Indian Government lists bill to ban Cryptocurrency.

The Indian Government has listed a bill which prohibits the use of private cryptocurrency. It has decided to issue its own digital currency – a stablecoin backed by rupee – and proposed to ban cryptocurrency. The cryptocurrency ecosystem in India has always been a grey area …

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Corruption Perception Index 2020.

Sri Lanka Secures 94th Rank in Corruption Perception Index among 180 countries in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2020, released by Transparency International. Sri Lanka is jointly sharing its 94th position with 07 other countries by reaching 38 score results. Those cou…

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Cloris Leachman - Emmy and Oscar winning actor, dies at age 94.

Emmy & Oscar winning-actor Cloris Leachman has passed away. She died of natural causes at her home in Encinitas, California. The late star was known as one of Hollywood’s most prolific performers having won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and eight Primetime Emmy…

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Brand Finance Global 500 2021 Ranking.

Brand Finance evaluates the strength and value of more than 5000 global brands every year. Brandirectory holds all of the Brand Finance rankings, specialist reports and whitepapers published since 2007. With over 40 sectors and industries covered in 46 countries, Brandirecto…

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Asia-Pacific Personalised Health Index.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released ”Asia-Pacific Personalised Health Index‘’. The index measures the progress towards personalised healthcare for 11 countries. Singapore (1st), Taiwan (2nd), Japan (3rd) and Australia (4th) also performed well in overall readi…

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World Leprosy Day - 31 January (Last Sunday of January)

Every year on the last Sunday of January, World Leprosy Day seeks to increase public awareness of leprosy, a chronic infectious skin disease. The day also helps to debunk common myths associated with leprosy. Unbeknownst by many, leprosy was renamed Hansen’s disease in 1873.…

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Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize.

The Black Lives Matter movement has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel peace prize for the way its call for systemic change has spread around the world. In his nomination papers, the Norwegian MP Petter Eide said the movement had forced countries outside the US to grapple wit…

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Martyr's Day: 73rd Death Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi, the 'Father of the Nation', was assassinated on January 30, 1948 at the age of 78 years by Nathuram Godse. 30th January 2021 marks this great leader's 73rd death anniversary.  India marks the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, as Martyrs' Da…

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U.S. to provide health rooms for 120 schools in Sri Lanka.

The United States has initiated a project to set up health rooms at 120 schools in Sri Lanka, the U.S. Embassy in Colombo said today (January 29). The initiative is launched in coordination with zonal and provincial education and health services authorities, to support the h…

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World's tallest dog dies.

Freddy the Great Dane, who held the record for tallest dog living (male), has sadly passed away. He was 8 and a half years old.  The gentle giant was a much adored and pampered pet who became an international superstar when his record was announced in 2016. When measured by a…

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Cicely Tyson, Pioneering Hollywood Icon, dies at age 96.

Cicely Tyson, the pioneering Black actor who gained an Oscar nomination for her role as the sharecropper’s wife in “Sounder,” won a Tony Award in 2013 at age 88 and touched TV viewers’ hearts in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” died Thursday 28 January 2021, at age…

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Dilhara Lokuhettige found guilty under ICC Anti-Corruption Code

Former Sri Lanka player Dilhara Lokuhettige has been found guilty of three offences under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code following a hearing by an independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal. Lokuhettige, who was charged under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code in November 2019, has been f…

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Birth of the Modern Automobile - 29 January 1886.

The Benz Patent-Motorwagen ("patent motorcar"), built in 1885 by Karl Benz, is widely regarded as the world's first production automobile, that is, a vehicle designed to be propelled by an internal combustion engine. The original cost of the vehicle in 1885 wa…

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ICC announces 'ICC Player of the Month'

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the introduction of the ICC Player of the Month awards which will recognise and celebrate the best performances of both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket throughout the year. An independ…

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Kaja Kallas becomes Estonia’s first female Prime Minister.

Kaja Kallas, the leader of the Reform Party, has become Estonia’s first female prime minister; Estonia would thus currently become the only country in the world where both the president and the prime minister are women. Kaja Kallas was nominated to form the government by the…

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US President Joe Biden signs executive actions on racial equity.

President Joe Biden signed four executive actions Tuesday 26 January 2021 aimed at advancing racial equity as part of his push to use the powers of the presidency to implement parts of his agenda. The executive actions direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development t…

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Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster - 28 January.

The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger (mission STS-51-L) broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast …

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Global Community Engagement Day - 28 January.

Every year on January 28th, Global Community Engagement Day seeks to encourage organizations, individuals, and businesses to better engage with their community. Communities become better when professionals and organizations engage with different groups of people in their com…

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The International Trade Centre conducts training on International Best Practices for the regulation of online trading.

EU – Sri Lanka Trade-Related Assistance The International Trade Centre (ITC) together with the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) successfully completed a training program on the ‘International Best Practices for the Regulation of Online Trading’ last Friday (22). Over 60 CAA …

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Europe’s Largest Solar Plant planned for Western Spain.

