June 3, 2016 Reading Time: 2 minutes
Norway and Sri Lanka discuss bilateral relations. Image credit - sergeialyoshin /depositphotos
Reading Time: 2 min read
World Bank approves loan for Sri Lanka
The World Bank has approved a loan of USD 55 million to improve urban services and living conditions in Jaffna and to preserve cultural and environmental assets in the city.
The Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development will implement this project, with the active participation of the Jaffna Municipal Council and partner agencies.
New constitution to be drafted
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will present a bill of the draft Constitution by December 2016.
Six subcommittees, appointed by the Parliamentary Constitutional Council, will begin work on the draft Constitution next week.
Norway and Sri Lanka discuss bilateral relations
The Norwegian State Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Tore Hattrem, accompanied by a Norwegian delegation, has met with the Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, Malik Samarawickrama.
They discussed the strengthening of bilateral relations, with a focus on fisheries, maritime services, renewable energy, and digitalisation.
Turkey recalls ambassador from Germany
Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, has passed a resolution declaring the 1915 Armenian killings by Ottoman forces as genocide.
The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, stated that the vote would ‘seriously affect’ ties between the two countries, and confirmed that his government has recalled its ambassador to Germany.
Referendum against Venezuelan President delayed
The Venezuelan National Electoral Board has postponed a meeting with the opposition coalition, where they were to announce the decision on the recall referendum against President Maduro.
The opposition gathered 1.85 million signatures in favour of the referendum, and has accused President Maduro of worsening the economic and political situation in Venezuela.
UN aid drops to Syria not imminent
UN officials in Geneva have shown reluctance to airdrop food aid to Syria, stating that such missions were expensive and dangerous.
Despite these setbacks, Jan Egeland, a senior UN advisor, expressed optimism that the UN would be able to deliver aid by road to 11 locations in the coming days.
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