India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reiterated India’s commitment to the proposed Economic and Technology Co-operation Agreement (ETCA)  between the two countries, reports Colombo Page.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) lowered the economic growth forecast for Sri Lanka  due to weak industrial performance and fiscal consolidation.

In a summary of growth in South Asia, the Asian Development Outlook 2016 Update said,

“While Bangladesh and Pakistan now see slightly faster expansion in 2016 than anticipated, growth prospects for Sri Lanka edge lower on weak industrial performance and fiscal consolidation.”
 

Kandyan dancers inaugurated the opening of a basketball court at a Sri Lankan army camp in Vanni last week, as the military continues to construct new buildings within its bases in the Tamil North-East.

The leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya party and Member of Parliament for Sri Lanka’s Colombo District, Udaya Gammanpila called for the arrest of the Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran for his involvement in a mass Tamil demonstration that occurred on Saturday 24 September.

The United States, encouraged Sri Lanka to institutionalise the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for investment in development projects, reprots Colombo Page.

Speaking at Sri Lanka’s National Conference on Public Private Partnerships, US Ambassador Keshap said governments across the world are emphasising the use of PPP’s to help deliver public services, adding,

Tamils gathered by the destroyed memorial to Lt Col Thileepan in Nallur on Monday evening to mark the 29th anniversary of his death. 

Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera on Thursday stressed that he would not allow the European Union's ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to be lifted despite the European Court of Justice (ECJ) recommending the ban should be dropped.

Hundreds of students the University of Jaffna on Monday remembered the 29th anniversary of the death of Lt Col Thileepan. 

The Tamil National Alliance spokesperson, M A Sumanthiran on Sunday distanced the party from the 'Ezhuka Tamil' mass rally, in an interview with BBC Sinhala. 

Mr Sumanthiran said the rally, which saw thousands of Tamils marching through Jaffna demanding their rights, was unhelpful at a time when the new constitution was being drawn up and argued it would be misunderstood by the Sinhala people. 

Sri Lanka is not afraid of a Tamil uprising in the North-East the country's state minister of defence Ruwan Wijewardene told reporters a day after thousands of Tamils took part in a mass rally in Jaffna, 'Ezhuka Tamil'. 

Describing the demonstrators as belonging to "some extremist groups", Mr Wijewardene rejected their demard to demilitarise the North-East, stating "the government will not remove our army camps". 

Marking the 29th anniversary of the death of Lt. Col. Thileepan who fasted to death on hunger strike, the Tamil National Alliance held a memorial event in Kilinochchi on Sunday. 

Photograph: Daily Mirror

A bomb from a Sri Lankan fighter jet weighing over 300kg has been found in Kilinochchi.

The Sri Lankan military took part in organising charity cricket matches for Tamils schoolchildren in the North-East last week, alongside Sri Lanka’s international cricketers.

Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena claimed that global leaders praised his government’s achievements, during his visit to New York for the UN General Assembly this week.

“They express open appreciation about our achievements,” said Mr Sirisena, speaking on his meeting with various officials this week.

“I assured them that we, as a government, are determined to take the country towards progress and make Sri Lanka a truly democratic and prosperous nation,” he said.