A batsman like Mahela Jayawardena who has been as asset to the Sri Lanka team will always be hard to come by and replaced, skipper Angelo Mathews said before his squad left for New Zealand for a two-Test series on Wednesday night.

The JVP's main goal is to defeat President Mahinda Rajapaksa and then join efforts to salvage the country, party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said.

A Presidential candidate has visited the Government Press on Dec. 17 and remained there for over an hour, reports say.

A prominent personality in the party of Minister of Housing, Construction, Engineering and Public Utilities Wimal Weerawansa, has quit and joined Common Opposition Presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena.

The UNP, JHU, Democratic Party and several other civic organisations have launched out on a protest against election violations at the Election Commissioner's office.

An associate of former Minister Duminda Dissanayake has been found murdered in a stream in Lunu Oya in Thambuttegama.