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 ...

“It is unlikely that in making his overstatement on development that the President was seeking to downplay the achievements of the past by his illustrious predecessors in the governance of the country. In the 1950s there was the Gal Oya development scheme that opened up the vast territories of thick jungle land in the east ...

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...

Reuters: India cut cash reserve requirements for banks by 50 basis points on Tuesday to ease tight liquidity conditions, signalling a shift in policy towards reviving growth after two years of fighting inflation. With core inflation still stubbornly high, the Reserve Bank of India as expected left its policy repo rate unchanged at 8.50 percent ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 Dinali Goonewardene Prathilaba was telecast on Rupavahini on Sundays at 10 a.m. The TV documentary, a studio discussion on investing in the stock market was commissioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission and panellists from the stock market industry participated. These included stock brokers, research analysts, fund managers and officials from the Colombo Stock ...

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 ...

Reuters: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack while on a train trip, state media reported on Monday, sparking immediate concern over who is in control of the reclusive state and its nuclear programme. A tearful television announcer dressed in black said the 69-year-old had died on Saturday of physical and mental ...

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 ...

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 ...

Reuters: The Iranian army is conducting a four-day training exercise to test its defences, state TV reported on Saturday, amid rising international tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme. Press TV said the war games started on Friday and were taking place over 800,000 square km in the east of the country. “The initial stage of the ...

Reuters: Italy’s president appointed former European Commissioner Mario Monti on Sunday to head a new government charged with implementing urgent reforms to end a crisis that has endangered the whole euro zone. After a frenetic weekend during which parliament passed the reforms and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi stepped down to the jeers of hostile crowds, ...

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 ...

PARIS (Reuters): France announced 65 billion euros of tax hikes and budget cuts over five years, as President Nicolas Sarkozy seeks to protect the country’s creditworthiness in financial markets without killing his chances of re-election in six months time.  The main goal was to protect a top-notch credit rating that allows France to fund itself ...

Airline, unions appear again before govt-ordered labour tribunal Qantas says 447 flights grounded, 68,000 passengers affected since Sat PM calls for end to dispute World leaders at Perth meeting among those affected Rival airlines put on more flights MELBOURNE, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Qantas Airways and its unions appeared before a labour tribunal on Sunday ...

Reuters: Greeks greeted the latest European Union deal to rescue their debt-choked country with deep scepticism on Thursday, fearing further painful belt-tightening and years more of recession. EU leaders struck a deal with banks and insurers early on Thursday for them to accept a 50 percent loss on their Greek government bonds under a plan ...

The courage the Government has demonstrated in cancelling the CATIC deal and yet feeling secure, rather than embarrassed by it, must be recognised. It is a responsible step, a prudent decision, which will have enduring benefit both in terms of national policy and FDI strategy. This step will also earn the respect of the indigenous ...

U.S. presidential election all about the economy First bin Laden, now Iraq Obama shows he can answer the “3 a.m. call” WASHINGTON  (Reuters): President Barack Obama delivered on another foreign policy promise on Friday with plans to pull the last U.S. troops from Iraq. But in a re

Lessons from the life and times of Steve JobsA process of education should equip young people with the values, knowledge and skills required to lead a fulfilling and productive life. Additionally, a good grounding in the fundamentals of math, science and the English language is essential. Nations have to move away from the unquestioning mode ...

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, yesterday took delivery of its first A330-200 aircraft retrofitted with Panasonic Avionics Corporation’s (Panasonic) Global Communications Suite. The comprehensive communications and entertainment solution, ‘Sky Hub’, offers passengers onboard full broadband connectivity to access internet, mobile phone services and, for t...

A COLLEGE drop out and global genius is dead. Steve Jobs was a very private person, eccentric and brash. He was fired from the company he founded Apple and was brought back to resurrect it and make it one of the most valuable and admired companies on earth, its stock earlier this year the most ...

n Becomes first network agency in Sri Lanka to host a premier regional forumJWT’s Asia Pacific Executive Creative Directors (ECD) will be meeting in Colombo for the agency’s quarterly creative review, ‘Passion Patrol’. Held from 10-12 October, ‘Passion Patrol’ is the meeting that reviews the best work produced in the network’s offices across 18 countries ....

Today the Sri Lankan government is under international pressure on account of war crimes that were committed in the last phase of the war. The Canadian Prime Minister has said that he may not attend the Commonwealth Heads of State summit that is to be held in Sri Lanka in 2013. Legal cases against Sri Lankan ...

Emirates, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, has unveiled major new expansion plans for the United States with the launch of daily services to Seattle and Dallas. Dallas-Fort Worth and Seattle-Tacoma International airports will both be served by non-stop flights from 2 February and 1 March 2012 respectively.  “These new services emphasise Emirates’ confidence ...

The mobile phone as the pitch goes could be the most powerful marketing tool ever invented. Until recently, however, the cell phone has been mostly about talking the talk (or texting the text). Now, from an advertising perspective, there are signs that they may be starting to walk the walk. Worldwide, there are twice as ...

Establishing a landmark in Sri Lanka’s aviation history, SriLankan Airlines’ makes its maiden flight to the historic city of Moscow, commencing a twice-weekly scheduled service between Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport on 17 September 2011. Religious observances by dignitaries of the four religions in Sri Lanka will invoke bl...