The Mayor of London and Conservative party candidate for the next Mayor of London Borris Johnson and Zac Goldstein thanked the British Tamil community for their contribution ‘to making London the greatest city in the world,” in their Thai Pongal message.

Speaking at the Shree Ganapathy Temple in London, Borris Johnson thanked the Tamil community for their contribution to society and wished them a Happy Thai Pongul.

Buddhist monks have raised concerns over a parliamentary bill which they claim attempts to control and restricts monks, reports Colombo Gazettte.

The National Bhikku Front said the Theravadi Bhikkku Kathikawath bill had been presented in parliament without consulting the Buddhist clergy.

The NBF accused the government of using the bill to divert attention from issues and control monks.

The outgoing UN and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)  Resident Representative in Sri Lanka Subinay Nandy reaffirmed the commitment of the United Nations to the government of Sri Lanka in working together for the benefit of the people, reports Colombo Gazette.

Subinay Nandy will take up a new post as Head of the Asia Pacific Division of the Department of Political affairs in New York.

UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka pledges assistance towards reconciliation (16 Sep 2015)

Former Sri Lankan Army Commander Sarath Fonseka denied that Sri Lankan troops killed the 12 year old son of LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran, however admitted that if such an execution took place, it amounted to a war crime.

Mr Fonseka denied the Sri Lankan army was responsible for the murder, despite photographic evidence of Balachandran Prabhakaran in Sri Lankan army custody.

Evidence obtained by documentary makers in 2013 showed the 12 year old boy, alive and apparently in army custody. Balachandran can be seen sitting with a snack in his hand, sitting on a bench surrounded by sandbags, in what looks like a fortified army position. Another picture shows him dead, with 5 bullet wounds to his body, with digital analysis of both pictures showing that they were taken by the same camera, only a couple of hours apart.

"Both these photographs and the video do not provide any evidence that the terrorist leader’s son was killed by the army; no other persons are seen in the pictures," claimed Mr Fonseka, who was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal by the present government.

"Nobody has been able to prove this allegation though many have voiced their opinion,” he added.

Whilst admitting that if the 12 year old boy was killed, then the execution amounted to a war crime, the former commander remained adamant that Sri Lankan troops were not responsible.

“It is either a figment of their imagination or a fabrication to implicate the army," he said. 

The leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) called on Tamils to mark the traditional Tamil festival of Thai Pongal by praying for those who remain displaced by the armed conflict over 6 years on. 

"My heartfelt Thai Pongal wishes to all Tamil people living across Sri Lanka," Mr Sampanthan said in a written message.

"On this day when we express our thanks to God and nature, I pray that the plight of our people, who are unable to celebrate this festival in their own homes with their loved ones, changes with all speed."

Sri Lanka’s cabinet spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne insisted that there was not a deadline on accountability for mass atrocities committed during the final phase of the armed conflict.

Mr Senaratne went on to reiterate that any such accountability mechanism would be domestic and not a “hybrid process” as proposed by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) report.