Travel and tourism is set for a milestone year as the industry’s direct contribution to the global economy is expected to pass $2 trillion in GDP and 100 million jobs. According to research by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the global travel and tourism industry will grow by 2.8% in 2012, marginally faster ...

Reuters: Most of the world is interconnected thanks to email and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, according to a new poll released on Tuesday. Eighty five per cent of people around the globe who are connected online send and receive emails and 62 per cent communicate through social networking sites, particularly in ...

Reuters: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday the United States could no longer dictate policy to the rest of the world and warned of growing instability in the West’s relations with Pakistan.  Ahmadinejad, speaking at a regional conference on Afghanistan, called for the immediate withdrawal of foreign troops from the country and proposed that ...

By Cheranka Mendis The volatility in Middle Eastern markets, coupled with the increasing issue of low quality due to competition and increasing costs, has placed the local tea industry in a big fix, which could, if unattended, immediately mark the end of a Sri Lankan legacy in four to five years. Despite Sri Lankan tea ...

Reuters: U.S. President Barack Obama vowed on Monday to pursue further nuclear arms cuts with Russia, saying the United States has more warheads than necessary, even as he issued stern warnings to North Korea and Iran in their nuclear standoffs with the West. Speaking ahead of a global nuclear

Major emerging market economies will look closer at creating a joint development bank to co-ordinate their financial power as the world economy falters, said Brazilian Trade Minister Fernando Pimentel.  Development banks of the so-called Brics group of emerging economies plan to ink memorandums of understanding next week in India to work on the creation of ...

By Uditha Jayasinghe Showcasing the need for vigilance, over 1,500 foreigners who remained illegally in the country after their visas expired were detected within the first two months of 2012, a top immigration official said yesterday. Controller General of Immigration and Emigration Commissioner for Registration of Persons of Indian Origin W. Perera told the Daily ...

By Amantha Perera IPS: As the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) voted in, Thursday, a resolution asking Colombo to act on recommendations made by its own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), Buddhist prayers reverberated through the Sri Lankan capital. “It is a resolution that encourages Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations of its own ...

BANGKOK (IRIN): Even though public health experts recognise how deadly asbestos can be, its use is on the rise in the construction industry throughout Asia, according to the US Geological Survey. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates some 107,000 workers die annually from asbestos-related diseases, out of 125 million people who encounter it in the ...

Arab News: RIYADH: Saudi businessmen have evinced immense interest in attending the upcoming the Sri Lanka Expo 2012 scheduled from 28 to 30 March in Colombo, Sri Lankan Embassy’s Commercial Counselor Anil Sirimanna said. The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) has organised the three-day event being held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall ...

REUTERS: Serena Williams made a triumphant return to the WTA Tour on Thursday, crushing China’s Zhang Shuai 6-2 6-3 in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.  A five-times winner of the elite event, the American fired down six aces and broke her opponent four times on the way to a one-sided ...

Reuters: Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former Colombian Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo are set to make the first concerted challenge to the U.S. grip on the top job at the World Bank, according to sources.  The two globally respected economists and diplomats will be nominated for the World Bank presidency by South Africa ...

24 nations vote in favour, 15 against, whilst eight abstain Govt. told to implement LLRC suggestions GENEVA (Reuters): Sri Lanka should ensure Government troops who committed war crimes during the final stages of its war against Tamil rebels are brought to justice, the UN Human Rights Council said on Thursday. Despite heavy lobbying by a ...

Reuters: A counteroffensive of sorts may be underway this year in what has seemed like a one-sided “global currency war” as developing economies slow, western money-printing pauses and the heat comes out of pumped-up emerging market currencies. The three-year-old “war”, as Brazil dubs the devaluationist policies of developed nations seeking relief from home-grown credit cru...

JAKARTA (Reuters): The Datsun brand will return to Nissan and the top priority for it will be increasing sales growth in Indonesia, India and Russia, Nis-san Motor CEO Carlos Ghosn told reporters in Indonesia during a visit on Tue-sday. He said Nissan plans $400 million in investment

Business travel to developing countries is on the rise as corporates capitalise on growing economies and new business opportunities in the emerging markets, according to global travel and expense management company FCm Travel Solutions. Global director of account management for FCm Travel Solutions Felicity Burke said multinational client travel volumes to developing markets within Asia, ...

