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.
"When news of the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers arrived, it shook Colombo. People of Sri Lanka are aware of these kinds of attacks. War is going on in Sri Lanka and who knows more about suicide attacks than Sri Lankans? The shock receded when we came to know that the cricketers were safe. If anything had gone terribly wrong, then the government would have been compelled to face the consequences. But people were glad that the cricketers were saved," says Muralidhar Reddy.
Rohit Sharma notched up another milestone in his career as he became only the second opener to go past the landmark of 300 sixes in One-Day Internationals.
The powerful bomb blast is believed to be triggered by a suicide bomber.
India to open campaign against Pakistan in Kandy on Sep 2, meet again in Colombo on Sep 10
Crowd trouble tarnished Pakistan's victory over Sri Lanka as missiles were thrown onto the pitch in the third ODI in Colombo.
The two sides were expected to discuss Colombo's plans to enter into a deal with Tamil Tiger rebels to handle millions of dollars in foreign aid for tsunami survivors.
Rajapaksa said China indicated that it would help Sri Lanka, while adding that "usually they don't like" lending out more money to cover earlier debt payments.
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.
Jailed former Sri Lankan army chief Sarath Fonseka was on Friday granted bail by the high court in Colombo in a case for harbouring military deserters, ahead of an imminent presidential pardon for him.
Pat Cummins captured the sentiment perfectly, calling this potentially the 'last chance' for fans Down Under to witness these legends in action. With both stalwarts set to be 39 and 40 respectively by the 2027 World Cup, every appearance carries added significance. Ro-Ko have been the heartbeat of Indian cricket for over 15 years. Their return brings an emotional lift to the team and raises expectations for the series against the world champions.
India have posted 6 of the 7 600+ totals posted in Test cricket this year!
Retiring legend Kumar Sangakkara was unable to get a big knock in his swansong Test appearance but Sri Lanka overcame an early jolt to post 140 for 3, after dismissing India for 393 in the first innings, on Day 2 of the second Test in Colombo on Friday.
Hasaranga's bowling figures are the second-best by a Sri Lanka bowler with Chaminda Vaas's 8/19, against the same opposition 23 years ago, the best in men's ODI history.
A leisure trip to Sri Lanka proved fatal for JD-S workers when the blast took place very close to the dining table as they sat for breakfast at Shangri-La hotel in Colombo, one of the major targets of the deadliest terror strikes in the island nation's history, family members said.
Thousands of Inter University Students' Federation (IUSF) students were seen sloganeering outside the Prime Minister's Residence in Wijerama Mawatha.
Thousands of demonstrators have hit the streets since April 9, as the government ran out of money for vital imports; prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed and there are acute shortages in fuel, medicines and electricity supply.
The Airbus A330-343 aircraft, scheduled to depart from the Colombo airport to Moscow on June 2 with 191 passengers and 13 crew members, was not allowed as the owner of the aircraft -- Celestial Aviation of Ireland -- had filed a case against Aeroflot, pending arbitration on the lease of the aircraft in London.
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.
Wickremesinghe will resign after an all-party government is established and the majority is secured in Parliament.
Two Sri Lankan youth unable to put up with the national team's defeat in the ICC World Twenty20 cricket final against the West Indies have committed suicide, police said in Colombo on Monday.
For India to view the new Sri Lankan leadership only through the prism of the past or through their narrow view on China, is fraught with possibilities that should be avoided, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
However, Sri Lanka Cricket insisted no current players were involved in the ICC investigation.
Mahele Jayawardene on Sunday announced his decision to step down as the captain of the Sri Lankan T20 team after losing the ICC World Twenty20 final against West Indies in Colombo.
A concerned Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Mendis on Sunday hoped the ICC's suspension of the nation's cricket body will not affect the upcoming fixtures of the national team and the preparations for the men's U19 World Cup in Colombo early next year.
Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from the UK in 1948.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday fired Basil Rajapaksa from his post and invited the Opposition parties to join a unity Cabinet to tackle the raging public anger against the hardships caused by the economic crisis.
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and elected to bat in the fifth one-day international against India in Colombo on Sunday. Spinner Pragyan Ojha and pacer Praveen Kumar made way for debutant Ravindra Jadeja and Laxmipathy Balaji.
India, which abstained during the vote on a strong resolution against Sri Lanka's human rights practices at the UNHRC, on Tuesday urged Colombo to fulfill its commitments on the devolution of political authority, to carry forward the process of reconciliation and address the aspirations of the Tamil community in the island nation.
Ten Indian fishermen, arrested for allegedly engaged in illegal fishing in the Sri Lankan waters on Monday, will be charged with the death of a Navy sailor, who was killed in an operation to seize their trawler, authorities in Colombo said.
Ajinkya Rahane scored an unbeaten hundred but skipper Virat Kohli's poor form continued as the touring Indians put up 314 for six on the opening day of their only three-day tour game against Sri Lanka Board President's XI in Colombo, on Thursday.
A United Nations panel has said killing of tens of thousands of people in the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil strife could amount to "war crimes", but Secretary General Ban Ki-moon insisted he would only launch an international investigation if Colombo agrees or member states call for it.
The vote on a critical resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva has been postponed to Tuesday, as Colombo stepped up efforts to garner international support ahead of the voting which is being seen as an acid test for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
India will encourage greater investments in Sri Lanka's economy, especially in areas of energy, tourism and infrastructure, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday, as he expressed India's solidarity with the debt-ridden Island nation during its "difficult moments".
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.
The security forces captured and destroyed the four bases of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the jungles of Thoppigala in Batticaloa district during an offensive late Friday night and early Saturday.
Faced with growing anti-Sri Lankan sentiments in Tamil Nadu, Colombo may shift its deputy high commission office out of Chennai, a media report said Sunday.
Investments and other formalities of the project, that is to be developed under a joint venture with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, will be finalised by the end of this month, the Investment Promotion Minister Navin Dissanayake told media persons on Friday.
Sri Lankan Cricket, on Wednesday, slapped a defamation lawsuit against sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe for making "damaging defamatory statements" against it, deepening the administrative crisis in the country.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances