Finland’s withdrawal from the Ottawa Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention has formally taken effect, six months after notification was submitted to the United Nations. The decision allows Finland to plan for the reintroduction of landmines while maintaining its international legal obligations. Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, which also share borders with Russia, have already completed their withdrawal from the treaty.
Menon and Rao, both former envoys to Sri Lanka, are likely to allude to the statement agreed on between Rajapaksa and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in May 2009. “A devolution package, building upon the 13th Amendment, would contribute towards creating the necessary conditions for such reconciliation,” says the Krishna-Peiris statement.
The first batch of Indians evacuated from the strife-torn north African nation of Libya will land here in a special Air India flight close to midnight Saturday, officials said, while three Indian warships set sail to Libya to help in the evacuation of the 18,000 Indians in the country.
US President Barack Obama cited the Libyan government’s ‘continued violation of human rights, brutalization of its people and outrageous threats’.
