India and Sri Lanka on Friday signed four agreements during Narendra Modi's maiden visit to the country, the first bilateral tour by an Indian premier in 28 years, with the prime minister announcing a slew of measures aimed at resetting ties with the strategic neighbour.
The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 32 Indian fishermen and seized five fishing boats for allegedly venturing into the island nation's territorial waters. This incident is the latest in a series of arrests of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy for alleged illegal fishing activities. The issue of fishermen is a contentious one in the relationship between India and Sri Lanka, with past incidents involving firing at fishermen and seizures of boats. This latest incident follows an earlier arrest of 10 Indian fishermen earlier this month and an incident in January where five Indian fishermen were injured after the Sri Lankan Navy fired on them. India has expressed its displeasure regarding the use of force by Sri Lanka.
The National Tawheed Jamath is suspected of plotting the deadly Easter blasts.
During the two-day visit, Mukherjee will meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and discuss the latest situation in the northern part of the island nation, sources said. Mukherjee is expected to impress upon Rajapaksa government the need for finding a political solution to the ethnic problem to ensure lasting peace.
The Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam is all set to withdraw its five Union ministers from the United Progressive Alliance-2 by the weekend to express solidarity with the Sri Lankan Tamil issue. The step is expected to be taken to put UPA-2 on notice if India voted in favour of Sri Lanka in Geneva where the United Nations Human Rights Council is currently in session.
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.
With the IPL auction days away, some young cricketers who may launch a bidding war among the franchises.
Karuna Amman, a rebel Tamil Tigers leader, jailed in London for entering Britain on a forged visa and diplomatic passport, will not face further charges and be deported to Sri Lanka soon, the Crown Prosecution Service has said. The 45-year-old Karuna whose real name is Vinayagmoorthy Muralitharan, has been accused by human rights groups of forcing teenagers to serve as child soldiers, torturing prisoners and killing hundreds of civilians.
The first presidential elections in Sri Lanka in the post-LTTE era evoked enthusiastic response on Tuesday from the voters who turned up in large numbers to decide the fate of incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa and his ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka amid blasts in Tamil heartland of Jaffna. People started lining up even before the beginning of the polls, which opened across the country at 7:00 am. Voting will close at 4:00 pm.
Anil Kumble has backed leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy to spearhead India's spin attack during next month's T20 World Cup as he believes he will have no issue dealing with the evening dew
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.
An international airport, a strategic port, communication satellites, road and railway links -- China is spreading its web in the island nation. India has to take decisive steps or else the tide could turn against it, note T E Narasimhan and Veenu Sandhu.
Actor-politician Vijay announced his retirement from cinema at the audio launch of his movie 'Jana Nayagan' in Malaysia, citing his dedication to his fans. The event, attended by nearly 1 lakh fans, featured emotional speeches and performances, marking Vijay's farewell before his political career.
The results of the recent presidential elections in Sri Lanka are likely to have stunned groups in Tamil Nadu that have been giving moral and material support to Tamils in the north and east of the island for decades. Tamil Nadu-based groups had asked Sri Lanka Tamils to protest against the election and boycott voting.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flew into Colombo in the early hours for a historic visit during which he is expected to hold talks with the country's top leadership.
The latest bombing raised to 37 the number of people killed in the past three days and raised fears for next week's scheduled talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels.
Shubman Gill will return 'better, stronger' after T20 World Cup snub: Gujarat Titans COO
The navy has so far held two exercises under code name 'SLINEX' and the last edition was held along the coast of Trincomalee in September, 2011 after the first in 2005.
This is a question that is being debated not only in the UN Human Rights Council meeting at Geneva or Sri Lanka, but in India as well. This came about, typically the way Parliament responds to issues these days, after members from Tamil Nadu stalled the crucial pre-budget parliamentary session, says Colonel R Hariharan
'We have nothing to gain by helping any other country to become a threat to India,' former Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is on the comeback trail, tells Rediff.com in an exclusive interview.
Nearly 8,000 people were killed in the final phase of Sri Lanka's war against Tamil Tigers in 2009, according to government figure released today.
Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapakse on Wednesday ordered a ban on a World Cup song that carries a latent threat to defending champions Australia and New Zealand.
'Mark had such a profound understanding of India, which was, of course, the land of his birth as well as of his death... He loved India, and lived two-thirds of his life here.'
In the first post war elections in Sri Lanka after the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a pro-Tiger party on Sunday won the municipal poll in Vavuniya, an indication that the separatists still attract popular support, even as President Mahinda Rajapaksa's coalition won the prestigious Jaffna local elections.
Former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday moved the Supreme Court seeking direction to the Union government for retrieving the 'Kachatheevu' island that had been ceded to Sri Lanka by India in 1974.Jayalalitha, while contending that the move was unconstitutional, has also urged the apex court to quash the March 23, 1976 maritime boundary agreement which, according to her, deprived the fishing rights to Indian fishermen in the Bay of Bengal and Gulf of Mannar
A ruthless India equalled their biggest victory margin, decimating a lacklustre Sri Lanka by an innings and 239 runs in the second Test to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
The all-party meeting aimed at reconciliation and conferring full powers to Sri Lanka's provincial councils will be reconvened in a month after initial deliberations on Wednesday failed to yield any agreements, party officials said on Thursday.
Despite the killings of top LTTE leaders, including its chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, and the decimation of the rebels, the concept of Tamil Eelam has not died out amongst those harbouring it, the Sri Lankan Army chief has warned.
Making a final push to overrun the last patch of territory held by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Sri Lankan forces on Wednesday pushed deeper, capturing six kilometres of the 18 km 'No Fire Zone' as thousands of trapped Tamils civilians continued to flee the northern war zone.
The statements coming out of India on 'reclaiming' Kachchatheevu island from Sri Lanka have 'no ground', the Sri Lankan Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda has said.
Maithripala Sirisena, Sri Lanka's president-elect, was a low-profile cabinet colleague of longtime president Mahinda Rajapaksa until he switched sides to become joint opposition candidate and emerge as the proverbial dark horse in the presidential polls.
'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.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday conveyed to Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe India's expectations from Colombo to fulfill the aspirations of the Tamil community in the island nation and ensure a life of respect and dignity for it.
For all those who are likely to get a game, there will be just one target -- to make most of their chances as some of them might not get too many with just about 16 months left for the 50-overs World Cup.
Voters in Sri Lanka's Tamil majority Northern Province on Saturday began voting in the first local elections in 25 years to elect a council to govern the former war zone, four years after the military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam after decades of bloody civil war.
Taking strong exception to the recent arrest of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday requested the Centre to send out an "unequivocal" and "unambiguous" message to ensure that such acts cease hereafter.
Tamil Nadu's electoral roll has been revised, resulting in the removal of 9.74 million voters following an enumeration exercise. The state's electoral roll now stands at 5.43 crore voters.
oyous and emotional scenes were witnessed at Thanachimadam village in Tamil Nadu where celebrations broke out on the arrival of 5 fishermen, who had escaped the gallows after spending 3 years in a Sri Lankan prison, with families and friends greeting them.
Sri Lanka's National People's Power of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Friday swept the parliamentary elections by winning a two-thirds majority, and also dominating the Jaffna electoral district -- the heartland of the nation's Tamil minority.
