Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said in his annual Christmas message that he sends his “warmest good wishes […] to all Christians in Sri Lanka”.

"In this season of loving and giving, Christians seek to break the barriers that divide people, whether by race, ethnicity, religion, caste, wealth or social status.

The son of a leading civil society activist was kidnapped by masked and armed men in Jaffna earlier this morning, after his family had left the house to attend a tsunami memorial event.

22-year-old Thamilamuthan Suriyakumaran, the son of Kanthavanam Suriyakumaran - president of the Northern Province Fishermen's Federation, was alone at the family home in Point Pedro in Jaffna, when masked intruders came to the house between 4-5 am.

Thamilamuthan managed to send a text message to his family, stating that 4 masked men carrying handguns had then kidnapped him and taken him to the Point Pedro army camp.

President of the TNPF, GG Ponnambalam tweeted earlier that Thamilamuthan had spoken to his sister, saying that he was being held in the jungle and was ‘frightened for his life’. He also reported that the Sri Lankan police are refusing to believe his son was abducted, labelling it a ‘scam’.

Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy visited an Iranian submarine that had berthed in Colombo earlier today, after visiting India earlier this month.

Vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage visited the Iranian Navy’s 28th fleet, which included the 'Younus' submarine, stating, 

“We could host a submarine in Colombo port after a long time and it was a rare opportunity for us to visit such a submarine”.

The chairman of the state-owned Milco Company has stated that he suspects ‘multinational companies’ could be behind strikes, which have contributed to a severe shortage of milk powder in Sri Lanka.

The price of milk powder, is controlled by the government’s Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA), despite requests from milk powder companies to increase the prices, reported ColomboPage. This has led to reportedly led to companies reducing their production in order to minimise losses.

An island off the coast of Jaffna has been declared a sanctuary for horses by the Sri Lankan government, reported The Island.

Wildlife Conservation Minister Vijith Wijayamuni Zoysa said yesterday that the government wants to protect and safeguard the animals. Zoysa also said that EPDP chief and Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda also requested the move.

The Sri Lankan government has sharply rebuked the British Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Hugo Swire, whilst rejecting the notion of a resolution being brought before the United Nations Human Rights Council in March 2014.

The comments by External Affairs Ministry Secretary Karunathilake Amunugama, come after Swire spoke in the British Parliament, telling the house that Sri Lanka was regularly discussed with the UK's international partners and the contents of a resolution were being discussed.

An Australian hotelier, and founder of the Galle Literary Festival, has been denied entry into Sri Lanka after allegedly flying the Sri Lankan flag upside down.

Geoffrey Dobbs, who owns four luxury hotels in the Galle region, was accused of flying the flag upside down and at half mast, outside each of his hotels in the run up to the Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting last month.