The Sinhalese head of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, has been touted as a possible successor to Pope Benedict XVI by Forbes magazine.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has released her report on assistance for the Sri Lankan governemt on promoting reconciliation and accountability, as mandated by the resolution in Geneva last March.

The report details concern in several areas, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, militarisation and land grabs.

Sri Lanka has dropped plans for another $1 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund following disagreements over how the money should be spent, AFP quoted the central bank as saying.

The Sri Lankan defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told governments in the West to "engage constructively" with the Sri Lankan government.

India’s Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office V Narayanasamy has stated that India will support a resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council, if the country refuses to honour any recommendations put forward by the world body.

Police in Sri Lanka have arrested a young female tourist from the Netherlands for having a tatto of the Buddha on her back, reported Ceylon Today.

A new alliance against the ruling UPFA has been formed in Sri Lanka.

The opposition parties, led by the UNP, have signed an MOU to form a joint movement in Colombo.

The Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma held talks with the government on Sunday on the rule of law and the separation of powers.

In a statement the Commonwealth said:

The Jaffna home of an Indian consulate official was ransacked on Friday reports the Hindu.

It is reported that the Sri Lankan Army keeps close watch on the consulate officials and that issues of intimidation have arisen.

Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha has said that Sri Lankans living abroad should “contribute towards moderating the negative narratives propagated against Sri Lanka – by clarifying genuine concerns and debunking the falsehoods", reported the Daily Mirror.

The Sri Lankan government is hoping for the EU GSP+ trade concessions that were stripped from the island to return, after an estimated US$1.5 billion loss due to the withdrawal, reported the Sunday Leader.

The Japanese government has granted US $860,500 in aid to the demining organisation - HALO Trust, to work towards demining in the North.

The agreement was signed between the Japanese Ambassador Nobuhito Hobo and the HALO Trust Programme Manager on the island, Bartholomew Digby on Friday.

A Sri Lankan government minister said on Saturday that it hoped India will vote for it in the UN Human Rights Council in March.