Tamil preschool children were given a tour of Palaly air base by Sri Lankan soldiers on Friday.

The base is inside a high security zone, military-occupied land which is usually inaccessible to locals.

48 children from the Karaveddy Child Jesus Pre-School, along with their parents and 5 members of staff were given the tour.

Fencing activity by the Ceylon Electricity Board on paddy lands in Sampur has angered the land’s recently resettled owners.

Trincomalee MP K. Thurairetnasingam wrote to President Sirisena following outcry by the owners of paddy land in Kilalveli that their livelihood lands were being encroached upon.

“These paddy lands have been ploughed, levelled and made ready for paddy cultivation. At this stage it is being taken by CEB without the concern of the owners of such land. This action is seen by the people as a highly inhuman action,” Mr Thurairetnasingam wrote.

A former Major General in the Sri Lankan army who was accused of murder and torture and has since been ordained as a Buddhist monk was in Jaffna this week, delivering a lecture to Sri Lankan soldiers.

Sri Lanka’s public debt is expected to rise to 85% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with the current account deficit widening to 2.5% of GDP warned the International Monetary Fund. 

The IMF's second review of Sri Lanka under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF)., released on Thursday, further found that though progress on structural fiscal reform had been made “political resistance” was stalling some processes including energy pricing reform.

Stressing that public debt continued to remain unsustainably high, the report said,

A cross-party delegation from the US House of Representatives met with the Tamil National Alliance on Thursday during a visit to Sri Lanka. 

The delegation which included the Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Congressman Henry Cuellar of Texas, were accompanied by the US ambassador to the island, Atul Keshap, and met with the leader of the TNA, R Sampanthan and the TNA spokesperson and MP, M A Sumanthiran. 

The Asian Human Rights Commission in a statement on Thursday urged action over the death of a Tamil boy who was killed during a police chase by Sri Lanka's Special Task Force. 

"The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information about Mr. Sathasivam Madisam of Karadiyanaru in the Batticaloa District," the AHRC said in its statement. 

Sri Lankan military officers and students from the Sri Lanka Defense Service Command are currently visiting Rwanda for a two week 'study tour'. 

The team was welcomed by the Rwanda Defense Forces' air force chief of staff, Brigadier General Charles Karamba. 

"Both countries have undergone periods of calamities," Sri Lanka's Colonel Ekanayake was quoted by Colombo Page as saying. 

Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the United States praised relations between the two governments, stating that they had reached “unprecedented heights”, as he leaves his post to take up a new assignment as the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“The list of Sri Lanka’s landmark achievements are too many to mention,” said Prasad Kariyawasam at a farewell event held in Washington DC.

Since Sri Lanka’s presidential election in January 2015, Mr Kariyawasam said the government had “engendered a path breaking revival of our bilateral relations, and our partnership has now reached unprecedented heights”.

Sri Lanka's minister of provincial councils and local government, Faiszer Musthapha said that provincial council elections would all be held on one day, which would be next year at the earliest. 

Three provincial councils elections, including that in the Eastern province were due to be held this October. 

"Terms of some of the Councils will end this year, while for some PCs the terms will end in 2019," Mr Musthapha was quoted by Ceylon Today as saying. 

The World Bank Group will partner with Sri Lanka’s Bank of Ceylon to set up a US $100 million financing structure to allow for an increase in lending for renewable energy projects in Sri Lanka, reports Colombo Page.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a constituent member of the World Bank Group, will provide a 7 year finance deal to the Bank of Ceylon to support the expansion of conventional and non-conventional renewable energy projects.

“IFC continues to innovate through our partnership with Commercial Bank by working together on our shared goals of clean, sustainable and inclusive growth,” said the Regional Industry Manager for the IFC Ariane Di Ioria.