Nov 3 (FT) The Sri Lanka Business Forum 2014, organised by NWS Holdings Ltd., successfully concluded in Tokyo last week with a record number of participants enlightened about the post-war resurgence and potential for future growth opportunities. Held at the Hotel New Otani in Tokyo, the forum attracted nearly 200 participants who listened to the progress of post-war Sri Lanka from a macro and corporate perspective and the emerging new opportunities for investments, more..

Nov 3 (FT) Inflation, as measured by the change in the Colombo Consumers’ Price Index (CCPI) (2006/07=100), decreased from 3.5% recorded in Sept 2014 to 1.6% in Oct 2014, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, which is the lowest since Nov 2009. This decline was mainly due to the downward revision of electricity tariff by around 25%. Annual average inflation also declined to 3.8% in Oct 2014 from 4.2% the previous month. more..

Nov 3 (CT) Aitken Spence PLC will be partnering Eco Corp Asia, to take nanotechnology to local industries. This partnership is seen as a business venture with great promise, considering the solution it provides across almost every industry in the country. Aitken Spence, one of SL’s premier blue chips with interests in several key sectors of the local economy, joined their expertise with EcoCorp, Asia sole partners for nanopool GmbH, in Sri Lanka, to introduce this futuristic technology. more..

Nov 3 (Hindu) Senior Congress leader V. Narayanasamy said PM Narendra Modi should take urgent action to release five Tamil Nadu fishermen, who were sentenced to death by a court in Sri Lanka. Flaying the “lackadaisical” attitude of the Union govt towards the plight of fishermen, the former Union Minister of State said there was protection to fishermen during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) govt whereas the Modi govt failed to protect Tamil fishermen. more..

Nov 3 (FT) The state of the economy and cost of living continue to adversely affect Sri Lankan households with people compromising on food quality and medical care, a new survey shows. The Centre for Policy Alternatives, said that with Presidential elections due early next year, survey revealed that 44.3% of Sri Lankans think that the Constitution should limit a President to serving a maximum of 2 terms. more..

Nov 3 (Island) Colombo Port City is to undergo a multi-disciplinary marina study by Atkins, one of the world's leading design, engineering and project management consultancies, a media release said. According to its content, Atkins has been appointed by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to assess the opportunity of incorporating a marina into the proposed 2.5sqkm mixed use Colombo Port City development in Sri Lanka. The study is multifaceted and will establish the overall demand for more..

Nov 3 (ST) The Treasury is planning to issue a bond to banks in a bid to compensate the losses incurred by them in increasing the deposit rates for senior citizens, highly placed sources say. Last month’s budget proposed to offer a 12% annual interest rate for deposits of pensioners and elders, who maintain their deposits in state banks. “The Treasury will issue a bond in favour of the banks which grant 12% interest to senior citizens,” a source told the Business Times. more..

Nov 3 (Island) Police have arrested a person who allegedly duped Vice Chancellor of Peradeniya University, Professor Athula Senaratne recently into believing that a ‘special presidential investigation unit’ was in the process of implementing a unique scheme to provide three wheelers to university workers at concessionary rates. The police identified the 31-year-old suspect as Arosha Indika Bandara. more..

Nov 3 (Hindu) A large number of fishermen and their families observed a fast at Thangachimadam near here on Saturday, urging the Centre to take immediate steps to secure the release of five fishermen condemned to death by a Colombo court on the charge of drug trafficking. Rev J. Susai Manickam, Bishop of the Diocese of Sivaganga, led the protest, in which the families of the five fishermen also took part. Some of the children of the fishermen — P. Emerson, P. Augustus, more..

Nov 3 (Scoop) Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy is leading a six-day New Zealand trade mission to Sri Lanka and India, departing tomorrow. Minister will be accompanied by representatives of 15 New Zealand organisations as well as ex-New Zealand cricket captain Stephen Fleming, who is coach of the Chennai Super Kings cricket team. “This trade mission to Colombo, Delhi and Mumbai is a great opportunity to profile New Zealand’s co-hosting of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup more..

