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Jaffna explodes with crackers, this time

After ten years manufacturers of firecrackers from the south are having good sales in Jaffna, sources said. Stacks of different types of firecrackers were seen in the market as well as in makeshift stalls and in vehicles throughout the town.

The sale which began with the Christmas season in Jaffna is expected to continue till Thai Pongal, the harvest festival of the Hindu calendar. Hospital sources in Jaffna said that around five persons were admitted to the accident services with injuries, while lighting crackers.

LSE invites Tyronne

The prestigious London School of Economics and Political Science (LSEPS) has invited Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando, to give a lecture to their students early next year on Sri Lanka's peace process, the Foreign Ministry said. Among those who have delivered lectures at the LSEPS this year are President Bill Clinton, Finland Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen and Thailand Foreign Minister Dr. Surakirat Sathirathai, a Ministry Communique said.

Forces casualty: mere two

Over six hundred deaths of security forces personnel was reported in the North and East in the year 2001 and the rate has trickled down to a mere two in departing this year after the commencement of the peace process.

Military spokesman Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne said that two deaths of Army soldiers have been reported from Muhamalai in the north and in Batticaloa. No deaths have been reported in the Air Force and Navy after signing the MoU which is remarkable.

Rubber Corp. on the mat!

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probing the alleged massive fraud at the Sri Lanka Rubber Manufacturing and Export Corporation will question several senior officials, past and present, of the Plantation Ministry to record their statements.

Last week the CID recorded a lengthy statement from former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake in connection with the ongoing investigation into the alleged fraud.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) earlier produced three suspects before the Colombo Fort Magistrate and Additional District Judge Priyantha Fernando. They are factory manager Upul Nanda Munasinghe, Corporation accountant Ms. V. G. Delduwa and former Chairman Sarath Wickremasinghe. Later they were granted bail, Munasinghe and Delduwa were ordered to furnish Rs. one million bond with three sureties each.

The third suspect former Corporation chairman Sarath Wickremasinghe was ordered to furnish cash bail in Rs. 100,000 and a bond of Rs. 50,000 with three sureties.

Investigations revealed that a sum of Rs. 900.34 million had been released by the Treasury to the Rubber Manufacturing and Export Corporation during the last regime.

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