Children ‘being kidnapped from Sri Lanka refugee camps’

COLOMBO - Children are reportedly being abducted from refugee camps in Sri Lanka, apparently with the tacit approval of the Rajapaksa government, human rights groups have claimed.

LTTE cadres unaware of plans to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi: Colonel ‘Karuna’

COLOMBO - The former commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam’s eastern forces, Colonel ‘Karuna’ has said that he has no doubt about the fact that LTTE supremo V.Prabhakaran being killed and added that he would like to apologise personally to the Gandhi family for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Sri Lanka to open key highway in north

COLOMBO - The A9 highway linking Jaffna peninsula in north Sri Lanka and the town of Kandy in the centre of the country is likely to be opened to the general public by next week, the government said.

LTTE chief Prabhakaran to be buried in a mass grave

COLOMBO - The Sri Lankan Government is to bury Liberation Tiger of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) chief V.Prabhakaran in a unmarked mass grave, Sri Lankan Army sources said.

Indian envoys to meet Sri Lankan President

COLOMBO - India’s National Security Advisor M.K.Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon will meet Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapakse on Thursday over breakfast.

Refugee status in Sri Lanka very critical, says Red Cross

COLOMBO - More than 200,000 refugees are facing ‘very critical’ circumstances in northern Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the recent war, the Red Cross said.

End of war in Sri Lanka welcomed amid concerns about human cost

COLOMBO - Celebrations to mark the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war were planned on a national holiday Wednesday as the international community welcomed the end to fighting. But some countries expressed concerns about the human cost of the conflict’s end phase.

Prabhakaran’s body found, Rajapaksa says LTTE vanquished

COLOMBO - The Sri Lankan government Tuesday displayed the battered body of Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, shortly after the rebels claimed he was still alive, while President Mahinda Rajapaksa formally announced the end of the dragging ethnic conflict and offered a political settlement acceptable to all communities.

Sri Lankan president announces end of civil war, Prabhakaran’s body found

COLOMBO - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Tuesday officially announced the end of the over 25-year-old civil war against Tamil rebels as the army’s commander said the body of rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has been positively identified.

Prabhakaran’s body found: military chief

COLOMBO - The body of Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran has been found, the Sri Lankan defence ministry said Tuesday. The state-run TV showed the body kept on a stretcher.

Prabhakaran’s body found, says Sri Lanka Army chief

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka’s Army Chief, General Sarath Fonseka declared on Tuesday afternoon that the dead body of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has been identified and recovered.

Negotiated settlement need of the hour in Sri Lanka: CSM

NEW DELHI/COLOMBO - Following the military decimation of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), the main challenge now before the Sri Lankan Government and President Mahinda Rajapaksa, analysts say, is to work out a negotiated settlement for Sri Lanka’s Tamil community, who make up 18 percent of the population, and on whose behalf the Tamil Tigers claim to be fighting.

Post victory over LTTE, Mahinda Rajapaksa assures Tamils of equal rights

COLOMBO - The Sri Lanka President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his victory speech to the Parliament termed “the victory achieved by defeating the LTTE as the victory of the country” here on Tuesday.

Victory over LTTE is for whole country: Sri Lankan president

COLOMBO - The victory ‘achieved by defeating the LTTE’ is the victory of the entire country, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said while addressing parliament here Tuesday. He did not mention that death of rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in his speech.

LTTE vanquished, victory for our country: Sri Lankan president

COLOMBO - The victory ‘achieved by defeating the LTTE’ is the victory of the country, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa said while addressing parliament here Tuesday, adding the Tamil Tigers had killed statesmen like former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

LTTE’s defeat is victory for country: Sri Lankan president

COLOMBO - The victory ‘achieved by defeating the LTTE’ is the victory of the country, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa said while addressing parliament Tuesday.

Prabhakaran alive, claims pro-LTTE website

COLOMBO - Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran is ‘alive and safe’, a website sympathetic to the rebels claimed Tuesday.

Prabhakaran is alive, claims LTTE

COLOMBO - Rejecting Sri Lankan Government’s claim that Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s chief V. Prabhakaran has been killed by the army, LTTE’s International Relations head S. Pathmanathan on Tuesday said Tamil Tigers chief is still alive and healthy.

UN chief to visit Sri Lanka Friday

COLOMBO - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is to visit Sri Lanka Friday to assess the humanitarian situation after an estimated 250,000 civilians fled the Tamil rebel controlled areas in the north of the country, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said Monday.

Sri Lanka’s 26-year war ends as LTTE leader Prabhakaran killed

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka’s 26-year-long insurgency ended with a blaze of bullets as Velupillai Prabhakaran, the dreaded chief of the Tamil Tigers that was responsible for assassinating Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and several leaders of the island nation, was killed Monday while trying to flee the battle zone.

Sri Lanka declares end of war against LTTE after killing Prabhakaran

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka on Monday formally announced the end of war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam after chief V Prabhakaran was shot dead while trying to flee in an ambulance from the war zone in northern Sri Lanka.

MTNL drops plan to acquire Sri Lankan telecom major Suntel

COLOMBO - The New Delhi-based Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has pulled out from acquiring a majority stake in Sri Lankan telecom company Suntel, citing legal issues and high liabilities.

Death blow for LTTE as Prabhakaran, aides killed in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO - Velupillai Prabhakaran, the feared leader of Sri Lanka’s ruthless Tamil Tigers, was killed Monday while trying to flee the battle zone in the island’s north with two top aides, ending one of the world’s longest running insurgencies that bled the island nation for over a quarter century.

Celebrations in Sri Lanka as news of Prabhakaran’s death spreads

COLOMBO - LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran’s death, bringing down the curtains on his 25-year-old armed struggle for a separate Tamil state, sparked off celebrations in the island nation Monday.

Sri Lankan President to address nation at 6 pm

COLOMBO - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa will address the nation today at 6 pm after the Lankan Army declared victory in his nation’s over quarter of a century civil war with the Tamil Tigers rebels.

LTTE defeated, Sri Lanka free from terror: army chief

COLOMBO - Sri Lankan armed forces have ‘militarily defeated the LTTE and freed the nation from three decades of terror’, army chief Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka said Monday after Tamil Tigers leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed in the island’s north.

Prabhakaran, top aides killed in Sri Lanka’s war zone

COLOMBO - Velupillai Prabhakaran, the elusive leader of Sri Lanka’s feared Tamil Tigers, was killed Monday while trying to escape the battlezone in the island’s north along with two of his top aides, the military announced.

LTTE chief Prabhakaran is dead: reports

COLOMBO - Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed Monday while trying to escape the war zone in the island’s north, reports said quoting military officials.

LTTE chief Prabhakaran is dead

COLOMBO - Velupillai Prabhakaran, the elusive leader of Sri Lanka’s feared Tamil Tigers, was killed Monday while trying to escape the war zone in the island’s north, military sources said.

LTTE chief Prabhakaran reportedly shot dead

COLOMBO - Liberation of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief Velupillai Prabhakaran has reportedly been shot dead along with his son Charles Antony and other Tiger commanders.