Nov 3 (DM) The Colombo Crimes Division of the Police had begun an investigation over the incident during which the son of Minister Mervyn Silva and gang of six had allegedly assaulted foreign couple at a nightclub in Colombo on Saturday. The CCD was looking into the incident with a view of arresting the six accomplices of Malaka Silva. Malaka Silva who was ordered to be held in remand custody over alleged assaulting, more..

Nov 3 (Island) In the wake of high profile Qatari investors arriving in Sri Lanka for an in-depth study of emerging opportunities in the country, Investment Promotion Deputy Minister Faizer Mustapha said recently that more investors from the Middle-East would arrive in the future. Mustapha met on Monday with a three member delegation from Qatar Holdings (QH), one of gas-rich Qatar’s main state investment funds, led by QH Head of Industrial and TMT Investments Mohammad Saif Al Suwaidi. more..

Nov 3 (CT) In the light of restrictions imposed on travel to the North, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) said, since the Diaspora too falls under the category of foreigners, they would have to resort to international conventions on travel to overturn such restrictions. The administrative decisions that the National Security Council are entitled to take, regarding perceived (where there is reason to believe) and actual threats to national security are legal and also in this case provides more..

Nov 3 (CT) Elections Commissioner's Department will proceed with the preparatory work for the 2015 Presidential Polls and is awaiting the Presidential proclamation to be issued by President Rajapaksa after 19 Nov. 19 November marks four years of completion of President Rajapaksa's second term in office, as he took oaths on 19 Nov 2010 and he is constitutionally empowered to issue the Presidential more..

Nov 3 (CT) S. Yogeswaran was the first TNA MP to visit the landslide victims in Koslanda on Thursday. Batticaloa District TNA MP along with a group of volunteers from his electorate visited the two IDP centres at Sri Ganesha Vidyalaya and Poonagala Tamil Vidyalaya where the civilians who have escaped from the landslide have been sheltered. TNA MP and the volunteers who went with him to Koslanda distributed relief items to the victims and they also interacted closely with the civilians more..

Nov 3 (DM) IGP N.K. Ilangakoon and DIG of CID Ravi Seneviratne would represent Sri Lanka at the Interpol's General Assembly tomorrow in Monaco. The 83rd INTERPOL General Assembly meeting will be held from November 3 to 7. Ministers of interior, Justice and Security, as well as top law and police officers from about 190 countries will be present at the event. The meeting, titled Turn Back Crime: 100 years of international police cooperation, aims to celebrate a century since more..

Nov 3 (Island) British High Commission is inquiring into the circumstances under which a British couple had been assaulted by Minister Mervyn Silva’s son, Malaka and some of his associates, in the early hours of Saturday at a night club down Duplication Road. The victims suffered injuries on their heads and faces. BHC spokesperson said that the Consular Section was handling the case though a statement more..

Nov 3 (Island) Security authorities on Saturday arrested an LTTE cadre who had returned to Sri Lanka from Qatar. Police headquarters said that the suspect who had left the country about one and half years back was widely believed to have associated with LTTE operatives based overseas. SSP Ajith Rohana identified the suspect as Somasundaram Wasantha Kumar from Kallar, Serunuwara. The Police Spokesman said that the suspect had received military training and more..

Nov 3 (AFP) Heavy rain slowed the search on Sunday for victims of a major mudslide on a tea plantation in central Sri Lanka that police say left 38 people missing and presumed dead. A military official said rain were creating problems for rescuers using heavy equipment to dig through tonnes of mud at the site in the picturesque Koslanda region. Additional soldiers were being sent to the site, taking the number of searchers to more than 800, as they discovered on Sunday more..

