Lecturers at Jaffna University have condemned attempts to force them to sign a letter to incumbent Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, wishing him success at the upcoming presidential elections.

The lecturers filed a complaint at the Jaffna District Elections Commissions after refusing to sign the letter, which was sent to all faculties at the university, reports Uthayan.

An expert behind the Indian prime minister’s social media campaign will aid the Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa’s re-election campaign, reports the Hindu.

Arvind Gupta, one of the chief architects behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media campaign during the Indian elections, has offered assistance to the Rajapaksa, according to highly placed sources in Colombo.

Gupta reportedly visited Colombo in November, an official source in New Delhi told the Hindu.

Almost one hundred Tamils came together in Toronto to mark the 10 year anniversary of the tsunami which killed thousands of people across the North-East of the island, and hundreds of thousands more across South Asia and parts of Africa.

“The holiday season is a time when we showcase our noblest emotions: love, generosity, caring and compassion,” said the Canadian Tamil Congress. “For many Tamil Canadians, while this holiday season is marked by a patchwork of sentiments, our thoughts inevitably turn to less joyous images, namely of those who lost their lives in the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004.”

People lined up and laid down flowers in front of a memorial in remembrance of the victims, at the event in Scarborough, Toronto.

Amongst them was tsunami survivor Jebnesan Ratnam, who lost his two nieces and aunt in the disaster. Hear his account of the tsunami in a report by CityNews Toronto below.

The Sri Lankan army's 57th Division held a Christmas event in the Tamil region of Kilinochchi on Monday, aimed at "promoting religious reconciliation and peace among all communities in Kilinochchi area", the army said on its website.


Military arrange Christmas programme in Kilinochchi included a dance with Tamil children lighting candles before a large cut out of the whole island, with the words: "WE ARE SRI LANKANS".

Photographs BattiNews

Tamils on the island of Puliyentheevu in Batticaloa gathered today to celebrate Midnight Mass despite heavy rains and flooding causing mass displacement across the East.

A visit by the head of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation has been postponed due to the presidential election on January 8, reported Arab News, citing sources within the Sri Lanka embassy in Saudi Arabia.

The Secretary General of the OIC, Iyad Ameen Madani was due to visit in early January, as part of a four member delegation, on an invitation extended by President Rajapaksa.