The new constitution would be prepared during the first six months of 2016 and a public referendum held said the government's chief whip, minister Lakshman Kiriella.

"We as a government had reduced the powers of the executive as we pledged and we had set up independent commissions too. To reduce the powers of the executive further and to further strengthen the democracy we need a new Constitution and that should be approved in a referendum," Mr Kiriella told journalists on Wednesday, reported Ceylon Today.

Bodu Bala Sena accused the Sri Lankan government of covering up the threat posed by the Islamic State, warning that it was spreading across the island.

The General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena Galagodaaththe Gnanasara told a press conference that “as an organisation, we demand the government to release the details of the report to Parliament and to the people.”

“We suspect the government is hiding this report to prevent communal conflicts in the country,” he added, stating that an ISIS attack could take place in Sri Lanka “within a year”.

“We have alerted the government several times and warned the intelligence services,” said the monk, who is currently under investigation for the second time this year over Islamophobic statements he has made.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on Wednesday held talks with the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress (SLMC) on the realising of the aspirations of the Tamil and Muslim people in the proposed new constitutional arrangements.

Sri Lanka and India are working towards finalising the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) by mid-2016, reports Colombo Page.

Sri Lanka’s Development Strategies and International Trade Ministry said in a statement that the two sides would aim to sign a Framework Agreement by February 2016 and the ETCA by mid 2016.

The statement added that the Indian government would organise workshops in Sri Lanka to raise awareness amongst Sri Lankan exporters/officials to increase awareness of Indian standards and regulations. 

The ministry added,

“India is Sri Lanka’s largest as well as the most balanced trading partner Overall bilateral trade between the two countries exceeded US$ 4.5 billion in 2014. India is the largest source of imports of Sri Lanka and the third largest destination for Sri Lankan exports. The ETCA will support to build on this solid foundation taking into account the asymmetry between the two countries. For  small country like Sri Lanka, it is always advantageous to engage in rules based trading with a larger trading partner India, and the ETCA will provide that framework for deeper economic engagement with India.”

A top level Sri Lankan official delegation will visit India to attend a meeting in New Delhi to discuss modalities of the proposed agreement that will cover investment and services, official sources told The Sunday Times, adding that this agreement was completely different from the earlier proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which was opposed by many organisations in the south.

However the ETCA is also being opposed, with several trade unions planning a strike in the new year, which will also be targeted at the new agreement, alongside grievances about the recent budget.

Writing on the recent successful conviction of the two men for the abduction and rape of a 17 year old Tamil girl, Rita, human rights activist Ruki Fernando said the conviction was a “rare success” driven by the “courage and determination of survivors and their families have brought justice in several other cases.”

Full opinion reproduced below.