The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) would not draft the Constitution in a manner that affects the unitary status of the nation, said Petroleum Resources Development Minister Chandima Weerakkody. He also said that the status given to Buddhism in the Constitution will remain,while ensuring the rights of other religions. He said that SLFP assures that the new Constitution that is to be drafted would protect the country

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein would visit Sri Lanka in the first-half of February, Resident Coordinator of United Nations in Sri Lanka Subinay Nandy said. He revealed this while paying a courtesy call on Minister Rishad Bathiudeen at his Ministry. He said among High Commissioner Zeid

A crucial meeting is scheduled to be held in Jaffna today to iron out differences between the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) members and its Northern Province Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran. The TNA members are expected to ask the CM why the Tamil People's Council (TPC) was established under his leadership with committees for subjects such as Health, Education, Constitutional Reforms etc. They are also expected to ask the CM whether he has done so because he has found Health and Education Ministers of the NPC wanting.

Mihin Lanka Flight FJ3001 from Sri Lanka to Madurai scheduled to depart on Saturday (9) was delayed by six hours, sources said. Speaking to Ceylon Today, a passenger of the flight said that all passengers were requested to disembark from the flight after one passenger complained of seeing a rat in the aeroplane. The Airport Officials had then proceeded to search the aircraft in order to remove the rat, which took nearly six hours. Accordingly, the flight which was to depart at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday (9) departed only at 13:12 in the afternoon.

In the wake of Indian media reports claiming that Sri Lanka has abandoned the decision to buy fighter aircraft from Pakistan due to strong pressure from India, the Government yesterday denied signing of any deal with Pakistan to purchase eight JF -17 Thunder combat aircraft. Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi vehemently denying all media reports on Sri Lanka signing an agreement to purchase fighter aircrafts from Pakistan, said the government has not yet decided to buy anything from Pakistan.

For the first time Sri Lanka's Prime Minister has been invited to attend the 46th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been invited to attend the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2016 from 20 - 23 January 2016 with the participation of over 40 heads of state and 2500 economists. The high-profile meeting brings together some top business leaders, international political leaders, selected intellectuals, and journalists to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world.

New Delhi has opposed SLAF plans to buy the J-17s on the ground that Sri Lanka does not need fighter aircraft.Stiff opposition from India has forced Sri Lanka to drop plans, at least for now, to buy JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft from Pakistan. The Sunday Express has learnt that New Delhi shot off a diplomatic missive a few weeks ago to Colombo on why it should not buy the JF-17 Thunder, including a negative technical assessment of the aircraft. It was also pointed out that the country

Secretary to the President P B Abeykoon says no official song was released to mark the one year completion of the democratic governance under the leadership of President Maithripala Sirisena. The Secretary to the President further said that a song titled

The first skeletal draft calling for a 'federal government' by the Tamil People Council (TPC) will be ready by end January, and the final draft will be shown to Australia based former 34th Attorney General of Sri Lanka Sivakumaran Pasupathy who is in Jaffna, sources told Ceylon Today. The Council which met yesterday has invited experts on Sri Lankan Constitution have been meeting often to hold discussions on the matter, he added.

Britain

Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar will arrive in Sri Lanka to hold talks with Sri Lankan officials and Lankan leaders on 12 January according to Indian media. Jaishankar, who will be arriving from the Maldives in the morning, will immediately go into meetings with the Lankan Foreign Secretary, Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister, The New Indian Express reported. The Tamil parties have also expressed a wish to meet him but it is still not certain whether the official will find time within the tight schedule of his one day visit, the report said.

Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary and candidate at the last Parliamentary elections, Galagodaththe Gnanasara thero has stepped down from politics. Gnanasara thero contested the August 17 Parliamentary elections but lost. He contested under the Bodu Jana Peramuna (BJP). The BJP is to be renamed to contest the next local government elections and the party has made a request to the Elections Commissioner in this regard. Gnanasara thero said that earlier there was a move to register the BBS as a political party but then there was an attempt to ban the BBS.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is engaged in a plot to secure his position as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) chairman through constitutional amendments, while remaining within the party, sources said. According to the party sources, the former President is currently engaged in discussions with SLFP organisers islandwide in order to secure power in the party

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has questioned seven journalists on the investigations into the disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda. The CID had questioned the journalists who had worked with Eknaligoda before he had gone missing. Military officers being questioned over Eknaligoda

One-time Indian High Commissioner to Colombo Gopalkrishna Gandhi yesterday accused the previous government of having executed LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran

A black flag protest is to be staged in Jaffna during the scheduled visit by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe next week, Northern Provincial Council member M K Sivajilingham said.The President and the Prime Minister are scheduled to take part in the National Thai Pongal celebrations in Jaffna next week. Sivajilingham said that the black flag protest will be staged to show opposition to the failure by the Government to address several issues related to the Tamils in the North.

