the tightest-ever presidential race that ended the 10-year-rule of Mahinda Rajapaksa.
According to the book, 'Keenie Meenie: The British Mercenaries Who Got Away With War Crimes', authored by UK-based investigative journalist Phil Miller India's secret use of British mercenaries lasted for four months after the Indo-Lanka accord was signed between former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and then Sri Lankan president Junius Jayewardene in 1987.
"We urge the government that the issue of security of our leaders has to be beyond partisan political considerations," said Anand Sharma in Rajya Sabha.
According to observers, with pro-China Rajapaksa winning the election, the result will have a bearing on India's presence in the Indian Ocean region where Beijing is increasingly making inroads.
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