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.
Michael Dalvi, who played first class cricket for Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Bengal, once hit a century against a fiery Malcolm Marshall and the West Indies. At 77, he has a razor sharp memory, a ready wit and is a rare cricketing treasure.
The order was also imposed on parliamentarians Johnston Fernando, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Sanjeewa Edirimanne, Kanchana Jayaratne, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, C B Ratnayake, Sampath Athukorala, Renuka Perera, Sanath Nishantha, Senior DIG Deshabandu Thennakoon among others.
Leader of Opposition of North-Central Provincial Assembly Maj Gen Janaka Perera and his wife are among the 20 killed, Army spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday pitched for a coherent regional strategy to deal with terrorism
A claymore mine exploded as the vehicles crossed the Rukmani Devi junction along the Colombo-Negombo road. Dassanayake, Minister for Nation Building, and two others were initially admitted to the Intensive Care Unit with serious injuries, but the minister later succumbed to his injuries, officials said.
'Kohli is the most complete Indian batsman of my time. Only the greatest of champions has the courage and the intelligence to transport their imagination beyond the mortal plane. Kohli has that. Perhaps only Tiger Pataudi has come close to transcending a similar stratosphere'
Spoilt for choice with a pool of top quality performers in their ranks, formidable India are overwhelming favourites against minnows Bangladesh in a proverbial 'David vs Goliath' one-off cricket Test that starts in Hyderabad on Thursday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
At least ten people were killed and 20 others, including a cabinet minister, injured in a suicide attack by a suspected Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam bomber near a mosque in the southern Sri Lankan city of Matara on Tuesday. The suicide bomber struck during a ceremony to mark Eid-e-Milad-ud-Nabi, the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad, near the mosque in Akuresha area in Matara, police said.
The gunman, believed to have been dressed in a Santa costume, opened fire inside the Reina nightclub in Istanbul's Ortaky district, where hundreds were celebrating the New Year.
The powerful bomb blast is believed to be triggered by a suicide bomber.
Phan Van Duc (10th), Nguyen Van Toan (49th) and Nguyen Van Quyet (70th) scored for Vietnam to no reply from the Indians whose defenders had a mediocre outing, especially in the second half.
'We decided that we would fire our rockets and dive into the valley and get away, making it difficult for the missiles to be fired.'
A government employee belonging to the Kashmir Pandit community was shot dead by suspected militants at his office in the Chadoora area of Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, officials said in Srinagar.
While we wait to see just how good Brahmastra is and how well it does at the box office, Joginder Tuteja looks at how sci-fi movies have done in recent times.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said that the assassination of his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was the "single biggest learning experience" of his life, asserting that he cannot get away from the fact that the event also made him learn things that he would have never learnt otherwise.
Major Adhikari was a man par excellence and had won our hearts. His supreme sacrifice for the nation shook us till the roots. A fascinating excerpt from Param Vir Chakra Captain (Honorary) Yogendra Singh Yadav's book, The Hero of Tiger Hill.
The unalloyed truth about the Ukraine-Russia conflict is that it is a war that Russia cannot lose and Ukraine cannot win, observes Colonel Anil Athale (retd).
A formal signing of an agreement is holding up their inter-continental translocation, wildlife experts have said.
Such was Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang's dominance in the 65kg competition that he won three of his four bouts inside first rounds.
Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim has said that his team is keen to give a good account of itself and tell "world cricket what we can do" in the one-off Test match against India, to be held in Hyderabad next week.
It took Australia seven attempts but under Aaron Finch they finally laid their hands on a maiden Twenty20 World Cup title on Sunday with an eight-wicket triumph over New Zealand.
On the brink of capturing the entire rebel-held territory, Sri Lankan troops killed at least 150 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadres in the island's embattled north, where a ship carrying biggest-ever food supplies for displaced civilians was ambushed by suspected guerrillas, officials said on Sunday.
This week on OTT is only about three things -- entertainment, entertainment, entertainment.
With the release of the film's trailer, we revisit how the crisis was actually handled.
With so many films shifted to the new year, it's going to be a busy year for Bollywood's actors.
'ISI mouthpieces in the media have been quick to blame India for the attack. Clearly, the intellect and worldview of these characters (which includes fairly senior retired military officers) is based on Bollywood movies like Ek Tha Tiger and Agent Vinod... More seriously, the fact that ISI touts have been using this opportunity to train their guns on India raises serious questions about all the talk of the army being on the same page as the civilian government on the issue of improving relations with India,' says Sushant Sareen.
For the LTTE to be able to stage a come-back one, it needs a beach-head out of the reach of the Sri Lankan armed forces where it can re-group, re-train and re-plan and wait for an opportunity to strike back.
Images from the Asia Cup T20 match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Dubai on Thursday.
Mahinda Rajapaksa, along with his wife and family, fled his official residence -- Temple Trees -- and took shelter at the naval base in Trincomalee.
Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com reports from Shivaji Park and the MMRDA ground to sense the mood of Shiv Sena workers -- from the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde camps.
'Many times when Khalistan slogans are raised, it is from those who feel alienated, not because they want a separate state.'
India captain Virat Kohli, after a job well done against Bangladesh, said the players' hearts and minds are already on the big series against Australia.
As many as six major films are set to arrive in theatres even as OTT continues to thrill us with new content.
Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza believes playing a fearless brand of one-day cricket has brought about a 'significant change' in his team's fortunes.
Fadnavis said preliminary reports made available to him stated that the tigress was shot after she attacked the forest staff trying to tranquilise her.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between India and South Africa in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
The proceeds from the concert will go to the India COVID Response Fund.
Bollywood is ready with its line-up of theatre releases, but it remains to be seen whether we will get to watch these movies in theatres this year.
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