President Maithripala Sirisena threw down the gauntlet yesterday on the involvement of foreign and Commonwealth judges and prosecutors in Sri Lanka

The British Government has offered assistance to the Jaffna Police to curb crimes against women and children in the Northern Province. The British Government has promised that they will help Jaffna Police to investigate matters relating to crimes against women and children. British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Hugo Swire who visited Jaffna last week assured Inspector General of Police(IGP) N.K.Ilangakoon and Jaffna Police Officer in Charge (OIC) Udaya Kumara Woodler that assistance shall be provided to carry out the investigations.

Former Additional Secretary of the Defence Ministry Damayanthi Jayaratne who is currently attached to the Home Affairs Ministry has gone abroad without permission from the ministry, Ministry Secretary J.J. Ratnasiri informed the Presidential Commission of Inquiry yesterday. The Ministry Secretary in a letter addressed to the Commission has informed that Jayaratne has not obtained leave to go abroad from the ministry. She is also being probed over the irregularities that has allegedly taken place at Rakna Lanka Security Limited. Jayaratne has tendered a letter to the Public Services Commission expressing her desire to retire from the public service before leaving the country.

Former North East Chief Minister Varatharaja Perumal has made submissions before the Constitutional reforms committee at Visumpaya. Perumal was the first and only Chief minister of the merged North Eastern Province and is the founder of the Eelam People

European Union (EU) and Sri Lanka today recognised the need to fully implement the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution of October 2015. The Working Group on Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights under the European Union-Sri Lanka Joint Commission concluded its first meeting in Colombo today. The meeting was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo with the participation of senior officials from Sri Lanka and the European Union.

The move to introduce a new Constitution was an attempt to divert the people

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has requested the Indian Government to take expeditious steps to secure the release of six fishermen belonging to Tamil Nadu captured by the Sri Lankan Navy, The Hindu newspaper reported.

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Villagers in Mullativu held a protest on Monday, demanding the return of their lands which have been occupied by the Sri Lankan authorities under the controversial Mahaweli Development project. Villagers from Kokkulai, Kokkuthoduvai and Karunattukerni gathered in front of the Mullaitivu district secretariat demanding an end to the project, which has seen Sinhala settlers move to the Tamil North-East, in large scale colonisation projects.

An exiled Tamil journalist who was detained on Wednesday morning on arrival back to Sri Lanka was released on bail on Thursday, after spending over 24 hours in detention. The journalist, who had previously fled Sri Lanka, was detained at Katunayake airport. He is understood to have decided to return to Sri Lanka after receiving an invitation from the new government.

The highest percentage of school candidates that have qualified for university education from the advanced level examination of 2015 has been from Jaffna District, Examination Department sources said. According to Examination Department sources out of a total of 7,346 candidates who had sat for the examination from the Jaffna District, 4,872 of them had passed the said examination resulting in a 66.33 percentage. The lowest percentage has been recorded from Polonnaruwa District. In the Polonnaruwa District a total of 3,455 candidates had taken the examination of which only 1,961 had qualified for the university entrance, which has resulted in a 56.76 percentage.

The Chief Minister of Sri Lanka

India

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has categorically said that fishing activities or building a fishing harbour in close proximity to the Palaly Airport would be prohibited. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe participated at a high level meeting at the Security Forces Head Quarters - Jaffna in Palaly last Saturday, where land issues in the North were taken up. Deputy Minister Vijayakala Maheswaran pointed out to the Prime Minister that the fishing activities of the Myliddy fishermen were affected as a result of the fishing harbour in the area that still remain within the High Security Zone.

President Maithripala Sirisena met with the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) led by General Secretary, Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera and Chief Executive Officer of the BBS, Dr. Dilantha Withanage at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (18).The appointment to meet Sirisena had been granted as per a letter sent to him requesting a discussion and meeting by Dr. Withanage on 09, December 2015. The BBS Media Unit informed that the discussion was to be with regards to a multitude of matters regarding the country including the Wilpattu resettlement and deforestation controversy, regarding which they had previously on many an occasion written to President Sirisena requesting an audience, and also the recent Theravadi Bhikkhu Kathikavath Act Draft Bill presented to Parliament, amongst others.

