The Supreme Court yesterday refused applications by the Commonwealth Bar Association and the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales. They had sought to appear as amici curiae to inform Court on the Constitutional Act of 2005 of the UK, which refers to the removal of judges.

The Supreme Court held that they were foreign institutions and their interventions were not needed. Dr. Sunil Cooray appeared for them. Those applications did not relate to the questions of law before the Court, the Supreme Court said.

The BBC has spoken to people in Sri Lanka who say they have been threatened with rape and tortured at the hands of officials.

The group Human Rights Watch says rape and sexual violence are widely used against detainees, something the government denies.

Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister has said the country's investigations into human rights violations have been adequate.

After nearly a year since the skeletal fragments were found in a controversial mass grave behind the Matale Base Hospital, samples of the bones will soon be ready for DNA testing.

Former Judicial Medical Officer of Matale, Dr. Ajith Jayasena, told Ceylon Today, the forensic examination on the dental remains of the skeletons will be completed in the next two weeks, and that arrangements will be made to conduct DNA testing on the bone fragments of the skeletons.

The government says there is no justification to call for an international investigation on Sri Lanka.

External Affairs Minister Professor G.L Peiris told the BBC that if there is a push for an international probe the government will say it is unwarranted and there is no reason to do it.

He also recalled that the government has already appointed its own investigative body to look into some of the allegations.

David Cameron has defended the decision to attend a high-profile international summit in Sri Lanka despite his concerns over the country's human rights record.

The Prime Minister rejected a Labour call to boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), insisting it was right for him to attend so he could have "very tough conversations" with the Sri Lankan government.

Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, visiting Mr Cameron at No 10, said it was right to engage with regimes but oppositio

India must boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, next month, say human rights activists who are opposing Sri Lankan president Mahendra Rajapakse being depicted as the hero in the ‘War on Terror.’

Spearheading a campaign to mobilise public opinion across the country is the charismatic German-born Indian, Dr Gabriele Dietrich, Professor Emeritus from the Centre of Social Analysis, Madurai, and a member of the National Alliance of People’s Movement (NAPM). Admitti

British Prime Minister David Cameron and Burmese opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi have both agreed that engaging Sri Lanka is the right way to go on the human rights issue.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who met Cameron in London on Wednesday, said that if he goes to Sri Lanka he should “engage with all those who are involved, all other stakeholders and not just the government”.

Cameron responded: “Very wise words. I will be going to the north of the country as well and I think what A