Though dubbed as the "war hero", the role of Rajapaksa in ending the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 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.
A Dubai-based Indian couple had a narrow escape in the Sri Lanka blasts.
Heavy snowfall has shut major cities like New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, leaving thousands of travelers stranded in airports across the nation and prompting warnings from officials urging residents to stay off the roads.
'What happened last Sunday is a great tragedy, an insult to humanity'
Two powerful blasts triggered by Islamic State in two churches packed with worshippers celebrating Palm Sunday in Egypt's Tanta and Alexandria cities.
The attorney general instructed the authorities to charge them for their failure to prevent the Easter terror attacks.
The perpetrators of the killing of a pharmacist in Maharashtra's Amravati might have been 'self inspired' by the violence carried out by the dreaded Middle East group Islamic State (ISIS) and the investigators are trying to ascertain if they have links with any terror outfit, officials said.
The Pakistan under-19 side, captained by Rohail Nazir, was scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on April 30 to play two four-day matches, followed by three one-dayers.
Sri Lankan foreign ministry said that the number of foreign nationals who have been killed in the attack rose to 36.
A police release in Coimbatore said a case has been registered in the Ukkadam police station over the incident.
Police said they have seized a large haul of explosives, a drone and a banner with the Islamic State logo.
Security has been beefed up in Sri Lanka as the army increased its deployment by 1,300 to 6,300.
Several people succumbed to their injuries sustained in the blasts, taking the death toll to 359.
'We should see to it that not even one woman gets radicalised.' 'We should not let even one young man become a jihadi.'
'The ban is to ensure national security... No one should obscure their faces to make identification difficult,' Sirisena's office said in a statement.
At least 69 people including women and children were on Sunday killed and over 300 others injured in a powerful suicide blast in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi last appeared in 2014 during a sermon at the Great Mosque in Mosul. The speech marked the rise of self-declared "caliphate" of IS in Iraq and Syria.
In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, allegations have been made that the Muslim militants in Sri Lanka draw sustenance from India. An overarching impression is being created that the ISIS is gaining ground in India, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The names of both Maregowda and Puttaraju had figured in the list of missing Janata Dal-Secular workers tweeted by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Monday.
'A fragile Sri Lanka will have a serious impact on the security of India.'
Sangakkara, who was appointed the first non-British president of prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) earlier this month, expressed shock at the communal riots in the island nation.
New Delhi has a chance to rid itself of its image as the bully in the subcontinent by helping a neighbour tackle problems that India, for once, has no role in creating. It should grab the opportunity with both hands, suggests Aditi Phadnis.
Those requiring to undertake emergency travels can contact the High Commission of India in Colombo.
The blockade of Facebook and WhatsApp has been imposed from mid-night following violent incidents between the minority Muslim and majority Sinhalese communities, officials said.
'If Ranil Wickremesinghe starts repressing and suppressing the protesters who represent the people, that will pose a danger for him to continue in office.'
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the attack, adding: "The target was Christians."
Over 300 people were also injured in the attack and many of them were in a critical condition.
While 10 persons from Karnataka have been confirmed dead, at least seven of them are said to be JD-S workers.
President Maithripala Sirisena said Friday that over 130 suspects linked to the Islamic State terror group have been operating in the country.
'We believe that one of the suicide bombers studied in the UK and maybe later on did his post-graduate in Australia, before coming back to settle in Sri Lanka'
Driven from its self-styled caliphate in Iraq and Syria, Islamic State is down but not out. Where once they confronted armies, the extremist Islamist group's adherents have now staged hit-and-run raids and suicide attacks. In some cases, the group has claimed responsibility for atrocities, including the bombings of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that killed at least 253 people. Its involvement is not always proven, but even if the link is ideological rather than operational, Islamic State still poses a security threat in many countries.
After carrying out searches at seven locations in the city on Wednesday, the NIA had detained six people for questioning and arrested prime accused Mohammed Azarudeen, who was a Facebook friend of Sri Lankan Easter Day blasts mastermind Zahra Hashim.
The security forces continue their hunt for members of the local terror group National Thowheeth Jamath which was behind the deadly Easter Sunday bombings in which 253 people were killed and over 500 injured.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Rajapaksa and said he looks forward to further deepen relations between the two nations.
He also reiterated India's strong support in the fight against terrorism with Sri Lanka, which saw the country's worst terror attack on Easter Sunday.
The spokesman even taunted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Twitter. "After the Lahore attack, Nawaz Sharif repeated old words to give himself false assurances," he wrote.
The Egyptian government has ordered military special forces to assist the police in securing vital state facilities across the country.
The reports suggested six members of the terror outfit infiltrated into the state by sea from Sri Lanka and moved to different cities, including Coimbatore, according to the police.
The input was sent through diplomatic channels to the island nation after a through investigation pertaining to the IS case in Coimbatore was carried out by the NIA.
A 29-year old Pakistani man was on Tuesday sentenced to 40 years in prison by a United States court for plotting terror attacks with Al-Qaeda that targeted a crowded shopping centre in England and the New York City subway system.
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