Oct 30 (ANI) The leaders of various political parties on Thursday took the Narendra Modi-led govt to task after a Sri Lankan Court awarded death penalty to five Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu. Expressing shock over the news, Communist Party of India leader K. Padmanabhan urged the govt to intervene immediately and ensure that the fishermen are released. "It's shocking news; I think Govt of India should intervene immediately more..

Oct 30 (AM) Court of Appeal today dismissed a writ application filed by a resident of Nugegoda who sought a writ of mandamus order directing the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the attorney General (AG) to take legal action against 33 members of Northern Provincial Council (NPC) and Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) for urging former UN Human Rights High Commissioner Navanidan Pillai through a letter to determine if genocide has taken place in Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 30 (CT) Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) charged the approval process required for travel to the North as yet another inhuman and unjustified attack on the minorities. "This is an irritant and will cause a lot of national and international problems for the govt. When the task is to get these communities into the mainstream and integrate them, such moves will only create further divisions," BASL Standing Committee on Rule of Law Chairman & Lawyers for Democracy Convenor Lal Wijenayake said. more..

Oct 30 (CG) Govt today denied claims that President Rajapaksa had met LTTE supporters during his last visit to the United States. Minister G.L Peiris told Parliament that he was with the President during the US tour and he can guarantee that the President did not meet any pro-LTTE diaspora members. President had been in the US to attend UNGA meeting and he also had talks with world leaders on the sidelines of the meeting. more..

Oct 30 (CI) Rohit Sharma, Manish Pandey and Karn Sharma made the most of their opportunities for India A while the Sri Lankans didn't have much to gain from the warm-up one-dayer at the Brabourne Stadium. With Sri Lanka deciding to give all fifteen members of their squad a go, the match didn't have any statistical relevance. Still Rohit's innings showed that he has recovered from his injuries while Pandey's and Karn's efforts in the comprehensive 88-run victory will help push their case more..

Oct 30 (PTI) Strongly condemning the death penalty awarded to five Tamil Nadu fishermen by a Sri Lankan court, the AIADMK govt today said it has 'incensed' all sections of the society and sought PM Narendra Modi's intervention for their release. In a letter to Modi, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam described the verdict as "unjust" and raised apprehension whether the fishermen received a fair trial. "On behalf the people of TN, I strongly condemn the unjust conviction meted out to more..

Oct 30 (Reuters) The head of the Commonwealth group of nations has urged Sri Lanka to decrease the military's heavy role in civil administration in the country's former conflict zone, in order to improve living conditions for war survivors. Although the civil conflict between Tamil Tigers and govt forces ended more than 5 years ago, tens of thousands of security forces remain stationed in the north. more..

Oct 30 (USE) The United States extends its deepest condolences to the Govt of Sri Lanka and the families affected by the recent landslides in Koslanda. We stand ready to assist the Government and victims as they mourn the loss of loved ones, treat the injured, and address the extensive losses and damage caused by this natural disaster. We commend the Govt of Sri Lanka and its Armed Forces for their rapid response and valiant search and rescue efforts.

Oct 30 (CT) The Defence and Urban Development Ministry yesterday issued further instructions to foreign passport holders, who wish to travel to the North, adding to the process of obtaining permission. Those include multiple entries, details of drivers and such like. The restrictions apply to those who wish to travel to the Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Districts, Mannar District (only areas north of Vidattaltivu) and the Vavuniya District (only areas north of Omanthai). more..

Oct 30 (AP) Hundreds of desperate Sri Lankan villagers dug with bare hands through the broken red earth of a deadly landslide Thursday, defying police orders after a top disaster official said there was no chance of finding more survivors at the high-elevation tea plantation. There were conflicting reports of how many people were missing in the slide, which struck Wednesday morning in the island nation's central hills after heavy rains. more..

Oct 31 (CT) During the conflict period, relations with India had been handled not by the Foreign Ministry, but by three trusted confidantes of the President. These were his Secretary, Lalith Weeratunge, and two of his brothers, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa. These two, both younger than the President, were neither of them Ministers at the time (as opposed to the oldest brother, Chamal, who was a long standing member of Parliament and a senior Minister). It was the two younger brothers more..

Oct 31 (CT) People are eager to know whether the Political leaders in Sri Lanka are concerned with the Quality of Life or the high Standard of Living. Standard of living and quality of living are two different aspects of life. High standard of living revolves round the wealth of people which generates luxurious comforts and class disparity. There are many definitions for Quality of Life, but for analyzing purposes, let us determine in the context of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights more..

Oct 31 (SO) �Rape is horrible because you are violated, you are scared, somebody takes control of your body and hurts you in the most intimate way�. Reportedly this utterance was made to the New York Times by Abdul Abdulail an Indian victim of brutal gang rape who was a child of 17 years then, now going on her forties. This portrays how a victim�s mind works after she was subjected to rape. A victim of child rape or more..

Oct 31 (FT) The 2015 Budget speech included a commitment to increase the number of students entering universities to 100,000 by 2020. The current intake to Govt universities is 25,000 per year, with another 30,000 qualified but not admitted, according to the Minister of Higher Education. The Budget speech also stated that the Government will ensure that Sri Lankan universities will be among the top 30 of Asian universities by 2020. These objectives contradictory? more..

