India has mended its stand on Sri Lanka, no longer insisting that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, should lay down arms as a pre-condition for talks with the government in Colombo for a political settlement. Instead of asking the LTTE to lay down the arms, India now wants it to at least agree in principle to lay down the arms as that can pave the way for negotiations with the Sri Lankan government.
President Kumaratunga has embroiled the nation in a crisis by sacking three ministers and suspending parliament.
The Sri Lankan prime minister also vowed to reopen Parliament, which was suspended on Tuesday by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
An LTTE spokesman said the proposals were handed over to the Norwegian ambassador Hans Brattskar.
Will Killinocchi prove a turning point in the battle being fought between the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE? If the LTTE loses the battle, it could mark the beginning of its end as an insurgent force, but not as a terrorist organisation. If the Sri Lankan army wins, it will be a Pyrrhic victory, says B Raman
'The US calls on the LTTE to renounce terrorism and cease terrorist acts, including political assassination, and to comply with terms of the ceasefire agreement they signed,' state department spokesman Philip Reeker said.
Raja Ayyappan, a member of the 'Tamizhar Pasarai' outfit, was arrested by Q-Branch police on Monday at Thanjavur, about 165 km from Madurai, following a tip off, they said.
It was unhappy with the government's proposals on ways to rebuild war-hit Tamil parts of the country.
Anton Balasingham recently had a kidney transplant in Norway and his condition has been further complicated by diabetes.
There was no immediate confirmation of the incident from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Thousands of ULFA cadres have either surrendered or been arrested, but none of them had confessed to any arms deal with the LTTE.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has said he does not want joint patrolling with India to check smuggling of arms to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Sri Lankan Navy, assisted by helicopter gunships, on Saturday destroyed three Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam boats, killing at least 15 of its cadres, while rebels said they sank two naval vessels in a fierce sea battle.
The pitched battles follow two days of air raids by government troops triggered by the killing of 64 bus passengers in a suspected rebel landmine attack on Thursday in Anuradhapura.
The outfit was banned in 1991 soon after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination at Sriperumbudur near Chennai.
A senior Sri Lankan defence ministry official said since intelligence reports have 'confirmed' that Prabhakaran sustained injuries on November 26, there could be an attempt by the Tiger leader to go to India for treatment if the medical facilities in Killinocchi or Mullaithivu were not sufficient to treat him.
In a statement, the LTTE said it was "conveying the loss of S P Thamilselvam with profound sadness to the people of Tamil Elam, Tamil diaspora and the global community."
The successful air strike at Kilinochi will encourage the SLAF to re-double its efforts for a decapitation strike on Prabhakaran himself
The threat of maritime terrorism is real. What must India do to protect its eastern and western seaboards?
The LTTE are already banned in India, the US and Britain.
The blast ripped through the crowded bus as passengers were getting off at a military check point just outside the town of Ampara, 350 km east of capital Colombo, police said.
In a letter to Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, the LTTE said it was committed to a negotiated settlement to the war, but demanded that progress be made before proceeding.
The Karuna factor is 'one of the main obstacles' to a negotiated settlement between the Government and the LTTE at the peace talks scheduled in Geneva Saturday,
Washington also expressed sadness at children being affected by the conflict, especially the death of dozens of them as a result of bombings.
'If Karuna continues to oppose Prabhakaran, it will certainly be a problem for them,' Sri Lankan army chief Lt \n\nGen Lionel Balagalle tells Ramananda Sengupta.
'There was some misunderstanding on the issue,' she said after meeting DMK president M Karunanidhi.
The government wants to test public opinion before going in for drastic constitutional changes, officials said.
After talks in Oslo, the parties decided to explore a political solution founded on internal self-determination based on a federal structure within a united Sri Lanka.
Chowdhury, the leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, claimed that his account was hacked as he was delivering a speech at a party office in West Bengal's Murshidabad district when the social media post was made.
'I don't have anger or hatred towards anybody.Of course, I lost my father and for me it was a very difficult time'
'With butterflies in our stomachs, but confident of our mission, we took off for Jaffna on the morning of 24 July 1987.' IAF Veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe recalls a conversation with Air Vice Marshal Harpal Singh Ahluwalia (retd), then a wing commander and mission leader for the clandestine operation.
The actor said he took the decision after founders of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Vaiko and Thol Thirumavalavan respectively, and Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi leader T Velmurugan asked him to consider withdrawing from the programme.
The blasts -- one of the deadliest attacks in the country's history -- targeted St Anthony's Church in Colombo, St Sebastian's Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and Zion Church in the eastern town of Batticaloa around 8.45 am (local time) as the Easter Sunday mass were in progress.
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.
India on Thursday abstained on a draft resolution in the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka which was adopted.
The Madras high court has dismissed a public interest litigation seeking to direct police to register a first information report against Union Minister V Narayanasamy for his alleged remarks against slain Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Chief Velupillai Prabhakaran and 'Naam Tamilar' party president Seeman.
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