Confusion over 5 SIMs or 25 SIMS per person?

Despite media reports that said Sri Lanka’s Defense Ministry had limited use of Mobile SIMS to 5 per person an official from country’s telecom regulator said that the rule has only restricted a person to have 5 SIMS per mobile operator in the country. 

There are currently 5 mobile operators named Dialog, Mobitel, Etisalat, Airtel and Hutch operating in South Asian island nation having nearly 60% of 21 million population using mobile phones. Sri Lanka is said to be the one of the countries that were offering cheapest mobile tariffs in Asia.

“This means that each person can have 5 SIMS from any operator allowing them to have 25 SIMS per person as there is currently 5 operators in the country” said Telecommunication Regulatory Communication (TRC) Chief Anusha Palpita speaking to Asian Tribune.

He clarified that there are no immediate plans to ban individuals from owning more than five mobile-phone SIM cards, while many were in argue that it was reported earlier that according to a Defense Ministry order that each person in the country is only allowed to have only five SIM cards.

However Defense Ministry had issued a fresh notice earlier in October directing every telecom operator to register their subscribers to prove ownership of their respective SIM cards.

Thus all SIM cards which are not registered by December 31st 2010 would be terminated according to reports.

Under this set up, Sri Lanka will tighten mobile phone regulations by forcing service providers to maintain full details of phone users.

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India, Sri Lanka to sign agreement on ferry service soon

India and Sri Lanka would soon sign an agreement to commence ferry service between Tamil Nadu and the island nation, a step towards promoting tourism between the two countries.

"The proposal would go to the Cabinet soon for approval and after that Memorandum of Understanding can be signed for the same," a shipping ministry official told PTI. The ferry service would be from Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu to Colombo in Sri Lanka and Rameswaram to Thalaimannar, respectively.



"It (ferry service) would be for both cargo as well as passenger traffic...but mainly for tourism purpose," the official said, adding that the vessels would come from a private party, but refused to divulge the details.



"The proposal would go to the cabinet soon and the MoU can be expected by December this year," he further added.



The travelling time through the sea from Tuticorin to Colombo is approximately 10 hours and from Rameswaram to Thalaimannar is about three hours.



India currently has cargo operations from the Tuticorin Port to Sri Lanka.



The government is looking at investing about $20.8 billion in 276 projects to expand 13 major ports -- Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Kolkata (with Haldia), Chennai, Visakhapatanam, Cochin,Paradip, New Mangalore, Marmagao, Ennore, Tuticorin and Kandla in the country.

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Sri Lanka poised to legalise gambling

Sri Lanka's parliament is set to pass a controversial law to legalise gambling today, which the opposition opposes on the grounds that it will increase prostitution.

The government is rushing through legislation that will empower President Mahinda Rajapakse, who also acts as the minister of finance, to grant licences to set up gambling establishments in specified areas.

Casinos and horse-racing bookies have been operating in Sri Lanka for decades, exploiting loopholes in the law to avoid an official ban on gambling.

The government is now proposing to outlaw gambling outlets completely after 2012 unless they obtain a licence. Violators will be subjected to a fine of 45,000 dollars and a five-year jail term.

The opposition is nevertheless opposed to the bill, saying it will lead to de facto red-light districts because of the association of prostitution and gambling.

The bill is likely to be passed, as the government has a comfortable majority in parliament.

The bill, which will be taken up for debate later Wednesday, aims to "provide for the designation of areas in which persons intending to start the business of gaming can set up their establishments."

Sri Lanka's booming tourism industry is keen to set up more entertainment to attract high-spending fun-seekers. Some casinos in the city are also known as pick-up points for foreign and local prostitutes.

The government has recently banned billboards showing scantily clad women, following protests by Buddhist monks, but the country has a vibrant nightlife.

The number of tourists visiting the island has risen sharply after nearly four decades of ethnic conflict came to an end in May last year.

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Sri Lanka move ahead of India in ODI rankings

With the countdown towards the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 reaching the 100-day mark, Sri Lanka have laid down a marker to the other 13 teams by claiming second place in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI championship after a confidence-boosting series win over table-topper Australia.Sri Lanka won the series opener in Melbourne by one wicket and then took an unassailable 2-0 lead by winning the Sydney ODI by 29 runs (D/L method). Australia secured a consolation win in Brisbane where it won by eight wickets.



As such, Sri Lanka's first-ever series win in Australia has earned it three ratings points which has put it one point clear of India on 118 ratings points and 10 points behind number-one ranked Australia which has conceded two ratings points.



India will have the chance to regain the number-two position later this month but to make it happen it will have to win all the five ODIs against New Zealand. That series will start in Guwahati on November 28.



A 5-0 clean sweep will take India to 121 ratings points while a 4-1 series win will put it alongside Sri Lanka on 118 rating points. However, in that case Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side would be placed just behind Kumar Sangakkara's side by a fraction of a ratings point.



Sri Lanka's next ODI commitment is the five-match ODI series against the West Indies which starts in Suriyawewa Stadium in Hambantota on December 9.



Meanwhile, South Africa and Pakistan have retained their pre-series positions after the Proteas won the just-concluded series in the UAE 3-2. South Africa is on 115 ratings points, two ahead of England, while Pakistan is on 100 ratings points and lead New Zealand by four ratings points.



Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship



1 Australia 128

2 Sri Lanka 118

3 India 117

4 South Africa 115

5 England 112

6 Pakistan 100

7 New Zealand 96

8 West Indies 67

9 Bangladesh 67

10 Ireland 39

11 Zimbabwe 37

12 Netherlands 17

13 Kenya 0

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Lankan 'pornographers' outed in police crackdown

The faces of dozens of people accused of appearing in pornographic films, in violation of anti-obscenity laws, have been published by Sri Lankan media.

