Nov 11 (DH) PM Manmohan Singh�s decision to keep away from the CHOGM in Colombo is a serious diplomatic error. After much dithering the govt has decided that external affairs minister Salman Khurshid will lead the Indian delegation for the meet. This is against national interest and the best principles of foreign policy practised by govts in the past. The UPA govt has been known as decision-shy or prone to wrong decisions during much of its recent tenure. more..

Nov 11 (ST) Tax holidays for some 266 operating BOI enterprises in 12 export promotion zones in the island will soon end with the govt deciding against granting extensions during the 2014 financial year. New legislation will be introduced in this month�s budget to bring these enterprises under the tax system, Sri Lanka can gain as much as 1.5% of GDP in revenue by limiting tax holidays and also cutting tax rates if the base is broadened. more..

Nov 11 (Island) Low growns dropped last week by Rs.45/58 per kilo but considering decreasing buying from Russia because they had more or less filled their Winter orders; West Asia, particularly Iran continued to influence Colombo�s auctions. One outstanding feature, John Keells PLC reported was that New Diyagala, premium flowery, grade fetched Rs. 7000 per kilo. Ex�Estate BOP and BOPF eased Rs. 20 per kilo. Brokers agreed the price trend was lower last week than previously but more..

Nov 11 (LR) Canadian funny man Russell Peters recently concluded his most successful world tour to a sold out crowd in Colombo, Sri Lanka. �Notorious is officially over! Thank u Sri Lanka for being an awesome audience Sad that my tour is over but I�m excited to see what�s next!� he said on his twitter account. �There are some very beautiful women here in Sri Lanka!!!!� At an earlier press conference in Colombo, Peters told the Daily Mirror his first visit to Sri Lanka was a low-key affair. more..

Nov 11 (CT) Clearing doubts about the whereabouts of the LTTE's former Intelligence Chief, international terrorism expert, Prof Rohan Gunaratna says Pottu Amman committed suicide. Q: Was J.R. Jayewardene the first politician you came to know? A: I went to meet him with Prof. Ponnamperuma. He asked for a briefing on the situation in the N&E Provinces. I did it and also went to meet Prabhakaran in Jaffna in 1987. more..

Nov 11 (SO) Dialog Axiata scored another first with the launch of digital services to transform the banking, financial and insurance sector last week in Colombo. Dialog Group, CEO, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya said that in a rapidly growing digital world, telecommunications service providers have a huge role to play in catering to the real needs of consumers who look for smart ways of transacting business. �The consumer of today is advanced and we need to redefine who they are. more..

Nov 11 (LBO) Profits at Sampath Bank group fell to 859 million rupees in the Sept 2013 quarter, down 33% from a year earlier, on loan loss charges. The group reported earnings of 5.12 rupees per share for the quarter. For the nine months to September the firm reported earnings of 15.30 rupees per share on total profits of 2.5 billion rupees which were down 33%. In the September quarter interest income rose 29% to 11.1 billion rupees, interest expense rose at a slower 20% to 6.7 billion rupees more..

Nov 11 (CG) The External Affairs Ministry (EAM) says the authorities had taken appropriate action when dealing with two MPs from Australia and NZ. EAM said that Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon and NZ MP Jan Logie who were in Sri Lanka on tourist visas, were questioned by the authorities today for breaching the conditions of their visas which are issued to bona-fide tourists for the sole purpose of engaging in tourism. more..

Nov 11 (CT) Minister S.B. Dissanayake, who visited the South Eastern University last week, to ascertain the ongoing infrastructure development as well as academic activities, took time off to also ceremonially handed over the documents pertaining to the land on which the Mahapola Training Centre in Oluvil is housed, to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Mohamed Ismail, in the presence of the Registrar Abdul Sathar as well officials of the ministry and university authorities. more..

