COUNTRY REVIEWS

South Asia

Sri Lanka

• Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa and External Affairs Minister Peiris visited India; Bilateral discussion held on passenger transportation by sea between India and Sri Lanka; Sri Lankan Minister of Economic Development visited South Korea; Eighth round of talks of US-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) held; Sri Lanka is placed at 16th position in the global gender equality ranking this year

Maldives

• Vice President Waheed holds meeting with the EU delegation; President Nasheed holds meetings with Commonwealth Secretary General, Chairperson of British- Maldives All Party Parliamentary Group, Delegation of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s UK Branch; Maldives placed at 99th position in the global gender equality ranking; Non-resident Ambassadors for Germany, Turkey, France and Finland appointed

East Asia

Japan

• Japan to consider relaxing its long-standing ban on weapons exports; Japanese oil firm Inpex withdraws from Iran Azadegan oil field project; United States welcomes the decision; Kan and Wen Jiabo to meet on the sidelines of ASEAN summit

Southeast Asia

• Mekong River Commission (MRC) Report: Defer dams on Mekong; UN Chief Ban Ki-moon accuses the Burmese government of being ''slow and incomplete'' in meeting political commitments; North-Eastern Thailand badly affected by floods; Myanmar plans to construct railroad to link deep-sea port with China; Pakistani nationals arrested in Thailand on the charges of collecting fund for terrorist organizations

USA

• President Barack Obama hits the campaign trail for mid term elections; Reports: The Republican Party’s morale remains high despite Obama’s campaign