With the phenomenal international growth of Pre-Paid Cards, Mobile Payments and e-Wallets, MTI Consulting has initiated an alliance with UK based Polymath Consulting. As part of this alliance, the CEO Polymath Consulting David Parker will be in Sri Lanka for a Thought Leadership Seminar on 18 April from 5.30p.m. to 8p.m. David Parker is the ...

MIAMI (AFP): Serena Williams, a 13-time Grand Slam champion who has not played a WTA event since a fourth-round Australian Open loss, will face China’s Zhang Shuai in her first match at the WTA Miami hardcourt event. Five-time Miami winner Williams, the 10th seed on the women’s side of the $9.6 million event played in ...

Reuters: Franklin Templeton funds that focus on developing economies are heavily invested in energy stocks as the firm believes oil prices have room to increase further, the head of its emerging markets group Mark Mobius said on Tuesday.  “If you look at inflation and the oil price over the long term, you’ll find that the ...

Flexiprint (Pvt) Ltd, a specialised printer in Flexography printing tea bag tags and envelopes proved its supremacy in quality of Flexo printing by winning the bronze award at the Asian Flexo-Gravure-Label Awards held in Bangkok recently. Flexiprint is a dedicated catalyst to the Tea bag industry serving 58% of the tea bagging companies in Sri ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters): Shortly after taking office, U.S. President Barack Obama set the goal of eventually ridding the world of nuclear weapons as a central theme of his presidency and pledged dramatic steps to lead the way. But after lofty rhetoric and a few steps forward, Obama is facing fresh doubts about whether he is willing ...

Can clothes, fashion accessories and makeup make a country look democratic?Dictators have begun to dress up their autocratic regimes in the manner of democracies with all the mod cons that help to pass off a system of government, which is for all purposes a dictatorship, as a five-star democracy. This in the manner that a ...

Loss-making State-owned enterprises are nothing new in Sri Lanka. One of the better known ones is SriLankan Airlines, which was given to Emirates due to its inability to breakeven but was retaken by the present Government. Pros and cons of this move is history but cash-strapped and a midst losses, it appears that the Government ...

Today is 19 March 2012. The day and the month of March are significant in the lives of many people – some celebrating birthdays, some wedding anniversaries, while others nurse what is yet left over from the hangover of the three day drawn encounter that we experienced a week ago or the limited over Royal ...

Anticipating four days of music in 16 locations from 17 countries and 100 artistesBy Cheranka Mendis Aspiring to be listed on the World Calendar of Events, preparations for Senses and Soul- Colombo Music Festival is on course and plans are falling in to place as expected, Founder and Event Director of the Festival Haadia Galely ...

By Cheranka Mendis Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals rose 27% to 83,549 in February from a year earlier, continuing the growth momentum established in 2010. Data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority yesterday showed arrivals topping 169,423 during the first two months of the year, a 21% increase from the period a year ago. ...

With just 12 days to go, Sri Lanka’s largest mega trade, investment and tourism promotion initiative ‘Expo 2012’ has attracted close to 1,200 people, exceeding the expected 1,000 mark, EDB Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said yesterday. Speaking to the Daily FT, he asserted that the number of participants had increased by 500 from last week, when ...

Head of the Sri Lankan delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe is to return to Geneva to attend the sessions on Wednesday (14). Minister Samarasinghe is to head another team of Sri Lankan delegates to the UNHRC sessions. The main aim of the delegation would be ...

GENEVA (Reuters): International filings for patent protection, a key indicator of technological innovation in major economies, hit an all-time record last year driven by growth in China and other middle- income countries, a United Nations agency said last week. The World Intellectual Property Organisation, which administers the global patent pact, reported that 2011 saw a ...

With the country abuzz with the contentious US resolution on Sri Lanka at the ongoing UNHRC sessions Asia Wealth Management Research team has come up with a brief analysis of the move’s impact if any. Here are excerpts from Asia Wealth’s analysis: The US proposed resolution on Sri Lanka in the current session of the ...