Oct 31 (Island) I have always been fascinated by the �yakada yaka� ( the Iron Devil.), as my maternal side of the family lived in close proximity to the Kattuwa railway station and we have travelled extensively in the trains which occupied a large part of my life. Recently, I was blessed to meet a friend who mentioned an uncle of his, who has written two fascinating books about his years in the railway and I was eager to meet this fascinating person hearty and healthy, with vigour which surpasses more..

Oct 31 (NS) Many Parliamentarians from both the govt and the opposition spoke to journalists immediately after President Mahinda Rajapaksa delivered his Budget Speech on Friday (24). While many government MPs were unanimous in their praise for Budget 2015, calling it the best they had ever seen, opposition MPs were equally unanimous in dismissing it as a budget solely targeting the next presidential election, more..

Oct 31 (SL) We were ruminating on the words of wisdom of our old school friend Conner Beerasinghe, a great thinker and drinker with which we ended our column last week: The nation is at cross roads. One leads to despair and destruction. The other leads to total extinction. Let us hope we have the wisdom to make the right choice. Concentrating in making the right choice, we wondered why all these gentlemen and riff- raff are screaming their heads off about more..

Oct 31 (SL) Both private and public transport sectors have been demanding annually when a budget nears the necessary changes to improve the standards of the transport services but a little have improved over the years. The general feeling is either necessary budget allocations are not being made for the improvements of the industry or the allocations made are being misused by the sectors. Either way, it seems the public have not received any benefit over the years more..

Oct 31 (Island) Cries have been raised from certain quarters calling for the abolishing of the executive presidency and reverting back to the parliamentary form of govt where the head of the executive is chosen from and sits in parliament. In this interview Gamini Samaranayake Emeritus Professor of Political Science of the University of Peradeniya speaks to C. A. Chandraprema about the pros and cons of more..

Oct 31 (FT) Almost all commentators have labeled the 2014 Budget an election budget, meaning that its main purpose is to offer a sop to voters before the impending presidential elections in 2015, a description the Govt spokesmen have not seriously challenged. Some of the spokesmen for the Govt even gloat that there is �something� in it for almost everybody. For once they seem to have forgotten the most important element in our society; for conspicuously left out of the list of more..

Oct 31 (NS) It is four years since the 18th Amendment to the Constitution came into effect. It was dismissed at the time and occasionally since then as a subversion of the democratic spirit and further entrenchment of dictatorial provisions in the J R Jayewardene Constitution of 1978. Now, four years later, the 18th Amendment is in the news ago. There�s little or no talk of democracy or dictatorship. The focus is one individual, Mahinda Rajapaksa. The question that is being addressed more..

Oct 31 (FT) The LTTE is re-emerging and the Govt should be held responsible for that, asserts Minister Champika Ranawaka, of the JHU, in an interview with the Daily FT. Minister further says that LTTE leader Prabhakaran may have been defeated but the Govt has failed to fully liberalise the country. �The Govt is yet to find an answer politically, socially and economically.� Following are excerpts: more..

Oct 31 (Island) Wednesday�s deadly landslide which wiped out an entire village burying about 200 persons alive in Koslanda came as no surprise. Described as the worst ever natural disaster since December 2004, when massive waves barreled across the Indian Ocean and had a disastrous landfall, the collapse of the mountain slope had been predicted. Landslide warnings had been issued well in advance for several years but no action had been taken to evacuate people living in the area, more..

Oct 31 (NS) Both the English and the Sinhala written and electronic media are inundated with speculations and narratives of the possible presidential election. The debates of a common candidate, �uncommon candidate�, thoughts of jumping the ship, breaking the governing coalition, unconstitutionality of a third term for the incumbent president, rivalries within the parties, accusing the left-wing parties of betrayal, NGO financial frauds, TNA�s foreign propitiations, more..

Oct 31 (FT) Central Bank yesterday said Sri Lanka�s ranking in the Doing Business Index has improved in both relative and absolute terms and explained how though the latest release of the global list by the World Bank-IFC showed otherwise. In a statement, the Central Bank said according to the latest Doing Business Ranking published by the World Bank Group, Sri Lanka is ranked in the 99th position out of 189 countries in 2015 more..

Oct 31 (FT) On the way to reach US$ 2 billion foreign direct investment this year, Sri Lanka received US$ 1.5 billion during the first 10 months of this year surpassing last year's 12-month achievement of US$ 1.39 billion. Despite failing to achieve targeted FDI goals during the last two years, falling short by US$ 160 million and US$ 610 million to achieve targets of US$ 1.5 billion and US$ 2 billion in 2012 and 2013 respectively, Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said. more..

Oct 31 (Island) Former Sri Lanka cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga has urged cricket authorities to help West Indies revive their cricket rather than penalizing them. The ICC Board Meeting scheduled for November 10 will discuss West Indies� abandonment of their tour of India and the way forward. West Indies face suspension from the ICC if the BCCI lodges a complaint with the governing body. Indian cricket authorities have threatened to take legal action against WICB. more..

