Sri Lankan navy seize explosives, detonators in Jaffna
India said it will continue to extend its developmental assistance to the friendly people of Sri Lanka.
As it prepares to face a US-backed resolution on Lankan Tamils at the UNHRC, Sri Lanka claimed that it has implemented 99 per cent of some recommendations of the reconciliation commission already.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Tuesday said India should verify reports about Sri Lanka's proposed intention to set up a military base in Katchatheevu, saying "the unilateral action" was a great cause of concern for fishermen and the state government.
Sri Lanka on Saturday said it will not release over 200 Indian fishermen lodged in Colombo before the Indo-Lanka fisheries talks, scheduled in New Delhi later this week to resolve a major irritant in bilateral ties.
Sri Lanka's main Tamil party on Sunday secured a landslide win in the historic provincial council polls held after a gap of 25 years in the former Tamil Tigers-ruled northern province, an outcome expected to give limited autonomy to the Tamils after the end of decades of ethnic war.
The two countries also signed memoranda of understanding in education and health sectors after visiting External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Lankan counterpart Mangala Samaraweera co-chaired the 9th Indo-Lanka Joint Commission meeting in Colombo.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will undertake a three-day visit to Sri Lanka from Monday. She is expected to visit the north eastern provinces of Sri Lanka -- including Vayunia, Yazhpanam and Trincomalee -- to check the rehabilitation of the Tamil population, who were displaced by the military's offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Rao is also expected to prepare the ground work for the official visit of External Affairs Minister S M Krishna to Colombo.
The move follows the EU's decision to ban the LTTE as a terrorist organisation last month.
"By using this word they have helped the Tamil Tigers create genocide in Sri Lanka for many years. They have no right to do that because we are two friendly countries. But these MPs are doing it because of their vote banks. They want to get elected because of the votes of Sri Lankan Tamils in certain federal ridings. These MPs are in the pockets of those people (Tamils)."
Brushing aside opposition from the Dravida Munetra Kazhagam and other parties in Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa but did not give him any assurance on which way India will vote on a the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution for an independent international probe into rights abuses during the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Suggestions surfacing in United States diplomatic cables leaked by the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks that the Sri Lanka government precipitated in war crimes against the minority Tamil population at the height of the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, has prompted British Defence Secretary Liam Fox to abandon plans for a private visit to the island nation.
Vaiko also strongly objected Narayanan's meeting with Douglas Devananada in New Delhi. Devananda is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician who is part of the ruling alliance and a supporter of Rajapakse.
In a resolution adopted in the assembly, the Jayalalithaa government sought diplomatic efforts by India to change any possible pro-Lanka stand adopted by America in the United Nation rights body.
The fallout of the spat between two headstrong and powerful personalities like Mahinda Rajapakse and Sarath Fonseka does not augur well for this small and beautiful Island nation struggling to leave the ravages of war behind, writes Nitin Gokhale.
What will be the effect of Jayalalithaa first salvo against Rajapaksa? How will it impact India's Sri Lanka policy? These are some of the questions likely to be debated more frequently in the coming months.
The UN human rights office has called on Colombo to allow a full independent inquiry into a controversial video tape depicting alleged "extra-judicial killings" of Tamils by Lankan troops and said that such an investigation would be in the country's "best interests".
Modi said he was glad that his trip "is one to wipe tears from the eyes of those who suffered".
Actor Salman Khan's home became a protest site on Sunday morning when several Tamils collected outside the star's home in Bandra, Mumbai and chanted slogans against him.
Notwithstanding intense pressure by Tamil parties, India on Wednesday maintained suspense over its position on a resolution on human rights to be moved against Sri Lanka at the United Nations, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying it will depend on the final draft.
The summit will be held in the picturesque city of Kandy, with Colombo planning 'foolproof' security arrangements to ward off any attack from the LTTE as it battles the rebel forces in the north.
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.
Scotland Yard's War Crimes Team, which is part of its Counter-Terrorism Command, has launched an investigation into the role of British mercenaries in fighting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels in Sri Lanka during the 1980s.
Sri Lanka on Thursday blamed strategic alliances and domestic political issues, an apparent reference to politics in Tamil Nadu, for the UNHRC resolution that was backed by India to censure Colombo for its alleged war crimes during the ethnic conflict with the Liberation tigers of Tamil Eelam.
The International Organisation for Migration has helped about 90,000 displaced Tamils, lodged in the Menik Farm camps in Vavuniya, to return to their towns and villages in northern Sri Lanka.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said his government has always taken care of the welfare of Sri Lankan Tamils and 'consistently' flagged the issue of their rights with the leaders in the island nation.
Seeking to assuage the feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu opposed to India's participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting meet in Sri Lanka, Centre on Tuesday detailed its relief and rehabilitation efforts for minority Tamils in the war-torn island nation.
Three IT professionals from Tamil Nadu are camping in New Delhi, trying to knock on the corridors of power to impress upon the government to stop playing second fiddle on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue and vote in favour of the US-sponsored United Nations Human Rights Council resolution. Sheela Bhatt reports
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam said it was not bound by a declaration issued by international donors who pledged some $4.5 billion to help rebuild Sri Lanka at a June 2003 meeting in Tokyo.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Pamban sea bridge, providing rail link between Rameswaram island and the mainland and flagged off the new Rameswaram-Tambaram (Chennai) train service. The bridge is India's first vertical sea-lift bridge, spanning 2.08 kilometers, and includes a 72.5-meter-long vertical lift span that can be raised up to 17 meters, allowing the smooth passage of large ships while ensuring seamless train operations. Built at a cost of over Rs 550 crore, the bridge features stainless steel reinforcement, high-grade paint, and fully welded joints, enhancing durability while reducing maintenance requirements. The bridge is a remarkable blend of tradition and technology.
Since the US and India broadly share similar interests in Sri Lanka, they should coordinate closely to ensure that the country preserves its democratic institutions, says Lisa Curtis
Sri Lanka on Tuesday described hacking of the ministry of media and information's website as an act of 'cyber terrorism'.
Buoyed by the string of recent military success against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Sri Lanka has once again asked the beleaguered rebels to surrender to facilitate the safe exit of the Tamil civilians.
'...Now, we are dominating because we have the right facilities. We have the IPL, the richest board is India and India is the powerhouse'.
The 23 Tamil Nadu fishermen, set free by a court in Sri Lanka after being detained by the island navy on the charge of poaching, arrived at Mandapam coast near Rameswaram on Saturday.
Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo and requested him to mobilise other Tamil parties in the northern province besides the dominant Tamil National Alliance to achieve political reconciliation.
Varun Chakravarthy, a key player for both the Indian team and the Kolkata Knight Riders, emphasizes the importance of consistency and reveals he is working on new variations to his spin bowling.
Seeking a "decisive shift" in the Centre's stance vis-a-vis Sri Lanka on the arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to secure the release of 33 fishermen, arrested by the island nation's navy, and ensure a lasting solution to the issue.
