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President off to London: UN address next month
President Chandrika Kumaratunga yesterday left for Britain on a brief private visit, the Presidential Secretariat said.

Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake will act as Minister of Defence during her absence. The President's other Cabinet portfolios will be administered by Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva - Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Reconciliation, Minister Mangala Samaraweera -School Education, and Minister Dinesh Gunawardena- Higher Education, till her return, the Presidential Secretariat said.

President Kumaratunga was in London last month to attend the graduation ceremony of her daughter. Meanwhile, the President is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on September 21, the opening day of the 59th sessions. She is listed to speak the same morning US President George W. Bush is due to address the Assembly.

On September 20, the President will speak before the Asia Society of New York. She is also scheduled to address a UN news conference. For the first time, she will be hosting a reception at the UN delegate's dining room -- primarily for heads of delegations, UN ambassadors and senior officials of the United Nations and its affiliated agencies.
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