Ninth bomb defused near Colombo airport: police
Colombo: An improvised pipe bomb discovered close to Colombo's main airport was successfully defused by the Sri Lanka airforce, police said.
A police source told AFP that a "homemade" pipe bomb had been found late Sunday on a road leading towards the main terminal, which remains open with heavy security after Easter Sunday's deadly bomb attacks.
"It was a homemade bomb, with explosives put into a pipe," said the source. Airforce spokesperson Group Captain Gihan Seneviratne said the IED was believed to be locally manufactured.
The discovery comes after a series of eight devastating bomb blasts ripped through high-end hotels and churches holding Easter services, killing at least 207 people, including dozens of foreigners.
"It was a crude six-foot pipe bomb that was found by the roadside," an air force spokesman said. "We have removed it and safely defused it at an air force location."
There were disruptions to flights, but Sri Lanka's national carrier Sri Lankan has already asked leaving passengers to report to check-in counters at least four hours prior to departure because of tight security checks at the Bandaranaike International airport.
The apparently coordinated attacks were the deadliest to hit the country in the decade since the end of a bloody civil war that killed up to 100,000 people and evoked painful memories for many Sri Lankans.
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At 2.9 degrees Celsius, Delhi records its coldest morning this season
New Delhi (PTI): Bone-chilling temperatures greeted people on Thursday as the national capital recorded its coldest morning of the season. Safdarjung, the city's primary weather station, recorded its lowest January minimum since 2023 at 2.9 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature had dropped to 1.4 degrees Celsius on January 16, 2023.
Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 2.3 degrees Celsius, while the mercury at Lodhi Road settled at 3.4 degrees Celsius. The Ridge station reported a low of 4.5 degrees Celsius, and Ayanagar logged 2.7 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature recorded at Palam was its lowest since 2010. The second lowest was recorded on January 7, 2013, when the mercury had dropped to 2.6 degrees Celsius.
All weather stations in Delhi recorded temperatures way below the normal, pointing to the persistence of cold wave conditions across the city. The national capital has been reeling under cold wave conditions for the past four days, and it is expected to persist even tomorrow.
The maximum temperature on Thursday is expected to hover around 21 degrees Celsius.
Delhi's air quality remained in the 'very poor' category with the Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 349, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.
