Category: Special Reports

September 03, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka and China in talks to finalise a free-trade agreement which would bring substantial economic and trade benefits to the two countries, with both governments expressing hope that the deal will be implemented at an early date. Coverage of Goods For most of China’s FTAs partners, the agreements have […]

July 4, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s police acquired its largest fleet of high-speed patrol motorcycles this week, but even before they could be unleashed to tame errant motorists, traffic police demonstrated their skills in…err running. Hopefully, there will be very little wear and tear because there aren’t many roads where a Yamaha 600 cc […]

Feb 18, 2014 (LBO) – Every day we are moving closer to having almost as many mobile subscribers as there are people on earth. Close to 40 percent of the world’s population arenow ˜online’ and some 750 million households globally are connected to the internet. New devices and platforms such as smartphones are constantly shaping; […]

Feb 28, 2014 (LBO) A Thanksgiving Mass will be held Friday in memory of Mel Gunasekera, senior business journalist, at the All Saints Church, Borella.The service is due to start at 6.30 pm and the family has invited friends and well wishers to join them in celebrating the life of Mel whose death sparked grief […]

AFP.com/Correspondent) Mel Gunasekera became AFP’s first full-time woman correspondent in Colombo when she joined in January 2007. She had covered Sri Lanka’s Tamil separatist war and its bloody finale in 2009 and was widely respected across the country.On February 2, she was murdered at her Colombo home after confronting a burglar.By Amal Jayasinghe When a […]

Feb 06, 2014 (LBO) Writing being my bête noire it is with some trepidation that I write this. I can picture Mel chiding me, Aiyo, what men! Poor show Tones! The start of the week saw me wake up to yet another morning of my wife’s Facebook rituals. Only this time, it was going to […]

By Nalaka Gunawardene Feb 05 – So it was a known construction worker cum odd job man who killed senior Lankan journalist Mel Gunasekera. The man, hunted down within the same day Mel was stabbed to death in her suburban home, was apparently familiar with the place and the family’s routine. When she recognised him, […]

Feb 04, 2014 (LBO) – Mel was regarded by colleagues as a hard-nosed financial journalist even after she switched to a more lucrative job with an international ratings agency, but few would have known of her other passion – motor sports and classic cars. Our last conversation a few days earlier was all about the […]

Feb 04, 2014 (LBO) One of the most humbling experiences in my professional life is the opportunity I had, to work with Mel Gunasekera for nearly ten years and to build a rewarding friendship.Mel took over the challenge of building LBO at a time most people were skeptical about the future of web as a […]

Dec 09, 2013 (LBO) I feel being honoured by the invitation by the PIM Alumni Association to deliver the Professor Sudatta Ranasinghe Memorial Oration 2013 which is the first in its series.I specifically consider it as a privilege that I have got to do the honours for my long-standing friend for more than four and […]

Apr 03, 2013 (LBO) – The Muslim-owners of Fashion Bug who compounded a case may have taught mob monks a lesson in Buddhism that hatred cannot be overcome by hatred.However, a sports sponsorship may have been more appropriate to prevent a recurrence. A Buddhist monk who took part in the March 28 night time attack […]