Nov 11 (ENS) So finally the Indian govt decided that partisan politics is far too important to be sacrificed at the altar of national interest and took the decision that external affairs minister Salman Khurshid will head the Indian delegation at the CHOGM to be held in Sri Lanka next week instead of prime minister Manmohan Singh. This decision was taken in view of the opposition by parties in Tamil Nadu as well as a section in Congress and further underscores the weakening of the authority of the PM. more..

Nov 11 (CT) The UDA has spent a whopping Rs 4.7 billion in just four parts of the country on building-related infrastructure, in preparation for the forthcoming CHOGM, billed to start in Colombo this week. Of this sum, Rs 4 billion has been spent for a conference hall at Hambantota for the Youth Forum, which was officially launched yesterday. Another Rs 300 million has been spent on the Dutch Hospital in the Galle Fort, more..

Nov 11 (Island) UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was also vice-president of the International Democratic Union (IDU), had no legitimate right to attend the forthcoming CHOGM after he had goons, led by MP Mangala Samaraweera, attack a peaceful march against his (RW) leadership on Oct 5, a top party reformist charged. Leading UNP Reformist Maithri Gunaratne said that Wickremesinghe could not justify his presence at a forum comprising democratic leaders of the Commonwealth. more..

Nov 11 (Island) The police have begun a thorough investigation into Saturday evening�s discovery of a haul of arms, in a house on the Old Kesbewa Road, at Embuldeniya, Mirihana occupied by a British woman and a Sri Lankan man. Mirihana police found the arms hidden in a room. The items found included 16 air rifles, 56 toy pistols, 242 swords, 45 large daggers, 53 small daggers, 60 knives, 16 tins of air rifle pellets, and 11 binoculars. At the time the police officers entered the two-storeyed house only more..

Nov 11 (AFP) New Zealand PM John Key said Monday he will attend the CHOGM in Sri Lanka despite his Indian counterpart pulling out amid pressure for a boycott over alleged war crimes by Colombo. Key said his presence at the CHOGM this week did not imply support for the Sri Lankan govt, which faces criticism over the alleged massacre of Tamil civilians in the final months of a separatist war in 2009. more..

Nov 11 (ST) Traditional handicraft shops in Colombo and the suburbs are putting their best goods on display to attract the large number of visitors expected for CHOGM including members from the British Royal family. Laksala, a leading handicraft store is keen to make use of the opportunity to promote their gift items with many outlets being renovated in the past few months and a new outlet opening in proximity to the Colombo National Museum. Another Laksala outlet will be more..

Nov 11 (CT) University students have alleged that a plan is afoot to suspend the Peradeniya Students� Council after a protest was launched by the Students� Council against Minister S.B. Dissanayake, who had attended a party in the campus. The students have been accused of disrupting the function held on the premises on 8 Nov, at which the minister had been an attendee. The University Students� Council alleged that the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Athula Senaratne is more..

Nov 11 (AAP) Australian Greens senator Lee Rhiannon has touched safely down in Sydney after being detained and interrogated by Sri Lankan authorities in what she has described as unlawful and concerning circumstances. The senator for NSW was preparing to host a media conference with New Zealand MP Jan Logie on Sunday morning at their Colombo hotel when the pair had their passports seized by immigration officials. more..

Nov 11 (Island) A jinx appears to be affecting the brand new luxury vehicles imported for CHOGM, with at least three top-of-the-line Benz S-400 cars suffering damage last Friday, while being moved around inside the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre grounds. Those mishaps were followed by a Luxury bus bringing delegates for the Commonwealth Youth Forum, from the Mattala Airport to Hambantota, brushing against an army truck at Pannegamuwa yesterday. more..

Nov 11 (Island) Today is the final day for the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) to complete the beautification projects ahead of the CHOGM to be held from Nov 15 to 17. CMC sources said that the projects were to be completed earlier but due to certain snags, the deadline was extended. CMC officials will inspect the work that has already been completed from Galadari Hotel roundabout to the Nelum Pokuna and from there to the BMICH and then up to D.S. Senanayake Road junction. more..

