North Provncial Councillor of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) - Ananthi Sasitharan has said that she would boycott the forthcoming Presidential election as a mark of protest against the party's decision to support common candidate Maithripala Sirisena.

Political parties mainly representing Sri Lanka's minority Tamils and Muslims, who account for a quarter of the total vote, have said they will back President Mahinda Rajapaksa's challenger in a Jan. 8 presidential poll.

UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera severely criticised the bringing in of Indian actors while local thugs were being assaulted by 'state sponsored thugs.

The Tamil National Alliance says that they 'have taken note of and welcome the Common Opposition Candidate’s undertakings, amongst others, to abolish the Executive Presidency, repeal the Eighteenth Amendment, restore independent commissions and guarantee primacy to the rule of law.'

Some 40 bodies have been found at sea where the Air Asia flight went missing three days ago, foreign news agencies have reported.