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Teacher recruitment examinations will be conducted in accordance with the relevant court decisions – PM

Published

2 months ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the forthcoming two teacher recruitment examinations will be conducted in accordance with the relevant court decisions pertaining to the ongoing legal proceedings and further noted that, taking into consideration the requests received, steps have been taken to make a request to Court’s approval to revise the conditions of the effective date of degree completion.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while addressing a meeting held at Monaragala Royal College to brief education authorities of the Monaragala District on the new education reforms.

Under the new education reforms, Smart Boards will be provided to 132 schools in the Monaragala District as part of the program to equip secondary schools with modern technology. As a symbolic step under this initiative, Smart Boards were presented to 10 secondary schools under the Prime Minister’s patronage. This program is being implemented with the intervention of the Digital Task Force operating under the Prime Minister’s Office. It was also emphasized that a new digital policy, formulated with special attention to child protection, will be introduced in April.

As part of her visit to the Monaragala District on the 13 th of February, the Prime Minister observed the implementation of the new learning methodologies introduced for Grade One under the new education reforms. She visited Kumbukkana Sri Shanmugam Tamil Maha Vidyalaya and Maduruketiya Maha Vidyalaya in Monaragala to observe the educational activities of Grade One students.

Considering the increase of student numbers and the development of infrastructure facilities, the Prime Minister also approved a proposal submitted by the School Development Society to rename Maduruketiya Maha Vidyalaya as Monaragala Dharmaraja Maha Vidyalaya.

Teachers briefed the Prime Minister that the new education system, supported by revised workbooks and activity-based learning methods, has proven to be effective, with students participating enthusiastically.

Addressing education officials further at the meeting held at Monaragala Royal College, the Prime Minister stated:

“Although this will not provide a complete solution to the existing teacher vacancies, these examinations can offer considerable relief. According to the Court’s previous determination, the effective date of degree completion had been set as 30.06.2025. However, considering numerous requests and following the cabinet approval we have sought Court’s consent to revise this date. We will act in accordance with the decision granted.

Funds allocated for school infrastructure must be utilized transparently and in line with proper planning, and progress must be reported accordingly. We cannot move forward by dividing ourselves along national, provincial, rural, or urban lines. As education authorities, you must make swift and accurate decisions based on correct data.

Further, discussions are already underway within the Piriven Committee of the Ministry of Education to develop Piriven education and to address the issues faced by Piriven teachers.”

The event was attended by the members of the Maha Sangha, Uva Province Governor Attorney-at-Law Kapila Jayasekara, Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce R.M. Jayawardhana, Member of Parliament Ajith Agalakada, Uva Provincial Education Secretary Nihal Gunarathne, and several officials from the education sector.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

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Iran executes two convicted members of banned opposition group

Published

8 hours ago

2026/04/4

Priyan

Glenn Torshizi, whose brothers were executed by the Iranian government, joins others in a protest at the US State Department, to highlight the executions in Karaj, Iran, of People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran members, on March 30, 2026, in Washington, DC [Cricinfo]

Iran has executed two men convicted of being members of the banned People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) opposition group, in the latest action targeting dissidents, even as the United States – Israeli war on Iran drags on.

The two were executed on Saturday morning after the country’s Supreme Court upheld earlier sentences that convicted them of PMOI/MEK membership, and “armed rebellion through involvement in multiple terrorist acts”.

“Abolhassan Montazer and Vahid Baniamerian were hanged after trial and their sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court,” the Iranian judiciary website, Mizan Online, said on Saturday.

PMOI/MEK had initially supported the 1979 Islamic revolution that unseated the Iranian monarchy. However, in the 1980s, it fell out with the new leadership in Tehran and was designated a “terrorist” organisation. PMOI/MEK has since operated in exile.

Four other convicted members of the group were executed on March 30 and 31. According to information on the PMOI/MEK website, the men were: Mohammad Taghavi, Akbar Daneshvarkar, Babak Alipour and Pouya Ghobadi.

All six men were arrested and convicted by a Revolutionary Court in late 2024, according to PMOI/MEK.

The group condemned the executions in an April 2 statement, calling Tehran’s actions a “futile” attempt to suppress opposition.

“These brutal executions will not silence the opposition; instead, they will only intensify the resolve of Iran’s rebellious youth to overthrow the regime,” PMOI/MEK said.

Rights groups, too, have criticised the spate of hangings. Activists have long accused Iran of being the second most prolific executioner after China.

