A delegation from former president Maithripala Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party met him in the morning to press for their demand on the formation of the interim government.
Mahinda Rajapaksa, along with his wife and family, fled his official residence -- Temple Trees -- and took shelter at the naval base in Trincomalee.
Concerned over the plight of civilians caught up in the ongoing fighting in Sri Lanka, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has dispatched his Chef de Cabinet Vijay Nambiar, a former Indian diplomat, to the island nation to underscore his message for protection of civilians and resolution of the humanitarian situation there. Members of the UN Security Council on Wednesday expressed grave concern over the worsening crisis in northern Sri Lanka.
India along with 24 other countries on Thursday backed a United States-sponsored resolution at United Nations Human Rights Council against Sri Lanka asking it to conduct an "independent and credible" probe into allegations of human rights violations, an issue on which Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam pulled out of the ruling United Progressive Alliance government.
Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa has debunked international criticism over the treatment of the island nation's Tamil minority population.
West Indies (2012, 2016) have won the title twice, while India (2007), Pakistan (2009), England (2010) and Sri Lanka (2014) are the other teams to have won it once.
The Lankan media claimed that New Delhi had failed to carry other South Asian nations with it on the issue.
The Sri Lankan government has slammed the decision of the United Nations to set up a panel of experts to advice Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on the human rights situation in the country, saying it was 'unwarranted' since Colombo has already formed a mechanism to address accountability issues. "The proposed panel of experts was unwarranted since Lanka has already set in motion its local mechanism to address accountability issues, said Minister of External Affairs G L Peiris.
Sri Lanka will have to produce something special to halt England's juggernaut at Sharjah.
United Arab Emirates finished runner-up to the U.S. to claim the second spot in the qualifier.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday left for a two-day visit to India during which he will offer prayers at Bodh Gaya and Tirupathi. He would visit Bodh Gaya and Tirupathi and the visit was of a personal nature, presidential officials said.
The swearing in ceremony was held inside the premises of the Presidential Secretariat at 9:30 am. President Sirisena administered the oath of office to 66-year-old Wickremesinghe, who has already served three times as the prime minister.
Sri Lanka compensated for their batting failure with a disciplined bowling performance to beat United Arab Emirates by 14 runs in a round robin league encounter of the Asia Cup Twenty20, in Mirpur on Thursday.
The International Cricket Council on Friday said there is no reason to doubt the integrity of the 2011 World Cup final in which India defeated Sri Lanka, asserting that it has not been provided any evidence that would merit an investigation into the game. The world body's statement came after Sri Lanka Police's special investigation division on Friday called off a probe into allegations by former sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage that the final was fixed by "certain parties" in Sri Lanka. The police said it found no evidence supporting Aluthgamage's unsubstantiated claims.
Mahinda Rajapaksa is a democratically elected leader who received a massive mandate of 71% of votes, and he owes nothing to Delhi or Washington for staging his political comeback, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
With India under pressure from Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu to support a United States-sponsored resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Commission against Sri Lanka for alleged war crimes, United Progressive Alliance's key constituent Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam on Saturday announced the convening of its high-level committee on March 20 to discuss the issue. Party chief M Karunanidhi will chair the meeting on Tuesday morning at its headquarters in Chennai.
Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson has made his case to become India's first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman at the Twenty20 World Cup in June, said Kumar Sangakkara, the coach of his Indian Premier League team.
Former champions Pakistan begin their Asia Cup campaign in an August 28 blockbuster against arch-rivals India in Dubai.
At least one person was killed and 12 others injured on Tuesday when the police opened fire to disperse angry anti-government protestors in Sri Lanka's southwestern region of Rambukkana, officials said.
The world body is currently supporting Sri Lankan government's relief for some 204,000 people displaced in the north and east.
There is no reason to remove India head coach Ravi Shastri if he continues to produce results, said legendary former captain Kapil Dev.
India registered a hard-fought six-wicket win over arch rivals Pakistan, keeping their semi-final hopes alive in the Women's T20 World Cup.
Zimbabwe captain Sean Williams bludgeoned 174 to set up a 304-run victory for his side in their ODI World Cup Qualifier against the United States.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was on Wednesday briefed by top officials on the United States-sponsored resolution on human rights violations in Sri Lanka, within hours of government announcing that it will move amendments to the final draft text at Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council to send a 'resolute message' on the issue.
The 31-year-old Mathews was renamed as Sri Lanka's limited-overs skipper in January, six months after he relinquished the captaincy for both red and white-ball formats following a home series defeat to Zimbabwe.
Kane Williamson will opt out of a handful of internationals in January to take up a contract in South Africa's Twenty20 league.
South Africa have picked the uncapped duo of batter Ryan Rickelton and seamer Ottniel Baartman in their 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup
Sri Lanka, which is poised to capture the remaining strongholds of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, has rejected the plea of the United States-led donor countries for a temporary 'no-fire period' in the island's north, saying this would be detrimental in efforts to wipe out terrorism from its soil.
'China is India's primary strategic challenge, which will not go away.
Talking tough, the United States on Friday told Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to immediately end the war in the island's north and cautioned Colombo that its unity and reconciliation could be at stake if it continued with its current endeavours to end the ethnic conflict 'militarily'. The White House said it was taking 'very seriously' the allegations of violations of international humanitarian law by both sides.
Welcoming the government's decision to back the United States sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at United Nations Human Rights Council, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Monday said his party had even decided to pull out its ministers from the United Progressive Alliance and extend issue based support to it in the event of its demand not being met.
Who do you think should be part of the Indian team for the opening match against Ireland?
Former Sri Lanka pacer Chaminda Vaas predicted that Virat Kohli and his men would reach the semi-finals of the upcoming 2019 World Cup.
The Indian cricket fraternity praised the team for pulling off the win.
Afghanistan (6 points) will not only look to secure two points against the Dutch (4 points) but also aim to win big and improve the net run-rate
A leading Washington, DC-based think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, notwithstanding the arrest of retired Sri Lankan Army General Sarath Fonseka who challenged President Mahinda Rajapakse at the recent elections, and the country's poor record on human rights and its treatment of several thousand internally displaced persons, has said that the United States cannot afford to disengage with the island nation.
India skipper Rohit Sharma lauded Sanju Samson after the seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the second T20 International, in Dharamsala, on Saturday, saying the talented batter showed how well he can play in the limited-overs' format.
The meeting is being attended by United States, Japan, the European Union and Norway.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said India faces a 'very complicated challenge' from China, and the Narendra Modi government has taken steps to ensure no attempts are made to change the status quo in the border areas unilaterally.
Sri Lanka could have batted better, says Mahela Jayawardene
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances