A dedication ceremony for a new Buddha statue is set to take place tomorrow with the assistance of the Sri Lankan army in Kurunthurmalai, Mullaitivu, in a further attempt to seize the site of an ancient Tamil temple.

The ceremony, where a Buddha statue carved in Kabok stone be consecrated, is expected to attract a large number of Sinhalese from the South, including senior Sri Lankan army officers, police officers and Buddhist monks.

Father Chandra Fernando, an outspoken Catholic priest and human rights activist, was gunned down in 1988 by suspected paramilitaries working with Indian military intelligence.

Before he was assassinated, he spoke to Jon Lee Anderson and Scott Anderson on the massacres and crimes taking place in the Tamil homeland, the lack of support from the Catholic Church and his view of the armed Tamil resistance.

The 34^th anniversary of the assassination of Father Chandra Fernando was marked in Batticaloa this week, with tributes being paid to priest that championed human rights.

Fernando was born in Batticaloa in 1941, studying there and serving the local community through his religious and human rights work. He would become the chairman of the Batticaloa Citizens Committee, an organisation that carefully documented human rights violations committed across the province.

Relatives, local politicians and members of the public were amongst those that gathered in Suthanthirapuram to commemorate a 1998 massacre by the Sri Lankan air force, as military intelligence officers intimidated those in attendance.

At least thirty-one children and students by the Sri Lankan air force as it bombarded Suthanthirapuram in Mullaitivu on June 10, 1998.

A Sri Lankan ambassador presented credentials to Myanmar's ruling military junta, even as countries around the world continue to condemn the regime for its human rights abuses. Sri Lanka joins the likes of India and Saudi Arabia, who have strengthened ties with the Myanmar regime, in opposition to many embassies that have downgraded diplomatic ties.

Sri Lanka faces a 'brain drain' as the country's worst economic crisis impacts drives away young professionals from its leading IT industry. 

Sri Lanka's IT industry employed more than 120,000 people and was the fifth-largest export earner for the island. It was set to become the top exporter within the next five years and double its employees. However, following the default of debt repayment under the Rajapaksa regime and severe shortages of fuel, food and medicine, firms are finding It increasingly hard to operate. 

The Nadesalingams, an Eelam Tamil family of asylum seekers who have faced more than four years of legal battles with Australian authorities, have finally returned to their home town of Biloela earlier today.

“I am so happy,” said Priya Nadesalingam, as she fells to her knees and kissed the ground, after getting off a plane at Thangool airport. “I am starting a new life.”

The mother of Sahathevan Nilakshan, an up and coming Tamil journalist who was murdered by suspected Sri Lankan military intelligence personnel in 2007 passed away this months, just weeks before the 15^th anniversary of her son’s killing.

Sri Lanka has sought a USD $55 million loan from India for the procurement of Urea, as the country faces its worst economic crisis with officials noting an impending severe food shortage. 

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had recently warned of a food crisis in the island due to the ongoing economic crisis. 

The government said that the Indian government has agreed to provide the $55 million loan through the Export-Import Bank of India. The loan is being obtained for the procurement of urea for the 2022/23 ‘Maha’ harvest season.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has requested for the IMF staff-level agreement to be urgently finalised as the economic crisis continues to ravage the island. 

On late Tuesday Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe met with Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, to discuss the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka.

According to Wickremesinghe's office, Georgeiva has expressed her willingness to aid Sri Lanka during it's crisis.