Lack of participation in decision makingTop-down decision-making, centralisation of power and authority, lack of consultation with stakeholders, lack of accountability and the arrogance of political power are all factors which featured heavily in the socioeconomic environment of 2011 in Sri Lanka, mainly due to the lack of public consultation in the decision-making process. As Nobel ...

Kenyan Laban Moiben and Netsanet Abeyo of Ethiopia yesterday respectively won the men’s and women’s contest in the 9th Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, rated Asia’s most valuable. A record 2,475 Indian and global athletes including Sri Lanka’s Rueina Deepani and Indika Ratnayake vied for the popular event, which has received IIAF Gold label status. However, ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Reuters): Americans have traditionally been the most enthusiastic champions of capitalism. Yet a recent American public opinion survey found that just 50 per cent of people had a positive opinion of capitalism while 40 per cent did not. The disillusionment was particularly marked among young people 18-29, African Americans and Hispanics, those with ...

People’s Merchant Plc yesterday announced three additions to its Board of Directors with effect from 6 January 2012. They are Tushan Wickramasinghe, G. Ramanan and Anil P. Weerasinghe Tushan Wickramasinghe who holds an MBA from Edith Cowen University Australia is the Chairman of Capital Trust Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. and the Managing Director of Capital Trust ...

Looking back at 2011, DFCC Vardhana Bank (DVB), the everyday banking unit of DFCC Bank had a productive year in terms of profitability, asset growth, with a number of milestones being achieved, awards won and expansion in the bank’s products and services. The entirety of the bank’s activities focused on one goal: financial inclusion, which ...

Rotating Savings and Credit Associations and the Finance Business Act No. 42 of 2011Cheetu or Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (RoSCAs) are the world over a well-recognised method of savings and capital accumulation for the poor and marginalised. Advocate E.B. Wikramanayake B.A., in his Legal Dictionary for Ceylon (1948 Edition) describes a cheetu club as ...

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 ...

sports.ndtv.com: Colombo: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has approached the BCCI about the possibility of hosting IPL matches, the new SLC president, Upali Dharmadasa, has said. The idea has been proposed as a way for SLC to raise additional revenue because the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) failed to get off the ground last year, after ...

2012 has arrived and if we are to go by Mayan predictions, this is the year that the world will come to an end – to be precise 11-and-a-half months from now, on 21 December. This year I got many wishes reminding me of the impending doom and how one must look at the year ...

Sampath Bank with effect from 1 January has got a new Chairman and several new youthful additions to its Board of Directors. The Bank announced on Friday that at a Board of Directors meeting held on 29 December Chairman I.W. Senanayake decided to step down with effect from 31 December. Whilst accepting this decision the ...

By Manoj Ridimahaliyadda espncricinfo.com: Sidath Wettimuny, the former Sri Lanka batsman, has suggested a radical restructuring of the country’s domestic cricket structure, which involves promoting provinces over clubs. The financial uncertainty surrounding Sri Lankan cricket and the upcoming board elections could, however, overshadow Wettimuny’s proposal. As a member of Sri Lanka Cri...

Reuters: Tens of thousands of flag-waving and chanting protesters called on Saturday for a disputed parliamentary election to be rerun and an end to Vladimir Putin’s rule, increasing pressure on the Russian leader as he tries to win back the presidency. The protesters shouted “Russia without Putin” and “New elections, New elections” as one speaker ...

Edna Group of Ceylon, one of the largest conglomerates in Sri Lanka, has tied up with Dialog Enterprise to provide mobile communication solutions to the group, which includes Dialog BizConnect; an APN (Access Point Network) solution, allowing sales teams to give real time updates from the field. Dialog BizConnect APN (Access Point Network) Solution by ...

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, one of the world’s largest logistics providers, became an integral part of the South Asian Apparel Leadership Forum 2011. The prestigious forum where global and local apparel heavyweights gathered to discuss the future of Sri Lanka’s apparel industry was organised as a part of SL design festival. Hellmann, an international logistics giant ...

By Marianne David The perfect place to have a wild and wonderful time while wallowing in the lap of luxury, Elephant Corridor is a paradise of pleasure and pampering. Offering complete privacy given its secluded location in the heart of the jungle and guaranteed to satisfy the most demanding guest, the hotel is a sight ...

