Nov 17 (CG) A passenger was arrested at the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) with foreign currency valued at Rs 66,076,213.00 The customs department said that the Sri Lankan male, aged 35, a resident of Weligama, was arrested at the departure lounge, when he was about to leave for Dubai from the Mattala Airport. The passenger had concealed the foreign currency in the false bottom of a baggage and was about to board a plane to Dubai this morning. more..

Nov 17 (Island) Nienhuis Asia Pvt. Ltd. a global company which designs and develops innovative materials for early childhood education announced last week that its state-of-the-art facility in Sri Lanka would be recognized as the Company’s head office, taking precedence over its offices in the Netherlands and the USA. Marking the 20th anniversary of BOI approved Nienhuis’ operations in Sri Lanka and announcing the Company’s long march, Henk Fokke, CEO/Owner- Heutink Group more..

Nov 17 (DN) CEO of Marks and Spencer Company, Marc Bolland met the Minister Ravi Karunanayake and had discussions. He was in London to attend the Sri Lankan Investor Forum, organized by CSE, Sri Lankan Embassy in London and Bloomberg. During his visit, Minister had talks with Bolland who has said they are looking at a big investment in SL. He also requested Minister to widen scope of investment opportunities more..

Nov 17 (Island) Vidyartha College, Kandy paddler Krishan Wickramaratne beat his schoolmate Udaya Ranasingha 3-1 to win the boys’ title of the recently held Junior National Table Tennis Championship, while Mahamaya School girl Samadhi Hettiarachchi won the girls’ championship beating Musaeus College’s Ruvini Kannangara in a five sets final. Wickramaratne beat Ranasingha 11-7,15-13,11-6 and 14-12 to win the Under-18 championship before partnering him to beat D. Kavishka and more..

Nov 17 (ST) Sari Connection – a subsidiary under PARCIC (PARC Interpeoples Cooperation) a Japanese NGO working with marginalised communities in Sri Lanka since 2004 – has a unique, carefully handcrafted product range made out of upcycled saris. These are meeting with aspirations of seamstresses from marginalised communities such as Jaffna and Mullaitivu, long affected by conflict or natural disasters – in most cases both – and strive to sustain their more..

Nov 17 (FT) As heavy rainfall and flash floods batter the north and east regions of the island, affecting the livelihoods of over 37,000 people, the International Disaster Convention kicked off yesterday with its inaugural session. The inaugural session focused on the theme of disaster resilience through public-private partnerships. Speaking on the issues was International Disaster and Crisis Management Director Dr. Peter Rehwinkel. more..

Nov 17 (FT) The newly-elected Govt has recently adopted price controls on certain consumer goods such as hoppers, plain tea and milk tea. The purpose of this paper (rather the tutorial) is to analyse the economic effects of price controls using economic principles. We select the controlled price of hoppers, which is Rs. 10 per plain hopper. Hopper is a common food item of people in Sri Lanka. Its quality varies from place to place, and accordingly, the price varies too: more..

Nov 17 (AD) Sri Lanka Muslim council (SLMC) on Monday issuing a statement condemned the ‘un-Islamic’ act of killing innocents in Paris last Friday. Following is the statement: “The un-Islamic act of killing innocents in Paris last Friday once again proves that IS (ISIS) is a non-Islamic terror group that is determined on tarnishing the image of Islam and Muslims around the world. Islam is a religion of mercy and tolerance that totally prohibits the taking of innocent lives. more..

Nov 17 (DM) Officials of the Financial Criminal Investigation Division (FCID) visited the Carlton Sports Network (CSN) in Battaramulla to conduct investigations regarding the awarding of broadcasting rights to CSN by violating tender procedure, ASP Ruwan Gunasekara said. Several computer hard disk drives, a desktop computer, a laptop and several documents were taken to FCID custody for further investigations, more..

Nov 17 (FT) Several private sector giants and top experts will speak up at the Daily FT-Colombo Uni MBA Alumni Association organised post-Budget Forum on 24 Nov from 9 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. at Galadari Hotel. Held for 6th consecutive year, joint post-Budget forum has the distinction of providing key insights from the best in the country and this year the lineup is an impressive set of business leaders drawn from diversified conglomerates so as to give a broader perspective. more..

Nov 17 (DN) Sri Lanka aims to be among the top 10 high quality supplier countries in the world by 2020. This was disclosed at the inauguration at the inaugural Intex South Asia International Apparel Fabrics and Accessories Exhibition at SL Exhibition and Convention Centre yesterday. Currently Sri Lanka’s garment industry is the main contributor to Sri Lanka’s exports with a 40% contribution to the total export earnings. Total sector exports value for 2014 was US$ 4.98 billion. more..

Nov 17 (DN) Certain members of the Avant Garde Company were involved in opening fire at the final UNP general election rally, health minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said. He was addressing a meeting after opening the Madurawla Akkara 13 drinking water supply project in Bulathsinhala built at a cost of Rs. 1 million on Sunday. “But today certain UNP ministers do not speak about UNP supporters who received gun shot injuries. more..

