The International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed that discussions around the next tranche of a USD $1.5 billion loan have been put on hold due to the island’s deepening political crisis.

An IMF spokesman told Reuters via email on Tuesday that the organisation is “monitoring the situation and remain in close contact with our technical counterparts in Sri Lanka.”

“Program discussions on the 5th review of the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility are currently on hold, pending clarity on the political situation,” it added.

<p>Sri Lanka's Central Bank (CBSL) today criticised the downgrading of the country by Moody's Investors Service as "unwarranted".&nbsp;</p> <p>The decision "did not properly reflect the country's macroeconomic fundamentals" the CBSL added in a statement.&nbsp;</p> <p>"Such an action only on the premise of heightened political uncertainty, with no evidence of slippages in macroeconomic policies, cannot be justified."</p> <p>Moody's yesterday downgraded Sri Lanka from B1 negative to B2 stable.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Australia's High Commissioner Bryce Hutchesson this week sent a menancing warning to those fleeing Sri Lanka, stating "you will be caught".&nbsp;</p> <p>"Every Sri Lankan people smuggling boat that has entered Australian waters in the past four years has been stopped, and all those on board returned to Sri Lanka," Hutchesson said.&nbsp;</p> <p>"If you attempt to come illegally by boat, you will be caught."&nbsp;</p>

<p>The United National Party is looking to form a broader political alliance, the Daily Mirror reports.&nbsp;</p> <p>The party is currently holding discussions on the alliance with the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), Jathika Hela Urumya (JHU), the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) and All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC). &nbsp;</p> <p>According to the paper the Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP) members are under pressure from the former president Chandrika Bandaranaike to join the alliance.&nbsp;</p>

Residents and volunteers yesterday cleared the ground at Kanchikudiyaru thuyilum illam in Amparai ahead of Maaveerar Naal (Tamil Remembrance Day) on November 27. 

Thuyilum illams across the North-East have been cleared over recent weeks in preparation of the commemorations. 

Final preparations are taking place at Mulankavil thuyilum illam ahead of Tamil remembrance day (Maaveerar Naal) on November 27. 

Volunteers and locals on Monday continued clearing the site and making the area ready for next Thursday's event. 

<p>Sri Lanka's former finance minister, Mangala Samaraweera today warned the country was heading towards "a state of economic collapse".&nbsp;</p> <p>Condemning the President's sacking of the prime minister and appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new premier, Mangala said "as a result of these actions, Sri Lanka is on the brink of economic anarchy and chaos as never experienced before."&nbsp;</p> <p>"The cavalier and irresponsible actions of the president starting on October 26th based on personal animosities and precipitating a series of illegal acts, places at risk Sri Lanka's ability to meet its immediate debt obligations."&nbsp;</p>

<p>The British opposition has called on the Home Office to halt deportations to Sri Lanka and urgently review the UK’s asylum policy on Sri Lanka, reiterating similar calls from Labour MPs last week.</p> <p><a href="https://labour.org.uk/press/home-office-must-halt-removal-sri-lankan-na…"><u>In a statement on Tuesday</u></a>, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Minister Liz McInnes said:</p>

A Tamil asylum seeker who fled torture in Sri Lanka has been awarded almost £20,000 in damages from the UK Home Office for his unlawful detention.

The 29-year-old referred to as KG was unlawfully held in immigration detention for 30 days between January and February 2016 because of a failure to arrange a medical examination within 24 hours of his admission, Asian Image reports.

<p>The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed concern about threats to press freedom and journalist safety in Sri Lanka as a result of the ongoing political crisis.</p> <p>Responding especially to the attempted transfer of a senior police official who was responsible for investigating the assassination of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, as well as the high profile cases surrounding the targeting of other journalists, IFJ endorsed a statement by its Sri Lankan affiliate SLWJA who said:</p>