Maldivian President arrives here tomorrow (12)

The President of Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and first lady Nasreena M. A. Gayoom will arrive in the island on two-day official visit tomorrow (12), on an invitation extended by President Mahinda Rajapaksa following his visit to the Republic of Maldives in 2006, a press release issued by the President’s media unit said.

President Gayoom will be accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdullah Shahid and several high ranking officials of the Maldivian Government. The President will be accorded full state honours on his arrival to the country.

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Clinton rejects funds from LTTE supporters

Leading Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton through her Office in Washington, DC announced that they have already rejected the election campaign funds sent by the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) proscribed as an arm of the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

A New Jersey resident in U S A, allegedly connected to the TRO had sent in the funds. This was revealed to Sri Lanka’s Foreign Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona and Bernard Goonatilake, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Washington.

This was a sequel to two top ranking Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry diplomats visiting Senator Hillary Clinton’s office at Washington on the Hill, to protest against the collection of campaign funds by TRO.

Sources at the Clinton office indicated that after thorough scrutiny, the funds were deemed unacceptable under U S law. The two Sri Lankan diplomats met Andrew Shapiro, Senior Foreign Policy Advisor of Senator Hillary Clinton and recorded their objections over her remarks she reportedly made about terrorism and LTTE in October 2007.

The Clinton office revealed that they were aware of the criticism arising from Senator Hillary Clinton’s alleged statement that “There are personality-driven terrorist objectives.

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Sri Lanka in tourism tie-up with Al Jazeera

The Sri Lankan ministry of tourism has tied up with Al Jazeera Arabic channel to improve the global perception of the country’s internal security and also promote and boost its tourism sector.

Addressing a stakeholders’ meeting comprising tourism experts and airline operators yesterday, Sri Lankan deputy minister of tourism Faiszer Musthapha said there is a need to be more aggressive in promoting the country’s image, which has been hit by disturbances in parts of the country.

“This effort which we will be doing alongside the national airline Sri Lankan, is an opportunity for Sri Lankan government to express itself and attract more tourists to the country, by projecting the positive stories emanating from the country, especially in the tourism industry,â€‌ he said.

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Cuban Anniversity Marked in Sri Lanka

Ministers Amarasiri Dodangoda (Justice) and Tissa Vitharana(Science and Technology) of Sri Lanka presided over an event of solidarity with Cuba to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution.

The solidarity ceremony, held at the Russian Cultural Center of Colombo, was organized by the Sri Lanka-Cuba Friendship Association led by Dodangoda, who is also a legislator.

Vitharana, who is also a Parliament member, chairs the Parliamentary Group of Friendship with Cuba.

During the event, a Peradeniya University professor gave a lecture on the significance of the Cuban Revolution and referred to the ideas and work of Cuban National Hero Jose Marti.

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Asian Consuls General Open Film Festival

The Consuls General of 13 Asian nations inaugurated the first Asian film festival here on Saturday night. “This is one of the best ways to promote a cultural dialogue among various communities,” Muhammad A. Tayeb, director general at the office of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Makkah region, said while unveiling the festival logo.

Consuls General from 13 Asian countries — Bangladesh, Brunei, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand — who are all members of the Asian Consuls’ General Club (ACGC), in addition to the Ethiopian and Swiss Consuls General, were present.

Documentaries made in Saudi Arabia followed the screening of India’s feature film “Chak De India” on the opening day.

A Japanese feature film “Nitaboh (2003) was screened last night. Malaysian feature film “Mukhsin” will follow tonight, followed by Sri Lanka’s “Udu Gan Yamaya” tomorrow. Invitations are being issued by respective consulates for their films.

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