Bodies of fire victims sent to Sri Lanka

Bodies of three Sri Lankans who were burnt to death in a fire last Wednesday were flown home last night.

Five of the nine occupants of a room were perished in the fire that destroyed everything in their dwelling. Two others had been admitted to the hospital with severe burns while two others escaped by jumping off the window.

The mortal remains of Thushitha Ananda Abeywickrama of Ambilipitiya; Roshan Thushitha Kumara of Akurassa and Niula Lakshman Ekanayaka alias Nimal from Chilaw were taken by a SriLankan flight (UL201), which left Doha at 9.40pm last night. It is scheduled to arrive in Colombo at 5am today.

The Sri Lankan embassy “managed to get the support of the relevant Qatari authorities and the media” to expedite matters with regard to the fire accident,” said charge d'affaires A Dharmakulasingham yesterday.
“The exceptional co-operation extended by the relevant Qatari authorities enabled this mission to despatch the bodies,” he said. The Qatari sponsor of the three Sri Lankans, who bore the expenses of sending the bodies, also donated money for the funeral rites.

Read more,
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/
Photo,
http://www.gulf-times.com/mritems/images/2008/6/25/2_226405_1_248.jpg

Once again, LTTE with Qatar, Libya & Eritrea against Ethiopia & Sri Lanka

Funny how we never realize the inside international politics until some major event happens, like the Ethiopian closure of diplomatic ties with the Qatari royal government. A few months ago, no one knew (at least i didn't) if the Norway-LTTE-Eritrea link existed until Ethiopia told six Norwegian diplomats to leave the country.

A brief research allowed us back then to see Eritrea's role and Norway's symapthy for separatist movements that isolated Norway's pro-LTTE policy from the rest of the European Union (EU). Norway's sympathy for OLF and ONLF (and its Eritrean financers) got it kicked out of Africa's capital - Addis Ababa. Now yesterday's top news brings us to another interesting connection. That is between , the LTTE and Libya, Qatar, Eritrea against Ethiopia & Sri Lanka.

This time, it takes us back 8 years to the Eritrea vs Ethiopia border war. When Ethiopia used its coffee income and hardwon money to buy weapons and tanks from China and other countries.

Guess what? Eritrea was getting everything FREE from Libya and Qatar ! Apparently, both Eritrea and Ethiopia also bought military stuff from Russia. But again, the difference is Eritrea gets its funds with no sweats from Qatar and Libya. Eritrea also forces its Diaspora to pay large amount of tax...while Ethiopian government asked for Ethiopian Diaspora volunteers.
Read more,
http://www.africanpath.com/p_blogEntry.cfm?blogEntryID=4519

Lanka seeks to cash in on booming job market

A visiting minister from Sri Lanka has said his country was looking to exploit rising opportunities for its skilled workforce in Qatar.

Minister for Foreign Employment, Promotion and Welfare Keheliya Rambukwella said Qatar and Sri Lanka stood to gain from improving relations in different sectors.
The minister is in Qatar on a four-day visit as part of a tour of the region, which covers Kuwait and Libya. Qatar is his first stop.

Rambukwella said his department was constituted by President Mahendra Rajapakse to fully utilise opportunities opening up worldwide for the workforce.
“As part of the process, Sri Lanka has identified 23 destinations around the world where our professionals could find employment in the coming years and Qatar, because of its enormous development in various sectors, in particular in construction, is ranked amongst the top in the list,â€‌ said Rambukwella.

However, we strongly feel that the job of our ministry doesn’t end with sending people for employment abroad. “The country has a responsibility to protect them as well.â€‌

The minister said more than 1.5mn Sri Lankans are working abroad and Qatar has about 80,000 of them.

Read more,
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?

Lankan trade team to visit Qatar next month

A Sri lankan trade delegation comprising representatives from the construction sector will visit Doha early next month.

Speaking to Gulf Times yesterday, Sri Lankan Ambassador S B Atugoda said at least 25 members, representing various sectors of the Lankan construction industry, will accompany the delegation. The visit is at the initiative of the Chamber of the Construction Industry (CCI), Sri Lanka.

The CCI comprises at least nine organisations representing sectors and professionals such as architects, consultants, quantity surveyors, valuers, town planners, transport, economy, banking and insurance.

In recent times CCI has sent delegations to a number of Middle East countries including Qatar. The visit is the fourth by a Sri Lankan trade delegation in recent months, according to a Lankan embassy official.
The delegation will hold talks with representatives of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) besides officials of companies engaged in the construction industry in Qatar.

Read more,
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no