Union Minister of State and BJP representative in Tamil Nadu Pon Radhakrishnan said that the prospect of LTTE leader Veluppillai Prabhakaran being alive would make Tamil society “immensely happy” this week, ahead of reports that his party is looking to partner with the AIADMK.

His comments come after current Madurai-based Tamil nationalist leader Pazha Nedumaran claimed that LTTE chief Prabhakaran was "very much alive and will soon make a public appearance, at an appropriate time".

Radhakrishnan’s comments were met with criticism, particularly in northern India, and also by the opposition Congress party.

A contingent of Sri Lankan naval troops have returned from a military training exercise in India last week, as Colombo continues to expand its military relations despite concerns over human rights abuses.

Both Sri Lankan naval ships Sagara and Suranimala took part in exerecises with Indian troops at the southern port of Cochin in Kerala.

Sri Lanka’s Central Bank announced that it had secured a USD $1,000 million loan from the China Development Bank (CDB) on Wednesday, just days after the prime minister warned that the island’s economic crisis will worsen.

In a press release earlier today, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said that after a “a strict evaluation and negotiation process” an offer from the CDB was accepted “arranger based on least cost and longer maturity period”.

“The interest cost is highly competitive and linked to 6 Month USD  LIBOR with a grace period of three years,” said the bank.

The Sri Lankan President’s Media Division issued a statement this morning, dismissing reports that Maithripala Sirisena had told a cabinet meeting that Indian intelligence agencies were involved in an alleged plot to assassinate him.

The press release claims that Sirisena “has not mentioned any involvement of an Indian intelligence service” and instead he had “emphasized the need to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the alleged assassination plot”.

The Sri Lankan military held a series of events across the heavily militarised North-East this month, as it marked the 69^th anniversary of the army.

Thousands of troops took part in all the events that the military organised, in particular lavish Buddhist ceremonies and massive military marches through the streets of the North-East.

Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena told his cabinet of India’s involvement in an alleged assassination plot to murder him and former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, reports EconomyNext.

“The president said that RAW (India’s external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing) was behind the plot,” a minister, who declined to be named, said.

EconomyNext also reported that Sirisena was “visibly upset” as he addressed the cabinet and accused the United National Party of not taking his claims seriously.

The Sri Lankan military collaborated with a Jaffna-based company to hold job interviews for unemployed Tamils in Kilinochchi this week, as the armed forces continue to interfere with civilian life in the Tamil North-East.

The military announced that the “conduct of interviews [were] launched under the supervision of Major General Vijitha Ravipriya, General Officer Commanding, 57 Division with the able support of the 573 Brigade Commander”.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet with his counterpart Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in New Delhi later this week.

Wickremesinghe’s office confirmed the visit to the Hindu, adding that he is set to take part in high-level meetings on October 19 and 20.

Though the agenda that has been set for the talks has not been released, Indian projects on the island are reportedly going to be discussed, including the Palaly airport in Jaffna which India is looking to internationalise.

Batticaloa residents continued clearing the destroyed Mavadi Munmari thuyilum illam (LTTE cemetery) in preparation for Maaveerar Naal.

The deportation of a Tamil man deemed so ill that he will require medics to accompany him on his flight, has been temporarily halted after his family refused to board a plane taking him to Australia yesterday.

Sangarapillai Balachandran was due to be deported from the UK to Australia, where he holds citizenship, despite fears over his health and fitness to fly. Balachandran has had three increasingly serious strokes and is known to have raised blood pressure. Long flights increase the risk of serious events such as strokes, and his family fear he could die on the flight.