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| Sunday, 15 June 2003 |
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News in brief PM unveils pinnacle in Tissa Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday unveiled the pinnacle of the renovated Tissamaharama Maha Dagaba at the auspicious time of 9.10 am amidst a large number of devotees. Chief Incumbent of Tissamaharama Viharaya Ven. Dr. Devalegama Dammasena thera presided. Speaking on the occasion the Premier highlighted the importance of renovating ancient dagabas which were venerated by Buddhists for over two thousand years, and thanked the Government of Myanmar for presenting the pinnacle. The Prime Minister said that several kings including Devanampiyatissa, Kavantissa, Dutugemunu and the great Parakramabahu helped to spread the 'Theravada' Buddhism during their reign. - AK TULF chief will not step down Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) President V. Anandasangari, MP for Jaffna, refuted speculations that he would be stepping down from his leadership. He told the Sunday Observer that he would only step down only if the Executive Committee of the TULF comprising 45 members ask him to do so. Speculations were rife earlier that he was given June 15 as deadline to step down. Party sources said that while it was true that some members of the TULF parliamentary group had approached him with a request to step down, but there was no truth that there was any deadline. Anandasangari has already told the members of the Executive Committee that there were no valid grounds for his removal as "he has done nothing to deserve a removal". - PK Credit card fraud busted Police on Friday busted a major fake credit card racket involving millions of rupees following the arrest of a suspect from Dehiwela. The suspect in question was to be connected by marriage to the late Hamer family who were killed last month by some unknown assassins, CID sources said. The suspect is alleged to have purchased several expensive items such as jewellery, electrical appliances and clothes to the tune of millions of rupees from well-known establishments in the city, by tendering fake credit cards. Cashiers of several leading commercial establishments are suspected to be involved in the racket. The cards in question are identical to genuine cards issued by leading banks in Sri Lanka, Police sources said. - JJ 'MH' - 59 years in politics Minister of Western Region Development and former Speaker Al-Haj M. H. Mohamed who celebrates his birthday today will also be completing 59 years as a politician. An old boy of Wesley College, Colombo , Minister Mohamed entered the political arena as a representative of the United National Party from the Borella electorate to the Colombo Municipal Council in 1957 and became the first Muslim Mayor in 1960. He was appointed Minister of Transport, Omnibus and Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs by the late President J. R. Jayewardene and was later elected as the 8th Speaker of Parliament. Minister Mohamed is the Senior Vice President of the Muslim World Congress (Motamar Al-alam Al-Islami), Chairman, Asian Islamic Council and founder Chairman, Sri Lanka Islamic Centre. 2 boys with hand grenade nabbed The Bambalapitiya police are investigating how two youths aged 16 and 18 came to be in possession of a foreign made hand grenade along Dickman's Road, Bambalapitiya last Thursday. The two boys, residents of Dehiwala and Kalubowila, are students of a school in Colombo. The grenade wrapped with cellotape and placed in a parcel, was detected by the security personnel of a private club when the two boys were leaving the club premises. According to Bambalapitiya OIC Crimes, IP Hemantha Wijewardene the parcel had been given to the boys by one of their friends, who had not told them what was inside. Police are looking for the person who had handed over the parcel containing the grenade to the two boys. The motive behind is also not known. Further investigations are being conducted by a team led by Crimes OIC, IP Wijewardene. French Minister backs Tyronne's move Foreign Minister of France Dominique de Villepin fully endorsed the move initiated by his Sri Lankan counterpart Tyronne Fernando to safeguard the integrity of the United Nations, particularly by restoring the full sovereignty of the Iraqi people to preserve their unity and territorial integrity. The French Minister responding to Mr. Fernando's recent call to protect the UN has also underlined the importance of the principles of broad representation, democracy and justice in pursuit of these objectives. Following the mandate obtained from the Cabinet, Mr. Fernando had earlier written to his counterparts with the objective of pursuing efforts to restore the authority, effectiveness and credibility of the UN as a premier force for international peace . Remembering Ranasinghe Premadasa on his 79 Birth Anniversary A commemorative ceremony jointly organised by the Tower Hall Theatre Foundation and the Sri Sucharitha Movement to mark the 79th birth anniversary of the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa will be held at the Elphinstone Theatre, Maradana on June 23 at 6.30 pm with the participation of a large number of artistes. Minister Karu Jayasuriya and Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku will be the chief guests. A spokesman for the organisers said the President Premadasa was a great lover and benefactor of the arts who worked tirelessly for the wlfare of artistes. It is most appropriate to commemorate his birth anniversary with the participation of artistes as a mark of gratitude towards his services. Shramadana campaigns and a host of other programs have also been planned on this day to commemorate the event. Senior newsman launches agency for Sri Lankan 'expats' Senior Sri Lankan journalist Latheef Farook this week launched the South Asia News Agency (SANA) in Colombo. The agency, specialising in news features, travel pieces and analyses on Sri Lanka, will feed the media abroad, especially the Gulf, Far East and North America, on the latest developments in the island. It will serve the hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankan expatriates living abroad who are keen to keep up with developments back home. SANA will cover the entire spectrum of activity ranging from political and economic developments, investment opportunities, tourist attractions and other human-interest stories. They agency will also feed the local media on opportunities which would help Sri Lankan entrepreneurs and professionals make contact with their counterparts abroad, especially in the Gulf, Central Asia and the Far East. Young boy needs help Nine-year-old M. Wazir Rajeeb of No. 484/D Veedi Mawatha, Enderamulla, Wattala is suffering from Atrial Septal Defect and, Dr. Y. K. M. Lahie, Consultant Cardiac Surgeon has recommended surgery at Durdens Heart Surgical Centre.The estimated cost of surgery is Rs. 210,000. The boy's father is not on regular employment and requests assistance from the general public to save his son's life. Contributions could be made to Sampath Bank, Wattala, A/c No. 100860001491. B'deshi scouts here on cycling peace mission Two Bangladeshi scouts Kamal Kumar Saha and Mohammad Momanur Rahman on cycling tour around the world, to spread the message of peace and rid the world of war, arrived in Sri Lanka two days ago. Sri Lanka is the fifth country in their tour of 178 countries to be completed in three stages in 68 months. Rahman and Saha who visited the Lake House yesterday, said that their visit to Sri Lanka was extremely important as a peace initiative was in progress after 20 years of war. Saha, Team Leader and Tour Planner is a doctor in Homeopathy medicine and has been instrumental in organising expedition programs to a number of countries by bicycle and by conventional means (by air or by ship). He said that nuclear warfare, erosion of human values, major threats to the environment by industrial pollution in the world had seen phenomenal growth and added that their goal was to spread peace in the whole world irrespective of caste, creed and religion. The two said they would like to meet Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister before leaving the country. |
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