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.
At least three people were killed and nearly 100 others injured when communal clashes broke out in a popular Sri Lankan tourist region, even as President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday warned rioters against taking law into their own hands in curfew-bound areas.
A hat-trick in international cricket is no mean feat. And when you are not one of the frontline bowlers in the team, to grab hold of three wickets in as many deliveries is not only a personal achievement but gives the team a huge fillip; after all, as a backup bowler expected to bowl till you get hit, a hat-trick is probably something totally unexpected.
Sri Lanka crushed Afghanistan by 68 runs to win the gold medal in the men's Twenty20 cricket event at the Asian Games on Friday.
'It's not easy being an actor for anyone.' 'Every actor, even the most successful ones, are waking up with the same insecurity.' 'If you're on top, you're worried about coming down.' 'If you're fit, you're worried about your stomach coming out.'
A selection of musings from around the cricket World Cup.
The hosts have hit nadir in both form and confidence, and, after a lop-sided 3-0 Test series victory, the script did not change much in the opening ODI, where India steamrolled the opposition by nine wickets.
Images from Day 4 in the third and final Test between Sri Lanka and India, in Colombo, on Monday
With three consecutive half-centuries already in the Champions Trophy, Shikhar Dhawan continues his love affair with ICC tournaments.
India on Thursday pitched for unleashing the "collective strength" of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj underlined the need for a South Asian Economic Union with greater connectivity and forward movement on pending agreements on rail and motor vehicles.
Timid officiating has allowed a generation of 'chuckers' to flourish in international cricket and the current crackdown on bowlers with illegal actions has arrived two decades late, according to former Test umpire Darrell Hair.
Any other result than India's resounding win looks highly unlikely, consdering the visitors' rampaging run in the preceding Test and ODI series, where they whitewashed the hosts 3-0 and 5-0 respectively.
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.
Images from the World Cup Pool A match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Dunedin on Sunday
Sri Lankan batting once again promised a lot but delivered too little losing as many as seven wickets for 53 runs after they were cruising along at 185 for 3.
The $100-billion SAIC would have a dedicated manufacturing facility in India, and would be the first Chinese automaker to do so.
While winning four major finals, India have finished on the losing side in the finals on four occasions.
Martin Guptill became the highest run scorer in One-Day International cricket this year as he guided New Zealand to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first game of their five match series in Christchurch, on Saturday.
Former England paceman Mathew Hoggard urges England cricket to have shift in mindset
Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson fell agonisingly short of centuries but New Zealand's imposing total ensured they beat Sri Lanka by 120 runs in the sixth One-day international on Sunday to take an unassailable 4-1 lead in their seven-match series.
Tillikaratane Dilshan eased to his 19th One-day International century to anchor his side to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand in the second game of their seven-match series at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Thursday.
'The past few weeks in England will be remembered as much for Kohli's skilled conquest of his English demons as they will be for his dreadful reading of pitches, curious selection choices, sporadic tactical lapses, and overall inability to help his side cross the finish line,' notes Dhruv Munjal.
In a fitting tribute to Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews spoke of Don Bradman and the retiring great in the same breath, calling him the most "consistent batsman he has ever seen".
Cricket is a team sport, but there are instances where an individual performance outdid all. Such efforts, coincidentally, occur at critical junctures, and turn the outcome of the game on its head. Rediff.com takes a look at few such one-man shows at the World Cup.
India dominated the range and the ring as Shreyasi Singh's double trap gold shored up the medal tally while the entire men's Indian boxing contingent made the semi-finals to be assured of podium finishes in an unprecedented performance on Day 7 of the 21st Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast on Wednesday.
Virat Kohli dropped a position to 11th leaving India with no batsmen in the top 10 of the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, in the latest update of the ICC Player Rankings released by the International Cricket Council on Tuesday.
Voters in Sri Lanka's Tamil majority Northern Province on Saturday began voting in the first local elections in 25 years to elect a council to govern the former war zone, four years after the military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam after decades of bloody civil war.
Starring Mankad, Bedi, Siva, Azhar and Sachin.
Ajinkya Rahane opens up on the slot he likes to bat at, Virat Kohli's captaincy and India's record against spin
Hindu American Foundation: 'As an organisation that works on issues affecting Hindu minorities... in the civil war although all groups were affected, Hindu temples and Hindu institutions were disproportionately affected, and Hindus continue to be affected.' Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the United States Prasad Kariyawasam: 'Assume that Sri Lanka is referred to the ICC through the UN Security Council -- which will never happen because Sri Lanka has enough clout to block it. But assume it is. Still, the ICC cannot handle it because retrospectively they don't have jurisdiction.'
Sangakkara, Dhoni, McCullum, de Villiers... Cricket has never had so many amazing wicketkeeper-batsmen in the same era...
Some stellar performances by seasoned veterans and promising youngsters continued to raise the bar in Olympic sports but there was heartbreak in equal measure when corruption scandals blighted India's favourite obsession, cricket, in a see-saw year for the country's sportspersons.
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