Nov 3 (Reuters) Sri Lanka has allowed a Chinese submarine and a warship to dock at its port in Colombo, officials said on Sunday, despite concerns raised by India about China's warming relations with the Indian Ocean island nation. Submarine Changzheng-2 and warship Chang Xing Dao arrived at the port on Friday, seven weeks after another Chinese submarine, a long-range deployment patrol, had called at the more..

Nov 3 (DM) The Budget 2015 was everyone’s ‘darling’. It seemed to have brought a bag full of goodies with something for everyone. It also tried to address a serious issue faced by pensioners and senior citizens in the country. The interests they had been receiving for their savings and fixed deposits had dropped drastically as a result of the Central Bank’s monetary policies. It is no secret that since Sri Lanka doesn’t have an investment culture as such, most pensioners depend on more..

Nov 3 (DM) Despite frequent and widespread public misgivings about the prevailing state of governance, Sri Lankans have continued to exercise their right to vote at frequently-held national and local elections. On the other hand, a majority of people seem to feel that they have little control or say over the management of public affairs. Their sense of powerlessness is rooted in the fact that they do not have much influence on the decision-making processes at different levels. more..

Nov 3 (DM) A deadly landslide that swept through the Meeriyabedda tea plantation in Koslanda last week, buried an unknown number of plantation workers and their families under a mound of mud, wiping out an entire village. About a hundred people, many of whom were estate Tamils are feared dead in the worst natural disaster to hit Sri Lanka since the 2004 tsunami. Nonetheless, the govt, which habitually declares days of more..

Nov 3 (Island) University teachers, undergraduates and the Opposition claim that President Rajapaksa’s recent budget proposal to increase the annual university intake to 100,000 by 2020 is not feasible given the woefully inadequate facilities at the national universities. Executive Committee member of FUTA Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri said that it was not possible to achieve the target within six years without compromising the quality more..

Nov 3 (ST) Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) has written to the IGP, citing death threats and intimidation directed towards the TISL staff and associates, and also the obstruction of events organised by TISL between May and October this year. The letter cited a series of events that had occurred, disrupting the activities carried out by TISL from May till Nov 2014. It has been alleged that intimidation, surveillance more..

Nov 3 (CI) Sri Lanka's inexperience showed in the field, Angelo Mathews said following the 169-run loss to India, but he was also critical of his batsmen for not making a better attempt at the chase. Chasing 364, Sri Lanka set out at 3.9 runs an over in the mandatory Powerplay, and failed to increase the scoring rate significantly after that, as the team continued to lose wickets. An experienced top order was expected to carry a green more..

Nov 3 (DM) UNP urged the govt to appoint a special commission to inquire into the landslide at Koslanda with the objective of preventing such tragedies in the future and to minimise the resultant damage. UNP MP Gayantha Karunathilake said the estate workers had rejected the claims made by the govt that relevant authorities had warned the people living in vulnerable areas about the risk of landslides and had asked them to evacuate. more..

Nov 3 (SL) Following last week’s Haldummulla catastrophe where more than 100 is believed to have buried alive leaving more than 75 children vulnerable and five deaths, accusations have now been leveled against the Haldummulla Divisional Secretary and Maskeliya Plantations for not taking action against the, landslide warning report submitted in 2005 by the NBRO that cautioned earth slip at Koslanda more..

Nov 3 (Island) Police have arrested a gunman responsible for the assassination of UNPer Dushantha Seneviratne (37), the Opposition leader of the Galle Municipal Council on the morning of July 22, 2009 in Galle. Seneviratne was walking to his car parked near Belligaha junction after having brought breakfast for his daughters, aged 15 and 9 when an unidentified person riding a motorcycle gunned him down. more..

Nov 3 (CT) The Northern Provincial Council has expressed its willingness to be the 'guardian' of 75 children who have been orphaned due to the horrific landslide in Koslanda last week. The Northern Provincial Council held a special meeting on Friday chaired by Chief Minister, C.V. Wigneswaran to explore on the possibilities of assisting in the relief work and helping the survivors in the Koslanda calamity. more..

