I am shaking rocks! This was a claim made by the Minister of Sports (MOS) in a banner headline run in a recent news article. There is no doubt that he has certainly made a start. In what he claims is the biggest cleanup ever, he has dared to remove some big rocks; the reference ...

The need for an integrated program on a war footingIn 2008, eight prizewinning economists were asked to list the type of projects which would do the most good for the most number of poor people, if they had an imaginary $ 75 million to spend. Half of their proposed projects involved nutrition. There has been ...

Reuters: Fiscal austerity and tough labour reforms have failed to create jobs, leading to an “alarming” situation in the global employment market that shows no sign of recovering, the International Labour Organization said. In advanced countries, especially in Europe, employment is not expected to return to pre-crisis levels of 2008 until the end of 2016 ...

VESAK is the festival of light. Yet this year it seems that the lights will have to be dimmed to reflect the reduced lustre of the country’s economy. As the Power and Energy Ministry organisers raffle draws for people who save electricity during the upcoming religious season there are many other efforts happening behind the ...

Less than a year after starting up on its own, the company prepares to replicate its Indian success in Sri LankaJubilant FoodWorks, the master franchisee of Dominos Pizza for South Asia, last year set up its own subsidiary company in Sri Lanka, moving away from the franchisee partnership which held the fort for the Group ...

By S.S Selvanayagam  The Court of Appeal was informed yesterday that the Homagama Magistrate is to deliver his order on the inquiry into the involuntary disappearance of freelance journalist cum cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda on 17 May where he is expected to order as to whether former Attorney General Mohan Peiris is to be summoned as ...

Reuters: The International Monetary Fund’s bid to win a big boost in funding to handle the euro-zone debt crisis hit a speed bump on Thursday when Brazil demanded more power at the IMF for emerging economies as a condition for lending it extra cash. Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega laid out the terms for a ...

Reuters: Formula One cars take to the track in Bahrain on Friday, with the government hoping a successful Grand Prix will draw a line under more than a year of Arab Spring protests while activists are promising to mark it with “days of rage”. On the eve of the first practice session, protests flared in ...

Reuter: The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday it had raised $320 billion so far in a bid to boost its firepower to deal with the euro zone debt crisis, with Poland and Switzerland joining the effort. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said she had received commitments of $34 billion on Wednesday, including $8 billion ...

Reuters: A group of British lawmakers has warned Formula One sponsors that they risk damaging their brands by supporting the Bahrain Grand Prix, arguing the race should have been called off because of political turmoil in the Gulf Arab nation. Anti-government protesters are planning “days of rage” in the run-up to Sunday’s race, part of ...

REUTERS: Global growth is slowly improving as the US recovery gains traction and dangers from Europe recede, but risks remain high and the situation is very fragile, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. Another flare-up of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis or sharp escalation in oil prices on geopolitical uncertainty could disrupt a world ...

LONDON (Reuters): Brent crude futures held above $118 on Wednesday as optimism in Germany and a successful Spanish debt auction alleviated fears about the euro zone, but the prospect of further talks between Iran and the West continued to ease pressure on the market. Worries about the euro zone debt crisis flaring up again were ...

(Reuters) – After waiting 111 races for his first win, Nico Rosberg accepted that he might have to be patient a while longer before celebrating properly. The Mercedes driver looked around the Chinese Grand Prix paddock as mechanics and truckies packed up the cars and freight to be flown out of Shanghai early on Monday ...

Last Sunday when the unknown Ajinkya Rahane scored 103 runs off just 60 balls at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, which helped the Rajasthan Royals to score a massive 195 runs at IPL season five, my mind went to just one ethos the IPL is all about – highlighting performance. It is how IPL ...

Reuters: Rick Santorum ended his improbable run for the White House on Tuesday after leading a Republican tilt to the right that could dog the more moderate front-runner, Mitt Romney, in November’s election. Trailing in polls and fundraising, the conservative former senator suspended his campaign and cleared the way for Romney to clinch the nomination ...