Nov 17 (FT) President Maithripala Sirisena will leave for Malta on 26 November to attend the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Govt Meeting (CHOGM). CHOGM 2015 will be held at Fort St. Angelo in Birgu from 27-29 November. Sri Lanka hosted the biennial event, which brings together Heads of State and govt from the 53 countries in the Commonwealth, in 2013. President Sirisena, who is the current Chair-in-Office in the Commonwealth will hand over the position to Malta at the 2015 CHOGM. more..

Nov 17 (DN) President Sirisena has decided to grant sufficient powers to The Presidential Commission to Investigate Massive Fraud and Corruption, to investigate fraud and corruption that take place under the Good Governance Govt, sources said. PRECIFAC was established to investigate alleged mass fraud and corruption that had taken place during the previous regime. Sources said that both the President and PRECIFAC have received similar complaints regarding massive corruption more..

Nov 17 (ENS) DMK leader M Karunanidhi urged PM Modi to put pressure on the Sri Lankan govt to release political prisoners as promised by President Sirisena during the Presidential elections. He said “SL govt is breaking its promise in the matter of the release of the Tamil political prisoners. During the 2015 Presidential elections, Tamils overwhelmingly voted for Maithiripala Sriseana as he had promised more..

Nov 17 (CT) Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), has also launched an investigation into the controversy surrounding Avant Garde security firm, its Director General Dilrukshi Wickramasinghe said yesterday. She added they are also continuing their investigations into the biggest instance of corruption which was recorded in the country, involving the collection of Rs 125 million by customs officers. She added that the commission keeps on getting more..

Nov 17 (CT) The hurriedly organized 27th National Youth Sports Festival came to an end with a pompous closing ceremony which lasted two and a half hours in order to pamper certain individuals, whereas after three hard days of athletics (hampered by bad weather), the exhausted athletes were looking to pack up and leave, as they had already faced several ordeals right from the District stages. It was evident the main reason behind organizing the 27th edition of the festival more..

Nov 17 (DN) The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has not received the instructions from the Attorney General (AG) in relation to the National Museum robbery though a year has elapsed since the relevant extracts were referred for the AG’s instructions. The CID officials yesterday told Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya that they were waiting the Attorney General’s instructions in relation to this case. more..

Nov 17 (CT) A No-Confidence Motion will be brought against PC Minister Lalith Wanigaratne today at the Western Province Council meeting. The motion is expected to be presented at the meeting by several members of the Democratic Party which includes Susil Kindelpitiya and Lalantha Gunasekara and will be handed over to the Chairperson Sunil Wijeratne. Accordingly, PC members will vote in favour or against the No-Confidence Motion during the meeting scheduled for today. more..

Nov 17 (CT) NPC Chairman C.V.K. Sivagnanam has recently mentioned in a letter to Minister Faiszer Musthapha that the govt would not give nod to change the name of Nagadeepa Island to Nainathivu, it was important to take into consideration the historical aspect of the island. "In fact from time immemorial the island was identified as Nainathivu. It is so in all govt records and documents. However, in the Gazette Notification relating to delimitation of Wards 8 and 12 of more..

Nov 17 (CT) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has called a prominent minister, who was engaged in a heated debate with a number of parties regarding the Avant Garde case to Temple Trees yesterday and had issued a stern warning. Wickremesinghe who returned from Singapore had asked the minister to visit him immediately. PM had shown the relevant minister the statements he made about Avant Garde more..

Nov 17 (DM) Minister Champika Ranawaka was absolutely correct when he said there was no interest whatsoever among MPs about electoral reforms that were to be brought in through the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution during the tenure of the govt for President Maithripala Sirisena’s 100-day programme. We remember as to how many politicians from either side of the main political parties had divided and fought for those reforms while some of them more..

Nov 17 (DM) Law and Order Minister Tilak Marapana resigned last week after an uproar in the Cabinet, over his perceived pussyfooting on the ongoing investigation into the floating armoury of the Avant Garde Maritime Service. Mr. Marapana’s only offence, it appears, that he earlier told Parliament that the considered opinion of the Attorney General was that there was no considerable and admissible evidence to institute a legal case against the weapons that were found in the ship, more..

Nov 17 (DM) Excerpts of a discussion with the Minister of Ports, Arjuna Ranathunge. Q: Where is the good governance you boasted much? A: There is no question about the govt or its good governance. You can observe how free everyone is today to express their views. Two parties are working together, but, there are some who look only for political advantages and not to give attention to the country. more..

Nov 17 (DM) A letter from Minister Kabir Hashim revealed that he intends to change the entire board of directors of the state-owned Grand Hyatt Hotel holding company Canwill Holdings. “A letter dated Nov 5, to SL Insurance Corporation said that the minister intends to appoint a new board. Somebody has said that we are the Finance Minister’s people. We have also been told not to open tenders and we’re awaiting further more..

Nov 17 (SL) During recent times, the Bribery Commission received a large number of files on allegations of frauds and corruptions from every corner of the country. In addition to them, the Sri Lanka Army is also carrying out an internal investigation into alleged incidents of sexual bribes and frauds within the Military Police Force. UNP MP Buddhika Pathirana recently had tabled the report on these allegations. more..