Nov 3 (AP) The Roman Catholic church in Sri Lanka said Monday that it has asked the govt to ensure that the country's presidential election does not conflict with Pope Francis' visit to the country early next year. While a date has not been set, the govt has said it wants to hold an election sometime in January. Francis is scheduled to arrive in the island nation Jan 13. Rev. Cyril Gamini Fernando, the spokesman for the pope's visit, more..

Nov 3 (CG) British High Commissioner John Rankin and the Chief Prelates (Mahanayake) of Malwathu and Asgiriya chapters today met and discussed issues related to Sri Lanka, including religious unity. British High Commissioner said that the monks had echoed the UK Govt’s views on the need for religious harmony in Sri Lanka. The High Commissioner said he hoped lessons can be learnt from Aluthgama incident by ensuring more..

Nov 3 (CT) The initial shock felt by the people, following the fear that last Wednesday's landslide would have buried alive over 350 persons occupying the line rooms in Meeriyabedda Estate in Koslanda is waning; following the return of over a 100 persons who had gone out to work, and 75 children who had gone to school on that fateful morning. The number of persons, who were originally thought to have gone missing following the catastrophe, has now narrowed down to around 200, more..

Nov 3 (CT) You stop people of this country going to meet their very near relatives by placing travel restrictions. Is that not treating the North differently? This is also an attempt to pull wool over the eyes of people, not of the people of the North. If the people of the North were fooled, they would have voted for the UPFA. They were not fooled by any of the roads, the bridges, the mega projects or the gifts you gave from election platforms. They were not fooled. This is an attempt to pull wool over more..

Nov 3 (LBO) Sri Lanka's stocks closed 0.36% higher with Commercial Bank gaining amid net foreign buying. All Share Price Index closed 26.34 points higher at 7,353.15, up 0.36%. The S&P SL20 closed 17.31 points higher at 4,104.69, up 0.42%. Turnover was 1.69 billion rupees, down from 3.81 billion rupees last Friday with 119 stocks closed positive against 76 negative. Nations Trust Bank closed 1.80 rupees higher at 95.70 rupees with two off market transactions of 246.03 million rupees more..

Nov 3 (Island) Children’s and Women’s Bureau of the Kalutara Division and Dodamgoda police are looking for seven three wheeler drivers who have allegedly sexually abused a 15-year-old schoolgirl inside a three wheeler. The victim had been admitted to the Kalutara Hospital for a medical examination, police said. She is scheduled to sit the GCE O/L exam in December. Police said that the victim’s mother also would be taken into custody for not providing her necessary protection. more..

Nov 3 (CT) Mayuri Inoka, the wife of a disappeared husband, Madushka Haris De Silva, was herself abducted on 1 Nov. According to Mayuri, her abductors threatened her not to engage in any activities calling for the recovery of her husband. Mayuri’s husband disappeared in Sept 2013, and remains missing. On 27 Oct, Mayuri spoke at a public gathering in front of the “Monument for the Disappeared” at Raddoluwa, Seeduwa, more..

Nov 3 (CG) Prime Minister D M Jayaratne speaking in Parliament today said that the actions of some monks have become a disgrace to Buddhism and the robe they wear. He said that some religious leaders are unnecessarily getting involved in politics adding that in Buddhism the Lord Buddha does not urge monks to become President. “This is a disgrace to the robe,” he said in a speech made in Parliament today. PM said that Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country where all communities more..

Nov 3 (Reuters) Sri Lankan rupee forwards gained on Monday on dollar selling by exporters and as inward remittances outpaced importer demand for the greenback, but dealers said the local currency is under downward pressure due to rising imports in a stable exchange rate regime. The spot rupee was not traded for a second session due to moral suasion by the central bank, dealers said. It was quoted at 130.85/91 per dollar. It had closed at 130.85/90 per dollar on Thursday. more..