'Our Constitution as well as the Right to Education Act do not make any distinction between Indian or foreigner; it only talks about 'child'.' 'It says that every child has the right to get education.'
For the first time in three decades, Nungambakkam, a core city area recorded 8 cmin a single day and suburban Red Hills 13 cm followed by 12 cm in Perambur, also in the city.
'The food the Sri Lankans gave us was horrible. It used to stink. We used to throw most of it away... In the night my legs used to be in someone's face and his legs used to be in my lap. There was no space... There was no toilet... Both our bathing water and drinking water were salty. We had to beg the guards for clean drinking water.' Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar speaks to Indian fishermen just released from Sri Lankan custody.
Rajapaksa was appointed as the premier on October 26 by President Maithripala Sirisena after sacking Ranil Wickremesinghe, plunging the nation into a constitutional crisis.
The close proximity of Arab billionaire who owns MV Seaman Guard Ohio to the Pentagon raises a number of questions about its presence in Indian waters. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused by the Opposition of inciting the ruling party mobs to attack peaceful protesters by making a defiant speech while addressing several thousands of his supporters to deflect calls for his resignation.
Only 68 MPs voted in favour of the motion, it said, giving the 72-year-old President a comfortable victory.
Following the elimination of LTTE, Pakistan-based terror groups are leaving no stone unturned to take advantage of the vacuum, and slowly recruiting youth for terror activities from South India. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Ending war with Tamil rebels would be top prriority if elected: Lanka PM
With November 22, 23 and 24 being among the most auspicious dates for marriage this year, hotels across the country are all booked, as are wedding-related ancillary services.
Voicing concern over the plight of civilians caught in the Sri Lankan Army offensive against the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam in rebel-held areas, India has asked Colombo to ensure their safety and security.
'Sri Lankan army chief General Fonseka told me that 10 minutes before they were killed, ambassadors were calling up Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse to save Prabhakaran and top LTTE leaders. Fonseka said any fool would have known that a ceasefire appeal was to save Prabhakaran and not the people, because there were no people there,' reveals Nitin Gokhale, author of the new book, Sri Lanka: From War to Peace.
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.
It was unhappy with the government's proposals on ways to rebuild war-hit Tamil parts of the country.
Moderate to rather heavy rains are likely at many places over all districts of coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Monday as a low pressure area would form over the Southwest Bay.
'No one in Sri Lanka could afford to stay at home, everyone came onto the street.'
If one has to analyse Ashwin the cricketer, it is very difficult to ignore Ashwin, the person, who had a very independent mind and a brain that probably ticked 24x7. He believed in de-construction of his art and became craftier one ball at a time.
Though dubbed as the 'war hero', the role of Rajapaksa in ending the conflict with the LTTE with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran in 2009 is quite divisive as he stands accused of violating human rights, a charge he vehemently denies.
S C Chandrahasan, a Tamil leader, advocating a non-violent solution to Sri Lanka's ethnic war, speaks out.
The Sri Lankan government on Tuesday allowed nearly 1.30 lakh Tamil civilians housed in refugees camps in northern part of the island country to visit their relatives, as authorities lifted restrictions on their movement.
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.
An Indian parliamentary delegation's visit to Sri Lanka sent a clear message to the Sri Lankan government on the need to tackle the political grievances of the Sri Lankan Tamil community. Shubha Singh reports.
Congress on Monday left it to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take a call on attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka amid a political controversy over the issue in view of the alleged atrocities against ethnic Tamils there.
Days after its inauguration, officials on Wednesday demolished the compound wall and removed a park at the Mullivaaikal Memorial, built in honour of Tamil martyrs in the war in Sri Lanka, alleging that these were constructed on encroached highway land, triggering instant protests by pro-Eelam activists.
The decision came after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin recommended an investigation by the National Investigation Agency into the Sunday blast in which an engineer was killed.
PM also invoked 'chai pe charcha', saying it was not just a slogan but a 'mark of deep respect for the dignity and integrity of honest labour'.
Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan will be inaugurating the new cricket pitches laid in a stadium in the former LTTE stronghold of Kilinochchi.
A special quiz to mark the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.
The Chennai government is refusing to host the Asian Athletics Championships in July in protest against Sri Lanka for alleged war crimes that targeted Tamil Tiger rebels.
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.
Former captain Arjuna Ranatunga slammed his cricket Board and government's decision to allow Lankan players to participate in the IPL, terming it an endorsement of human rights abuse charges against Sri Lanka.
A Rs 7,056 crore outer harbour project by VO Chidambaranar (VOC) Port in Tuticorin is garnering interest from domestic and global majors in the sector, such as Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Singapore's PSA International, Dutch major Van Oord, JM Baxi, and JSW, among others, according to sources close to the development. The project aims to capitalise on the newfound investor interest in the region, spurred by mega investments such as the Rs 16,000 crore electric vehicle manufacturing unit by Vietnamese major VinFast, the Indian Space Research Organisation's second spaceport in Tamil Nadu's Kulasekarapattinam, and Singapore's Sembcorp's Rs 36,238 crore investment in renewable energy.
India was training armed forces personnel from Sri Lanka in different states of the country including Tamil Nadu as part of exchanges with neighbouring countries, Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
The independent UN human rights expert,Walter Klin, who is dealing with IDPs said that the restoration of freedom of movement for Sri Lankans confined to the camps is becoming 'a matter of urgency.'Klin, who just wrapped up a visit to the country, said he remained 'very concerned about the very slow pace of releases' from the camps.
The war against the LTTE, waged by the Mahinda Rajapakse government, may have restored peace in Sri Lanka. But thousands of Tamils paid the price for the so-called victory with their lives, journalist Frances Harrison says in her new book Still Counting the Dead.
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.
The ATR 72-600 aircraft was accorded water salute as it landed at the Jaffna airport, about 400-km from capital Colombo.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Rajapaksa and said he looks forward to further deepen relations between the two nations.
Delhi finds itself between the rock and hard place in the coming Sri Lankan election, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
If the fishermen were not allowed to fish in their traditional areas (Katchatheevu), they would be left with no other alternative except to commit suicide like distressed farmers, they said.
