Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Saudi recalled over Rizana execution

Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Saudi recalled
 over Rizana execution

Rizana Nafeek executed

Sri Lanka government has decided to recall the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Saudi Arabia,Ahamed Javad, with immediate effect in a mark of protest over the beheading of Sri Lankan maid Rizana Nafeek.

The External Affairs Ministry has confirmed that Rizana Nafeek’s remains have been buried in Saudi Arabia after being executed in the country. The Sri Lankan government has requested Saudi Arabia for Rizana’s remains however the Sri Lankan embassy stated that this request was not fulfilled due to Saudi Arabian law.

Rizana Nafeek`s mother

Nafeek was executed by the Saudi authorities yesterday over allegations she killed  an infant(four-month-old boy)under her care in Saudi.

Rizana has left the Island to work as a house maid in Saudi to provide economic support to her parents, who lives with lot of difficulty in Muttur, a village in the Eastern Province of  Sri Lanka.

Hundreds of Sri Lankan women today protested against the Execution of Rizana Nafeek by the Saudi Arabian government.

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No response for visit from Navanetham Pillay

No response for visit from Navanetham Pillay

Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission 

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanetham Pillay has yet to respond to the invitation by the Sri Lankan government to visit Sri Lanka and asses the post-conflict situation, despite the two conditions she set out as a preamble for her visit have already been fulfilled. “When we extended an invitation to her 11 months before the resolution against Sri Lanka, taken up last March, she communicated to us that her visit would be most productive if she arrived after the release of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) Report and a preliminary visit by a team from her office,” Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L Peries said

“We have repeatedly requested the High Commissioner to visit Sri Lanka and see for herself the progress that has been made. The preliminary requirements for her visit, as requested by her, have been completed therefore there are no impediments for her visit,” the Minister said.

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Turkish Airlines to fly to Sri Lanka

Turkish Airlines to fly to Sri Lanka

Service Launch from Feb 2013

Turkish Airlines plans to extend existing 5 weekly Istanbul – Male service to Colombo,Sri Lanka from next month(1st of February).As a result of the service extension, operational schedule on Istanbul - Male is being revised, and Turkish Airlines has local traffic rights on Male - Colombo sector, UK-based Routes said.
operation will be reduced to 4 weekly, however it’ll be operated on an Airbus A340-300 which can carry about 100 more passengers than the currently used A330-200.

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Divi Neguma draft bill passed

Divi Neguma draft bill passed

Divineguma Bill

The controversial Divineguma draft  Bill was passed  in to law with a majority in parliament with a majority of 107 votes. 160 voted in favour of the Bill while 53 voted against it.Eleven MPs abstained from voting. The UNP, JVP and TNA voted against the bill.
The government has made 10 amendments to the Bill based on the recommendations made by the Supreme Court to avert a referendum.
The Supreme Court after considering 14 petitions filed against the Bill ruled that certain clauses of the draft bill had to be approved by a two-third majority in the parliament as well as through a public referendum unless those clauses were amended. The Divineguma Bill proposes the establishment of a new department by amalgamating the Samurdhi Authority, Southern Development Authority and the Udarata Development Authority to better achieve the grassroots economic development and alleviate poverty. The new department will function under the Ministry of Economic Development.

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Impeachment vote 6 p.m. on January 11th

Impeachment vote 6 p.m. on January 11th

Impeachment against the Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake

Parliament will debate the Parliamentary Select Committee report that probed the charges against Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake on January 10 and 11, and the vote will be taken after 6 p.m. on January 11th.

Minister Maithripala Sirisena said that a majority of party leaders have agreed to hold the debate on January 10 and 11.

However The main opposition United National Party (UNP) today decided to participate in the two day debate on the impeachment motion and vote against it at the end, informed sources said.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is yet to decide whether to participate in it or not whereas the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has decided to boycott it.

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Sri Lanka targets 1.25 million tourists in 2013

Sri Lanka targets 1.25 million tourists in 2013

"Sri Lanka is popular as a green and natural tourism destination"

In 2012, 1 million(approximately 1,000,4000) international visitors travelled to Sri Lanka, up compared to 2011, and itself a new record. Achieving the targeted 1.25 million tourists by the end of 2013 is an attainable target, given that the industry and the authorities give priority to proper marketing and promotion for the destination.

The official noted that the targets had been set after analysing factors such as the availability of room capacity, State infrastructure development, hotel refurbishments, etc. “Achieving the targets will gradually take us to realise the 2.5 million tourist arrivals by 2016. Sri Lanka is popular as a green and natural tourism destination and is gaining popularity among travellers,” the official said.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau(SLTPB) added that the industry would take part in more travel fairs and road shows this year, targeting the likes of India, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Middle East, and the CIS countries.

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Party leaders of Sri Lanka parliament meet to discuss the debate on the impeachment motion

Party leaders of Sri Lanka parliament meet to discuss
the debate on the impeachment motion

Impeachment against the Chief JusticeDr. Shirani Bandaranayake

The Political party leaders in Sri Lanka Parliament meeting is to be held today morning with the Speaker of the Parliament Chamal Rajapaksa to discuss the upcoming debate on the impeachment motion on Chief Justice, Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake and several other issues.

According to Minister Dinesh Gunawardene, the Chief Government Whip, earlier it has been only fixed business for 8th and 9th and we need to request the Speaker that we need to take up the issue of the debate of the impeachment motion.

The controversial Divi Neguma bill will also be presented to parliament today,which is scheduled to commence at 11.30am.

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