Reaching out to President-elect of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday congratulated him on his electoral victory and said he looked forward to working with him to take the bilateral ties to a new level.
Opposing invitation to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for Narendra Modi's swearing-in as the prime minister, Bharatiya Janata Party ally Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Saturday announced a black flag demonstration against the head of the island republic in Delhi on May 26.
The Prime Minister's Office has convened a meeting tomorrow to explore a long-term solution to the contentious fishermen issue between India and Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan Navy on Thursday arrested 32 Indian fishermen for alleged illegal fishing off the east coast, taking the total number of fishermen arrested during the last two days to nearly 70.
At least 10 persons were killed and up to 300 missing on Wednesday after a massive landslide triggered by monsoon rains struck central Sri Lanka, forcing authorities to deploy the army to conduct rescue operations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of other South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries will meet in Kathmandu on Wednesday with an aim to revitalise the regional grouping and make it a major platform to fuel economic growth through liberalised trade and combat challenges of terrorism and climate change effectively.
Five fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who were sentenced to death in Sri Lanka for alleged drug trafficking but set free after President Mahinda Rajapaksa pardoned them, arrived in Chennai on Friday.
Protests rocked different parts of Tamil Nadu for the second day on Friday against the capital punishment awarded by a Sri Lankan court to five Indian fishermen for alleged drug trafficking.
Dubbing as "unfortunate" the Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi's invite to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his May 26 swearing-in, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today said the "ill-advised" move could have been avoided as it amounted to "rubbing salt into the wounds of the already deeply injured Tamil psyche."
It is time the political leaderships in this country arrived at a common ground over issues of foreign and security policy concerns. There has to be a greater communication between the government and the Opposition leaderships for the nation to present a unified face against the rest of the world, advises N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rajapaksa has departed from the Maldives on Saudi Airline flight SV 788 to Singapore, sources said.
A United States court has asked a Sikh rights group to serve summons on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by June 18 or face dismissal of a case of alleged human rights violations against him.
'No one in Sri Lanka could afford to stay at home, everyone came onto the street.'
Former sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has alleged that his country 'sold' the game to India, a claim that was ridiculed by former captains Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene who demanded evidence from him.
Sri Lanka's former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage alleged that his country "sold" the 2011 World Cup final to India -- a claim ridiculed by former captain Mahela Jayawardene, who demanded evidence for it.
Sri Lanka's new President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday unveiled his cabinet that included members from a cross-section of parties and announced fresh parliamentary polls in 100 days, two years ahead of schedule.
The Sri Lankan government has asserted that the recently signed maritime security pacts with India will "neither result in hindrance nor threat" to the island nation's security as "misinterpreted" by several media outlets in this country.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in Colombo on Friday on a two-day trip to set the stage for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Sri Lanka next week, the first bilateral visit to the country by an Indian premier in over 25 years.
The decision to open Kartarpur shrine was taken by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday due to the approaching death anniversary of Sikhism founder Baba Guru Nanak Dev on September 22.
Sri Lanka's former spinner Muttiah Muralitharan requested Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi to opt out of his biopic '800' considering opposition and the star acceded saying 'thanks.'
Thirteen people accompanied Rajapaksa to the Maldives. They arrived in an AN32 aircraft, according to TV news channels.
Nearly 200 people were feared to have been buried alive in Sri Lanka after a devastating landslide triggered by rains destroyed the homes of mostly Indian-origin plantation workers, as heavy machinery was deployed on Thursday in rescue operations involving the army.
'For the common man, the economic conditions are not going to get better.'
England's selectors are acutely aware of the impact on players of bio-secure bubbles and with a demanding year ahead, are making sure they protect their key performers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday arrived in Frankfurt en route to New Delhi after concluding his visit to the US where he met President Barack Obama and agreed to make joint efforts to dismantle terrorist safe havens besides stepping up cooperation in defence, energy, economy and space.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of seven countries, including the United Kingdom, on the sidelines of the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led by Vaiko on Monday decided to quit the National Democratic Alliance in Tamil Nadu alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre was acting against Tamils and betrayed the people of the state.
Angry supporters of the hardline Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) attacked a garment factory on Friday and lynched its general manager Diyawadana, who was in his 40s, before setting his body on fire over allegations of blasphemy.
'Gotabaya will expect India to observe the red line.' 'He even dispensed with any gesture welcoming India as an interlocutor on the Tamil issue.' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed as the country's acting president after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on a military jet on Wednesday in the face of a public revolt against his government for mishandling the economy that has bankrupted the country.
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.
What comes as a relief to five families, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has agreed to pardon and release the five Tamil fishermen serving a death sentence for drug smuggling in the island nation.
Thousands of irate anti-government protesters in Sri Lanka on Saturday stormed into embattled President Rajapaksa's official residence in central Colombo's high-security Fort area after breaking the barricades, as they demanded his resignation over the island nation's worst economic crisis in recent memory.
'Sri Lanka has a large military presence in the north and east, where it is very difficult for the war-affected civilian population to move forward.' 'Right now the military is doing jobs that should be for the civilians. I would like to see Sirisena consider demilitarisation.'
Ajit Doval, former director of the Intelligence Bureau and the likely NSA, has an enviable record for courage under fire, reports Vicky Nanjappa/Rediff.com
President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday night hosted a dinner for visiting South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation leaders and Prime Minister Narendra Modi where the guests were treated to a variety of dishes drawn from various parts of the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit former LTTE-stronghold Jaffna in Sri Lanka's Tamil-dominated north and address the Parliament in Colombo during his 3-day visit to the country next week.
Maithripala Sirisena is expected to meet his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee besides holding talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Lankan Speaker told the party leaders that Parliament will meet on July 20 to elect a new president.
Rajapaksa, his wife Loma and their two security officers were expected to leave for Singapore on board SQ437 from Male on Wednesday night but did not board the aircraft due to security concerns, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.
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