Hundreds
of people carrying plastic cans standing in queues
at Jaffna filling stations to get their kerosene or
diesel or petrol rations after the curfew was lifted
for a few hours. Pic by T. Parameshwaran.
Read More
Financial
Times
Malaysian firm moves court A
Malaysian-based company producing MDF boards for export,
which drew the ire of local furniture manufacturers
when it was launched, has obtained a court injunction
against a decision by the Board of Investment (BOI)
to shut down the six-year old business owing to non-payment
of dues and violation of the BOI contract. Full
Story
Local firms demand fair entry
into lubricant market
Sri Lanka’s lubricant market has finally opened
up but local companies are complaining that they are
being shut out with preferential treatment given to
multinational corporations. Full
Story
Further
burdens on a complicated tax system
Under the new reforms in the administration of the Inland
Revenue department the possibility of repeated audits
and fraud have increased and the pyramid of hierarchy
has now turned upside down making the top heavy with
a large number of deputy commissioners but not enough
support staff, tax experts say.
Full Story
SMB
reports strong profit growth in first half 2006
The Seylan Merchant Bank (SMB) Group last week announced
strong pre and post tax profits and healthy growth in
income for the first half of 2006. Full
Story
Broaching the dam problem –
looking to avoid disasters
As if the country doesn't have enough problems; there
seems to be one more. Not that it is as obvious as
the tsunami or the present increase in fighting in
the north and east, but it's there.Full
Story
Majestic
hits with latest Hollywood blockbusters
Following the success of films like 'Water' and 'Superman
Returns', a set of the latest Hollywood blockbusters
are lined up to be released at Majestic Cinema Colombo.
Full Story
Elephant Reach Hotel : The ultimate location
Elephant
Reach in Yala is just four months old. It is located
deep in the heart of southern Sri Lanka, close to two
popular tourist destinations - Yala National Park and
Kirinda. Full Story
‘Anjalika’
: A copy of Bollywood Tele
Drama actor turned film director Channa Perera's maiden
cinematic creation 'Anjalika' is a film which has a
climax that takes different turns moment by moment in
a way spectators never expected. Full
Story
King
Sena III
The priests who had fled Tapovana, were getting ready
to come back to Anuradhapura. Yuvaraja Sena and the
Ádipáda Udaya made all the necessary arrangements.
The priests were conducted in procession. By this time
Tapovana was reorganised and it looked once more, the
sacred place, it used to be. King Udaya went forward
to welcome them. Full
Story
The birth of a renowned scholar
This week commemorates the birth of a Sri Lankan who
gained international recognition as an authority on
Asian art and culture. He is Ananda K. Coomaraswamy,
the renowned author best known for his work, 'Mediaeval
Sinhalese Art'. He was born on 22 August 1877. It
is a classic work on the crafts of Sri Lanka and serves
as an authoritative reference book. The well researched
book is profusely illustrated. Full
Story
Heavy
casualties at Muhamalai
Tough resistance by security forces has thwarted a week-long
attempt by Tiger guerrillas to infiltrate the Jaffna
peninsula. Heavy fighting on Friday left a high toll
of casualties on both sides. Full
Story
Attempt
to kill envoy: Why was call to 119 ignored?
Investigations into the LTTE’s attempted assassination
of the Pakistan High Commissioner in Green Path on Monday,
have revealed that the incident may have been prevented
if officers had responded to an anonymous call to 119,
Police Emergency. Full
Story
Students
or combatants? Still more questions than answers
Was it a training camp for LTTE combatants, an orphanage
or an in-house-training facility for students? These
are the burning questions that have not been comprehensively
answered as the Government and the LTTE continue to
trade charges over the incident at Vallipuram in Mullaitivu
last Monday that resulted in the death of 42 young girls
and injured about 100.Full
Story
Jaffna
back to the grave
Jaffna city turned into a ghost town with the curfew
clamped this week and the sound of artillery shells
bursting everywhere brought back memories of the pre-ceasefire
era when the town suffered heavy damages and casualties
from a protracted war. Full
Story
Flight
from chaos Last
Sunday, August 13, Heathrow Airport was chaotic. The
cancellation of almost a third of flights from Britain's
busiest airport had plunged travellers into the fourth
day of travel chaos, triggered by the foiling of an
alleged airplane bomb plot. Full
Story
Conmen
and coins The
prospect of owning treasure has led many Lankans to
invest fortunes on fake gold coins. Recent articles
in the Sinhala media, report on a gang now in custody
who are said to have swindled millions from gullible
members of the public. Full
Story
How
about some English tea?
Having been a tea planter in Sri Lanka in the 50’s
and 60’s, never in my wildest dreams would I
have imagined that one day I would see a full-grown
tea estate in England. Full
Story
AIDS
– Danger nearer home Nearly as old as the AIDS pandemic,
which has kept the world in its vice-like grip for
25 years, the young Asian woman’s face was represented
by 24-year-old Frika Chia Iskandar, an Indonesian
living with HIV/AIDS. Full
Story
Eat
well, feel well
"Want to lose 20 pounds in six weeks? Click here
to start," the advertisements declare, promising
miraculous weight loss. Surfing the net it is quite
common to see such eye-catching dialogue boxes pop
up, the latest being the Glycaemic Impact Diet (GI
Diet) that is considered Europe's hottest diet. Yet
how effective is it? Full
Story
Feeling
faint?Fainting is a temporary loss of consciousness,
where the person falls to the floor. It's sometimes
called passing out. Full
Story
A
Malaysian-based company producing MDF boards for export,
which drew the ire of local furniture manufacturers
when it was launched, has obtained a court injunction
against a decision by the Board of Investment (BOI)
to shut down the six-year old business owing to non-payment
of dues and violation of the BOI contract. 
Elephant
Reach in Yala is just four months old. It is located
deep in the heart of southern Sri Lanka, close to two
popular tourist destinations - Yala National Park and
Kirinda. 
Tele
Drama actor turned film director Channa Perera's maiden
cinematic creation 'Anjalika' is a film which has a
climax that takes different turns moment by moment in
a way spectators never expected. 
Last
Sunday, August 13, Heathrow Airport was chaotic. The
cancellation of almost a third of flights from Britain's
busiest airport had plunged travellers into the fourth
day of travel chaos, triggered by the foiling of an
alleged airplane bomb plot. 
The
prospect of owning treasure has led many Lankans to
invest fortunes on fake gold coins. Recent articles
in the Sinhala media, report on a gang now in custody
who are said to have swindled millions from gullible
members of the public. 
Having been a tea planter in Sri Lanka in the 50’s
and 60’s, never in my wildest dreams would I
have imagined that one day I would see a full-grown
tea estate in England. 
