The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has confirmed that the visit of Pope Francis to the island wil go ahead as scheduled, despite the controversy regarding the presidential election, due to occur in the same time period.

“We wish to affirm that as it stands the visit of the Holy Father to Sri Lanka will take place as scheduled,” a statement issued by Church spokesperson Cyril Gamini said.

“We request the Catholic faithful of this country to pray that God will help all of us to make the Holy Father’s visit to the country a success,” he further said.

The Church previously said it would reconsider the visit in view of the poll, as it would be “inappropriate” for the pontiff to visit during the election period.

“Upcountry Tamils were only treated as commodities, such as teas, not as citizens. Their rights are not respected and nor were there any preparations made to guarantee their needs.”

“There is no one to think about the standards of the housing for the upcountry people."

Officials from the UN Counter Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) are due to visit Jaffna during their trip to Sri Lanka, where they will assess the country’s approach in countering terrorism.

According to the Daily Mirror, a press release stated that the delegation will stress the significance of a comprehensive approach to countering terrorism in adherence with the rule of law, including human rights, as requested by the Security Council.

An MP from the opposition UNP has complained in parliament that a nightclub is desecrating Anuradhapura, a city held sacred by Sinhala Buddhists.

2nd lead

A 17* year old boy has been reported missing in Jaffna, reports Uthayan.

The boy, Rasaratnam Jeevan from Kurunagar in Jaffna, has not been seen since October 24 when he left his home to go the play area.

His parents filed a complaint with Jaffna police on Monday, however, the police accused the boy of theft and said the boy had ran away during an arrest

The head of the Sri Lankan navy has reassured India over concern it recently expressed over China’s influence in the country.

Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Jayantha Perera told ANI that there is no Chinese military presence on the island, and that Beijing’s interest in Sri Lanka was commercial.

“We have very good co-operation with India. We will never compromise on national security of India. India's security is our security. Not only Chinese, even the Russians and other countries also we have very good relationship, we are non-aligned country," he said.

"They are coming normally for operational goodwill visit... For your information there is no Chinese military presence.... the interest is very commercial."

The Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has released a stamp commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Sinhala nationalist leader Anagarika Dharmapala, who was a Buddhist revivalist and independence activist during colonial rule.

“The release of the commemorative postage stamp on Anagarika Dharmapala will contribute towards further strengthening the bilateral ties between India and Sri Lanka and bring the two nations closer,” President Mukherjee said, according to The Sunday Times.

“This stamp release on one of the apostles of Buddhism, once again reminds us to work relentlessly and collectively to ensure an era of peace, stability and friendly bilateral and multilateral ties in order to create an enabling environment for the rapid socio-economic development of the people,” Mukherjee said.

“The relations between the two countries have withstood the test of time and socio-cultural exchanges for centuries have fostered further close cooperation in various fields. Both countries have much to learn and imbibe from each other in order to resolve various issues which are the legacies of a protracted period of colonial rule”, he added.

The president highlighted Dharmapala's key role in the history of Sinhala Buddhist nationalism.