The Sri Lankan government acknowledged it will pay $170 million for the cancellation of an aircraft leasing contract, signed under the previous government.

Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake told Reuters that Colombo will pay AerCap Holdings NV (AER.N) the fee, as the government continues to try and save its failing national airlines. 

The lease contract was originally secured for four A350 aircraft, a type of aeroplane that Sri Lanka did not need as no flights longer than 10 hours were being made, according to the finance minister. 

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe arrived in New Delhi this week, where he was scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior officials.

Mr Wickremesinghe met with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, and is also scheduled to meet with Road Transport and Highways & Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.

His visit comes shortly after his government decided to pull out of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, which was due to be held in Pakistan. 

Five fishermen from Tamil Nadu were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy on Tuesday for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line, Colombo Page reported. 

The fishermens' fishing trawlers were also confiscated.

The arrest follows reports that over 2000 Tamil Nadu fishermen were attacked by the Sri Lankan navy last week who allegedly pelted their boats with stones. 

The Swiss justice minister Simonette Sommaruga on Tuesday signed an immigration treaty with the Sri Lankan interior minister, Seneviratne Bandara Nawinne, which will include the repatriation of Tamil asylum seekers. 

“What we are codifying with this immigration agreement are the formalities on how the repatriations are carried out,” Ms Sommaruga, who is on a three day visit of the island, was quoted by Swiss Info as saying. 

Sri Lanka's deputy speaker said the island's powerful Sinhala Buddhist clergy must first give their blessings to a proposed bill on a Buddhism on the island, before it is presented to parliament.

Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala, who is also the head of Sri Lanka Cricket, said the Maha Sanga must first approve the proposed Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance act before it can be passed.

The Sri Lankan army organised an event to mark “International Children’s Day” for Tamil schoolchildren in the Vanni.

The Sri Lankan government has rejected criticism over an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code which will restrict the rights of those who have been arrested to have access to their lawyers, and pledged that it will push ahead with the amendment.

Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakse said that his government would implement the amendment and hit back at criticism from the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) as well as the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), both of whom have strongly condemned the move.

Dharsha Jegatheeswaran and Gajen Mahendra 

Over 2000 Tamil Nadu fishermen were allegedly attacked by the Sri Lankan navy on Sunday, who threw stones and iron balls, reported PTI. 

The president of the Fishermen's Association, Mr Sesuraja was quoted by the new agency as saying that no one was injured however many fishing boats were damaged. 

The incident has renewed calls in Tamil Nadu to retrieve Katchatheevu island from Sri Lanka - an issue which the Tamil Nadu government said was a high priority. 

Switzerland's minister for justice Simonetta Sommaruga said she intends to discuss the repatriation of Tamil asylum seekers during her visit to Colombo next week. 

Ms Sommaruga hopes to form a "bilateral agreement governing repatriations from Switzerland and to intensify cooperation between the two countries on the issue", Swiss Info reported.