The chief minister of the Northern Provincial Council, CV Wigneswaran and a delegation of Northern Provincial Councillors, called for the release of 6500 acres of Tamil land taken by  the Sri Lankan military and release of registered and unregistered Tamil political prisoners.

The delegation made the demands noting that several unregistered political prisoners were being held in secret captivity during a meeting with the newly appointed Resettlement Minister DM Swaminathan in Colombo on Saturday.

The Sri Lankan president's senior advisor on foreign relations has arrived in Geneva for a meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al Hussain.

Jayantha Dhanapala is expected to discuss with the high commissioner the OHCHR Investigation in Sri Lanka, the final report of which is due to be published at the 28th session of the UN Human Rights Council in March.

External Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera is also currently in Europe, where he will seek a postponement of a EU ban on imports from Sri Lanka.

Mr Samaraweera said last week the UN inquiry could have been avoided if the issue had been handled "carefully and pragmatically" by the previous government.

Four suspects in the killing of a former member of the Tamil Eelam Police Department were found innocent and freed by a judge in Mannar, reported the Uthayan.

A total of seven suspects were arrested after the murder of 34 year old Naguleshwaran Krishnasuwamy, who was killed in his own backyard by unidentified gunmen in November.

His wife, Kavitha, said her husband had received threats in the days prior to the assassination.

Sri Lanka's new president, Maithripala Sirisena, received blessings from Buddhist monks and performed religious rites at the Sri Maha Bodhiya tree.

He also participated in religious ceremonies at a historical Sinhala Buddhist site in Polonnaruwa, his home town, thanking locals for voting him in as the new president.