News
LAWYERS TRAINED IN MEDIATION ADVOCACY
A training for Lawyers on “Mediation Advocacy” was organised by the International ADR Center (IADRC) on March 26th and 27th. Resource persons from the Singapore International Mediation Center (SIMC) provided the training for twenty-four lawyers drawn from among Chambers of private practitioners, from leading law firms, corporates and the Attorney General’s Department.
Globally, Mediation is fast becoming a preferred method of dispute resolution because of the several benefits it offers. It is expeditious (usually completed in a single day or a few months), cost effective, has the potential to find resolutions to satisfy the interests of disputants and to restore fractured relationships. Mediation is used for the resolution of all categories of disputes ranging from Investor-State, Intellectual Property, Family, Trade and Business to Construction and Creditor-Debtor disputes.
Lawyers the world over are carving out a niche role for themselves to be useful in assisting their clients to reach a settlement through this non adversarial process. The role is very different from that of the role played by the litigating Lawyer who adopts a different brand of advocacy and court craft within the adversarial process.
The participants were taken through the principles and key features of mediation, the process adopted in mediating disputes and the techniques and principles that a lawyer must adopt to contribute to securing the best resolution for their client and thereby the success of a mediation. The IADRC plans to have another training programme during the latter part of this year.
The training was possible with funding from The Asia Foundation through the Support to Justice Sector (JURE) project of the European Union and implemented by the UNDP.
A meeting between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, the Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), was held today (21) at the Presidential Secretariat.
During the discussion, Admiral Paparo extended his best wishes to President Disanayake and the new government on their planned initiatives. He also acknowledged Sri Lanka’s continued support in ensuring the security of the Indian Ocean region and maintaining a peaceful maritime environment.
Furthermore, Admiral Paparo reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to strengthening the enduring bilateral ties between the two nations and expressed support for Sri Lanka’s new governmental policies.
President Disanayake conveyed his appreciation for the assistance provided by the United States in enhancing human resources within Sri Lanka’s defence sector. The President also acknowledged the longstanding support extended by the U.S. in this regard.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung, Lieutenant Colonel Anthony C. Nelson of the U.S. Army, and Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the United States Indo-Pacific Command David Ranz were also present at the meeting.
SriLankan Airlines has announced that SriLankan Airlines flights UL 503 (Colombo to London Heathrow), scheduled to depart at 12:50 hrs and UL 504 (London Heathrow to Colombo), scheduled to depart at 20:40 hrs today [21 March 2025], have been cancelled.
Passengers requiring assistance are encouraged to contact the SriLankan Airlines Customer Centre at 1979 (within Sri Lanka), +94117 77 1979 (international) or +94744 44 1979 (WhatsApp chat) or reach out to their nearest SriLankan Airlines office or their travel agent.
The United Kingdom’s Heathrow airport has closed until midnight on Friday due to a power outage, throwing the plans of tens of thousands of travellers into chaos.
London’s main airport, which is Europe’s busiest gateway, said on Friday that it had suffered a “significant” power failure due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the facility.
“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March,” Heathrow airport said in a post on X.
“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said the shutdown would affect “at least” 1,351 flights.
“We’re trying to stop passengers from travelling to the airport, and then work with airline partners on flights that are delayed, diverted, or cancelled,” a Heathrow spokesperson told Al Jazeera. “Passengers can reach out to airline partners to work on rebooking.”
Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull, reporting from London, said the roads leading to the airport were blocked, causing “traffic chaos locally”.
“But local traffic disruption is nothing compared to the air traffic disruptions that will be spreading around the world,” he said.
Heathrow is one of the most globally connected airports and regularly ranks among the top five busiest gateways worldwide.
The airport serves more than 200 destinations in nearly 90 different countries and territories, and last year handled nearly 84 million passengers, the largest number on record.
[Aljazeera]
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