Watching the World T20 matches on TV – currently being played in Sri Lanka, I noticed a Tourist Board commercial on the theme ‘Refreshingly Sri Lanka – Wonder of Asia.’ Immediately I recalled last year’s stamp released to mark World Tourism Day. Sri Lanka issued ten stamps with an attractive souvenir sheet carrying all the ...

UNITED NATIONS(Reuters): President Barack Obama will say on Tuesday the United States will “do what we must” to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned against threatening attacks whose consequences would be devastating. Preparing to take the podium at the United Nations six weeks before the US presidential election, ...

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 ...

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 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 ...

The ‘Yes-Man’ Parasite, a.k.a. HMV The dictionary definition of a ‘pun’: ‘the clever or humorous use of a word that has more than one meaning, or words that have different meanings but sound the same’. The second word of the headline of today’s column is not exactly a pun, but somewhat akin to one, as ...

Playing off India against China and vice versa‘The Great Game’ was the name given to a diplomatic and military tussle between the British and Russian empires during the time of the British Raj in India for influence over what constitutes today’s central Asian states. Commonly known as the ‘Stan states,’ they were located along the ...

Politically-motivated violence or a riot is a form of civil disorder characterised often by what is thought of as disorganised groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. A riot could also be due to a perceived grievance or out of dissent. Political violence was seen in ...

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has unveiled a series of strategies designed to maintain, enhance and promote Thailand’s brand image, marketing profile and visitor arrivals. TAT has set a 2013 target of 22.22 million international visitor arrivals, generating estimated foreign exchange revenues of 966 billion Baht (US$ 30.62 billion, based on the exchange rate of ...

‘Shakthi’ fundraiser by Emerge Lanka Foundation today   ‘Shakthi, a Celebration of Femininity,’ a fundraiser for Emerge Lanka Foundation to spread awareness about sexual assault/abuse through artistic avenues, will be held at Barefoot Café today, 21 July, from 6 to 10 p.m. Emerge Global is dedicated to empowering young women around the world who have ...

The United National Party (UNP) is the single largest political party in Sri Lanka and has had the good fortune of maintaining this position since it was formed in 1946. The founder of UNP was D.S. Senanayake, who was at the forefront of securing independence for Ceylon. The ideals he cherished were carried forward by ...

Performers will have copyright protection for their audiovisual works as a result of the successful conclusion of 12 years negotiations by the members of the World intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which has resulted in the finalisation of the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances on 26 June. The treaty will enter into force when ratified by ...

As Sri Lanka-Japan bilateral discourse completes 60 memorable events, Japan has become our seventh largest international trade partner. “The total bilateral trade turnover between the two nations has grown to $ 1,250 m in 2011. Japan, our seventh largest trade partner in 2011, has always been a key trading nation as well as a generous ...

Reuters: England and France took the last places in a heavyweight final eight at Euro 2012 on Tuesday, with Ukraine joining co-hosts Poland on the sidelines after a 1-0 loss to the English marred by a controversial disallowed goal. In a tournament heavy on goals and drama but relatively free of debatable refereeing decisions, the ...

Political parties supporting Greece’s international bailout begin forging a government on Monday after an election victory over radical leftists staved off the prospect of the debt-laden country leaving the euro and brought relief to global markets.  Conservative New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras called for broad support after winning Sunday’s election over the Syriza party, wh...

Reuters: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi finally received her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Saturday after spending 15 years under house arrest, and said her country’s full transformation to democracy was still far off. “What the Nobel Peace Prize did was to draw me once again into the world of other ...

Reuters: Authorities in the world’s major economies are preparing for a possible market storm or public panic after cliffhanger Greek elections this weekend, officials said on Thursday, should radical leftists win and cast doubt on the nation’s future in the euro zone . Britain announced on Thursday it would flood its banking system with cash ...

Peter Kropotkin is a Russian revolutionist who has commented in his book ‘The Conquest of Bread’ what he considers to be the weaknesses of the economic systems of capitalism and how poverty and scarcity thrives on. However, Kropotkin did not believe in the theory of state and is known as an anarchist. The issue of ...

Historically, capital markets have played an important role in the development of market economies and therefore the development of efficient regulation of securities too has become increasingly important. While fostering the development of the economy, the capital markets also play an important equalising role. Viz – it attracts the participation of a large number of ...

Reuters: Spain will try to become the first team to win three successive major international titles while Germany will hope to lift their first trophy since 1996 when Euro 2012 kicks off on Friday. The backdrop of the three-week tournament being staged by Poland and Ukraine across a vast stretch of eastern Europe has already ...

By Damien The Secretary to the treasury Dr. P.B Jayasundera recently made statement that the country is wasting the foreign currency on things that can be made in this country. I would like to add to this by stating that as a country we should have clear targets and policies that are aimed at both ...

Reuters: Revenues for England’s Premier League soccer clubs hit a record high in 2010/11, but the players are taking an ever greater share of those riches, the annual Deloitte review of football finance said on Thursday. The ratio of Premier League wages to revenues has risen to 70 percent, raising questions about the ability of ...

Man United have put in a solid premier league performance this season, narrowly missing out on their 20th title after a nail-biting end to the season. Income from TV rights, gate receipts and merchandise all remain strong, providing broad revenue base that spreads risk better than most clubs. Man United has huge and long-standing international ...

n The Scholar who has refused to changeHumanistic approach Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera, scholar, writer, poet, novelist, social activist and many more, in a special contribution to Professor Buddhadasa Hewavitharana Felicitation Volume Two released last month, has tried to analyse the most recent history of Sri Lanka in the context of the onset of the process ...