Oct 31 (Forbes) From an investor�s point of view, the case for Sri Lanka is getting strong. In the rear view mirror, yet still lurking and causing hesitation for some, are the Sri Lankan Civil War that ended in 2009 and the market bubbles that followed the war�s end through 2011. While there are risks to investing anywhere, Sri Lanka has one of the best cases for an economy with the stars aligned in its favor. more..

Oct 31 (CT) Vehicle importers are still not clear how the new tax proposals announced in the 2015 Budget would affect pricing, and one dealer says, taxes on hybrid vehicles should have been increased. "The special integrated tax may not have a huge impact on the industry. However, it is still too early to make certain of this as the tax structure is still not very clear. It may have a big impact on vehicles already imported under the previous tax structure and dealers would more..

Oct 31 (ST) A new UNDP report has noted that local youth employment, which it indicated to be 17%, is an area of concern for Sri Lanka. According to a recently issued Asia Pacific media statement, which outlined some regionally relevant contents, the report commented, �a lack of decent, well paid jobs � especially for youth � is a major challenge in Asia and the Pacific. In many countries of the region, youth unemployment is relatively high: 23% in Iran, 22% in Indonesia, 17% in Sri Lanka, more..

Oct 31 (CT) The imposition of travel restrictions to the North, for foreigners and members of the Tamil Diaspora, creates a dangerous situation for the country when the international community is antagonized in this manner, Bishop of Mannar, Dr. Rayappu Joseph said. Explaining that this move was symptomatic of the govt's ill will towards the Tamil people, he added, if the govt has any suspicions concerning certain persons more..

Oct 31 (FT) Investment Promotion Deputy Minister Faizer Mustapha early this week met 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. At the meeting, which was held at the Investment Promotion Ministry and attended by the Government including the Sri Lanka Tourist Board, Board of Investment, Urban Development Authority and more..

Oct 31 (FT) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is providing technical and financial to the Ministry of Livestock and Rural Community Development (MLRCD) to exploit productivity in dairy cattle in selected districts. The total project period will be two years starting from September 2014 and the Department of Animal Production and Health (DAPH) will be implementing technological interventions to make the medium scale dairy farming profitable and encompass more..

Oct 31 (Island) Govt could make excuses but it should accept the responsibility for its failure to save the lives of people who perished in the Koslanda disaster, Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga said in Parliament yesterday. Chief Opposition Whip, addressing Parliament soon after the Chief Government Whip made a special statement on the scope of the disaster and the action taken by the govt, said that the Opposition wished to more..

Oct 31 (LR) Parliamentarian Rathika Sitsabaiesan honoured slain Canadian solider Cpl. Nathan Cirillo as his hearse drove past Toronto on route to be repatriated last Friday. She joined residents of Scarborough to line the 401 overpass at McCowan road as the motorcade passed through the busiest stretch of highway in the world. �We are country of love and it is absolutely unfortunate that Cpl. Nathan Cirillo�s life was taken too quickly from us,� Sitsabaiesan told lankareporter.com. more..

Oct 31 (E24|7) A Sri Lankan worker allegedly bit his roommate�s finger during a heated argument and caused him six per cent permanent disability, the Dubai Criminal Court heard. SS, 29 is also accused of consuming alcohol. According to the records, on June 28, the accused was consuming alcohol in his room when a dispute broke out between him and the victim KK, 54, Pakistani driver. �A dispute broke between us and then he rushed towards me and bit my right hand�s index finger,� more..

Oct 31 (CT) The alleged sex scandal of Sri Lanka Women's Cricket team has gone to parliament as well when UNP MP Ajith P Perera moving a motion demanded that all possible measures be taken against the related parties who are alleged to be behind the said sex scandal. Ajith P Perera also had explained the scale of the allegation while demanding an inquiry according to criminal law of the country and to take more..

Oct 31 (FT) Lanka Hospitals last week announced that it has received the highly prestigious JCI accreditation and its gold seal of approval after a rigorous onsite evaluation by an international surveyor team of most experienced and skilled healthcare experts, elevating the hospital to an exclusive group of healthcare organisations worldwide that have met every stringent clinical quality standard set by Joint Commission International (JCI), the recognised leader in more..

Oct 31 (CT) The National Building Research Organization (NBRO) yesterday identified several areas that are vulnerable to landslides in the next 24 hours, as heavy rains continued in the hill country and other low-lying areas. NBRO Director for Landslide Research and Risk Management, R.M.S. Bandara, said landslide warnings were issued for the Badulla, Nuwara Eliya, Ratnapura, Kalutara, Kandy, Matale and Kegalle Districts. "We pointed out certain areas in those districts and more..

Oct 31 (FT) Cacophony from the relief camp is deafening but amidst the noise S. Parameswari sits in a daze after four of her family members were buried alive in the massive landslide that instantly cemented its place as one of history�s worst natural disasters. But her stoic expression cracks as she describes how the trees on the mountain top started to move suddenly in the early hours of Tuesday. �I screamed to my family, more..