Archive for May 2010
300 years old Mosque reopened After 20 years
300 years old Mosque reopened After 20 years Jaffna Grand Mosque reopened today Friday with jummah prayer the jaffna Grand Mosque was Built in 1713 during the Dutch period in Jaffna Muslim College Road, this mosque was abandoned in October 1990 as the LTTE drove the Muslims away from the Northern Province. There are more than 20 Mosques in Jaffna
Although the Jaffna Peninsula was recaptured by the security forces in December 1995, the majority of Muslims driven away were reluctant to resettle there as the LTTE was active in other parts of the North and East.
After the LTTE leadership was decimated by the security forces last year, Muslims started to resettle in their original places in the city and several mosques about 10 Mosques including the Grand Mosque were renovated Accordingly the Grand Mosque the the Grand Mosque opened today Friday- with a special jummah sermon by As-Sheik M.J. Abdul Halik.
SL Muslim revert to be tried under Emergency Law
Sri Lankan authorities arrested a Bahraini resident with Sri Lankan nationality, Sarah Malanie Perera, on March 20 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, for allegedly offending Buddhism, the Islamic Human Rights Council reported. The authorities released her on April 20 on bail for 50,000 Rupees; however she is banned from traveling and her trial will start on 20 May 2010 on the charge that she has written a book in Sinhalese insulting the Buddhist religion.
According to her sister Mariam, the police forcibly removed Perera’s headscarf and made a video which was played on all Sri Lankan television channels. Perera, 38, is a Muslim convert who was born in a Buddhist family in Sri Lanka and has been living in Bahrain for many years. She was arrested before leaving Sri Lanka after a three months holiday. Read the rest of this entry »
Iran assures financing of Sapugaskanda Refinery
The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has informed the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa that the disbursement of the funding promised by Iran to expand the Sapugaskanda oil refinery is been delayed owing to “few technical reasons”.
However Ahmadinejad has assured Rajapaksa that steps will be taken to resolve those issues as soon as possible and release the funds to start expansion work of the Sapugaskanda oil refinery.
Iranian President has given this assurance during bilateral talks held yesterday between the leaders of the 2 nations.
Iran have promised to provide funding to a tune of around US $ 1 billion to expand and upgrade the Sapugaskanda oil refinery and the agreement towards this was signed in April More..
President accorded a warm welcome in Iran
President Mahinda Rajapaksa who arrived in Iran to participate in the G-15 Summit has been accorded a warm welcome.The summit of the Heads of State will commence tomorrow in the Iranian capital, Tehran. The President left the country early this morning to participate in the Summit. At the Mehrabad International Airport, he was welcomed by the Trade Minister of Iran.
The Foreign Ministers conference of G-15 got underway yesterday. The Foreign Ministers were of the view that the handing over of the Chairmanship to Sri Lanka will give strength to the developing countries. G-15 Group consists of developing countries belonging to Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Legal action for the evicting and the demolition
A young child who was among the people at Slave Island whose homes were destroyed on the basis they were unauthorized structures is seen here in tears while speaking to the media today
Residents evicted from Slave Island in Colombo are in processing to take legal action against Urban Development Authority for evicting them from their abodes.
The residents say they had only three days notice to remove their belongings and find alternative places and their eviction had been carried out without an order from any court.
A group of Slave Island residents clashed with the police yesterday after authorities began removing unauthorized structures in the area. Many families were forced out of their homes with their belongings and the demolition of the structures took place despite the resident’s claim to having documents that prove their structures were legal.
UNP MP Sujeewa Serasinghe stated that the demolition was illegal as the residents had documentation which was issued between 1986 and 1987 that proved the houses and apartments were authorised constructions and that legal action is to be taken against the Urban Devolopment Authority (UDA) over the eviction.
Former Deputy Mayor of Colombo Azath Sally said the residents were given time to show their titlle deeds if any and only 4 out of 30 showed their title deed. They would be given alternative houses in the vicinity of Colombo, he added
Exhibition on Muslims’ scientific contribution
The Institute of Naleemiah, Beruwala is to hold an exhibition on ‘Scientific wonders of Al – Quran and the contributions of the Muslims towards human civilization’, at its campus from 12 to the 15th of June- next month.
The institute preparing the ground work to hold the exhibition with the objective of creating awareness on Scientific wonders of Al – Quran and the contributions of the Muslims towards human civilization to the general public and providing an opportunity to its students for creative activities
1st Travel Guide on SL in Arabic launched
The author, Heba Al Mansoori, Middle East Director of the Sri LankaTourism and Promotion Bureau is a former broadcast and print
housemaid and gardener, who both hail from Sri Lanka. I first visited the island national with my whole family and I was totally enthralled
by the experience and has since come back many times to discover more fascinating aspects of the country.” Al Mansoori said the book is a “labour of love” and proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to a charity, reported Emirates Business.- news.lk
Government to re-demarcate DS and GN divisions
- Changes will be confined only to electorates within each district
- Committee has one month to come up with
By Leon Berenger
The Government is re-demarcating boundaries of Divisional Secretaries and Grama Niladhari divisions in keeping with demographic changes in the country over the past five years, a senior minister said yesterday.
The newly appointed Minister for Public Administration and Home Affairs John Seneviratne told The Sunday Times the move was aimed largely at tackling the shift in population and to remove excesses. “At present there are many AGA divisions which are finding it difficult to cope with the increase in population in certain electorates, while on the other hand there are too many Grama Niladhari divisions for certain areas.
“The idea is to streamline the present boundaries in order to make it more workable,” he said. The Minister explained at the end of the day there would be a reduction of some officials in certain areas and an increase in others. “In certain instances areas will be amalgamated to suit the prevailing situation”, Mr. Seneviratne added. Read the rest of this entry »
Victory Parade at Galle Face every May 18
The Government will hold the Victory Parade at the Galle Face on May 18 every year to mark Sri Lanka’s victory over terrorism, said Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The Defence Secretary made this observation after the ceremonial opening of the monument erected at Elephant Pass in memory of war heroes yesterday.The Victory Parade will be held on May 20 only for this year. Emphatically stating that the Victory Parade was to mark the victory of all the communities in the country, Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said all communities will participate in this national event.
Reminding of the gains of the operation, the Defence Secretary said one of the main objectives of the operation was to free the Tamil people from the vicious grip of the LTTE. The Tamil people were held hostage by the LTTE and its vicious leader Prabakaran depriving them of their culture, education etc. The victory of the operation was mostly felt by the Tamil community of this country, he said.
He said a War Heroes Week will be held prior to the Victory Parade and at the end of the War Heroes Week the Victory Parade will be held with the participation of parents, wives and children and relatives of the war heroes.- Daily News
Dr. Mahathir Mohamed at CC Business Forum on June 9
Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, former prime minster of Malaysia, is scheduled as the keynote speaker at the first International Business Leaders’ Forum titled ‘Emerging Sri Lanka in Rising Asia’, to be held on June 9.
The event is organised by the Sri Lanka-Malaysia Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. Going beyond boundaries of bi-lateral interests of Sri Lanka and Malaysia, beginning with 2010, the SLMBC will organise an International Business Forum as an annual event, whereby the business leaders and policy makers will have the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge and interact with prominent international figures and thus create a platform for dialogue and exchange of ideas which can shape not only Sri Lanka but also regional agendas for economic development. Read the rest of this entry »
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