The IMF's Director for the Asia-Pacific Region has praised poverty reduction in Sri Lanka and credited President Mahinda Rajapakse for development that he says has taken place.

Dr Anoop Singh, an Indian national who has been director for the region since 2008, said that the IMF will continue to support Sri Lanka.

"You have brought Sri Lanka to a higher level of development within a short period and now it's time to focus on long term economic stability," Singh said to Rajapakse.

A protester that invaded the pitch during the International Cricket Champions trophy match , in Cardiff, between Sri Lanka and India, pleaded guilty to a section five public order offence at Cardiff Maistrates’ Court.

The protester explained that he ran onto the pitch for the “40,000 people killed by the Sri Lankan government and a Tamil Eelam flag that represented the North-East of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka has signed a maritime cooperation agreement with the Maldives and India during a National Security Advisor (NSA) meeting in Colombo on Monday.

The trilateral agreement sets out cooperation on surveillance, anti-piracy operations and curbing illegal activities including maritime pollution, reported ColomboPage.

Whilst giving his blessing to External Affairs Minister G.L Peiris, a Buddhist prelate, Buddharakkitha Mahanayake Thera, described the selection of  Sri Lanka as the venue for the Commonwealth Heads of Governers Meeting (CHOGM), as a ‘great victory’ that will silence international critics.

An American tea company, Walters Bay International, has threatened to leave Sri Lanka, following the murder of the estate manager in Nooriya Tea Estate in Deraniyagala, last Friday, reports BBC Sinhala.

The estate manager, Nihal Perara was hacked to death by 5 people who reportedly objected to Perara's attempts to fight corruption and wastage.

Photographs Tamil Guardian

Canadian Tamils came together on Friday July 5th to mark Karumpuli Naal remembering the lives of the elite LTTE force - the Black Tigers.

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Commenting on the recent controversy regarding a Sri Lankan diplomat threatening to ban Callum Macrae, the director of the documentary 'No Fire Zone' from attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka, the country's Media Minister, Keheliya Rambukwella, accused Macrae of funding his journalism by the Tamil diaspora.

Speaking to Ceylon Today, Rambukwella said:

 “On the pretext of being a press personnel, Macrae is doing his rounds funded by his well-wishers – the Tamil Diaspora.”