In a statement following the first set of hangings on March 31, Amnesty International accused Iranian authorities of torturing the men while they were held in prison and then abruptly transferring them to an unknown location shortly before their executions.

Amnesty further raised fears of more planned executions, including of protesters arrested during mass anti-government demonstrations in January, during which thousands were killed.

“It is unconscionable that even as the population is reeling from conflict and mass bereavement amid the ongoing aerial bombardment by Israel and the USA, the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran continue to weaponize the death penalty to eradicate dissenting voices and further terrify people,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Since the US and Israel’s war on Iran began on February 28, Tehran has executed several people, including Kouroush Keyvani, a dual Iranian-Swedish national convicted on charges of spying for Israel in a case that has drawn outrage from Stockholm and the European Union.

One man convicted of acting on behalf of Israel and the US during the protests was also executed on Thursday.

Earlier, on March 19, four people – Saleh Mohammadi, Mehdi Ghasemi, and Saeed Davoudi – arrested in connection with the uprising, were killed.

Amnesty warns that another five young protesters previously sentenced to death could soon be executed after they were moved from the Ghezel Hesar prison to an unidentified location this week.

[Aljazeera]

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Afghanistan earthquake kills eight members of same family

Published

8 hours ago

2026/04/4

Priyan

An Afghan man clears rubble from the courtyard of his damaged house, in the aftermath of an earthquake at a village in the Khulm district of Samangan province on November 4, 2025 [Aljazeera]

An earthquake in Afghanistan has killed eight members of the same family when their home collapsed in the Gosfand Dara area of Kabul province.

Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said on Saturday that a child aged around two years old was the only survivor. Afghanistan’s disaster management agency said the boy was injured

The 5.8-magnitude quake struck at 8:42pm local time (16:12 GMT) on Friday at a depth of 186km (115 miles). The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the epicentre was in the northeastern province of Badakhshan.

The capital Kabul is about 290km (180 miles) southwest of the epicentre.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in areas closer to the epicentre. The province is remote so it can often take several hours before local authorities can relay information back to Kabul.

Strong tremors were felt in multiple parts of Afghanistan, including Kabul and the Indian capital New Delhi, witnesses told the Reuters news agency.

Pakistan also felt the quake, including in the capital Islamabad and Peshawar, Chitral, Swat and Shangla. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Afghanistan is frequently jolted by earthquakes along the Hindu Kush mountain range – near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. On average, 560 people are killed by quakes there every year.

The deadliest tremor in the country’s recent history struck last August. The shallow magnitude 6 earthquake in eastern Afghanistan wiped out mountain villages, killing at least 2,200 people.

Most casualties were in Kunar province, where Afghans typically live in wood and mud-brick houses along steep valleys.

Impoverished Afghanistan often faces difficulty in responding to natural disasters, especially in remote regions.

Many homes in rural and outlying areas are poorly built with bricks, wood and mud.

[Aljazeera]

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Breakdown of the teams and groups of the FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the US after the final playoffs

Published

12 hours ago

2026/04/4

Priyan

Bosnia and Herzegovina's Ermedin Demirovic and Dzenis Burnic celebrate qualifying for the FIFA World Cup after beating Italy in a penalty shootout at the Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 31, 2026 [

Iraq’s qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026 has completed the lineup of 48 nations for the tournament hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The Lions of Mesopotamia edged Bolivia 2-1 on Tuesday to win the second final of the FIFA Playoff tournament in Mexico. In the first final earlier, Democratic Republic of the Congo beat Jamaica 1-0.

In the other games, Turkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden and Czechia were the final four teams to complete the European quota of World Cup qualification.

Widely considered the most famous sporting event in the world, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be its biggest ever. Forty-eight nations will play instead of the usual 32, with 104 matches in 16 venues across the three host nations.

Argentina will look to defend the trophy lifted by iconic captain, Lionel Messi at Qatar 2022. Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan will make their debut.

The World Cup’s first game will be a throwback to 2010 when Mexico take on South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City in a replay of the tournament opener then. Football fans will hope the opening goal this year matches the screamer scored by Lawrence Tshabalala from the South African hosts then.

Mexico in group A – which includes South Korea and Czechia – will be one of the toughest of the 12 groups.

Team USA are alongside Australia, Paraguay and Turkiye.

Canada, too, face the challenging task of making it out of a group comprising Switzerland, Qatar and Bosnia.

Here’s a breakdown of the 48 teams in the 12 groups:

Group A: