Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa thanked the Indian government for what he called “generous assistance extended to Sri Lanka during the current difficult period,” as he met with India’s envoy in Colombo this morning.

The newly appointed Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay met with Rajapaksa, where they “reaffirmed two country’s commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations exploring new avenues of cooperation,” according to an official press release.

A Sri Lankan government minister said the state was facing its “biggest exchange crisis in history”, as the island’s economy continues to struggle in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are facing the worst foreign exchange crisis in history,” Sri Lankan Information Minister Bandula Gunewardene told reporters this week, as he attempted to explain why the cabinet had issued import restrictions.

Two boys were injured and admitted to Vavuniya Hospital from an accidental bomb explosion, on Wednesday.

Niyaz Sanaz, 12 and Muhammed Rasith, 16 were playing in a permitted area of Valavaithakulam village in Cheddikulam, Vavuniya, when they found an unidentified object.

The head of the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) passed away this week, after a sudden illness just hours after meeting with the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka.

Arumugan Thondaman passed away on Tuesday night, aged 55-years-old.

As head of the CWC and a parliamentarian for Nuwara Eliya for 26 years, he represented many Malaya Tamils. His coffin was draped in an Indian flag and brought to Sri Lanka’s Parliamentary complex, where Sri Lanka’s current president Gotabaya Rajapakasa paid his respects.

Sri Lanka’s president hit back at a report in The Hindu last week, which covered a speech he gave declaring he would not permit investigations into war crimes committed by Sri Lankan armed forces, maintaining that human rights are not “clear-cut rules”.

In a written response by the Sri Lankan President’s Media Division, Rajapaksa insisted The Hindu article did not reflect “the real situation”.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has issued a Gazette notice mandating that six institutions will under the control of the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry.

Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, congratulated Mahinda Rajapaksa for his 50 years in parliament despite overwhelming concerns over his human rights records.

On Twitter, the Indian Prime Minister stated:

Spoke to PM Mahinda Rajapaksa today to greet him on completing 50 years since his first election to the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Complimented him on an illustrious political career and wished him and the people of Sri Lanka good health, peace and prosperity.

The Sri Lankan military has increased its deployment of troops to Jaffna after at least two police officers were injured in an explosion in Vadamarachchi yesterday.

Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force (STF) bomb disposal squad was deployed to the area after the explosion by the Vallipura Aalvar Kovil.

The Sri Lankan military has set up more checkpoints across Mullaitivu this week, as armed soldiers continue to be stationed and carry out searches across the Tamil homeland.

The increase in checkpoints has stepped up since the election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as Sri Lanka’s president last year, and even more so since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic on the island.