By Nita Bhalla It was with a heavy heart I read the press release this morning. A desperately needed aid programme run by the charity Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) – in English, Doctors without Borders – in Sri Lanka’s war-torn North has shut down after only 18 months of operation. I had visited the project ...

The challenges Sri Lanka has to face in its march towards development are manifold. Although the war has ended the wrong political ideologies, the proposals and timetables it created are still in operation. By Government Information Department Additional Director General Chandrapala Liyanage Similarly, various social activity groups and individuals and organisations operating under the advice ...

By Cheranka Mendis Even if the status of the world economy seems to have found a rather fragile equilibrium with Europe over the past six weeks, the world is no closer to being immune from the risks that have cropped up as a result of the European and USA led recession and changes in world ...

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters): Global stocks and the oil price dipped on Thursday as disappointing U.S. data continued to temper risk appetite and analysts said the effect of a potential accord to release oil reserves would take time to filter through to the broader economy. In Europe, shares fell to a three-week low and peripheral ...

By Cheranka Mendis The volatility in Middle Eastern markets, coupled with the increasing issue of low quality due to competition and increasing costs, has placed the local tea industry in a big fix, which could, if unattended, immediately mark the end of a Sri Lankan legacy in four to five years. Despite Sri Lankan tea ...

Reuters: Asian shares gave back earlier gains on Thursday after data showed China’s factory activity shrank for a fifth successive month, underscoring concerns about a growth slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.  The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index was nearly flat, falling sharply from a 0.6 percent gain before the Chinese data. Still, the ...

DUBAI (Reuters): World’s tallest building? Check. Man-made islands in the sea? Check. Indoor ski slope? Check. Now it’s time for opera and art. Dubai, which burst onto the global stage with a series of extravagant projects before being subdued by a crippling debt crisis, has now revived plans for an opera house in a bid ...

A spectacular laser show and water dance taking place Friday and Saturday this week will mark the launch of a major campaign to improve water management. Backed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), headquartered in Pelawatte, the campaign, RipplesOnWater.org, will raise awareness about water issues, initially in Sri Lanka and will then spread globally ...

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) spokesman and parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayaka in an interview with the Daily FT critiques the on-going sessions of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the state of bad governance, deteriorating law and order and the economic crisis in the country.  Following are excerpts from the interview.   Q;  What are your ...

Capital Alliance, a full-service investment bank will be hosting one of Asia’s foremost Investor Relations experts, Jonathan Zax, in Colombo this week. Zax’s investor relations efforts have been frequently recognised by the international financial community through top rankings in polls by Asiamoney, Finance Asia, Lafferty Group and Investor Relations Magazine. Last year, he received a...

REUTERS: The International Air Transport Association has cut its forecast for global airline profits this year due to a sharp rise in oil prices, saying a spike to $150 per barrel could lead to losses as high as $5.3 billion. In its financial forecast for 2012, IATA forecast industry profits of $3 billion on Tuesday, ...

Last year’s floods in Sri Lanka were some of the most destructive on record.  Even now some areas have not fully recovered from the inundation. Yet around the world we also see growing numbers of headlines about water scarcity. The current drought in Africa’s Sahel region for instance is threatening the food security of an ...

My column today is an attempt to focus our attention on a few less spoken or untold developments that may have a profound influence on how we carve our way through in creating a desirable social, economic and political future for mankind on this only planet of ours. While I will not specifically touch on ...

Having successfully defeated terrorism, ended years of civil war, ushered an era of peace and prosperity to the country, initiated resoundingly successful development initiatives in the north and the east, the Government of Sri Lanka needs to be applauded for consolidating a unified national identity; an identity that only occasionally reared its head at cricket ...

Singapore: Japan should achieve moderate real GDP growth of 2% in 2012, following a 0.9% contraction in 2011, when the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis damaged the nation’s economy, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said in a report published today. “Together with slower global economic growth and a rise in the yen, ...