The cultural capital of Kandy – controversial location for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – survived Sri Lanka’s civil war relatively intact. Now it’s thriving, thanks in no small part to an infamous relic: one of the Buddha’s teeth.

World Bank Group is considering lending Sri Lanka $100 million to expand higher education including increasing enrollment in priority areas for economic development like science, engineering and mathematics, and promoting innovation. [...] A Finance Ministry statement said the proposed programme aims to increase enrollment in higher education programmes that are important for an aspiring upper middle income country.

Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake said 16 countries had rushed relief supplies and medicine to Sri Lanka to assist more than 600,000 people who were driven away from their homes following Friday's monsoon deluge. India and Pakistan have also deployed medical teams on the ground in some of the worst-affected areas, he said. The United Nations has said it will provide water containers, water purification tablets and tarpaulin sheets while the World Health Organisation will support medical teams in affected areas.

The World Bank Board of Directors today approved $100 million in financing to support Sri Lanka’s higher education sector. This new initiative will help increase enrollment in priority disciplines, improve the quality of degree programs and promote research and innovation in the higher education sector. Building on experience in the higher education sector since 2003, the new Accelerating Higher Education Expansion and Development (AHEAD) operation is the first in Sri Lanka to use the World Bank Program for Results lending instrument. 

On the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Sri Lanka to take part as the chief guest in International Vesak Day celebrations — the most significant day in Buddhist calendar — Chinese President Xi Jinping was giving final touches to the first Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a super-massive infrastructure project connecting China with Europe and Middle East. 30 world leaders have flown to Beijing to take part in Sunday's maiden forum.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade (MODSIT) and the World Bank launched a joint programme of technical assistance and advisory services to the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) to enhance the competitiveness of the private sector and unleash the potential of Sri Lankan exports.