Trinity College, Kandy, won the first place of the ‘IT Mastermind 2011’ Inter School Quiz tournament organised by the Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) and fully sponsored by ESOFT Computer Studies Pvt Ltd. Accordingly, the laptop computer worth Rs. 75,000 being the prize for the first place winner, and the set of computer peripherals ...

(Bloomberg): Sri Lanka doesn’t need to further tighten monetary policy for now even though an increase in fuel and transportation costs and a weakening currency may stoke inflation, the head of the central bank said. The central bank’s rate increase earlier this month will have a “demand-driven impact” and help moderate inflation, its Governor Ajith ...

Sri Lanka’s benchmark stock index, the world’s worst performer this year, may extend its slump as the central bank raises interest rates to curb inflation, according to HSBC Holdings Plc’s private banking unit. HSBC Private Bank, which oversees about $499 billion, will wait for stock valuations to fall to “single digit” multiples before it considers ...

MALE (Reuters): The former President of the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives sat inside his house awaiting arrest on Thursday after being ousted from his post in what he said was a coup at gunpoint. About 200 supporters stood under umbrellas in the pouring rain outside as Mohamed Nasheed spoke to reporters at his ...

Indeed with some Spanish and Ptolemy’s nomenclature, it is our sincere wish ‘long live Sri Lanka’ on passing its 64th year of independence from the British. Our period of independence is not greater than the period we were under, but that is not something we should use as an excuse for slow progress since independence. ...

Ambassador updates foreign reporters on post-conflict development and reconciliation in Sri Lanka “Sri Lankans support a home grown solution for reconciliation” Ambassador invites international correspondents to visit Sri Lanka WASHINGTON: Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya hosted a group of foreign correspondents here in a January 25 reception held at his residence, prompting a discussi...

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 ...

GEOFF Marsh still has not been given a reason as to why he was sacked as coach of Sri Lanka. After a hectic month in which his younger son Mitchell blitzed the Big Bash, elder son Shaun was dumped from the Australian one-day squad and he was sacked, the former Test selector and coach says ...

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 ...

Struggling Marsh dropped Wicketkeeper Haddin rested Four uncapped players named SYDNEY (Reuters): Australia have dropped struggling top order batsman Shaun Marsh and rested wicketkeeper Brad Haddin for the first three matches of the one-day Tri-series against India and Sri Lanka, which starts next week. Marsh, a regular in the one-day team since his debut in ...

PEO TV’s exceptional three month HBO promotion saw customers win big prizes this year. The promotion was launched on the 1st of October 2011 with a two week free preview of the HBO PAK which includes four channels – HBO, HBO SIGNATURE, HBO HITS and HBO FAMILY, for PEO TV customers. All PEO TV customers ...

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 ...

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 ...

ADELAIDE, (Reuters) :Australia have left paceman Mitchell Starc out of their team to face India in the fourth and final test and brought spinner Nathan Lyon back into the side, captain Michael Clarke said on Monday. Starc was one of a quartet of quicks selected for the third test in Perth, where the Australians won ...

NetIndian News Network : The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2012 was awarded to Singapore-based Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka for his book Chinaman (Random House, India), a novel that explores cricket as a metaphor to uncover a lost life and a lost history. Chinaman skilfully uses sport and the notion of fair play ...

The Sri Lanka – Vietnam Business Council (SLVBC) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will organise a Trade and Investment promotion mission to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam from 4 to 8 March. At the networking session held recently at the Embassy of Vietnam in Colombo, Vietnam Ambassador in Sri Lanka Ton Sinh ...

THE proposed amendments to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) have created a much-needed discussion forum on pension funds and their benefits, while also bringing several crucial points into the limelight. Experts have pointed out that if the Government is genuinely keen on maximising returns of workers, then they need to exempt EPF earnings from tax ...

Enterprise, the newsletter of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) was re-launched from January this year in printed format. The newsletter will be published every month featuring news and events from the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, its associations and business councils, steering committees and projects. It will also comprise of features relevant to commerce, industry ...

Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Ministry yesterday shot down reports in the local media and insisted that there were no issues with India over the international maritime boundary line.   The statement noted that attention has been drawn to some news reports relating to the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on Fisheries meeting held in Colombo ...

By Dr. Laksiri Fernando Asian Tribune: I was in Colombo for two weeks before Christmas for some personal matters and all appeared positive, more or less, except perhaps for the thorn of the ‘General’. When I was waiting for the connection in Singapore, two expatriates came across and talked to me about the situation in ...

Australia captain Michael Clarke has rocketed his way into the top 10 of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen for the first time in 15 months after his career-best unbeaten triple century earned his side an innings and 68 runs victory in the second Test in Sydney on Friday. The win gave the ...

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 ...

Political corruption: The definition Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by private persons or corporations not directly involved with the ...

Sri Lanka’s pioneer Islamic bank, Amana Bank was voted the ‘Best Islamic Bank in Sri Lanka’ at the global Islamic Finance News poll for 2011 conducted by the Malaysia-based RedMoney Group. The results of this prestigious award poll held for the 7th consecutive year were officially released on 4 January 2012, which includes the results ...

The 10th edition of Dharman’s Media Guide of Sri Lanka was issued last week.  A publication of the Sri Lanka Environmental Journalists Forum it is one of the most popular and leading media guides in Sri Lanka edited by senior journalist Dharman Wickremaratne.  First published in 2000, it is the country’s only media guide updated ...

The Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover’s sensational new SUV – a car that won 34 international awards in the three months after its first production model came off the line in September 2011 – has arrived in Sri Lanka. The smallest, lightest, most fuel-efficient Range Rover ever produced, the Evoque has been described as ‘one ...

After successfully completing an event-filled 2011, Sri Lanka’s leading menswear specialist Hameedia has embarked on a journey to further strengthen its position as THE total fashion solutions provider for all Sri Lankan males and significantly expand its reach across the country and region with an unparalleled product offering. Led by the Deputy Managing Director Hussain ...

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has completed its Container Handling Equipment (CHE) Upgrade Project worth over $ 100 million by receiving the final consignment of 50 yard tractors yesterday. The previous consignments consisted of ship-to-shore cranes and Rubber-Tyred-Gantry (RTG) cranes used for transferring containers between stacks in the yard. The CHE upgrade project which ...

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 ...

Reuters: Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) is lagging behind its major U.S. competitors in complying with new capital rules, leading the bank to consider even more asset sales, sources said. The bank’s management is focused on not being an outlier compared to its peers and believes it has “viable alternatives” to increase its capital levels, ...