Sri Lanka stays with you not just in memory, but gently reminds you what a society can achieve when heart and heritage guide the way.
The curfew was imposed on Sunday after a group of miscreants carrying swords attacked some people travelling on a three-wheeler in Porathota area of the town. The vehicle was set on fire.
He was arrested on the charges of unauthorised entry and was later remanded by the Negombo magistrate till May 15, police said.
Father Edmond Tillekeratne, social communications director for the Archdiocese of Colombo, said that the blast took place after Easter Mass, and that there were about 30 bodies lying in the area of the church.
The President had been moved out of his residence on Friday, in anticipation of Saturday's protests.
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.
Sri Lankan cricketer Dasun Shanaka revisited the Easter Sunday horror, the serial blasts that took place in the country on Sunday, leaving almost 300 people dead and more than 500 injured.
Forty suspects, including the driver of a van allegedly used by the suicide bombers, have been arrested in connection with the attacks which shook Sri Lanka.
-- Seven suicide bombers believed to be members of an Islamist extremist group carried out the series of explosions. -- Police have so far arrested 24 people - mostly members of an Islamist extremist group - in connection with the blasts
Seven persons had been arrested in connection with the blasts.
National flags were lowered and people bowed their heads as the silence began at 8:30 am local time, the time the first of the attacks occurred on Sunday.
Sri Lankan foreign ministry said that the number of foreign nationals who have been killed in the attack rose to 36.
Meanwhile, a three-member committee appointed to probe the attacks that killed 258 people, including 11 Indians, on Monday submitted its final report to President Maithripala Sirisena.
The details of the attackers and their relatives linked to the bombings was released by the police on Wednesday.
The National Tawheed Jamath is suspected of plotting the deadly Easter blasts.
The Chennai collegian beat her team mate to take sole lead in the girls' section at the Asian junior chess championships.
'What happened last Sunday is a great tragedy, an insult to humanity'
They scored contrasting victories in the 8th round of the Asian Junior chess championships.
The India IM shares the lead with four others after the sixth round in the Asian Junior chess championship.
International Master Magesh Chandran and Woman International Master Dronavalli Harika continued to hold fort in Sri Lanka.
With two more rounds to go, the Indian girl established a lead of 1.5 points over her nearest rival in the Asian junior chess championship.
The victory put Nadig in a two-way lead with Luong Phong Hanh of Vietnam in the Asian Junior girls' chess championship.
A Dubai-based Indian couple had a narrow escape in the Sri Lanka blasts.
Dr Anil Jasinghe, Director General of the Health Services, said the larger death toll was released as a result of a calculation error.
"My heart goes out to the families of the victims and the injured," Modi said.
Several people succumbed to their injuries sustained in the blasts, taking the death toll to 359.
'Should the new ISIS leadership opt for a consolidation, the Afghan-Pakistan border would be an attractive place,' warns Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
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.
Even as the polity find ways and means to address the genuine concerns and fears of the society, the Sri Lankan State apparatus would have to unravel these mystery-questions with convincing answers, and a road-map to the future, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
We sorted through countless photographs taken around the world to come up with the top photos of 2019. Together these images tell the story of the year -- capturing moments of hope and heartbreak, triumph and tragedy.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
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