Gift for nation, dedicated to Woolmer

Pakistan cricket came alive at Lord’s on Sunday evening in all its unpredictable glory and unrefined exquisiteness. They had come into this tournament burdened by troubles at home and blighted by lack of match practice. They had started their campaign playing as though in shackles, they finished it with a chest-thumping freedom that would’ve seemed more appropriate in the frenzied, drunken stands.

The evening that began with what must be one of the most intimidating overs in Twenty20 history, ended in a flurry of fours and sixes from Shahid Afridi’s free-spirited blade. In the three-and-a-half hours in between, there were only a few moments when Pakistan flirted with the uncertainty that so typifies their cricket.

And at the end, they had trumped a Sri Lankan team that had been clinical and unbeaten through the tournament by eight wickets — a margin of victory that indicated the difference between the teams on the day.

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Lankan troops 800 metres from Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam chief

As Sri Lankan forces on Thursday fought their way to just 800 metres from the area where about 10,000-15,000 Tamil civilians are trapped along with the top LTTE leadership, President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared that the war was "nearing end".

Rajapaksa also promised Colombo-based foreign diplomats that once the LTTE were eliminated, his Government proposed to bring democracy to the north island.

"The war with LTTE is rapidly nearing its conclusion and we propose to create space for democracy in the north again," he said. His comments come as almost three divisions of the Lankan Army are closing in on trapped LTTE chief V Prabhakaran and his top aides.

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India, Pakistan rivals but they trained, helped us fight Tigers: Lanka Army

Behind the success of the Sri Lankan army’s operations against the Tamil Tigers — troops searching for LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran breached two rebel defence fortifications in the no-fire zone — is an interesting little detail of Indo-Pak cooperation against terror. Separately but consistently, the two countries have trained and equipped the Lankan army to prepare and fight its only enemy, the LTTE.

The Sri Lankan army says the reason for its success is that “we didn’t reduce the momentum”, planned the entire operation in advance and employed innovative counter-insurgency tactics to confront the Tigers.

“I got training in both India and Pakistan. Both have been helping us a lot,” said Brigadier Udaya Nanayakara, now the military spokesman. “We send our officers regularly to India and Pakistan for specialised training. I did four courses in India and three in Pakistan. The last time, I trained in Secunderabad.

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As Lanka closes in on Tigers, boat with refugees lands in Tamil Nadu

As Sri Lankan troops advanced on the last redoubt of the Tamil Tigers and the exodus of people trapped in a coastal strip crossed 62,000, a boatload of starving Tamil refugees landed on the Tamil Nadu coast this morning. Refugees claimed that over 80 boats carrying civilians were headed for the Indian mainland but officials said intelligence inputs pointed to only four boats making the journey.

Nineteen refugees, including eight women and two children, reached Arcothurai near Point Calimere in Nagapattinam this morning after sailing for nearly 24 hours in a small fishing boat. Police officials said the refugees had no food or water. They were taken to the Mandapam camp in Rameshwaram where a large number of Lankan Tamil refugees are housed.

“Now that the battlefield has shifted to north-east Lanka, people in former LTTE-controlled areas like Mullaithivu and Puthukkudiyiruppu are trying to flee the war by escaping to the Indian mainland,” an official said. As a result, Nagapattinam

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Two top Tigers surrender, Lanka says Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam end near

Two top Tamil Tiger leaders today surrendered be-fore the rapidly advancing Sri Lankan forces, signalling an imminent collapse of the LTTE as troops closed in on Vellamullivakkal, the possible hiding place of rebel chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran.

Velayutham Dayanidhi, better known as Daya Master, a former media coordinator of the Tigers, and George, a close aide of slain LTTE political wing head S P Thamilchelvan, gave themselves up to the army at Putumathalan in the no-fire zone (NFZ) where the battles are raging, Defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said.

This is the first time that LTTE cadres have surrendered as Tigers are known for swallowing cyanide pills than giving themselves up. The two leaders are likely to be flown to Colombo to be produced before a court, the spokesman said.

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Tigers cornered in Lanka, Tamil Nadu parties make it a poll issue

Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, which account for 40 seats in the Lok Sabha, will vote only in the last phase of the elections on May 13 but as news of the imminent fall of LTTE trickles in from across the Palk Strait, not many in the fray are willing to take a chance. Almost all political parties in Tamil Nadu have announced protests for the sake of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, the more virulent ones like MDMK’s Vaiko even warning of a “bloodbath” if LTTE chief V Prabhakaran is harmed.

The ruling DMK, while declaring thatit will not go back on its alliance with the Congress over the issue, is organising a protest rally tomorrow, demanding immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka. Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has sent a telegram to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — it is also addressed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram — urging the Centre to intervene and “save theTamil race” from annihilation. Karunanidhi will himself lead the “Tamil’s rally” in Chennai and “all like minded parties” are expected to participate.

The DMK move seems to have been prompted by protests by the MDMK and PMK, among the most active parties campaigning on the issue.

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Armyman, Tamil icon on field, war-torn Lanka plays cricket

From his hotel room in Colombo, Ajantha Mendis can see the cannons placed single-file by the sea in preparation for Sri Lanka’s 61st independence day celebrations. The artillery regiment to which the spinner belongs will participate in the parade in the capital on Wednesday.

As his brothers-in-arms rehearse their left-right-left steps to beating drums in the street below, the army gunner quietly goes through a meal of polroti, porridge and baked beans. The parade, to be held the day after his team’s do-or-die third game against the Indians, will be a show of strength for the army and Mendis’s regiment — some of whose units are currently pushing ahead in an intense final operation against the LTTE in the north.

If Mendis feels any emotion, it does not show. “My job is to play cricket right now, to bowl well,” he says simply.

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Sri Lankan President to visit India on November 12

Pressure from key UPA ally, DMK, to act on the Sri Lanka situation may have eased for the time being, but India will get Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa as a visitor by mid-November.

It is learnt that Rajapaksa has confirmed his participation at the BIMSTEC summit on November 13. He is expected to arrive late on November 12.

BIMSTEC is a trade grouping of seven countries in the region around Bay of Bengal, which includes Bangladesh, Thailand, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, besides India and Sri Lanka.

The Lankan President’s one on-one meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is being worked upon by the diplomats of both sides, on the sidelines of the summit, which is likely to be attended by heads of other countries as well.

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