A former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam child soldier-turned-politician was acquitted by a court in Sri Lanka on Wednesday in the 2005 murder case of a senior ethnic Tamil lawmaker at the height of the country's bloody civil war.
Naval gunboats intercepted the Tiger boats leading to the battle, which lasted for six hours, it said.
By all available indications, the White House drafted a face-saving note and handed it, ready-made, to Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposed to then post it in the guise of a plea urging Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks 'to allow diplomacy to run its course'. Trump would then graciously accept Pakistan's 'request' and declare a ceasefire. Sharif dutifully posted the message on X. Except that he, or whoever was handling the account, forgot to delete the tell-tale first line visible in the edit history: 'Draft - Pakistan's PM Message on X'. Prem Panicker's must read blog on the Iran War.
The blast is supposed to have been triggered by an army unit.
England will be without captain Ben Stokes for the rest of the English summer after he picked up a hamstring injury, with batter Ollie Pope taking over the captaincy in his absence
Elsewhere, the guerrillas abducted 21 students and later freed them.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on Saturday witnessed the conditions of tens of thousands of displaced Tamil civilians in northern Sri Lanka as he appealed to a triumphant government to 'heal the wounds' left by three decades of ethnic conflict. The Secretary General visited the camps in Vavuniya district today, where more than 300,000 people are staying, after escaping from the battle lines between government forces and Tamil Tigers.
Over 12 Tamil Tiger rebels were killed and three soldiers injured in separate gun battles triggered by the Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam's attempts to breach the de facto front line in northern Sri Lanka, the military said in Colombo on Wednesday.
The NIA had filed the case suo motu on July 8 last year and arrested the 13 persons from Tamil Nadu.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday conveyed to Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe India's expectations from Colombo to fulfill the aspirations of the Tamil community in the island nation and ensure a life of respect and dignity for it.
Making a final push to overrun the last patch of territory held by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Sri Lankan forces on Wednesday pushed deeper, capturing six kilometres of the 18 km 'No Fire Zone' as thousands of trapped Tamils civilians continued to flee the northern war zone.
The all-party meeting aimed at reconciliation and conferring full powers to Sri Lanka's provincial councils will be reconvened in a month after initial deliberations on Wednesday failed to yield any agreements, party officials said on Thursday.
'We have not announced a ceasefire. We have only said that aerial bombardment and shelling will not be carried out,' he told CNN-IBN, the channel said in a release.
England captain Ben Stokes will play in The Hundred this year after the conclusion of England's test series with West Indies.
China said it has suspended the project due to security concerns from a third party.
In a resolution adopted in the assembly, the Jayalalithaa government sought diplomatic efforts by India to change any possible pro-Lanka stand adopted by America in the United Nation rights body.
the Navy exchanged fire with a flotilla of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam after the rebels attacked naval gunboats.
Asin on her trip to war-torn regions of Northern Sri Lanka, thus becoming the first celebrity to visit the area.
Sri Lanka's main Tamil party on Sunday secured a landslide win in the historic provincial council polls held after a gap of 25 years in the former Tamil Tigers-ruled northern province, an outcome expected to give limited autonomy to the Tamils after the end of decades of ethnic war.
Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels shot and wounded 2 policemen on Wednesday in northern Sri Lanka, the military said.\n\n
'These efforts by Beijing can be weaponised one day with economic, security and political implications for India.'
The vote on a critical resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva has been postponed to Tuesday, as Colombo stepped up efforts to garner international support ahead of the voting which is being seen as an acid test for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
'It is a matter of great pride for India to be among the hosts of the AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers, and I am particularly pleased to see Ahmedabad take centre stage.
Skeletal remains of 80 bodies have been dug out of a mass grave in a former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam stronghold in Sri Lanka, fuelling speculation that the bodies are of Tamil civilians who disappeared during the war with the rebels.
As Prabhakaran was leaving his house, Rajiv Gandhi called his son Rahul and asked him to fetch his (Gandhi's) bulletproof jacket. He put the jacket on Prabhakaran's back and remarked with his usual charming smile: "Take care of yourself."
The Natural History Museum, London, has officially unveiled the 24-image shortlist for the 2026 Nuveen People's Choice Award. This prestigious contest, a key part of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition and supported by lead sponsor Nuveen, invites the public to decide which image will be crowned the winner.
The rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi was decorated with red and yellow rebel flags and senior rebels joined parents of the suicide bombers -- known as the Black Tigers -- for a public ceremony.
At least 24 people were arrested by the security forces for defying the ban on celebrations, officials said.
War-displaced Tamil civilians in northern Sri Lanka can now hope to have better dwelling facilities, with India and Sri Lanka on Tuesday signing a memorandum of understanding for construction of 49,000 houses at a cost of $260 million (about Rs 1,352 crore).
Sri Lanka's Minister of State for Prisons Management Lohan Ratwatte tendered his resignation on Wednesday, days after he allegedly threatened to kill Tamil prisoners during his visit to the Anuradhapura prison.
There was no immediate reaction from the LTTE in this regard.
The Chinese have been making inroads in Sri Lanka where they recently got a reclaimed port city near Colombo. Prior to that, they gained control over the Hambantota port which was built by them.
The International Organisation for Migration has helped about 90,000 displaced Tamils, lodged in the Menik Farm camps in Vavuniya, to return to their towns and villages in northern Sri Lanka.
With the civil war in northern Sri Lanka over, India will shortly open its Consulate in Jaffna, a significant step that will enable it to participate better in the reconstruction and rehabilitation process in the Tamil-dominated region.
A Sri Lankan court on Tuesday ordered the release of 56 Indian fishermen who were detained for allegedly fishing in the island nation's territorial waters.
The LTTE forgot that Eelam was a means to an end -- that is a place of honour for Tamils and preservation of their identity and culture. By obdurately focussing on 'all or nothing' strategy, the LTTE lost everything and has brought upon untold misery on the Tamil people of Jaffna.
British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday made a historic visit to Sri Lanka's war-ravaged north and met newly-elected Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran and members of the Tamil community who narrated "harrowing" stories to him about alleged rights violations.
