October 18, 2016 Reading Time: 2 minutes
Israel suspends cooperation with UNESCO. Image Credit - lucidwaters / depositphotos
Reading Time: 2 min read
Sri Lankan and Russian presidents meet
President Sirisena has met with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, on the sidelines of the BRICS-BIMSTEC summit in India. President Sirisena thanked President Putin for Russia’s support of Sri Lanka in the United Nations Human Rights Council.
President Putin commended the transformations taking place in Sri Lanka, and pledged Russia’s full support of Sri Lanka, while noting that stronger bilateral ties between Sri Lanka and Russia contributes to maintaining regional security and stability.
Government to aid war-affected women
The Office for National Unity and Reconciliation, and the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs have initiated a programme to provide support and relief to women in north of Sri Lanka who have been affected by the war.
The programme will involve several governmental organisations, and will focus on helping the women obtain important documentation to access services and opportunities available to them.
Turkey supports Sri Lankan farmers and fishermen
The Turkish International Cooperation and Coordination Agency, which is the development agency of the Turkish government, has donated agricultural and fishing equipment to support over 200 farming and fishing families in the Trincomalee district.
The ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of Turkey to Sri Lanka, Tunca Özçuhadar, who stated that Turkey’s humanitarian efforts in Sri Lanka were a gesture of Turkey’s support and empathy.
Israel suspends ties with UNESCO
Israel has suspended cooperation with UNESCO after UNESCO adopted a draft resolution titled ‘Occupied Palestine’. The resolution refers to holy sites in Jerusalem by the Muslim names of the sites instead of the Jewish names.
Israel’s Minister of Education, Naftali Bennett, stated that the resolution ignores the Jewish links to the holy sites, and Israelis have claimed this as evidence of anti-Israel bias at the UN.
Russia agrees to pause in hostilities in Aleppo
Speaking on behalf of the Russian Defense Ministry, Lieutenant General Sergei F. Rudskoy has announced that Russian and Syrian forces would cease fighting in Aleppo for a period of eight hours on 20 October. This ceasefire is intended to allow civilians and rebels to leave the city.
General Rudskoy stated that such pauses would be regular, but said that a complete ceasefire would give groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra time to recover and regroup.
Ethiopian state of emergency limits diplomatic movements
The government of Ethiopia has included new regulations in its state of emergency, which limits the movement of foreign diplomats in Ethiopia. Foreign diplomats cannot travel more than 40 kilometres outside the country’s capital, Addis Ababa, due to unprecedented anti-government protests.
A spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon, stated that Mr. Ban is following the developments in Ethiopia and has urged authorities to resolve grievances through dialogue.
Tags: Sri Lanka, Russia, UNESCO, President Sirisena, ONUR, Turkey, Israel, Aleppo, Ethiopia
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