News in Brief:

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 December 1998, 13:47 GMT]
Demonstrating strikers demand reinstatement and payment of damages; Lion Air crash victim's body found and heavy rain lashes northern town of Vavuniya.

Strikers blame cabinet ministers

The 1980 July strikers, who are engaged in a rotation hunger strike in front of the Fort Railway Station, demanding reinstatement with costs of damages are to break 27 coconuts cursing the 27 cabinet ministers on new year's eve, a spokesman for the demonstrators said.

The breaking of coconuts will follow a special 'Pooja' to curse the ministers for not solving their long standing problem at midnight tomorrow, he added.

The hunger strikers have been demonstrating opposite the Fort Railway Station for the past 21 days.

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Crash victim's body found

The Sri Lankan Navy found the body of a man in a highly decomposed state off the shore of Thalaimannar, on the north-western coast. They said that they have found a plane seat belt around his hip.

The body is believed to be that of a passenger who was on the ill-fated Lion Air flight that plunged in the Iranaithivy seas two months ago.

The body has been sent to the Mannar Hospital for a post-mortem and the air line office in Colombo has been informed about it.

Forty-eight passengers and a crew of 6 died in the plane crash.

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Heavy rain continues in Vavuniya

Vavuniya experienced heavy rainfall for the second day today with the authorities recording a rainfall of 148 mm during the 24 hours ending this morning at 9 0' Clock.

Officials said that low lying areas inn the villages of Santhasolai, Nochchimoddai, Sirunavatkulam, Sirinagar, Samalankulam and Ellappar Marthankulam were flooded affecting about 600 families.

Most of the minor irrigation reservoirs in the district and a few major reservoirs are spilling over, irrigation officials in Vavuniya said.