Lankan President reiterates stand
President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday said that it had been made clear to India and the international community that Sri Lanka would not suspend the military operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
He said that that the LTTE “did not understand the language of negotiation” and “therefore the operations will have to continue on behalf of the people.''
Rajapaksa indicated that he was sympathetic to the Indian Government's political compulsions as it was propped up by regional parties. He was “aware of the political pressures in India at the moment, especially considering the reality of coalition politics and the diverse
interests that surface in such situations.'' Rajapaksa added that his telephone conversation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not have any reference to “stopping military operations against the terrorism of LTTE.''
Less time to read?
Try Quickreads
-
South Korea approves first homemade Covid-19 vaccine
Health officials in South Korea on Wednesday approved the country's first domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine for people 18 years or older, adding another public health tool in the fight against a prolonged pandemic.
-
Sri Lankans struggle for petrol due to fuel shortage, demonstrations to continue
Sri Lankan doctors and other medical staff as well as teachers will take to the streets on Wednesday to demand that the government solve a severe fuel shortage at the heart of the South Asian country's worst economic crisis in decades. The government, left with only enough fuel to last about a week, on Tuesday restricted supplies to essential services, like trains, buses and the health sector, for two weeks.
-
TTP says no breakthrough in talks with Pak General
The chief of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has said there won't be a dissolution of or surrender by the group even if the peace talks with the Pakistan government succeeds. In a video released by TTP, its chief, Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, who has been leading the peace talks for the group, revealed that former Director-General of ISI and Core Commander Peshawar (Gen) Faiz Hameed has been representing the Pakistan government.
-
‘Russian Salad’ on cafe menu at NATO summit leaves officials baffled
As international officials and journalists waited for the world leaders at the NATO summit venue on Tuesday, what baffled them was to find 'Russian Salad' on the in-house restaurant menu -- especially as at the summit, Russia was expected to be labelled as a 'security threat' due to its invasion of Ukraine. The dish was also sold out within hours.
-
Zelensky says Putin has become 'a terrorist', urges action| Top updates
Two days after at least 18 people were killed after Russian missiles struck a shopping mall containing more than 1,000 people in the central city of Kremenchuk in Ukraine, president Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Russian president of becoming a “terrorist”. The war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for over four months now. He further urged Russia's expulsion from the United Nations.