Nov 11 (IANS) External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid Sunday admitted that emotive protests in Tamil Nadu did influence PM Manmohan Singh's decision to skip the CHOGM summit in Sri Lanka. But he underlined that it would be wrong to "look at any one single dimension to this decision". "There are lot of factors. The PM is campaigning and of course there are a lot of issues in Tamil Nadu," Khurshid told NDTV. more..

Nov 11 (DM) He had built for himself a considerable reputation. He was strict. A stickler for rules. He never let emotion rule reason. He abhorred short cuts. He watched loopholes. Lawyers must be perfect, he said. The man was the Principal, Sri Lanka Law College until a few days ago when he �went on leave� under a cloud. In layman�s language, �sacked�, with the usual caveat �pending investigation�. The horror stories are coming out only now. Well, that�s not entirely correct more..

Nov 11 (DM) Seat�ed on a bench in the far end of one of the busy hos�pi�tal cor�ri�dors, Ka�su�ni* seems to be ea�ger�ly await�ing some�one�s ar�riv�al as she nurses her two-week old in�fant. To a by�stand�er it would have seemed as if the in�fant was wig�gling in the warmth of her old�er sis�ter, if not for the ba�by-blue ma�ter�ni�ty jack�et and flo�ral-pat�terned cloth Ka�su�ni was wear�ing. �The ba�by�s fa�ther is late to�day, won�der why�,� this 15 year-old moth�er tells me as she cocks her head through the crowd to get a bet�ter view. more..

Nov 11 (SL) The govt is leaving nothing to chance where it concerns the forthcoming CHOGM. It has invested heavily in CHOGM both in term of its political and financial capital. The govt expects the international perspective on Sri Lanka, its economic potential and peaceful climate, to undergo a drastic transformation for the better. A govt spokesperson was reported by the media as saying that no public demonstrations more..

Nov 11 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's central bank kept key policy interest rates steady at a multiyear low on Monday as expected after it slashed them by 50 basis points last month in a surprise move to stimulate the economy. The current monetary policy stance is appropriate, the central bank said in a statement. The repurchase rate and reverse repurchase rate were left at 6.5% and 8.5%, respectively. It also said the country had more..

Nov 11 (AAP) Billionaire James Packer will visit Colombo this week to lobby the Sri Lankan govt over his plans for a five-star resort. The Crown chairman is expected to meet key govt officials and potential joint venture partners on Wednesday. He will also be a keynote speaker at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Colombo ahead of the opening of the CHOGM, which Prime Minister Tony Abbott will attend. more..

Nov 11 (Island) The Central Bank has embarked on establishing a �Museum on Sri Lanka�s Economic History� at the imposing colonial era building, earlier known as National Mutual, on Chatham Street, Fort, close to the clock tower. The Bank has issued the following report on the project: "An indepth study of this history dating back to centuries is relevant not only to economists and those actively involved in the sphere of more..

Nov 11 (ST) The Dept. of Immigration and Emigration is concerned about the increasing violations of visa conditions evident in the last few years. However, due to stringent monitoring, most foreign traders who come on �visit visas�, now look for covert ways to conduct their business through local agents, making it difficult to nab the offenders. This is in the backdrop of the country fast becoming a transit location for illegal migrants more..

Nov 11 (DM) High-end Italian restaurant chain SOHO is currently in discussions with potential local partners to set up a luxury restaurant in Colombo next year, followed by a second restaurant in Galle, according to the founder owner. To this end, the Italian domiciled Sri Lankan entrepreneur, Damian Ranasinghe is setting up a holding company before the end of this year to function as an investment company in SL. more..

Nov 11 (ENS) Parvathy Ammal, mother of the slain LTTE chief V Prabhakaran, used to pine for her son while she was in detention at Panagoda after the end of Eelam War IV. �She would shatter the silence of the night by yelling �Prabha, Prabha�. An embarrassed Velupillai, her husband, would try to silence her with a piece of cloth but she would shake him off and fling at him plates, cups or anything that was within reach,� more..

