Sri Lanka's senior Buddhist clergy from the Malwatu and Asgiriya chapters urged the government to "stop drafting" the new constitution immediately, stating it was "not needed". 

“We have decided the unsuitability of the proposed Constitution. We say that a new Constitution is not needed. The present Constitution is good for us. We will express protest of the Maha Sangha after briefing the Mahanayakes of the Asgiriya and Malwathu Chapters, Ramannaya and Amarapura Nikayas," they were quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying. 

Members and officials of the Northern Provincial Council took part in an educational workshop in New Delhi last week.

Danish Tamils remembered 2nd Lt. Maalathy in the city of Ikast this week.

A Tamil student has drowned, and another is also believed to have drowned, after swimming at a Mullaitivu beach on Wednesday.

18-year-old Anthony Claudus Vinothan Croos and 17-year-old Anton Amalraj Dinojan, both Mullaitivu locals, went missing while swimming with a group of friends.

The body of one student was recovered.

Sri Lankan Navy and local fishermen have been searching for the other.

The head of Sri Lanka's Central Bank, Indrajit Coomaraswamy said this week the country had what he described as a "clear plan" to deal with the debt crisis. 

The country is due to repay over $5 billion in the next 12 months. 

"We don't see it as a (sovereign default) risk," Mr Coomaraswamy told Reuters, adding that the government had "committed itself" to using divestment proceeds "for liability management."

"We are an outlier on our debt metrics, but we've never missed a single debt repayment commitment, and we certainly don't intend to do that," he said. 

"We feel we have a clear plan to manage the situation."

Sri Lanka's economic development across the provinces is "geographically uneven", the World Bank said in its 'Vision 2025: Sri Lanka's path to prosperity' document, highlighting the North-East as an "underserved community and region". 

A roadside Hindu shrine next to an army camp in Mannar was destroyed by unknown attackers on Monday night.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday said it would be postponing the planned review of its $1.5 billion three year loan, until after Sri Lanka had instituted further reforms. 

The IMF urged Sri Lanka to tighten its monetary political and continue fiscal consolidation. The review is now to scheduled to take place after the government submits its 2018 budget. 

In the latest round of arrests, eight Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested by Sri Lankan navy personel on Tueday. 

The fishermen were allegedly fishing off the coast of Thalaimannar. 

The arrest comes just days after representatives from the Indian and Sri Lankan government held talks in an attempt to resolve the issue. 

Tamil Nadu Information Technology Minister M Manikandan said the state government would raise the latest arrest with New Delhi, PTI reported. 
 

Students at the University of Jaffna held a hunger strike demonstration today to show their solidarity with the detained political prisoners who have been hunger striking in protest at their ongoing detention by the Sri Lankan authorities.