President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday asserted that there is no political interference of any kind in the country’s Judiciary, as some have alleged. Addressing a meeting with News Directors and Chief Editors of electronic and printed media at Temple Trees, the President said that the Government does not interfere in the affairs of judges or ...

The location of Sri Lanka has a strategic significance and this has been proven by the historical trading activities between Sri Lanka and ancient China, Egypt, and the Roman Empire. There is ample evidence to show that Sri Lanka was a main trading hub in Asia. The reasons for occupation of Sri Lanka by the ...

The academics are marching. The students are marching. The Muslims are marching. Every day hundreds images of throngs of people shouting slogans and demonstrating blare across television screens, newspapers and of course, the internet. SMS news alerts about road closures and barricades abound as popular discontent rises to the surface through trade union agitation and ...

Reuters: Chinese university teacher Zhu Haibin wept softly as she and other Communist Party cadres stood in rows before a mass grave of Communist fighters in southern China. Ignoring light drizzle, the group listened to a party instructor tell the story of Zhang Longxiu, a “hero mother” from the early days of China’s Communist revolution ...

Reuters: Manufacturing in China contracted for the 11th month in a row in September, according to a private sector survey of factory managers that indicated the world’s second largest economy remains on track for a seventh quarter of slowing growth. The HSBC Flash China manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed activity stabilized in September after ...

The Silvas are at it again. A week dominated by news of political brats on the rampage once more, this time directing their rage at an Army Major, ended with the soldier recanting his story and the two main suspects in remand being transferred to prison hospital on “medical” advice. The whole incident smacked of ...

SINGAPORE: Business sentiment among Asia’s top companies fell for the second straight quarter, dragged down by export-orientated economies such as China and Japan, while domestic spending helped boost Southeast Asia’s outlook, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey showed.  Concerns over global demand are hurting Asia’s export engines, with autos, technology and shipping sectors am...

It is with great sacrifices that Sri Lanka brought about a victory against ruthless terrorism, which is certainly a feather in the cap of Rajapaksa family. No one can dispute the fact that President Rajapaksa provided the political leadership and ensured that the LTTE was decimated at any cost. The Tamil diaspora and the pro-separatist ...

I wonder if you can remember the famous World Cup Soccer final some years back where the fourth referee intervened after the great Zinedine Zidane head-butted Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final. It would have perhaps gone unnoticed if not the TV referral. In my view, if this had gone unnoticed, it ...

The place isn’t a paradise for minorities but the economy is recovering By Sam Baker Asuasentinel.com: The Government of Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka has probably botched its dealings with the United States, the European Union and the United Nations. Still, the disenchantment with Colombo may be overblown three years after the end of the ...

The global escalation of commodity prices in the latter part of last decade impacted Sri Lanka’s rice market, with retail prices showing sharp increases for the consumer. The regulatory forces with a ceiling on consumer prices and guaranteed price for paddy did alleviate this problem to some extent. Today it has taken a different turn ...

Of media, politics, and striking the right balance By Cheranka Mendis The actual conflict between journalism and politics lies in a tug-o-war between presenting a narration of reality as it was while dodging attempts of other parties to frame stories for personal agendas. Speaking at a breakfast meeting, Al Jazeera Network Former Director General Wadah ...

On Friday (7) afternoon, the eve of provincial council elections in three provinces, a certain gathering took place at 101, Rosmead Place, which houses the corporate offices of Democratic National Alliance (DNA) National List Parliamentarian, Tiran Alles. Consultations that lasted for hours, took place between Alles and UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa and a few ...

Reuters: China has given the green light for 60 infrastructure projects worth more than $150 billion as it looks to energise an economy mired in its worst slowdown in three years, fuelling hopes the world’s growth engine may get a lift from the fourth quarter. Shares and steel futures jumped on the plans to build ...

Although the hegemonic influence of India exerted through its long-standing political, economic and social relationship with Sri Lanka cannot be discounted, a level playing field can be achieved between the two parties at least in terms of trade disputes, in the event Sri Lanka-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) materializes, opines Asia Wealth Management Research.

24th August 2012 Dr. P. B. Jayasundera, Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance & Planning The Secretariat, Colombo 1. Dear Dr. Jayasundera, Establishment of a Financial Services Authority and a Banking and Finance Commission I suggest for your consideration that you duly evaluate the long-term national economic benefits of enhancing effective fiscal management capability ...

 Corporate boards must take long-term steps to manage risk, restore investor confidence CFA Institute report offers ‘checklist’ for visionary boards The string of recent news concerning global companies such as Barclays, JPMorgan Chase, Olympus, Sino-Forest, and Duke Energy, underscores the immediate need to change the corporate culture perpetuated by some corporate boards. One wa...

Braille ballot papers in Australia News from Australia confirms that not everyone will cast votes the traditional way on 8 September. Those who are blind or with low vision can now register for Braille ballot papers for local government elections. Returned papers will be transcribed and added to the rest. This facility will be extended, ...

A historic battle took place in the Kande Uda Rata Rajadhaniya, in the course of one of the many invasions by the Western colonial powers who once occupied what was known as the Maritime Provinces of Lanka, at the site of the ford at Wagolla village, a crossing point of the Mahaweli river on one ...

REUTERS: US astronaut Neil Armstrong, who took a giant leap for mankind when he became the first person to walk on the moon, has died at the age of 82, his family said on Saturday. Armstrong died following complications from heart-bypass surgery he underwent earlier this month, the family said in a statement, just two ...

Reuters: Egypt’s President Mohamed Mursi on Thursday used the legislative powers he wrested back from the army this month to pass a law banning the pre-trial detention of journalists, a move that may deflect criticism of his handling of the media. The announcement by the newly elected Islamist president came hours after a court ordered ...

With apologies to Francis Bacon whose quote is misquoted but not in essence of what he meant. Bacon’s comment that “reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man” is to be seriously looked at today in education and in practice where we appear to falter at every step of ...

Developed economies heading towards a recession The global economy started off the second half of 2012 with a whimper as the latest data confirm that growth is faltering across all regions. Europe is clearly in the midst of an intensifying contraction, US consumers and businesses are pulling back in the face of increasing uncertainty, and ...

Reuters: Shares rose on Tuesday as investors held on to hopes the European Central Bank can trim borrowing costs and help restore confidence in the euro bloc, even as officials denied a report about the shape of its planned bond buying strategy. But most other assets – from the euro to oil and gold – ...

Last week I had the opportunity of meeting Hermawan Kartajaya, one of the top 50 gurus who has shaped the world of marketing. His perspective to the changing landscape of marketing and what business must do sure opened my mind set to a new way of thinking business and Sri Lanka’s policy decision making. Hermawan ...

As long Sri Lanka exports tea as a commodity, the local industry will continue to battle for survival, former Planters' Association of Ceylon Chairman Mahendra Amarasuriya said recently.

WASHINGTON (Reuters): A trend measure of Americans signing up for new jobless benefits fell close to a four-year low last week, but weakness in a regional factory gauge showed US recovery still faces an uphill climb. Other data on Thursday gave mixed signals about the strength of an incipient housing recovery, with groundbreaking on new ...