Nov 11 (Xinhua) The New Zealand government was under growing pressure Monday to take action against Sri Lanka after two lawmakers from New Zealand and Australia were briefly detained by Sri Lankan officials while on a fact-finding mission over the weekend. New Zealand MP Jan Logie and Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon were carrying out their investigation ahead of CHOGM to be held in Colombo. more..

Nov 11 (Island) The govt yesterday allowed a group of British journalists to proceed to Jaffna overland following an intervention by the British High Commission. Well informed sources said that security authorities in Vavuniya had stopped media personnel and some locals as they didn�t have the required approvals to visit Jaffna. Sources identified three of the foreigners as members of British media outfit ITV. more..

Nov 11 (AAP) Australian PM Tony Abbott won't be joining other world leaders in a boycott of the CHOGM, saying Australia shouldn't be giving lectures to other countries about human rights. The PMs of Canada and India are boycotting the CHOGM, which will be opened by Prince Charles in Colombo on Friday. Other leaders including British PM David Cameron have resisted domestic political pressure not to make the trip, more..

Nov 11 (CT) Many articles and editorials have appeared in the media about the merits and demerits of the setting up of foreign universities in Sri Lanka. The general trend of all these have, however, been against the setting up of foreign universities. Various reasons have been adduced as to why foreign universities should not be set up in the country. But taking into consideration the overwhelming number of GCE A/L qualified students who are shut out of the State run universities more..

Nov 11 (CT) During the 6th Amendment debate in Parliament on 4th August 1983, Lalith Athulathmudali told the House: �The time has come for the misguided youth in the North to lay down arms. We will not stop at enacting laws. We will use every weapon at our command to eradi- cate terrorism.� Athulathmudali, an intelligent man, must have known that it was a most inappropriate message to the Tamils just after his Govt had given them a good thrashing. more..

Nov 11 (CT) �Pascale Moreau, UNHCR's Acting Director for Asia, stressed that UNHCR had no one on the ground in the areas of conflict and has not been allowed full access to interview IDPs, so it has no primary source information on what happened during the conflict. Her discussion with Amb. Williamson focused more on the current status of IDP camps and the expectations for the return home or relocation of the civilians there. more..

Nov 11 (CI) A washout after 54.2 overs of the series opener did not reveal the condition of New Zealand's young batting order, but both captain Kyle Mills and batsman Tom Latham have backed the team to chase down tall scores ahead of the second match in Hambantota. New Zealand were 13 for 1 in pursuit of 289 when the rain came, and though three of their top batsmen are missing from this side, the visitors felt they were favourites to win the first game. They would have had to achieve the more..

Nov 11 (Island) The Govt Medical Officers� Forum (GMOF) yesterday said that it had sent a communiqu� to Minister Maithripala Sirisena seeking the provision of an official vehicle, with a driver, to each doctor as the current transport allowance was not sufficient. GMOF Secretary Dr. Nishantha Premaratne said that the Forum had taken a decision to ask for an adequate transport allowance in parallel to the other govt officers. For instance, high ranking officers in more..

Nov 11 (HRW) Govts attending the CHOGM should press the host, Sri Lanka, on accountability for alleged war crimes and ongoing human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch and the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice said today. The two groups released a media guide for the Nov 15-17, 2013 summit. The 22-page media guide provides information on both the summit and Sri Lanka, from practical tips on getting around the country more..

Nov 11 (CG) The got says it is happy with the number of foreign delegates who have confirmed participation at the Commonwealth summit this week. Govt spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that although some Commonwealth leaders have said they are unable to attend the summit, it was not a matter of concern. He confirmed that Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had informed President Rajapaksa over his inability to attend the summit. more..

Nov 11 (Island) Two senior UNPers, Imthiaz Bakeer Markar and Palitha Range Bandara, believe that if their party is to make a comeback it will have to undergo a complete overhaul. Former UNP MP, and ousted Working Committee Member Bakeer Markar was of the opinion that the party would soon be reduced to a third force, if nothing was done to stop continuous slide at election after election. He that what the party required was a complete change in its structure. more..