An Indian journalist, Tamil Prabhakaran, was arrested by the Sri Lankan police in Kilinochchi on Wednesday.

The BBC's Sinhala Service reported that the journalist, who had arrived on a tourist visa, had been arrested for taking photographs of military installations. He had also reportedly met with members of the Tamil National Alliance.

The Indian High Commission in Colombo is aware of the arrest.

The journalist was inside St Anthony's Chuch, in Ponnaaveli, in the Vanni region, when 50 Sri Lankan army soldiers surrounded the church and detained the journalist, confiscating his camera.

The Bishop of Mannar has called for an international investigation into the mass grave unearthed in Mannar, reported BBC Tamil.

Dismissing any inquiry by the Sri Lankan government, Bishop Rayappu Joseph, said that other graves had been unearthed across Jaffna, and he did not believe the investigations undertaken were authentic.
 

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.

Photograph: Tamilwin

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’.

The Sri Lankan government today rejected claims by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), that a recent state led census to determine the human and material losses due to the ethnic conflict was not credible.

The Director General of the Sri Lankan Census and Statistics Department, DCA Gunawardena labelled the TNA’s assertions as a ‘political gimmick, stating,

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.