The website Lanka Z News, which is affiliated to Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka's Democratic Party, came under a cyber attack by suspected hackers connected to the ISIS. The cyber attack had taken place last evening. The homepage of the site now shows a banner with the ISIS flag and a propaganda message. Furthermore, propaganda music can be heard in the background. While radical groups have hacked Sri Lankan news websites earlier, this is likely to be the first instance where such hackers have declared themselves to be supporters of the ISIS.

UNP MP Hirunika Premachandra, who was arrested by the Colombo Crimes Division for the alleged complicity in the abduction of a youth, was released on bail by Colombo Magistrate Courts. Premachandra was arrested earlier by the CCD, and a statement was also recorded. Her arrest was made according to the Attorney General's instructions. Eight of her supporters were arrested recently for the abduction of a youth on December 21. The abduction was carried out using a Defender Jeep belonging to Premachandra.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is expected to shortly apprehend two more Army personnel allegedly linked to the abduction of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda. A senior intelligence officer told Ceylon Today that information leading to his arrest was gleaned in interrogations of the six Army personnel being held in custody pending completion of a probe into the abduction and disappearance of Ekneligoda. They have also divulged information identifying the names and whereabouts of two other Army men involved in the abduction/disappearance whose arrests are imminent.

The United Nations (UN) yesterday called on the Sri Lankan Government to investigate killings of journalists. UN spokesman St

President Maithripala Sirisena met with Sivaraja Jenivan, who was convicted for an attempt on his life. Jenivan, who was pardoned by Sirisena, came up on stage at the end of the national celebration to mark Maithripala Sirisena's first year in office at the BMICH in Colombo. The President shook hands with Jenivan and blessed him by touching him on his head. A former LTTE operative, Sivaraja Jenivan alias Mohommadu Sulthan Cader Mohideen a.k.a Senan, was involved in an assassination attempt of Maithripala Sirisena in 2006, when he was the Minister of Mahaweli Development.

The British Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Hugo Swire has had talks with Sri Lanka

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has congratulated President Maithripala Sirisena on the first year anniversary of his presidency and welcomed the Government

Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brendes applauded the moderate stance taken by the Tamil National Alliance when he met Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan in Colombo yesterday. The Norwegian Foreign Minister, who is on an official visit to the island, met TNA Leader Sampanthan and Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran yesterday. The TNA leader briefing the Norwegian Foreign Minister on the present state of the Tamil political scene emphasized the need of the government responding positively to the stance taken by the TNA.

Neither the UNP nor the SLFP can see the Rajapaksas eliminated from politics, says former minister Basil Rajapaksa.He has told BBC Sandeshaya that only the people can remove the Rajapaksas from politics.Mahinda Rajapaksa is a leader who fought his way into the helm, not one who had conspired to become so, he said.One year after the end of the Rajapaksa administration, the country was in a sorry state, with all the development work coming to a standstill, said Basil Rajapaksa.People will think whether it was a correct decision to elect Maithripala Sirisena, he said.The ex-minister refuted allegations that he was responsible for Mahinda Rajapaksa

Cabinet spokesman Minister Rajitha Senaratne said he will lodge a complaint with the President regarding the conduct of Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Law Reforms Suhada Gamlath. Senaratne made this statement in response to being asked for a comment on reports that Gamlath had allegedly tried to interfere in the probe into the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda. "There have been other allegations against him. I will discuss the issue with the President," he said. Senaratne also said, the decision to arrest MP Hirunika Premachandra or not, lies with the Judiciary. "We can't arrest her. There are people who ask us to arrest the Rajapaksas. All these things are now in the hands of the Courts," he said.

Norway's foreign minister visited Sri Lanka on Thursday in a sign of reviving relations since a peace deal brokered by the Nordic country failed to end a civil war. Borge Brende's visit is the first by a Norwegian foreign minister to Sri Lanka since 2005, when Norway was trying to hold together a fragile cease-fire between the Sri Lankan government and the now-defeated separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. Relations soured after the cease-fire collapsed in 2006 and Sri Lanka's then-government accused Norway of favoring the rebels. Sri Lankan troops crushed the rebels three years later.

Two suspects who are currently in remand in connection with the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda have revealed the name of the