Lankan envoy recalled for not answering phone

Colombo: Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena recalled his envoy to Austria and five other embassy staff for failing to answer his long-distance telephone calls, officials said on Saturday. Ambassador Priyanee Wijesekera was given marching orders after calls made by Sirisena went “unanswered for several hours”, sources said. Recently, Sirisena flew into a rage over nuts served aboard the national carrier, saying they were unfit “even for dogs”. PTI

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Archbishop prostrates at mass for abuse victims

Washington: Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington who was blamed for not doing enough to deal with paedophile priests in Pennsylvania, prostrated himself on Friday in a sign of repentance at a mass dedicated to victims of abuse. A grand jury report in August revealed credible charges against 300 predator priests and identified over 1,000 victims of child sex abuse covered up for decades by the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania. AFP

UK proposes easing of divorce norms

London: The British government is proposing to introduce “no-fault” divorces and make other changes to make it much easier for married couples to divorce. If adopted, after a 12-week consultation period, spouses would no longer be able to challenge a divorce plea made by their partner. The proposed new laws would mean it would no longer be necessary to prove misconduct or to live apart for a certain number of years before a couple could divorce. AP

Scotland Yard’s Indian-origin officer awarded 

London: Scotland Yard’s first Indian-origin counter-terrorism chief Neil Basu has won the Asian Achievers’ Award in the Uniformed and Civil Services category for his contribution to policing in the UK. The award citation described his job as “one of the toughest policing roles in the country”. PTI