New York Times: It has been nearly three years since Sri Lankan government troops crushed the separatist Tamil Tigers in a gory, scorched-earth campaign that brought an end to three decades of civil war. The final battles — with some 300,000 civilians caught in the crossfire — were fought on the northern beaches and in ...

Are the Indian Army’s golf courses illegal?                 Sri Lanka’s fourth golf course opened by Air Force   India’s national auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), has reported to Parliament that the country’s Army has turned large tracts of State military property into illegal privately-run ...

Reuters: Greece’s international lenders think the indebted country will need 145 billion euros of public money from the euro zone for its second bailout rather than the planned 130 billion euros, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. The magazine said the extra 15 billion euros were needed because of the deteriorating economic situation ...

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), in collaboration with the International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA), will be holding an international conference on ‘Legal Process Outsourcing’ in partnership with the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA).   “The conference on the theme ‘Outsourcing versus Restructuring’ is scheduled to take place on Thursday 9 and ...

Reuters: Asian shares and the euro firmed on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates low for a longer-than-expected period, providing ample liquidity to help spur growth. Equities, commodities and U.S. Treasuries all rose on Wednesday after the Fed policy meeting, while the prospect for unfavourable interest rate differentials undermined ...

Dry weather, frost lowered output High prices, weak shilling lift earnings Output seen down 17 pct in Q1 NAIROBI (Reuters): Kenya produced less tea in 2011 from the previous period due to adverse weather but earnings from the crop soared to 109 billion shillings ($1.27 billion), thanks to high prices and a weaker local currency ...

Regulatory pressure mounted further over the course of 2011 – bad news for financial services firms, but good news for the consultancies to which they turned for help. Ernst and Young topped the Operational Risk and Regulation consultancy rankings again in 2011 (http://www.risk.net/operational-risk-and-regulation/feature/2135016/orr-consultancy-rankings-2011), and the New York-based head of ...

DUBAI (Reuters): Kuwait’s Capital Markets Authority said on Sunday it has hired HSBC to advise on plans to privatise the Gulf Arab state’s stock exchange and sell a stake in an initial public offering. The privatisation plan, if completed, would make the Kuwaiti exchange the second listed bourse in the region after the Dubai Financial ...

Brazil president wants 4 pct GDP growth, above forecasts Officials say they will pursue goal responsibly Concerns over inflation, budget targets BRASILIA (Reuters): Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has made 4 percent economic growth her government’s main mission this year and is willing to cut taxes, take stimulus measures and possibly sacrifice other targets if needed, ...

By Jeff Glekin Reuters Breakingviews: Tales of the Ambani brothers’ mixed fortunes tell the same story — declining opportunities for investment in India. Mukesh may be cash-rich while Anil is in stark need of funding. Although some think that has the makings of a reconciliation between the two, that’s unlikely. Mukesh would rather buy his ...

Reuters: The International Monetary Fund is seeking to more than double its war chest by raising $600 billion in new resources to help countries deal with the fallout of the euro zone debt crisis, but the United States and other countries are throwing up roadblocks. The United States and Canada said on Wednesday Europe must ...

Bahrain’s Parliament on Tuesday voted to oblige all Government employees to travel with Gulf Air when flying at the country’s expense. The MPs said during their weekly session that if a desired destination was not available then staff could fly to a second country on Gulf Air and then change to another airline. They believe ...

Reuters: Greece goes head to head with its creditors on Wednesday in a renewed attempt to break a deadlock in negotiations to slash the country’s debt and stave off default. International private sector creditors represented by the Institute of International Finance IIF.L were set to meet the government in the afternoon. Talks broke down on ...

Perhaps exposing brokers and investors who campaigned heavily for relaxed credit rules for their lack of judgment, the Colombo stock market yesterday failed to close on the up, despite enjoying a big burst in early morning trading. Opening with boosted confidence following the SEC’s relaxed credit rule announcement, the bourse gained sharply by 1.8% or ...

Reuters: Wikipedia, the popular community-edited online encyclopedia, will black out its English-language site for 24 hours to seek support against proposed U.S. anti-piracy legislation that Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said threatens the future of the Internet. The U.S. service will be the highest profile name to join a growing campaign starting at midnight Eastern Time ...