Nov 17 (ST) The fast changing political developments in the Maldives spilled over to Sri Lanka this week as news broke of the arrest of a Lankan national in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen. This was followed with the extradition to the Maldives of one of its nationals resident in Nedimala, Dehiwela, also in connection with an assassination attempt on President Yameen, more..

Nov 17 (Island) The FSP announced that it would mobilise all social, civil society and human rights organisations that had pledged their solidarity with them to secure the release of party leader Kumar Gunaratnam, who is now in remand custody for violating immigration laws. Party’s Propaganda Secretary Pubudu Jayagoda said that they were now convinced that the govt was getting ready to deport Gunaratnam. more..

Nov 17 (Island) For almost a decade prior to January 8, this year the Rajapaksa govt had kept reducing the number of auctions while its cronies dumped useless shares on the EPF, says Deputy Minister Harsha de Silva. He said that when Treasury Bills and Bonds were auctioned the EPF which was one of the biggest investors got better returns, but with the previous regime gradually reducing the number of auctions and getting more..

Nov 17 (CG) A report which includes details on over 5000 missing people was handed over to UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. The report was handed over to the visiting UN group by the Dead and Missing Person’s Parents Front. Ananda Jayamane, the convener of the Dead and Missing Person’s Parents Front, said that the report contains several details, including information pertaining to all those listed as more..

Nov 17 (Island) Chairperson of the newly constituted Human Rights Commission (HRC) Dr. Deepika Udagama assured that she would certainly look into the Attorney General’s Department. Dr. Udagama stressed the importance of protecting the independence of the AG’s Department, the judiciary and the police. She was flanked by Commissioners, attorney-at-law Ghazali Hussain, attorney-at-law Saliya Pieris, more..

Nov 17 (EN) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has promised to consult private sector workers, a report said as fears grow over plans to merge two retirement plans of private sector workers into one. PM had given an assurance to several trade union representatives who met him, that no unilateral decision will be taken by the administration over the two funds. Though spokesmen of the UNP earlier promised more..

Nov 17 (Haveeru) A Maldivian businessman first tried all by himself to kill the Maldivian found dead in Sri Lanka early this month before contracting the murder to a fellow countryman, Sri Lankan police revealed. Razeen, who is a notorious former gangster, was found dead with stab injuries in an abandoned paddy field near the Tumbovila Bridge in Piliyandala on Nov 5. Two suspects - a Maldivian and his Sri Lankan accomplice - more..

Nov 17 (EN) Urban planning in Sri Lanka is hampered by the division of responsibilities different agencies and inadequate co-ordination among them, according to a new study by UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). UDA is mandated to prepare development plans for areas it declares suitable for urban development, report said. But, such UDA-declared areas are not an integral part of planning of the core city for which ULA is responsible, more..

Nov 17 (Island) GMOA warned they would complain against officials of the Health Ministry and hospital administrators to the Public Service and Human Rights Commissions for failing to implement doctors’ annual transfers at the end of this week. GMOA Secretary, Dr. Nalinda Herath said that the GMOA had agreed to Health Minister, Dr Rajitha Senaratne’s decision to effect doctors’ transfers this week. He said that the GMOA would closely how directives issued by the Health Minister more..

Nov 17 (LBO) Stocks closed up at 0.17% on Tuesday recovering from its four month low due to price increases in some index heavy stocks, brokers said. Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed up 11.97 points at 6,977.95 higher 0.17%. S&P SL20 closed 9.30 points higher at 3,768.71 up 0.25%. Turnover was 1.47 billion rupees, up from 677 million rupees on Monday with 74 stocks closing positive against 72 negative. “There was some bargain hunting and institutional activity,” more..

Nov 17 (CT) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva recently expressed that people have now realized that the so-called Yahapalana Govt took them for a ride and they were regretting the mistake they made on Jan 8 after falling for the extensive social media campaigns. He had stated that the people had made a wrong decision on 8 Jan because the Opposition activists had duped them with the assistance of social media. Having fallen for false propaganda, they were now paying for their mistakes. more..

Nov 17 (Island) New Human Rights Commission Chairperson Dr. Deepika Udagama said that the proposed judicial mechanism to probe accountability issues should be in line with domestic laws. Dr. Udagama revealed that the HRC would discuss the Geneva process with Minister Mangala Samaraweera. The new administration would decide on the judicial mechanism whereas her outfit had the right to advise the govt as well as supervise more..

Nov 17 (AD) Chairman of the Dr Neville Fernando Sri Lanka-Russia Friendship Teaching Hospital (NFTH) in Malabe, Dr Neville Fernando, says that he will take legal action against Professor Carlo Fonseka seeking Rs 500 million in damages for the comments made by the latter regarding the demise of Most Venerable Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero. Dr Fernando completely rejected claimed that late Ven. Sobitha Thero had been infected with a bacteria while receiving treatment at his hospital. more..