Attack forces Lankan prez to prune Nepal visit

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to cut short his visit to Nepal in the wake of Tuesday's terror attack on his country's cricketers in Pakistan, after inking two agreements with the country.

Rajapaksa, who was earlier scheduled to leave the Himalayan nation on Wednesday, cancelled his visit to Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, and will fly back to Colombo on Tuesday evening.

Rajapaksa is cutting short his visit and leaving Kathmandu because of the attack in Lahore in which six players and a coach of the team were injured, Sri Lankan embassy sources said.

He had earlier instructed Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama to immediately rush to Pakistan to oversee the arrangements to bring the cricketers back to Colombo.