Brief analysis of corrupt public expenditure in Sri Lanka Lessons from China or Tunisia? Just few months ago, in response to a public outcry for more accountability and transparency in the use of public funds, the State Council, which is the Cabinet in the Chinese Government, directed 98 public institutions including ministries to make public ...

As the countdown begins to the 2012 edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), Emirates Holidays has unveiled special packages which offer substantial savings on hotel accommodation in Dubai during the festival period exclusively for passengers travelling with the award-winning airline. These packages from the tour operating division of Emirates are available from just US ...

The right to privacy is our right to keep a domain around us, which includes all those things that are part of us, such as our body, home, thoughts, feelings, secrets and identity. The right to privacy gives us the ability to choose which parts in this domain can be accessed by others, and to ...

We are still stuck in the winter of our discontent! By Jude Fernando Groundviews.org: “Nearly all children nowadays were horrible. What was worst of all was that by means of such organisations as the Spies they were systematically turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel against ...

In a first time event, in parallel to the Governor’s Challenge Trophy for global commerce excellence, the global commerce excellence awards and medals will be presented to selected categories of Sri Lankan entities and individuals. The Export Development Board, Sri Lanka Ports Authority, and the Shippers’ Academy Colombo have been instrumental with the concept with ...

Last week my phone beeped and the text message read ‘The Chairperson of the Security and Exchange Commission Indrani Sugathadasa had resigned citing reasons of values and principles for her resignation’. My mind went back to the time when this lady when she was the Board Director at EDB. Whenever tough decisions had be taken ...

Hatton National Bank (HNB) Deputy General Manager – Marketing & Retail Banking Chandula Abeywickrema was invited by International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) to present the partnership initiative support for greater financial inclusion among the migrant workers and their dependents in Sri Lanka at the Annual Meeting for Financing Facility for Remittances (FFR) held on ...

The defeat of the LTTE in May 2009 has wrought a perceptible change in Sri Lanka’s economic climate, recognised by international financial institutions, foreign media and economic analysts, says in an article on Bangkok Post published on November 28. “Today they see Sri Lanka as one of Asia’s fast-growing nations with huge potential”, the report ...

By Cassandra Mascarenhas Exploring opportunities for trade, technology transfer and alliances with local companies, a delegation of business leaders from Northern Ireland was present in Sri Lanka earlier this week to meet with prospective partners to initiate further business relationships. Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI), an initiative of UK regional business development agency, with the ...

The Economist: THE Australians are not the only ones to feel chuffed by the Gold Coast winning its bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Most Sri Lankans, whose country competed for the event with none of the infrastructure in place, are beyond relieved. So roundly have the media criticised Sri Lanka’s failed attempt to ...

Softlogic Holdings Plc Chairman Ashok Pathirage has declared that impressive second quarter results have added further value to its story strengthening the journey begun as a listed new conglomerate. The Company has achieved significant results in both the second quarter and the first half of 2012 financial year which Pathirage said: “Exceeding our expectations set ...

Rajapaksa Family already planning more land grabbing Kleptocrat: A ruler who uses power to steal the country’s resources. Oxford Dictionary By Tisaranee Gunasekara Mindless-extravagance; land-grabbing; media-muzzling: the three Rajapaksa preoccupations are intimately interconnected. The Ruling Siblings need money to strengthen their power and to sustain their voracious appetite for exhibitionism, ...

By Chamitha Kuruppu The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna claims spending Rs. 265 billion on an 11-day extravaganza is intolerable for an economically ailing country like Sri Lanka. Addressing a media briefing the JVP warned that the aftermath of hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games would not be rosy as the Rajapaksa administration predicts According to JVP Propaganda ...

The policy changes, reforms and modernisation since Budget 2011 appears to have been the context of a presentation made to the Joint Apparel Association Forum in July 2011 by the “leading light” in finance, planning, treasury management and economic development. Sri Lanka background 2000-’10 The presentation articulates the background issues experienced from 2000 to 2010. ...

Last week I received an invite for an ‘Inventors Day Celebration’ in one of the leading schools in the country and the master in charge shared a thought that I felt was a cutting edge idea. Apparently, every one of us is an inventor in some part of our daily life. The issue is that ...

