Asia’s biggest culinary exhibition opens

The 17th edition of the ‘Culinary Art Food Expo’ organized by the Chefs’ Guild of Lanka and CDC Events & Travels Pvt. Ltd., was inaugurated by President Maithripala Sirisena at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) yesterday.  Guest of Honour on the opening day was Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs Minister John Amaratunga. Pic by: Kithsiri de Mel

Ravi attends Rotary Club Colombo West event as guest speaker

Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake was invited by the Rotary Club of Colombo West as the guest speaker at its luncheon meeting chaired by President Roshan Perera, with Rtn Pravir Samarasinghe, Secretary Harsha Rajan and Governor Senaka Amarasinghe at the head table. 

Indo Lanka Chamber of Commerce & Industry holds 9th AGM

The Ninth Annual General meeting of the Indo Lanka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ILCCI) was held recently at Taj Samudra Colombo.

PM says will sign Hambantota port deal with China today

Sri Lanka will finally sign a US$1.1 billion deal today to lease the southern Hambantota port to China, after several months of delay caused by local protests and claims by opposing politicians that this would threaten national security.

Rupee steady as inward remittances offset importer dollar demand

REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee was steady yesterday as inflows from inward remittances offset importer dollar demand, dealers said. 

Odel paints new vistas with Desert Safari-inspired pre-fall collection

Nature’s vistas and forms have once again inspired a seasonal fashion collection at Odel, this time the dramatic shapes and colours symbolic of the desert. 

BOC organises ‘Little Picasso’ art competition

In line with the bank’s 78th anniversary celebrations, Bank of Ceylon (BOC) is set to conduct an art competition, ‘Little Picasso’ among schoolchildren and reward their talents with valuable gifts. 

Spa Ceylon wins big at World Luxury Spa Awards 2017

Spa Ceylon, the world’s largest luxury Ayurveda chain, yet again stamped its global dominance in the segment by clinching three major awards at the prestigious World Luxury Spa Awards 2017 annual gala held in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Colombo Coffee Company promotes coffee culture at Hotel Show 2017

Coffee was once a thriving cultivation in Ceylon. The British began large-scale commercial production and by 1860, the country was amongst the major coffee-producing nations in the world. Decades later ‘coffee’ is being revived and at the forefront of is Colombo Coffee Company (CCC). 

OPPO-Sony Pictures partner for Spider-Man: Homecoming

The ever-evolving camera phone brand, OPPO, has established an association with Sony Pictures on the much-awaited superhero movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming, in theatres from July 8.

Health Ministry-Litro Gas bring ‘healthy cooking’ to limelight

 In a bid to enable a culture of health-conscious culinary habits to penetrate into the wider social spectrum within Sri Lanka, Medical Services of the Health Ministry recently held a healthy cooking competition at the BMICH for the medical administrators of Uva Province attached to the College Medical Administrators.

TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11, Autavia win Red Dot distinction

The jury has reached its decision: after several days of assessing thousands of products from all over the world, the TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 and the Autavia received the distinction ‘Red Dot’.  With the Monaco Calibre 11 and the Autavia, TAG Heuer has created an outstanding design that the expert committee for the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2017 has recognised with the internationally sought-after seal of quality.

99X Technology powers Sri Lanka’s first-ever Serverless Meetup

99X Technology held Sri Lanka’s first-ever technical meetup on the open source web framework Serverless earlier this month. The event saw some awesome cutting-edge globally trending tech 

Mercantile Volleyball Tournament 2017 is back with a Bang!

The Mercantile Volleyball Association of Sri Lanka is once again organizing the annual Mercantile Volleyball Tournament in a bid to popularize the national sport and to widen interest in the game in the 

Amãna Takaful relocates its Akkaraipattu branch to serve their customers better

Amãna Takaful PLC (ATL) the only fully-fledged Takaful operator in the country and the flag bearer of the Takaful way of insurance in Sri Lanka, recently relocated its Akkaraipattu Branch with the intention

The Sri Lanka Debaters Council to compete in the World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC) in Bali

The Sri Lanka Debaters Council will compete in the World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC) in Bali, Indonesia in August. The team consists of 3 members from the 2016 team; Anish Fonseka 

Kia donates Rs.15mn to build preschool in Sri Lanka

Children of the Dikkowita area in Hendala have received a new purpose-built pre-school thanks to the generosity of a group of Korean students and funding support from Korean car maker Kia.

Harpic pledges to contribute sales proceeds to support sanitation access

Sri Lanka’s number one toilet cleaning brand, Harpic pledged to contribute a percentage from the sale of each Harpic 500ml bottle of its popular toilet cleaner range, reaffirming its commitment to the national campaign to build 300 toilets. 

Ceylinco Life donates classrooms to primary schools in Wellawaya and Talawa

Primary grade students at two schools in Talawa and Wellawaya need no longer learn in temporary shelters or under trees, thanks to the generosity of Ceylinco Life.

NDB together with British Council awards 200 English Teachers

NDB together with British Council awarded the successful candidates who completed the ‘English for Teaching’ training programme.

People’s Bank Sisu Udana awards grade-five scholarship achievers

People’s Bank offers Grade-five scholarship students an opportunity to win valuable scholarships through its Sisu Udana  savings account. 

Lakdaru Scholarship Seminar at Rathnapura

SDB Bank organized an island wide Lakdaru Scholarship Seminar Series for Grade-five students.  This is carried out as a CSR project and few of the seminars are also in Tamil medium. The 31st 

Commercial Bank introduces Sri Lanka’s first ‘Chip and PIN’ debit card

Commercial Bank of Ceylon has introduced Mastercard debit cards with Chip and PIN technology for the first time in Sri Lanka.

Nestlé Professional continues to support Sri Lankan Chefs and uplift culinary industry

Nestlé Professional, Nestlé’s out-of-home food and beverage solutions provider, has joined hands with the Chefs Guild of Lanka to become Diamond Sponsor for Culinary Art Food Expo 2017.

CLC launches branches in Kegalle and Piliyandala

Reaching out to its customer base, CLC made a few iconic additions to their existing branch network during the month of June. 

People’s Bank opens Digital Centre at York Street

People’s Bank achieved a unique milestone in its digitalisation drive with the opening of its fully-fledged Digital Centre by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, at York Street, Colombo 1.

Millennium IT founder launches Ustocktrade in SL

Ustocktrade, the world’s first retail alternative trading system (ATS), the mission of which is to bring Wall Street to Main Street, announced yesterday its launch in Sri Lanka, the first international expansion for Ustocktrade.

BOC conferred Best Bank in Public Sector and Best Employer Brand

The number one bank in the country, Bank of Ceylon (BOC) has won the Best Employer Brand Award and Best Bank in Public Sector – Excellence and Leadership Award for the Banking and Financial Services Industry, presented at the event hosted by the World HRD Congress in its 12th Employer Branding Awards held recently at Taj Samudra, Colombo.

Downside of entrepreneurship happens when entrepreneurs become tyrants

The tactics are all too familiar – when you are the one who has built something from scratch, you think you cannot let go. When you know the pain of having to create something from nothing, you do not want to give up easily. You fear no one will understand what you have worked so hard, given your life’s worth, to create. You think others may undermine your authority as the founder. You may even think that until and unless you rule wit

Stepping up fight against money laundering and terrorist financing

Corrupt officials, tax cheats and the financial backers of terrorism have one thing in common: they often exploit vulnerabilities in financial systems to facilitate their crimes.