Britain has ruled out entering into a Defence Pact with Sri Lanka for the moment, saying it is premature. British Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hugo Swire said in Colombo on Saturday, that his country would engage across the board in training the Sri Lankan army to evolve into a modern 21st century unit, but it was

The Tamil People's Council (TPC) is also for the unity, integrity, peace and reconciliation in the country according to former TNA Parliamentarian and TPC member Suresh K. Premachandran. Premachandran quashed the reports on Chief Minister dissolving the TPC due to the pressure from Northern Provincial Councillors (NPC). Premachandran told Ceylon Today that there was a meeting between the Northern Provincial Councilors and the Chief Minister on the issues between the NPC and the TPC.

A Saudi royal family went out of their way and gave a warm farewell home party to its non-Muslim Sri Lankan private driver after 33 years of service. Several royal figures broke protocol to attend the party which was held at Prince Abdul Raman bin Farhan Al Saud

A suspended sea reclamation project that will expand Sri Lanka's capital Colombo is likely to go ahead in March when Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe visits Beijing, a minister said. The China Port City project was suspended by Wickremesinghe after elections in March primarily citing environmental issues, but there were also concerns over free hold land ownership by a Chinese state firm. Minister for International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama said outstanding issues are expected to be ironed out by March, in time for Prime Minister's visit to Beijing.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa also calls for re-examination of the arrangement of assigning to provincial councils subjects of police and land. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who four years back favoured the idea of

WigneswaranA key meeting between Northern Province Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Northern Provincial Council (NPC) members, which was to take place sunday, was postponed indefinitely. The Jaffan media reported that no explanation was given for the postponement of the meeting or when it will take place. The TNA NPC members had sought details from Wigneswaran on the newly formed Tamil organisation chaired by Wigneswaran and the Chief Minister was expected to explain the policies of the organisation at this meeting.

Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran will face pressure to resign or a no-confidence motion will be brought against him at the Northern Provincial Council if he fails to tow the line of the Tamil National Alliance. TNA Northern Provincial Council (NPC) members will meet Wigneswaran today for key talks after having similar talks last week. TNA Northern Provincial Council member M.K. Sivajilingham told The Sunday Leader that today

The visit of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, to Sri Lanka in a few weeks time is not for a 'cosmetic ticking of the box' on the process Sri Lanka undertook based on the Geneva mandate, but will lead to the June session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), UK Minister of State for Asia at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hugo Swire said. He said the local mechanism process, which is led by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, will come up with some proposals and table it when High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, who will be here in a couple of weeks.

In a special statement on the process of drafting a new Constitution, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said today the country could not be divided and that no one had the slightest intention of diluting the unitary nature of the country through the new Constitution. He said the new Constitution was being drafted within the parameters of the Sixth Amendment to the 1983 Constitution which prohibits the setting up of a separate state within the territory of Sri Lanka.

The British government has decided to appoint a non-resident Defence Adviser to Sri Lanka as part of moves to resume defence ties. UK Minister of State Hugo Swire made the announcement last week adding that the resumption of cooperation and collaboration in the field of defence is very welcome by the armed forces of both countries.

Amidst diplomatic moves and manoeuvres, Sri Lanka has decided to call off its intended purchase of JF- 17 Thunder Fighter Aircraft from Pakistan for US$ 400 million, authoritative sources confirmed. The decision has come to light following the low key visit of Indian Foreign Secretary Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to Colombo. Indian sources remained tight -lipped when asked about the deal, except to admit that a possible purchase from Pakistan was a concern, though not raised officially during Jaishankar

President Maithripala Sirisena will undertake a four-day official visit to Germany beginning February 13. Foreign Ministry officials said his itinerary was now being worked out with their counterparts in Berlin. Though the entire delegation is not yet finalised, it is to include Faiszer Mustapha, Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera is also expected in Berlin days ahead of the visit to finalise arrangements.

A broader international commitment would have ensured the success of an effort to end an over two-decade-long war between the Sri Lankan military and Tamil separatists, Erik Solheim, a former peace negotiator, said at the Atlantic Council. In the absence of such a commitment, the Sri Lankan military continued a fierce offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters as ceasefire agreements between the warring sides collapsed. In May of 2009, the government announced that it had defeated the separatists, bringing the curtain down on a 26-year war. More than 100,000 people are believed to have lost their lives, at least 40,000 of them in the war