The Sri Lankan government is engaged in talks with the Asian Development Bank, seeking to double its annual funding to $1.2bn.

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said the funds would be utilised by the government for development initiatives, budgetary allocations, capacity development and debt relief, LBO reported.

“We used to get $300 – 350mn annually as funds,” Mr Karunanayake told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.

“Now we are in talks with them to get it increased to $1.200mn,” he said.

The Australian government praised Sri Lanka for initiatives that have prevented asylum seekers from fleeing the island and entering Australia.

Australia’s immigration and border protection Minister Peter Dutton told a media briefing in Colombo that his government hopes to continue working with the Sri Lankan police, navy and intelligence unit in preventing illegal immigrants from reaching Australian shores.

Updated 07 May 2015 01:00 BST

As the UK general election 2015 approaches this Thursday, parliamentary candidates outlined their positions on key concerns of British Tamil voters, with many pledging their ongoing support for international accountability and justice mechanism, carrying out an investigation to establish whether a genocide occurred, as well as endorsing the Tamil nation's right to self-determination.

Candidates from the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, in London and key constituencies across the UK, were asked by the Tamil Guardian to detail their views on accountability and justice for mass atrocities in Sri Lanka, the deportation of Tamil asylum seekers from Britain, steps that should be taken if Sri Lanka fails to ensure justice for the victims by September, an investigation into genocide and the Tamil nation's right to self-determination.

To see the final survey report with full responses from candidates, sorted by constituency, please see the UK General Election 2015 Candidate Survey on Tamil Issues.

Tamil devotees in Vasavilan were blocked from accessing temples which were within the compounds of an occupying military camp, reports the Uthayan.

The devotees, who were blocked from accessing the temple by army personnel, preformed rituals outside the army camp.

The rituals were part of a festival which is historically held at the Varaivar temple every year.

Canadian Member of Parliament Patrick Brown rose in the House of Commons on Wednesday to mark the sixth anniversary since the “the final stages of the Sri Lankan genocide”.

Marking six years since the battle of Mullivaikkal, Mr Brown said that he stands “with the thousands of Tamils who lost family members in the final stages of the Sri Lankan genocide”.

“Today, the Sri Lankan government has still failed to show progress toward ensuring justice for the victims of these terrible human rights crimes,” continued the MP.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said the government will be able to “salvage the good name of our country and our armed forces” through a domestic investigation into war crimes committed by Sri Lankan troops.

Speaking at a press conference in Colombo, Mr Samaraweera said “Since Sri Lanka is not a signatory to the Rome Statute regarding international jurisdiction with regard to war crimes, ensuring justice with regard to such matters will be the business of national independent judicial mechanisms.”

Stating that the government was in the process of doing so, with “international technical assistance”, and the minister was “sure we’ll be able to salvage the good name of our country and our armed forces by doing so”.

Sri Lanka’s president and former president, on Wednesday, discussed regarding parliamentary candidacy in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), reports Ceylon Today.

The General Secretary of the SLFP Anura Yapa, in a press release, said Maithripala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa discussed 5 issues, including who would be the prime ministerial candidate for the SLFP.

Sri Lanka's President Sirisena, earlier expressed his commitment, to see the SLFP win at upcoming parliamentary elections.