The gem mining sub-sector grew by 7.9% in 2010. The gem and jewellery exports too reported 1.56% positive growth in 2010. Even in the first-half of 2011, increased earnings from mineral exports were led by higher exports of gems which increased by 35.5% in the first half of 2011, according to the Central Bank. The ...

Exponential 575% rise in comparison to FY2010’s figure of Rs. 155 m; Posts Rs. 829 m net profit attributable to equity holders; Turnover more than doubles to Rs. 10.6 b FY2012 1Q revenue up 162% to Rs. 4.4 b; after tax profit up 257% to Rs. 368 m Assets worth Rs. 34.3 b, up from ...

President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunga delivered the keynote address as the Guest of Honour at the FutureGov Forum Sri Lanka 2011 in Colombo recently. Addressing the gathering, he asserted that it was the President’s leadership that led to the great achievements recorded by the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka even under the trying circumstances of wartime. ...

Our ‘poli-socionomic’ dialogue You will recall that like Capt. Kirk in his Star Ship-Enterprise,’ we also ventured into new territory with our first discussions under this theme ‘poli-socionomics,’ which appears to have caught on somewhat; thus, on behalf of those of us who still dare to think, I must thank those editors who carried it. ...

Arugam Bay gears up for world title championshipBy Cheranka Mendis Sri Lanka’s very own world class surfing destination, Arugam Bay, will welcome 96 world class surfers from 19 countries in what is known to be the world’s first combined competition for the ASP 6-star women’s event and the ASP men’s World Longboard Title (WLT) later ...

The question of prime Colombo land being sold to a Chinese aviation company to build a hotel was an issue raised by a UNP MP at a seminar in Colombo on Tuesday. “I can understand Shangri La, but why CATIC?” Dr. Harsha de Silva asked at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce organized Sri Lanka Economic ...

By Faraz Shauketaly Sri Lanka has a number of exports to the world – its tea, its blue sapphires, world class cricket (albeit second best) but in Tony Jayamaha, Hollywood has arguably received Sri Lanka’s most famous export. The Butler and House Manager to a host of “A” list celebrities including most famously to Dame ...

by Stewart Bell BANGKOK — In the office of Thailand’s Anti Human Trafficking Division, Colonel Panya Pinsook flips through photos of engine parts, sacks of food, plastic oil drums -and the Canadians caught with the cache of supplies. A cellphone...

"Economic prosperity and development are necessary, but not sufficient, conditions for lasting peace and healing in Sri Lanka" Remarks by Robert O. Blake, Jr. Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at Asia Society Event, New York, NY,...

by Darini Rajasingham Senanayake On 4 February, Sri Lanka celebrated its 63rd birthday. After nearly three decades of armed conflict, it is now one of Southasia’s calmest and fastest-growing countries. Its social indicators, apart from the northeast zone, remain the...

by Ranga Jayasuriya Some key positions of this government have been filled by dual citizens. Gotabaya Rajapaksa - the powerful Defence Secretary is a dual citizen of Sri Lanka and the USA. Basil Rajapaksa - Investment Development Minister has a US Green Card in addition to his Sri Lankan citizenship. Sarath Fonseka, the now incarcerated former army commander is also a Green Card holder. ...

By Mangala Samaraweera, M.P. It is with great alarm that the peace loving people of the civilised world witness the despotic regime of Muammar Gaddafi killing his own people, using heavy weapons and even fighter aircraft to bomb civilian targets...

By Amanda Morrow It’s often mistakenly called “Little Bombay”, but the lively neighbourhood that stretches from the rue du Faubourg-St-Denis north to La Chapelle is actually home to Paris’s Tamil community. The air is often fragrant in this quarter –...

by Prof. G.L.Peiris (Keynote Address delivered by External Affairs Minister Professor G L Peiris, at the symposium organized jointly by the Centre for Security Analysis, Chennai and the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, Sri Lanka in Colombo on October 26,...

By Ravinatha Pandukabhaya Aryasinha Ananda College Old Boys' Association Olcott Oration 2010...