True to its efforts to increase the awareness and importance of bone health amongst women, Anlene recently launched its first ‘Asthi Shakthi Kantha Shakthi Movement’ activity camp in Colombo. The Movement, announced earlier this month, is championed by cricket legend, Kumar Sangakkara and his wife Yehali, aims to highlight good bone health through a series ...

Intel Sri Lanka last week celebrated the culmination of its fifth year supporting education through IT in Sri Lanka with its ‘Education Pavilion’ at Infotel 2011 which was opened by Minister of Education Bandula Gunawardena. Infotel, the biennial IT exhibition dubbed the ‘premier’ IT exhibition in Sri Lanka, is known to showcase the latest and ...

Deep in the heart of an ancient kingdom, snug in a rural setting is a luxurious abode for those who seek the serenity of wilderness without having to give up on the creature comforts of urban living. Imagine a little ‘palace’ all to oneself. King sized beds, the softest linen, the fluffiest pillows, comfiest sofas, ...

16 Days of Activism – 25 November to 10 DecemberThe International Campaign to End Violence against Women and Girls is part of an international campaign originating from the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership in 1991. The dates 25 November, International Day against Violence against Women and 10 ...

By Ian The President in his speech at the opening of the Southern Expressway said that this could be the beginning of building a modern society. He also mentioned that had there been such an expressway linking the north with the south the extremists would not have succeeded in capitalising on the mistrust among communities. ...

Eco-labels get special platform at SLDF 2011 Apparel showSri Lanka’s apparel industry has long been established as a visionary garment maker, through its responsible practices and campaigns like ‘Garments without Guilt’. A key point stressed at the recently concluded ‘South Asian Apparel Leadership Forum’ that affects the future of this influential industry, is the co...

Having launched Sri Lanka’s first-ever equity investments and financial information portal, Sri Lanka Equity Analytics (www.srilankaequity.com) recently celebrated its successive second year of operations by reaching the milestone of 5,000 registered online memberships and over five million hits. Sri Lanka Equity Analytics is a financial portal designed to address varying needs of the invest...

After the recent Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, critics found three new words for the acronym ‘CWG’ – Corruption, Waste and lack of Governance. The Chairman of the Indian National Olympic Committee, who was Chairman of the Organising Committee, is presently in Tihar Jail, in Delhi with many of his acolytes, on charges regarding ...

MUMBAI (AFP): Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar’s failure to make his 100th international century left fans in Mumbai deeply deflated on Friday, with supporters leaving the stadium in their droves after his dismissal for 94. In contrast to the previous three days, when crowds were thin on the ground, supporters flocked to the Wankhede Stadium to ...

Abu Dhabi, November 24, 2011 (AFP) – Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq is hoping to win the Twenty20 match against Sri Lanka on Friday to lift their rankings and give them a clean sweep of the series after their Test and one-day victories. Pakistan, the 2009 World Twenty20 champions, have lost 13 of their last 24 ...

Leo Burnett Solutions Inc. (LBSI) – the local office of creative giant Leo Burnett Worldwide – won the highly acclaimed ‘Commercial of the Year’ award at the prestigious Sumathi Awards, the biggest festival of the country’s television industry held recently at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium. Leo Burnett Solutions Inc. Managing Director Ranil De Silva at ...

Arrenga Capital Research takes a deeper look at Budget 2012 and impact on select listed companies 1. A challenging deficit target – 6.2% of GDP in 2012 I. Government revenue targeted to grow by 20.2% YoY to Rs. 1,126.1 b (14.7% of GDP) II. Total Government expenditure to rise 14.1% YoY to Rs. 1,594.9 b ...

The Free Dictionary defines impunity as ‘exemption from punishment or loss or escape from fines’. In the context of the international law of human rights, it refers to the failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a denial of the victims’ right to justice and to bring ...

Following are the brief key suggestions that came out at the groundbreaking pre-Budget 2012 brainstorming session held recently under a joint initiative by the Daily FT and the MBA Alumni Association of University of Colombo with Secretary to the Treasury Dr. P.B. Jayasundera as the Chief Guest Apparel sector: Brandix CFO Hasitha Premaratne • Apparel ...

DTV (Dialog Television), a subsidiary of one of Sri Lanka’s largest telecommunication service providers Dialog Axiata PLC, is extending its sponsorship of the Mercantile Rugby Sevens for a record ninth consecutive year. The Mercantile Rugby 7’s, one of the most anticipated events in the mercantile sporting calendar, will kick off from 18 to 20 November, ...