UK Foreign Office policy “significantly” downplays the scale of human rights abuses and torture in Sri Lanka, said British parliamentarian Joan Ryan at the side-lines of the Labour party conference on Monday.

A new cohort of Sri Lankan marines participated in a passing out ceremony in Trincomalee earlier this month.

Members of Mannar civil society have written to the Sri Lankan president, criticising his planned participation in the opening ceremony of a Buddhist vihara constructed illegally in the environs of the historic Thiruketheeswaram Kovil.

President Sirisena is due to participate in the opening ceremony of the vihara, constructed illegally in around 10 acres of private Tamil-owned land on September 29.

A Buddhist shrine was initially built to serve the Sri Lankan army when it occupied the area in 1991. However since the end of the war, the main army camp has been removed but a smaller one was kept in place to guard the vihara and Buddhist monks.

Sri Lankans from across Europe and Australia gathered in Geneva on Sunday to protested against the UN's investigation into allegations of war crimes committed by the country's security forces against the Tamil people. 

See video of the protest here. 

Carrying the Sri Lankan flag, protesters from the group, Global Sri Lankan Forum, condemned the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein and accused him of acting beyond his scope, Adaderana reported. 

The Sri Lankan prime minister warned this week that the country's debt was still high and the highest debt repayments were in 2018 and 2019. 

Outlining his vision for a new tourism industry, Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe explained, "tourism brings in foreign exchange."

"We need the foreign exchange to correct the balance of payment and to repay national debts," he added. 

“When we took over in 2015 we did not have enough money to service debt. We needed money to pay debt and for recurrent expenditures. What we have done during the last two years is trying to manage the debt situation. Today our revenue exceeds debt services."

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) expressed concern about the postponement of the election in the Eastern Provincial Council and that the province would be brought under the purview of the governor after the current term expired. 

Criticising the prospect of governor run administation, the SLMC secretary Nizam Kariapper told the Daily Mirror that "his party was against such a move because it would lose political authority in the council in such an eventuality."

Sri Lankan government minister Mahinda Samarasinghe praised his president’s appearance at the United Nations General Assembly last week, stating that it was a “plus point for Sri Lanka,” reports Colombo Gazette.

Mr Samarasinghe, said that Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena’s address “ensured the international community got an image of the progress taking place in Sri Lanka”.

He added that “the international community has begun to recognise the efforts of the Government led by President Maithripala Sirisena”.

Sri Lanka’s president has put forward to a proposal to purchase a US$135 million vessel from a Russian state-owned company for the Sri Lankan navy.

Maithripala Sirisena is reportedly keen to buy the Russian-built Gepard 5.1 Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV), telling cabinet ministers that the Sri Lanka Navy has “the requirement of this kind (sic) of a ship and already given the recommendation to purchase this.”

The cost of US$ 135 million is “exclusive of 15 percent of Sri Lanka Government’s contribution to the state credit together with which the total ship value including on-board spares and ammunition is US$ 158.5 million,” he added.

The leader of the Tamil National Alliance garlanded a photograph of Lt. Col. Thileepan in Batticaloa this week, paying tribute to the former LTTE political leader’s hunger strike.

The leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF) has spoken out against a new constitution for Sri Lanka, accusing the government of catering to “Western forces and the Tamil diaspora”.

Addressing a news conference, NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa warned that the “country will be divided” and “will become jumbled”.

“Is this for what 27, 000 war heroes sacrificed their lives?” he continued.

“The Federal system will not bring any justice to both Tamil and Muslim people,” he added. “Instead, they will have to suffer because this government does not care about them, but the Western based Tamil Diaspora."