The Times, January 14 2013 - The sacking by the Sri Lankan Government of the island’s Chief Justice has prompted widespread Commonwealth criticism that may scupper the summit there in November. David Cameron and other Commonwealth leaders are likely to boycott the planned meeting if it goes ahead. It follows the uproar over the Sri Lankan parliament’s vote last week to impeach Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, which recent rulings said was unconstitutional.

Daily Mirror, Thursday, 17 January 2013 - Attorney-at-law Dr. Jayampathi Wickramarathne PC, J.C. Weliamuna and M.A. Sumanthiran had received threatening letters, Human rights lawyer, J.C. Weliamuna said today. Accordingly J.C Weliamuna had lodged a complaint at the Kohuwala Police station, while Dr. Wickramarathne had lodged a complaint at the Welikada Police. President's Counsel (PC) Romesh de Silva also received a copy of letter that was sent to Mr. Weliamuna.

@4yearson, 17 Jan 2013 - Tweeting the SMS messages sent in the final days of Sri Lanka's civil war - exactly 4 years after they were sent. Managed by @SLCampaign . All tweets come from SMS mssgs sent out of the north as documented in the UN Internal Review Panel report on Sri Lanka. https://twitter.com/4yearson

Xinhua, COLOMBO, Jan. 17 2013— France said Thursday that there are signs of communal tensions in northern Sri Lanka, particularly in the town of Mannar. French Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Christine Robichon, in a statement said that she had toured the areas where both the Tamil and Muslim communities displaced by the war, are being resettled including recently reopened part of the former high security zone in Jaffna. “It is encouraging to see that Tamil and Muslim work together to provide support to all the war affected people in some organizations but it is worrying to perceive signs of communal tensions particularly in Mannar,” the statement quoted the ambassador as saying.

By Matthew Russell Lee, Inner City Press, UNITED NATIONS, 16 January 2013 - As jurists' groups, bar association and the Commonwealth all criticize Sri Lanka's legislature and president Mahinda Rajapaksa for what they call the politicized impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, Inner City Press on January 15 asked the UN:

CNN, 16 Jan 2013 - A woman who Australia deems to be a national security risk has given birth to a child who is likely to spend the early months, if not years, of his life in detention. Baby Paari was born on Tuesday to Ranjini, a 33-year-old mother of two other boys aged six and nine, who was granted refugee status by Australia in 2011 after fleeing violence in Sri Lanka. Since May, they've been living in residential housing within the walls of the Villawood Detention Center, a secure facility in suburban Sydney where asylum seekers remain while their cases are processed.

BBC, 15 Jan 2013 - Sri Lanka's president has appointed a close ally to replace the chief justice who was sacked two days after being impeached by parliament on Friday. Former attorney general and senior government legal adviser Mohan Peiris was appointed on Tuesday to replace Shirani Bandaranayake. Her removal was pronounced unlawful by the courts and condemned by the opposition and many lawyers. Ms Bandaranayake said on Tuesday that her life was in danger.

By MIKE BLANCHFIELD, OTTAWA — The Canadian Press, Jan. 14 2013 - Canada appeared to be one step closer to boycotting this year’s Commonwealth leaders’ summit Monday as Prime Minister Stephen Harper bluntly called on the Sri Lankan government to reinstate the country’s fired chief justice. Mr. Harper has threatened to ignore the 54-country summit that Sri Lanka hosts later this year because he has serious concerns about Colombo’s commitment to human rights and democracy since the country’s long civil war ended in 2009.

The Independent, 13 Jan 2013 - Sri Lanka is facing a deepening constitutional crisis after President Mahinda Rajapaksa went ahead and sacked its most senior judge – a move that critics say undermines the independence of the country’s judiciary. Ms Bandaranayake, 54, has declined to make any public statement since the crisis began in November, when the government began proceedings to remove her. But her lawyer, Saliya Peiris, told The Independent, the chief justice had not recognised the legitimacy of the directive given to her by Mr Rajapaksa. “She has received the letter from the president and as far as she is concerned she is not going to recognise the legality of her ouster,” he said. “But as far as her next step, I cannot tell you at this stage.”

BBC, 13 Jan 2013 - Sri Lanka's president has dismissed Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake by ratifying parliament's recent vote to impeach her, officials say. They say the letter signed by President Mahinda Rajapakse was delivered to Dr Bandaranayake's office. Lawyers close to the country's first woman chief justice confirmed that she had received the presidential notice, but Dr Bandaranayake has so far not commented on the latest development. There is now a possibility that she may refuse to quit, as Sri Lanka's highest courts - the Supreme Court and the Appeal Court - last month quashed the impeachment process as irregular and illegal, the BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo reports.