Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe pledges this week that he would bar provincial councils from discussion separatism, reported the Daily Mirror. 

Reiterating that the new constitution would uphold Buddhism's current status, Mr Wickremesinghe said, "the existing system will be used as a frame for devolving power in the new constitution. Some allege that the government is going to introduce federalism, but I aver that no such system will be introduced. The government does not intend to divide the nation." 

The Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena told those attending a military event held in Mannar on Monday that his government had won "international honour" for the country's security forces. 

Sri Lanka's forces stand accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Tamil people at the end of the armed conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). 

The British government has spoken out against an attack on a church in North West Sri Lanka by a group of Buddhists headed by a monk last month.

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Alok Sharma said the UK condemns “all violence against religious minorities, including the attack on a church”.

Though over 200 witnesses had named the Buddhist monk and 12 others responsible for the attack, Sri Lankan police released all the accused on bail.

Tamil university students in Kilinochchi joined the ongoing protest by families of the disappeared in a solidarity demonstration on Sunday. The families' protest demanding information and accountability for their missing loved ones has been ongoing for seven days.

The displaced people of Valikamam North carried out a demonstration on Sunday morning in solidarity with the protesting people of Pilavu and Puthukudiyiruppu.

The Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday reiterated there would be no foreign judges in any domestic war crimes probe. 

Speaking at an event in his home town of Polonnaruwa Mr Sirisena was quoted by Colombo Page as saying "the government was able to bring an end to the issue of international judges called for judicial investigations to be carried out on the alleged war crimes."

The Sri Lankan police said the shooting of the Batticaloa Land Reform Commissioner, Nesakumar Vimalaraj  on Wednesday was a contract job over Mr Vimalaraj's opposition to land in Eravur being illegally aquired by politicians, the Daily Mirror reported. 

According to the paper, police have instructed two teams to investigate the shooting. 

Mr Vimalaraj was shot after he was called outside by two unidentified motorcyclists, whose faces were covered by helmets.

Muslim organisations in Batticaloa held a rally in support of protestors in Keppapilavu on Friday, demanding the release of military occupied land.

Sri Lanka slipped this year on Index of Economic Freedom by the US based Heritage Foundation, falling into a rating of 'Mostly Unfree'. 

"Economic reforms undertaken to improve Sri Lanka’s macroeconomic stability and potential for growth include strengthening the management of public finance and structural reforms to foster a more dynamic private sector. However, a weak judiciary continues to undermine property rights, and the perceived level of corruption is debilitating," the Heritage Foundation noted. 

Sri Lanka scored only 57.1 out of 100, compared with 59.9/100 in 2016. 

The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde is set to visit Sri Lanka next month, EconomyNext reported. 

Sri Lanka missed benchmarks set out by the IMF for December 2016, including benchmarks for introducing a formula to price fuel, as well as automatic market pricing of electricity.

In November the IMF announced it had completed its first review of the Extended Fund Facility granted to Sri Lanka, and would approve US $162.6 million disbursement. 

The three year program was approved in June, allowing US $1.45 billion.