Teacher in charge of discipline at the Nawagattegama Issuru School, Priyani Herath, who was forced to kneel down by a member of North Western Provincial Council, yesterday requested for a transfer to Nawagamuwa Maha Vidyalaya in the Puttalam Education Zone.

Herath said that she had already got a transfer to a nearby school, but to get there she had to go past the Nawagattegama Issuru School.

"I’m in fear as I have already been threatened," she said adding that the Nawagamuwa Maha Vidyalaya was the mo

The Open University Teachers’ Association has vehemently condemned a statement made by the Minister for Higher Education S. B Dissanayake on the attack on the Head of the Department of Legal Studies at the Open University.

The Minister has stated in parliament when questioned about the attack on Ms Yashodara Kadiragamathambi, that there are no opportunities for students and academics to interact at the Open University and that Ms Kadiragamathambi only comes to work once a month.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa today announced the appointment of a special commission to investigate the Matale mass grave.

President’s secretary Lalith Weeratunga said that the commission will be led by former Justice S.I. Imam, Retired High Court Judge Bandula Atapattu and former Secretary General of Parliament Dhammika Kitulgoda.

Weeratunga told media heads at a breakfast meeting that the commission has been asked to investigate all angles into the mass grave.

The British Government said it would have the opportunity to further urge Sri Lanka to make concrete progress in areas of concern during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Sri Lanka.

“CHOGM will also be an opportunity for the British Government to further urge Sri Lanka to make concrete progress in areas of human rights, reconciliation and political settlement,” British High Commissioner John Rankin said during his ‘ask the high commissioner’ session when  answering

Five Sri Lankans have been detained at the Chennai Airport for allegedly carrying ten kilogrammes of gold jewellery valued at nearly twenty million Indian rupees.

Indian media reported that they had smuggled the gold to Chennai from Dubai via New Delhi in the form of 94 gold biscuits.

The Consumer Affairs Authority says that been nabbed.

Chairman of the CAA Rumi Marzook said that these raids were conducted in several areas of the island which included several supermarkets in Colombo, Kandy and Anuradhapura.

The Chairman said that these traders were charged with several offences including the sale of expired goods, selling goods not up to the required weight, not displaying the retail price, and selling goods above the retail price.

Several Buddhist organizations including Bodu Bala Sena staged a protest at Balangoda city today(22) against the sexual abuse of Buddhist Samanera monk.

The alleged businessman has been remanded.

The monks who were conducting the protest accused that there is an attempt to cover up the incident.

Fairly strong Southwesterly winds up to 60kmph will be experienced over the island and neighborhood, the Department of Meteorology said today while requesting fishing communities to be vigilant in this regard.

The Met. Department said that sea areas off the coast extending from Mannar to Pottuvil via Colombo and Galle as well as the sea areas off the coast extending from Jaffna to Trincomalee will be rough.

Showers will occur at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and Southern provinces and may even extend

While claiming that remnants of the defeated Tamil terrorist organisation - the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, are involved in the people-smuggling business of bringing Sri Lankan boat people to Australia, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Professor G. L. Peiris says it is absolutely clear that the people leaving Sri Lanka are not genuine refugees but economic migrants.

Acting on intelligence inputs on a bid to transport Sri Lankan refugees illegally to Australia, Tamil Nadu Q Branch sleuths rounded up four persons, including two suspected Madurai-based agents, and tracked down a mechanised boat anchored in Nagapattinam.

Following intense vigil, the security sleuths on Friday traced down a mechanised boat anchored in Keechankuppam jetty, loaded with adequate food , water, and about 5,000 litres of diesel.