Lankamuslim.com

Over 70 schools in the North that were closed during the war are to be reopened within a few months time. “I have been tasked with handing over a report to the Ministry of Education on this matter after the elections,” said a senior consultant to the Ministry of Education, Dr. H.N. Thanihasalampillai.“Even though people in the North have been resettled, the children don’t have schools to attend. This is a serious problem that needs to be rectified as soon as possible,” he said. He said that right now Thali Pulai Union College, Thali Pulai  Maharaj College, Nunasa Vidyalaya, and Veluva Central College were open in Jaffna. However, Students were scared to attend these schools because they were located inside the security zone.

“The children have to go through body checks every single day,” said Dr. Thanihasalampillai who noted that more problems were caused by the fact that all the hostels in these four schools have been occupied by the security forces.“Relocating the displaced people is addressing just part of the problem. A lot more needs to be done in order to bring normalcy into the lives of these people. Giving those children a proper school to study in should be one of the priorities of the new government, Dr. Thanihasalampillai said

A Sri Lankan woman taken into custody last month for writing books about her conversion to Islam for Buddhism is being investigated for possible links to Islamic extremists, police said Saturday. Last weekend, police said the woman, identified as Malini Perera, was taken into custody under tough emergency laws over allegations of “anti-state” activities but they did not elaborate.

But on Saturday, police spokesman Prashantha Jayakody said Perera was being held while police investigate “possible links to Islamic militants.” “She has not been formally charged yet because police are still investigating the case,” Jayakody told AFP. He accused the writer of “insensitive religious writings.” The author, a native Sri Lankan who is resident in Bahrain, was detained while holidaying on the island after trying to mail copies of her books to undisclosed recipients abroad.

The books are titled “From Darkness to Light” and “Questions and Answers.” Perera’s lawyer, Lakshan Dias, said the writer was a victim of religious intolerance. “Her writings don’t insult any religion. They’re a collection of opinion pieces on the way Buddhism is being practised,” Dias told AFP. He rejected allegations that his client had any links to religious extremists. (AFP)- information from dailymirror

The Batticaloa District tops the list of incidents of election related violence when compared with the other districts in the island. This was revealed yesterday at a media briefing held at the Police headquarters  under the patronage of IGP Mahinda Balasuriya.
“So far, there have been 24 complaints reported from the Batticaloa District while there are 20 complaints reported from the Kandy District, 13 from the Matale District and 12 from the Kanthale area,” said senior  DIG of Police Administration and Crimes, N.K. Illangakoon.

A BAHRAIN-BASED author arrested in Sri Lanka for allegedly offending the spiritual leader of Buddhism spoke to her family for the first time yesterday.
Sarah Malanie Perera was allowed to talk to her mother Aisha for five minutes by telephone, 11 days after she was detained in the capital Colombo.

The authorities have yet to give precise details of the her offence, but it is understood two of her recently published books offended ethnic Sinhalese Buddhists, who account for about 70 per cent of Sri Lanka’s 20 million population. Ms Perera is still being held without charge and her lawyers filed a case at the Supreme Court in Colombo on Tuesday demanding her immediate release, but it stalled as police never brought her to court.

The 38-year-old, who previously converted to Islam, was detained after writing two books in Sinhalese, allegedly offensive to Lord Buddha more…

KUWAIT CITY, March 30: The Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced a Sri Lankan man, identified as Hajj Mohyeddein, and his female compatriot, identified as Sisha Siba, to death in absentia for the premeditated murder of a Kuwaiti man in 2006.  The court then referred the case to the concerned civil court.
Case files indicate on Dec 6, 2006, the two suspects, who worked as driver and housemaid for the victim, agreed to kill their sponsor and steal his money.
They waited until the victim went to sleep, then they entered his bedroom, strangled him with a rope which they prepared earlier, and did not leave him until they were certain he was dead.
After killing their sponsor, the suspects took his money and other valuable possessions. They immediately fled from the scene and are said to have left Kuwait.
The session was presided over by Judge Hisham Abdullah. Ear bitten off: Police are looking for an unidentified youth for biting off the ear of another youth during a fight in Sulaibiya, reports Al-Shahed daily. The injured youth was rushed to the Farwaniya Hospital and underwent a surgery to re-fix the ear.

Deep cut in neck: A Kuwaiti man in his 50s has been admitted to the Jahra Hospital with a deep cut on his neck, reports Al-Anba daily. The man was reportedly found unconscious near a cooperative society in a pool of blood.
Police are waiting for him to recover to interrogate him.- arabtimesonline