They appeared in a Sinhala-language paper, with a police notice asking the public to help trace those pictured.

A magistrate had told police to identify and arrest the people, and ordered the publication of the images.

Reports say the alleged porn actors could be fined and sentenced to six months in prison.

The police say that if they can apprehend those in the pictures, that will lead them to the pornography's distributors.

The authorities say pornography leads to sexual crimes, including rape.

Victims or participants?

Photos of 83 people, 80 women and three men, had been released for publication, said a police spokesman, Prishantha Jayakody.

The Lakbima daily newspaper published 27 faces on Tuesday.

Supt Jayakody told the BBC there had been no public response so far to the pictures, which were sourced from a range of Sri Lankan pornographic websites.

"Most of these people are Sri Lankans," said Supt Jayakody. "We know this from their features."

He added that organised crime could have been involved in the distribution of the material, but downplayed the notion that anyone might have appeared in the films against their will.

Asked if he believed some might have been under the threat of violence, Supt Jayakody said that if they came to be questioned, such facts should become clear.

However, a civil rights lawyer, Rohan Edrisinha, said he believed some of those involved might be under-age girls, who should be viewed as "victims" rather than "voluntary participants".

Mr Edrisinha said he feared publication of the photos would have negative implications for privacy and civil liberties.

He said the measure, taken in response to a proliferation in pornographic websites, needed a "careful, measured response".

The news editor of one publication told the BBC they would not publish the pictures because of ethical concerns.

Three months ago authorities sought to block a large number of pornographic sites, saying they were especially concerned about those which might be accessible via mobile phone.

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Skyscanner Travel Trends October 2010

Canaries overtake Costa Del Sol as Tenerife knocks Malaga from top spot

For the first time ever since Skyscanner’s Travel Trends began, Malaga has been knocked off its number one position. It was a close call, but the immensely popular Spanish city has been replaced by rival destination Tenerife. Located in the Canary Islands, Tenerife is much further south than Malaga meaning it maintains a pleasant year-round climate, which likely explains its rise in popularity with British travellers as we move into autumn and winter. 

In an unprecedented surge, Thailand took the biggest gains within the Top Ten, with searches for flights to Bangkok moving up a massive six places to number four. This is the highest ever position for the Thai capital and a record position for any long haul destination. It seems that the civil unrest earlier this year has done little to impact Thailand’s popularity with British travellers, and the destination has particular appeal with another cold UK winter looming

Dublin and Paris also gained positions; the Irish capital moved up four places, and the French capital rose five.

Top 10 Most Popular Cities

1. Tenerife [+1]

2. Malaga [-1]

3. Alicante [0]

4. Bangkok [+6]

5. London [0]

6. New York [-2]

7. Amsterdam [+1]

8. Dublin [+4]

9. Paris [+5]

10. Faro [-1]

Highest Climbers

Flights to Australia continue their rise in popularity, with both Sydney and Melbourne rising five places each. However, it was Riga (+17), Oslo (+13), Bucharest (+15) and Kuala Lumpur (+13) that saw the biggest increase in interest during October.

Biggest Fallers

It seems the party is now over in Ibiza, with searches to the Balearic island dropping 33 places in the popularity charts. Other summer spots also felt the chill of the off season with Crete in Greece falling 30 places, Valencia 19 and Naples 16.

Drop Outs

Greece and Spain saw the only drop outs this month, with Menorca, Reus, Corfu and Rhodes, all disappearing from the 100 most popular destinations.

New Entries

The Far East saw a significant increase in interest with Manila in the Philippines straight in at number 80, Tokyo in at number 89 and Beijing in a 92. Colombo in Sri Lanka also entered the Top 100 at number 94.

About Skyscanner

Skyscanner is a leading travel search site providing instant online comparisons on flight prices for over 670,000 routes and on over 600 airlines, including flights to Tenerife as well car hire, deals and holidays.

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Iran exports $520m technical services to Sri Lanka

TEHRAN – Iran carried out $520 million of technical and engineering services in Sri Lanka, the Iranian Commerce Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said here on Monday.

During his meeting with the Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris, Ghazanfari declared Tehran’s readiness to boost economic cooperation with Colombo, IRNA News Agency reported.

During the meeting the two sides discussed construction of a new oil refinery in Sri Lanka by Iranian experts, exporting Iranian LNG to Colombo, and boosting tourism.



For his part Gamini Lakshman Peiris thanked Iranian experts for carrying out projects in Sri Lanka and called for expansion of economic ties between Tehran and Colombo.



The 9th Joint Economy and Trade Cooperation Committee meeting between Iran and Sri Lanka, was held on 13-15 September.



In the meeting the two countries commerce ministers signed six MOUs and cooperation agreements in the fields of customs, sisterhood between Shahid Rajaei and Colombo ports and acceptance of each other’s maritime certificates.



Also in this meeting agreements were made between the two countries in the fields of science, culture, art and standardization.



An increase in trade, holding international exhibitions, enhancing maritime relations and implementing engineering and technical projects were among other agendas during the meeting.



In April 2008, Iran began work in several infrastructure development projects in Sri Lanka, all part of a $1.5 billion loan to the South Asian island. These projects included doubling the oil refinery capacity of Sri Lanka’s Sapugaskanda refinery as well as building a 100-megawatt hydropower project and irrigation plan in Uma Oya. In June 2009, the country signed a $106 million agreement with an Iranian firm to provide electricity to roughly 1,000 villages in Sri Lanka

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