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.

Up to 50,000 graduates were told that the conference in Colombo was essential for academic appointment, although the students were expected to cover their own travel and accommodation costs.

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.

Six hundred vials of the drug were subsequently removed from hospitals and an inquiry ordered by the Ministry of Health.

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.

Military Spokesperson Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya was quoted as saying the MP's Coordinating Secretary had been taken into custody over the incident.

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,

"(This is) to show our displeasure for not hearing the government's appeal to save Rizana Nafeek,"

"He (the envoy) has been recalled with immediate effect."

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.'

Stating that the Chief Justice had published articles on devolution of power, Weerawansa pointed his finger towards the publication of the Chief Justice's articles on the Groundviews website and TamilNet.

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 statement went on to say:

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:

"As we said before, we had serious concerns about the actions that were taken to impeach the Chief Justice and the timing of the impeachment and that it raised serious questions about the process and government pressure on the judiciary."

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.

He is currently been admitted to Jaffna Teaching Hospital with injuries including a broken arm.