Reigning Mrs World Caroline Jurie, friend arrested for fracas at Mrs Sri Lanka event
Colombo, Apr 8: The reigning Mrs World, Caroline Jurie, and one of her associates were arrested on Thursday for allegedly causing damage to property and wounding a contestant at a beauty contest held here last week.
Jurie and Chula Padmendra, a former model, walked onto the stage on Saturday last when contestant Pushpika de Silva was crowned the winner of the Mrs Sri Lanka beauty pageant.
Jurie had announced that de Silva is a divorcee and only married women are qualified to become Mrs Sri Lanka. She then forcibly took off the winner's crown from de Silva and placed it on the head of the first runner up, and sashed her as the winner.
De Silva lodged a police complaint, following which the organisers returned the title to de Silva. We took Mrs Jurie and Chula Padmendra into custody," said a police official here.
Jurie and Padmendra have been accused of causing damage to property at the pageant venue, Nelum Pokuna Theatre, and wounding de Silva.
WATCH: Drama unfolded during the Mrs Sri Lanka beauty pageant when former winner Caroline Jurie removed the crown off pageant winner Pushpika De Silva's head, claiming she is a divorcee and therefore ineligible to take part.
— TODAY (@TODAYonline) April 8, 2021
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Mali's coup leader dismisses president and prime minister
Bamako (Mali), May 25: Mali's former coup leader Assimi Goita took control of the country again Tuesday after firing the president and prime minister of the transitional government following their announcement of a cabinet reshuffle without his permission.
While Goita pledged to go ahead with holding new elections in 2022 as promised, his display of force casts doubt on whether the vote will go ahead without significant interference by the junta that overthrew the last democratically elected president.
The move also raised concerns that the new political unrest could further destabilize efforts to control the West African country's long-running Islamic insurgency. The United Nations now spends some USD 1.2 billion annually on a peacekeeping mission in Mali.
The military's announcement on the state broadcaster came a day after President Bah N'Daw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane were arrested by soldiers and brought to the military headquarters in Kati, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) outside the capital. Both men remained in detention Tuesday.
Their arrests prompted an outcry by the international community, which put out a strongly worded statement warning Mali's military leaders that their actions could undermine global support for the transitional government.
The West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS was sending a delegation to Bamako on Tuesday afternoon as the political crisis escalated.
Goita has served as Mali's vice president since the transitional government was formed last September in the wake of his coup d'etat despite initial calls from the international community for an entirely civilian-led transition.
In announcing the removal of the president and prime minister of the transitional government, the military also said that it would be relieving others from their duties including everyone implicated in the situation.
Still, the military insisted: The transition is following its normal course and elections will be held as anticipated in 2022.
Following international pressure last year the junta had promised to organize that vote by next February, 18 months after the coup d'etat shook the country.
The overthrow of democratically elected President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita came amid mounting military casualties in the fight against Islamic militants linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.
The extremists first took control of major towns in northern Mali after the 2012 coup. Only a 2013 military intervention led by the former colonial power France pushed extremists out of those towns. France and a U.N. force have continued to battle the extremist rebels, who operate in rural areas and regularly attack roads and cities.
