<p>Sri Lanka's prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe today met with senior Buddhist clergy and reassured them that the government would ensure Buddhism's foremost place in the country, despite any change in the constitution.</p> <p>“I informed the Mahanayaka Theras that I have already spoken to opposition political parties and have come to an agreement not to change the wordings of Article 9 of the Constitution which gives the foremost place to Buddhism,” Wickremesinghe said.&nbsp;</p> <p>“I also told the Prelates that we will shortly launch a programme of granting concessions to people in rural areas.”&nbsp;</p>

Muslims should reconstruct vandalised Buddha statues to prove their ‘sincerity’ and ‘innocence’, a United National Party (UNP) MP has said, following the arrest of a Muslim man accused of vandalising a Buddha statue in Mawanella in the Kegalle district.

“The Muslims should do so as a gesture of goodwill and to show their willingness to co-exist in peace and harmony with other ethnic groups,” said UNP MP S M Marikkar according to Daily Mirror, adding that he would attend to any repairs if he got a chance.

There have reportedly been a series of attacks on Buddhist places of worship in Mawanella.

The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) this month urged states party to the UN Genocide Convention to take legal action against Sri Lanka at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). 

Addressing an event in UK's Houses of Parliament, marking the 70th Anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the TGTE's prime minister, Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran said, 

"To give meaning to the Convention as it relates to Sri Lanka, we call upon one of the States party to the Genocide Convention to bring legal action against Sri Lanka in the International Court of Justice. In many instances, as is the case with Sri Lanka, it is not just individuals but the whole state apparatus that is used to commit this heinous crime."

<p>Forty-seven displaced people from the North-East, together with 132 concerned individuals and organisations urged Sri Lanka's president, Maithripala Sirisena to keep his promise and release all occupied land by December 31.&nbsp;</p> <p>In a letter to Sirisena, the People's Alliance for Right to Land (PARL), called for him to "fulfill his promise to the people, and let them return home in time to dawn the new year."</p>

<p>Over 3000 Tamil Nadu fishermen were chased away by the Sri Lankan navy during the early hours of Thursday morning, PTI reports.&nbsp;</p> <p>The fishermen were allegedly fishing near Katchatheevu island.&nbsp;</p> <p>The navy forced the men to return to shore without a catch.&nbsp;</p> <p>Earlier this month 8 Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested by the navy and produced before court, before being released.&nbsp;</p> <p>The arrest and chasing away of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan navy remains a regular occurence despite attempts by India's Central Government to attempt to resolve the issue.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Following weeks of political turmoil, foreign outflows remained high, resulting in Sri Lanka's rupee falling to an all time low on Wednesday.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Rupee fell to 181.85 to the dollar during early trade, Reuters <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/sri-lanka-markets/sri-lankan-rupee-hits-…">reported</a>.&nbsp;</p>

A forty-year-old statue of Jesus was destroyed in a vandal attack on a roadside Christian shrine in Mannar yesterday.

Local carollers discovered the shrine in Manthai West, on the Aatkativeli – Paruppukadanthan road, had been attacked on Christmas day.

The statue of Jesus in the locally important and iconic shrine was destroyed, as well as photos of Hindu deities which were also placed at the shrine.

Adampan police said they were investigating the attack.

<p>A Sri Lankan navy officer was arrested for possession of cannabis according to Kankesanthurai (KKS) police.</p> <p>The officer, a 23-year-old from Galle attached to the KKS navy camp in was arrested with over 27 grammes of cannabis.</p> <p>KKS police said he would be produced before a court shortly.</p>

A Muslim man was arrestedin Hingula, Mawanella today accused of vandalising a Buddha statue.  

The suspect, Mohammed Ashfar, is to be produced in court, police said, adding that another man was also involved in the attack. 

The incident is part of a series of attacks on Buddhist places of worship in Mawanella. 

The attacks have been condemned by Minister Kabir Hashim. 

"As soon as I heard the recent attacks, I instructed the police to investigate and arrest those responsible. The two suspects have been apprehended by the authorities and will be subject to the full extent of the law," he said. 

Flood reliefs by local civil society organisations, student bodies and diaspora funded charities continued as thousands of Tamils remain affected by extreme flooding in the Vanni area with key roads cut off and houses still immersed in water.