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.
Anti-terrorism court Lahore Judge Natasha Nasim also handed down two-year rigorous imprisonment each to 72 accused persons, including nine juveniles.
President Rajapaksa, through a special gazette last month, appointed the 13-member task force for the establishment of a 'One Country, One Law' concept in Sri Lanka and comprised members from the majority Sinhala and minority Muslim communities.
CIDCA is headed by Luo Zhaohui, the former vice foreign minister and ex-ambassador to India.
In a Sri Lankan House of 225 members, the cut-off figure comes to 113. With Wickremesinghe side touching 102 and Rajapaksa's team at 101, the three-party Tamil National Alliance with 16 members and the left-leaning Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna with 6 members hold the key. But with the latter declaring that they will not support either formation in a vote count,that leaves the TNA as the deciding factor, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The president has agreed to call a parliamentary session on November 5, officials at Rajapaksa's office said.
Whether it is Sri Lanka, Maldives, or Nepal, quietly but steadily, India has been reclaiming some of the ground it had lost to China, observes Aditi Phadnis.
The ministry of external affairs and the embassy of India in Berlin have been persistently advocating for the return of Ariha Shah to India.
Mahela Jayawardena pays a heartfelt tribute to newly inducted ICC Hall of Famer Aravinda de Silva.
Sri Lankan police on Monday came under pressure to arrest the Rajapaksa family loyalists involved in attacks on peaceful protesters last week, even as it arrested over 200 people on various charges following the violence that left nine people dead.
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 Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday announced the formation of a seven-party rainbow alliance for the April 24 Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu, in its first-ever such electoral venture in the state where the turf has been largely dominated by Dravida Munetra Kazhagam and All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam.
A G Perarivalan alias Arivu is now a free man following a legal battle, and that long fight provides scope for throwback moments of Tamil sentiment that propelled the struggle which was backed by most political parties and successive governments in Tamil Nadu.
If the BJP has to work as a junior partner of Vijay's TVK, then either the party will have to change the state leader, or the latter should change himself. Incidentally, ever since Vijay started talking politics and elections, the pro-BJP/Hindutva social media had stopped dragging his name into any non-existing issue.' In particular, they have stopped referring to him by his Christian name, 'Joseph Vijay', observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
"I am fighting a big battle to save my country from the corrupt. That is why they are behind bars today and not getting bail even from the Supreme Court," Modi said.
If India is to follow a smart cultural diplomacy, it has unmatched advantages over both China and Pakistan, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Sri Lanka's former president Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday accepted defeat in the parliamentary elections even before the announcement of the final results.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.
'At this moment you cannot give her asylum because if you do, then you are directing public anger against India.'
Life has come full circle for Nobel laureate Professor Mohammad Yunus, who faced persecution during Sheikh Hasina's regime for embezzlement, is now all set to head of the interim government in Bangladesh after she resigned and fled the country.
Brushing aside the demand of political parties in Tamil Nadu for a total boycott, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid arrived in Colombo on Wednesday to attend the CHOGM this week saying India remains committed to the welfare of the ethnic Tamils of Sri Lanka and that "we have to remain engaged" in "enlightened national interest".
The bench said it has to balance the equity and it was not against any policy of the government or the scheme.
Australian batting has not clicked as a unit so far in the World Cup, and captain Pat Cummins hoped that his batters will fire on all cylinders against Pakistan in Bengaluru on Friday.
Addressing reporters after the all-party meeting ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament which was attended by leaders of various parties, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi also said that the government was open for discussion on all issues under rules and procedures of Parliament.
Five Indian fishermen were given the death penalty by a Sri Lankan court on Thursday for alleged drug trafficking, prompting a response from India that it will appeal to a higher court against the judgement.
'My protest was in the interest of the nation.' 'I am just doing my duty as a citizen of this country.'
'Ramadan is a time when people join forces in pursuit of hope, tolerance and peace. It is in this spirit that we come together tonight for Iftaar, the traditional Ramadan meal that breaks the daily fast,'
The central government's Great Nicobar development project, proposed around an unprecedented transhipment port, will be executed to keep environmental impact minimal, and is essential as it is of national importance, the government has said amid calls to abort the controversial project due to ecological concerns, the Centre said in an official statement.
Aseem Chhabra's Top 10 Films/ Series from TIFF 2024 includes films that he watched for the first time in Toronto. The films were impressive due to their rigor, passion, unique storytelling style and sometimes exploring the vulnerable sides of big name stars.
Dealing with the Sirisena government in Sri Lanka, says G Ganapathy Subramaniam, is a lot easier for India than engaging with the Rajapaksa regime.
'There is fear that the president and prime minister are dragging their feet and won't resign.'
Vijayakanth was unwell for quite some time and his wife Premalatha took over the reins of the party days ago.
In a televised address to the nation, Mahinda, who is under growing pressure to quit due to the worst economic crisis facing the island nation, said that he understands the people's sufferings.
Hundreds of Muslim women on Friday protested against the Sena mouthpiece.
Pawar said Nitish took the decision anticipating the crisis the BJP was planning to bring on.
Indications are that the DMK combine will win more seats than the AIADMK and BJP, but is facing a tough fight in about half a dozen from the rest, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy of the electoral contest in Tamil Nadu.
'It is in the interest of China and Pakistan to give a bad name to the Indian Army and remove AFSPA 'completely' from the north east.' 'Hopefully, better sense will prevail and the ground realities of the army countering insurgency in the north east acknowledged,' asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Modi praised Tamil Nadu as a special place and lauded the Tamil language as eternal and its culture as global.
Sirisena dissolved Parliament hours after a close aide of the President said that there will be no snap elections or a national referendum to end the current crises.
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