15000 Tamil graduate students were left disappointed after a conference promising appointments turned out to be a film screening of Sri Lankan state propaganda, reports Uthayan.

The Sri Lankan Minister for Health, Maithripala Sirisena, has suspended all drug imports from an Indian company called Biomet Pharmaceuticals of India.

The decision was taken in response to the discovery of a fragment of glass in an intravenous Cloxacillin vial at Colombo South Teaching Hospital.

The Sri Lankan Army has reportedly discovered a stash of explosives and pornographic material in the office of Tamil National Alliance MP for Kilinochchi, reported the Daily Mirror.

Criticising the impeachment of the Chief Justice, the Commonwealth Secretary General, Kamalesh Sharma said the "Commonwealth, collectively, is profoundly concerned about this situation."

The Sri Lankan government has recalled their ambassador to Saudi Arabia in response to the execution of a maid, convicted of murdering her employer’s baby.

Karunatilake Amunugama, secretary of the External Affairs Ministry, told Reuters,

Speaking on the Seventh Hour Programme, the well-known Minister Wimal Weerawansa informed viewers that the recent situation with the Chief Justice was 'another LTTE conspiracy to destabilise the country.'

In a statement on the impeachment proceedings, the US embassy, said it "remains deeply concerned about the impeachment proceedings" and that it "calls into question issues about the separation of powers in Sri Lanka and the impact of its absence on democratic institutions".

The 521 Brigade of Point Pedro have been handing out coconut seedlings to recently displaced people in the Vadamaratchi area.

Commenting on the Chief Justice impeachment saga, the spokesperson for the US State Department, Victoria Nuland said on Thursday:

An Uthayan employee who was distributing newspapers was attacked and 1500 newspaper set alight, during the early hours of Thursday morning, reports the media outlet.

Using poles, four unidentified men attacked the employee by Maalu junction. The men then threw the victim, 30 year old Nakeswaran Pratheepan, inside a drain before setting alight his newspapers.

Buddhist monks carried out a demonstration on Wednesday, demanding the immediate removal of a Mosque and the Muslim community living at Anuradhapuram, Malwathu Oya, reported Uthayan.

The French ambassador to Sri Lanka has queried the military’s activities in civil administration, as she travelled across the North this week, reported Jaffna-based newspaper Uthayan.

British Members of Parliament have called on the government to boycott this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka, at a debate held in the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday.

The debate, saw MPs from across the political spectrum speak out against Sri Lanka and slamming international inaction on the issue, with many calling for the British Government to refuse to attend the CHOGM due to be held in Sri Lanka, and called for robust action at the UN Human Rights Council.

Many of the lawmakers blasted the Sri Lankan government’s human rights record, with Siobhain McDonagh saying,

"If the Queen were to put her foot on the soil in Colombo it would be regarded as a vindication of the Sri Lankan Government’s actions—and this is at a time when at least 40,000 people are still dying or missing."

Lee Scott also added,

"Should we forget Auschwitz, Rwanda or the atrocities committed in Northern Ireland? No, we should not. That would be an insult to the memories of the people who lost their lives on all sides, and that is not acceptable."

A small group of MPs however, defended Sri Lanka, with Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn slamming them as “the Sri Lankan Government lobby that is in Westminster Hall today”. Amongst them was Conservative MP James Wharton (See our earlier post: Why does the Tory MP for Stockton care so much about Sri Lanka?) and Ian Paisley who stated,

“I took a day out and spent it with the leader of Tamil National Alliance, Mr Sampanthan. I spoke to him and his party colleagues at length, and I waited for him because I wanted to hear from him at first hand, without his being pushed or prodded into some of the difficult issues about the past. He did not raise with me the issue of the disappeared; he did not take time to raise with me the issue of war crimes; he did not take time to talk about routine torture, in his country, of his people. He had a politician with him from this nation and he did not want to talk about those things.

In fact, he actively applauded the Government, whom he opposes.

He applauded them on their investment in the country—in parts of the north—and he said that the most effective thing that many of his people required was practical help to get bicycles and other tools to help them to work and run their country. That was the message of the man who is leading the opposition.”

Echoing those comments on meeting the TNA leader, Aidan Burley added,

"I met the President in Kandy. I also met, Mr Sampanthan, a leader of the opposition, for several hours in Trincomalee—I recognise the comments of the hon. Member for North Antrim (Ian Paisley)—and I remember him telling us that he wanted a bicycle for every one of his people, which is his main priority."

Extracts from the debate have been reproduced below. Video of the debate can be seen here. Full text can be accessed here.

A recent research into Middle School drop-out rates in the island, indicate that the North-East saw the highest rates, reports Uthayan.