JAFFNA, Sri Lanka: M.K. Sivajilingam, a veteran Tamil nationalist politician and chairman of the Valvettithurai Urban Council, was admitted to the intensive care unit of Point Pedro Base Hospital on Monday after his condition suddenly worsened. Mr. Sivajilingam, a former member of Parliament, had a kidney transplant at a private hospital in Colombo on June 11 after both his kidneys were severely damaged. He returned home after several weeks in hospital. When his health declined again, he was ad

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka: Fraudsters in Jaffna are taking over WhatsApp accounts by posing as organizers of an old boys' association meeting at Jaffna Hindu College and asking people to send back a six-digit code to confirm they will attend. The code is a one-time password that WhatsApp sends when someone tries to register a phone number on a new device. Anyone who passes it on gives the sender control of the account. Two people in Jaffna had their accounts hijacked this way on Tuesday, according to

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — A senior surgeon at the University of Jaffna has given tree-planting machinery and protective gear to the Nallur Pradeshiya Sabha. The local council has been planting trees in its area under a campaign it calls “Green Nallur.” Prof. Balasingam Balagobi heads the University Surgical Unit at Teaching Hospital Jaffna. He handed over earth augers, the machines used to drill planting holes, along with other tools and protective clothing for the council workers who do the planting

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka: A former mayor of Jaffna told the city’s municipal council on Monday to disregard a letter from the district’s top police officer asking it to remove a structure from the memorial to Thileepan, the Tamil Tiger political leader who died on hunger strike in 1987. “Had I been the mayor, I would have torn that letter up and thrown it into the dustbin,” said the former mayor, Visvalingam Manivannan. “The Deputy Inspector General of Police has no legal grounds to issue orders to th