TOKYO (Reuters): Asian shares rose to a one-month high and the euro clung near its strongest in a week on Friday as strong demand in Spanish and Italian debt sales tempered risk aversion ahead of another auction from Rome later in the day. Interbank lending rates fell in a sign that worries about a credit ...

Respected blue chip Aitken Spence pulls out of biggest FDI project – the $ 500 m Colombo South Container Terminal due to issues with funding and cost escalations Construction cost up 30% to $ 350 m; overall project cost now estimated at $ 595 m up from $ 475 m at bid proposal stage Lender ...

TOKYO (Reuters): Japan's disgraced Olympus Corp is suing 19 current and former executives, including its current president, for up to almost $50 million in compensation, as it struggles to recover from one of the nation's worst accounting scandals. The maker of cameras and medical equipment said on Tuesday all board members subject to the lawsuit ...

AS expected, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry made a booming start to the New Year with the news that South Africa’s Sun City is planning to invest a hefty US$ 800 million in a massive project in Katana. This brings the total investment from large-scale foreign hotel projects to nearly US$ 2 billion, with Sheraton, Shangri-la, ...

Reuters: Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will meet this week after more than a year of deadlock in peacemaking, officials said on Sunday, but both sides played down prospects of any imminent resumption of talks. Yitzhak Molcho of Israel and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat will meet on Tuesday in Jordan alongside representatives of the Quartet of ...

BANGKOK, Dec 29 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures fell 2.2 percent on Thursday, tracking a drop in stock markets, and looked set to end 2011 about 50 percent cheaper than at the high point of the year reached in February, before worries about global demand took over. The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity ...

Reuters: Iran threatened on Tuesday to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz if foreign sanctions were imposed on its crude exports over its nuclear ambitions, a move that could trigger military conflict with economies dependent on Gulf oil. Western tensions with Iran have increased since a November 8 report by the ...

Saudi Arabia will soon allow foreign airlines to fly domestic routes, its aviation regulator said on Sunday, opening the market beyond state-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) and private National Air Services, which struggled to meet demand. The General Authority for Civil Aviation said in a statement carried by the state news agency it will let ...

(Reuters): Pakistan’s top judge moved on Friday to allay fears of a possible military coup as tensions rose between the civilian government and the country’s powerful generals over a controversial memo alleging an army plot to seize power. “There is no question of a takeover. Gone are the days when people used to get validation ...

It is the season for giving, which we all know is a reason to look beyond ourselves and find some worthy cause to take up for Christmas. Everyone is familiar with the warmth connected with giving and the quiet pleasure in ensuring that someone else has a happy time as well. It can be something ...

10 events and trends that were overlooked this year, but may be leading the headlines in 2012 Foreignpolicy.com: What events and trends flew under the radar in 2011 but could erupt into massive headline-grabbers in 2012? Foreign Policy rounds up the top 10 “stories you missed” this year. 1. India’s military buildup China’s new aircraft ...

Sri Lanka’s Number One English Radio Station, is gearing up to present yet another extravagant event. After a sellout show last year, Gold FM once again brings you the much anticipated annual gala musical event ‘The 70s Show 2011,’ to be held on 23 December, featuring the very best of our local artists. Gold FM ...

Reuters: Sri Lanka’s top mobile operator Dialog Axiata said its 2012 profit would be neutral or rise slightly due to cost restructuring in wireless fixed-line operator Suntel, which it agreed to buy last week in a deal worth up to $ 34.9 million. Dialog’s Group Chief Executive Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya told Reuters in an interview ...

By Dinali Goonewardene Prathilaba was telecast on Rupavahini on Sundays at 10 a.m. The TV documentary, a studio discussion on investing in the stock market was commissioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission and panellists from the stock market industry participated. These included stock brokers, research analysts, fund managers and officials from the Colombo Stock ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters): Hackers in China broke through the computer defences of the US Chamber of Commerce last year and were able to access information about its operations and its 3 million members, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. In Beijing, China dismissed the report. The Journal, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter, reported ...