The Galle Music Festival 2012 being held over the weekend of 3 to 4 March offers a unique opportunity to see local and international folk and contemporary music groups. The Samanala Grounds in Galle will be transformed into a traditional village setting where the folk music groups will share, exchange, and interact with other performers ...

The Asia Capital Group today announced that construction of a 30 room hotel property, Taprobana, has begun in Balapitiya and is expected to be completed in time for summer 2013. Work has also begun on another 30 room property in Wadduwa, situated in a prime beachfront location which will be opened simultaneously. Asia Leisure owns ...

Benito Mussolini, the fascist ruler of Italy, during World War II, said that his brand of fascism ‘should be more appropriately called Corporatism, because it is a merger of state and corporate power’. Compare this with the dictionary definition of capitalism: ‘A system in which a country’s business and industry are controlled and run for ...

Subsidies? Well yes, but make them smart subsidiesNigeria: Subsidising the neighbours Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamidi Sanusi, had a problem. In a recent live interview with the Aljazeera TV, he said that his country had to raise the retail prices of all petroleum products to match the rising international prices, despite the violent and ...

Dialog Axiata Plc has ended the 2011 financial year ringing a Rs. 5.4 billion profit, up by 6% over the previous year. The full year results were supported by a Group net profit of Rs. 1.4 billion in the fourth quarter, up by 2% from a year earlier. The Group recorded strong revenue growth across ...

Reuters: Iran, facing sanctions that could cripple its oil exports, has told world powers it wants to resume long-stalled talks with “new initiatives”, and France said it might be open to addressing suspicions about its nuclear programme. Tehran made the offer in a letter to the EU’s foreign policy chief obtained by Reuters on Thursday, ...

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 ...

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 ...

Ceylon Biscuits Ltd.’s subsidiary company CBL Foods International Pvt. Ltd. officially opened the newly-built school hall of Ranala Model Junior School. An outright donation by CBL Foods at a cost of Rs. 7 million, the multipurpose hall consists of meeting rooms, classrooms and a mini auditorium for student assemblies and performances. The school is in ...

Today the life patterns of everybody have become a very competitive race with or with out one’s consent. Needless to say as a result the human beings are left with lot of stress and stress related health issues. Engaging in humour and laughter is a proven mode of releasing such stress. Making people laugh is ...

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 ...

HAS democracy failed in the Maldives? As chaos engulfs the second closest country to Sri Lanka, it is impossible not to wonder over where this change will lead. Will the country still continue as a democracy or will it fall into extremist hands? What are the lessons that Sri Lanka can learn from what has ...

Park Street Mews came alive with music on 29 January as it presented another unique, once in lifetime experience by hosting two international greats – Ken Stringfellow (of R.E.M fame) and Dr. Eugene Draw – a Canadian electric violinist; along with brilliant local artists Out of Time and the Beat Drummers. Ken Stringfellow – a ...

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...

Sydney Morning Herald: This summer’s tri-series will be played amid a backdrop of a pay dispute which sees Sri Lanka’s players owed as much as $US 5million ($4.71 million) due to a cash crisis within the country’s governing body. As Mahela Jayawardene’s team battle the world’s top two ODI sides on the field during this ...

Leo Burnett Solutions Inc (LBSI), the Sri Lankan office of the internationally acclaimed advertising agency said yesterday it enjoyed an exceptional year in 2011. The agency maintained its leadership position as Sri Lanka’s premier marketing communications company and cemented its position as the Country’s leading creative agency. The agency grew exponentially in 2011 with significant ...

The market was jam-packed. A tuk-tuk overloaded with huge bunches of green bananas almost ran over my foot, knocking me off balance. Intense aromas and stenches invaded all our senses. Bicycles and the tiny motorised carts vied with jostling shoppers and merchants for space in the frenetic and frantic Pettah bazaar in the heart of ...

Text and pic by Harsha Udayakantha Peiris Malaka Dewapriya a young cinematographer with a determined  mission  towards a cinema with  a richer conception  to uplift the social bases of the communities has launched fieldwork for his first  feature on  silver screen for the local and international audience, namely, ‘Bahuchithavadiya’  which narrate...

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 ...

Effects first major move to become a self-made entrepreneur; his new venture N Capital acquires 70% stake Aspires to make iconic 35-room resort luxurious with Rs. 500 m investment to add 50 more rooms under a new wing and plush refurbishment Says deep south will be centre of economic, tourism and recreation boom with air ...

Last year when I got the opportunity of attending the summer programme at Harvard, one of the sessions that really got my attention was a session titled ‘Corporate Athleticism’. Coming back to Sri Lanka I was eager to bring to life this new theory called ‘Corporate Athleticism,’ which in actual fact was practiced by many ...

By Cheranka Mendis Construction work for the 350 metre iconic Lotus Tower commenced yesterday following the foundation laying ceremony at the auspicious time of 10:28 a.m. The tower, which will be the tallest tower in South Asia, is located down D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha, overlooking the Beira Lake and is budgeted at an estimated cost of ...

After Dialog hires local ex-Airtel boss Amali, Indian giant gets Dialog’s Suren as CEO Switches is common parlance in the telecom industry’s hardware, but it appears to have extended itself to the human capital base of two competitors. Hot on the heels of Dialog Axiata last week announcing the appointment of former local boss of ...

MUMBAI (Reuters): The India test side’s continued freefall in Australia has infuriated the media and angered fans back home but advertisers and broadcasters are refusing to give up on cricket, given a lack of alternatives and the fickleness of local supporters. Since the euphoria of a 2011 World Cup victory on home soil in April, ...

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 ...

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 ...