Srilanka

A meeting between representatives of political parties and officials of the Election Commission is to be held tomorrow. General Secretaries of all political parties are due to join the meeting which will be held tomorrow (22) at 10.00 am at the Election Commission premises.

The Government of Sri Lanka continues to maintain that Brigadier Fernando as a diplomat who was attached to the Sri Lanka High Commission in London is entitled to diplomatic immunity as per the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961. The Government of the UK has been requested to honour this obligation, which is reciprocal according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs communique.

President Maithripala Sirisena left for Japan today (21) to participate in the coronation ceremony of Emperor Naruhito at the invitation of Japanese Government.Japanese Emperor Naruhito ascended to the throne in May but formal enthronement ceremony is set for tomorrow (Oct. 22). During his stay in Tokyo, the President will be received in a separate meeting by Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe and will meet with several heads of different states participating in this ceremony.

This will be President Sirisenathird official visit to Japan since assuming office while his previous visits include attending the G7 Summit in May 2016.preparations are well under way to complete Naruhitotransition from crown prince to emperor, a process that began with Emperor Akihito abdicating the Chrysanthemum throne on April 30. Naruhito, 59, formally became emperor the next day, but the traditional crowning ceremony was set for the autumn.

The enthronement rituals, known as the &Sokuirei Seiden no Gi&, date back centuries.At 1pm on Tuesday, Emperor Naruhito will give a speech from the canopied throne, also known as the Takamikura. He will be wearing a dark orange robe called a &Korozen no goho&, the design of which goes back to the ninth century and is only worn by emperors during important ceremonies. Empress Masako will be seated next to him, also dressed in elaborate robes.

The Department of Meteorology today issued Red Warning for Severe Lightning and heavy rainfallsays that thundershowers accompanied by severe lightning are likely to occur at several places, particularly inWestern, Central, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, UvaNorth-western and Northern provinces and in Anuradhapura district in the evening or night.Heavy falls above 100 mm can be expected at someplaces in Western, Central, Sabaragamuwa, Northwestern, Uva and Southern provinces.Fairly heavy falls about 75 mm can be expected atsome places elsewhere. .Heavy falls about 100mm can be expected at some places in Central, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Western and North-western provinces.Temporarily strong gusty winds up to 70-80 kmphare also possible during thundershowers it add