Spain’s largest utility Iberdrola SA and the French food giant Danone SA sealed an accord to build 590 MW-capacity photo-voltaic plant, the largest in Europe. The 300 million-euro ($364 million) project will be located in the western province of Caceres, Iberdrola said in st…

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Joe Biden And Vladimir Putin Agree to extend 'New START' Nuclear Arms Treaty.

The United States and Russia have “agreed in principle” to extend the New START arms treaty by five years, the Kremlin said on January 26 following a phone call between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The New START treaty, which was signed back …

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The World’s Best Stock Rally Is in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka stocks have returned a world-beating 30% so far in 2021 as domestic investors get more active. Local individuals were responsible for 79% of total market turnover last year, according to the nation’s stock exchange, amid a 70% increase in new accounts from 2019. At…

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Webinar on cooperation between ICT sectors of Sri Lanka and Viet Nam.

The Embassy of Sri Lanka, in association with the Export Development Board (EDB) organized a virtual meeting on 21 January 2021 to explore cooperation potential in the ICT sectors of Sri Lanka and Viet Nam. Representatives from the Sri Lanka Association for Software Services…

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Shyamalie Wijegunawardena of Spring & Summer awarded at the 10th Edition of the ‘Top 50 Professional & Career Women Awards for Sri Lanka and Maldives 2020’

Co-Founder, Spring & Summ​er - Mrs. ​​Shyamalie Wijegunawardena was recently recognised at the 10th Edition of the “Top 50 Professional & Career Women Awards for Sri Lanka and Maldives 2020”, as the recipient of the Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur (Large) Award on Ja…

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Virtusa Recognized as a Top Employer for 2021 in the UK and Middle East.

Virtusa Corporation (NASDAQ GS:VRTU), a global provider of digital strategy, digital engineering, and IT services and solutions that help clients change and disrupt markets through innovation engineering, today announced it has been named a Top Employer for 2021 in the Unit…

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Commercial Bank of Ceylon moves up to No 2 in LMD 100’s principal rankings.

Highest ranked bank in 2020 edition of prestigious list; leads Sri Lanka’s top banks in both turnover and profit Has been inTop 10 every year since launch of ranking in 1993 The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has moved up to second place in the latest ‘LMD 100’ after a solid perfo…

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Cabinet approval to raise daily wage of estate sector workers.

The Cabinet of Ministers have approved a proposal to take necessary steps to increase the daily wages of estate sector employees up to Rs. 1,000, across wages control boards so that the budget proposal on the this could be implemented. The estate sector employees are eligibl…

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Sri Lankan Cricketer Dilhara Lokuhettige found guilty under ICC Anti-Corruption Code.

Former Sri Lanka player Dilhara Lokuhettige has been found guilty of three offences under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code following a hearing by an independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal. Lokuhettige, who was charged under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code in November 2019, has been f…

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UN rights chief seeks sanctions against Sri Lankan generals.

The UN human rights chief has called for an International Criminal Court investigation into Sri Lanka’s Tamil separatist conflict and sanctions on military officials accused of war crimes, according to a report obtained by AFP. Michelle Bachelet accused Sri Lanka of reneging…

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19th Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) concluded.

The 19th Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) concluded on Sunday 24 Jan 2021. During the 9-day long festival which started on 16 January, 226 films from 73 countries were shown. Kyrgyz film ‘The Road to Eden’ jointly directed by Bakyt Mukul and Dastan Zhapar won the bes…

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Global Climate Risk Index 2021.

The Global Climate Risk Index 2021 published by the Bonn-based environmental think tank Germanwatch. The Global Climate Risk Index 2021 analyses to what extent countries and regions have been affected by impacts of weather-related loss events (storms, floods, heat waves etc…

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International Olympic Committee (IOC), Tokyo Olympics to unveil rule book.

This is the rule book that the IOC and Tokyo organizers are set to roll out next week to explain how 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes and tens of thousands of others will try to safely enter Japan when the Olympics open in just under six months. Organizers and the Inte…

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Portugal President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa wins second term.

The incumbent President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has won a second five-year term after winning the 2021 Portuguese presidential election with a landslide victory. The 72-year-old former leader of the Social Democratic Party won 61 per cent of the total votes. He…

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China surpasses United States as largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

China was the largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2020, according to a report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). China overtook the United States to gain the top position in 2020. The country attracted $163 billi…

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Greece, France sign $2.8 billion fighter jet deal.

Greece signed a 2.3 billion-euro ($2.8 billion) deal with France to purchase 18 Rafale fighter jets, as tensions remain high with neighbor Turkey. Florence Parly, the French defense minister, signed the agreement in Athens to deliver 12 used and six new aircraft built by Das…

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Study suggests earth is losing ice faster than in Mid-1990s.

New research suggests Earth’s ice is melting faster today than in the 1990s. An estimated 28 trillion metric tons of ice have melted away from the world’s sea ice, ice sheets and glaciers since the middle of the 1990s. The yearly melt rate is now about 57 percent faster than…

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