Indian prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a new airport in Kushinagar earlier today, in a ceremony which saw 100 Buddhist monks fly in from Sri Lanka, accompanied by the son of the Sri Lankan prime minister.

Namal Rajapaksa, the son of Mahinda and Sri Lanka’s Cabinet Minister of Youth and Sports accompanied the 100 Buddhist monks, four State Ministers and other senior officials on the SriLankan Airlines flight. They had brought Buddhist Kapilavastu relics of Waskaduwa with them, to be displayed at the ceremony.

^{Mahinda Rajapaksa with a Sinhala Buddhist monk photographed earlier this year.}

The Sri Lankan cabinet has approved amendments to five bills drafted on the banning of cattle slaughter this week, in a move that pushes the island on the verge of a ban following years of pressure from Sinhala Buddhist monks.

The approval of the amendments will mean that they will now be tabled in parliament and follows action from Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa last year to outlaw the practice.

^{Powell in Colombo, 2005.}

This week, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell passed away from COVID-19 related complications, aged 84 years old. 

Powell will be remembered as being the first African-American US Secretary of State and also for his role in garnering international support for the US invasion of Iraq. 

We look back on his interactions and remarks on Sri Lanka, the faltering peace process between the Sri Lankan government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Washington’s support for Colombo that empowered the Rajapaksa regime and its military offensive.

In their latest report, Amnesty International details how the Rajapaksa regime rose to power "on the promise of authoritarian leadership" and continued scapegoating and targetting of Muslims, "to distract from other political and economic issues". 

Sri Lankan state officials, in plain clothes, surveilled and harassed Tamil journalists at the Mullaitivu Press Club, as the office was preparing to open on October 20.

Military patrolled the building, and police interrogated journalists on the opening event and expected guests. Mullaitivu District Secretariat, K. Vimalanathan and University of Jaffna, Head of Media Studies Dr. S. Raguram are among those expected to attend.  

The slain journalist Mylvaganam Nimalarajan was remembered in a series of memorial events across the North-East today to mark the 21st anniversary of his death. 

Jaffna Press Club held a memorial service at their office which was attended by Jaffna Mayor V Mannivannan and Vali East Pradeshiya Sabha chairman Nirosh alongside journalists and social activists. 

Protesters gathered in Mannar from smaller villages, on Monday to condemn attempts of “outside forces” to appropriate farm land in Kovilmottai. 

Public Security Minister, Sarath Weerasekera has said that 'human rights charges' levelled against police officers in active duty would be dropped if charge sheets against them are not completed within a six-month time frame.

Speaking at a ceremony in Kandy, launching the community police promotional programme, the minister said that amendments would be introduced to the Establishments Code to "provide relief" to police officers who receive charge sheets for human rights violations in the line of duty. The proposed amendment effectively grants immunity to officers if human rights abuse cases are levelled against and the subsequent investigation does not progress within six months. Sri Lanka's judicial system routinely fails to hold state forces accountable with many investigations being delayed and convicted personnel released. 

The United National Party (UNP) pledged to continue “its rich tradition of obtaining advice from the Buddhist clergy pertaining to party matters and national issues,” in an event to launch an affiliated Buddhist organisation last week.

Fitch Ratings have downgraded Bimputh Finance PLC's National Long Term Rating to 'CC(lka)' from 'B-(lka)', denoting a high risk of default. The rating has also been removed from the Rating Watch Negative (RWN) list. 

"The downgrade reflects Flitch's view that Bimputh's liquidity and refinancing risk has risen significantly driven by a persistent decline in assets quality," said the ratings agency.