SriLankan Submits Business Plan Aiming Turnaround in 3 Years The top management at SriLankan Airlines has forwarded a business plan to the Cabinet to turnaround the struggling national flag carrier within three years.  SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ajith Dias said that the plan will be implemented following the Cabinet approval and the plan includes measures for the regional airline Mihin Lanka, which was placed under the management of the national carrier during January’s interim budget. “It is a plan which will bring the company to profitability in three years. I can’t reveal the technical details but we will be implementing it if we get the go ahead from the Cabinet,” Dias said. ...

Australia day dawned in Sydney with a blanket of grey all over the city and suburbs. In what is typically Australia the Sunday had been a scorcher with fire bans in force. So many were somewhat surprised to wake up the next day to grey skies and an intermittent drizzle a good English summer’s day! The temperature was an almost freezing 22 degrees not ideal for summer shorts. Later in the day most of Sydney was rained out. Ironically the rain God’s showed their respect for the local Royal Thomian that was played at Kareela Reserve as players, Umpires and supporters braved the sporadic drizzles to attend the match. Picture : STC Open team ...

Pumas Impala Cup Mandalong Oval, Mandalong Game 1 Mandalong Oval SL Lions vs Hawkesbury Hawkes Lions won by 45 runs SL Lions batting 103 for 2 (16 Overs) Russell Ingram Not out 20 Chandana Ranatunga Not out 20 Richie De Silva 11 Daminda Wijesekara 18 Not Out Vineetha Rajakaruna 14 Not Out Hawks Bowling Ali 1 for 11 Carroll 1 for 14 Hawks Batting 58 for 6 (16 Overs) Ali 13 Gomez 16 Not out Lions Bowling Chandana. Ranatunga 1 for 6 Waruna. Kumarage 1 for 10 Richie.De Silva 2 for 4 Game 2 SL Lions vs Cuzza Canes Cuzza Canes Cuzza Canes Batting 97 All oi ut (16 Overs ) Ford 13 Mancott 37 Not out Lions Bowling Richie.De Silva 3 for 8 Lalin. De Silva 2 for 8 Waruna. Kumarage 1 for 11 Daminda Wijesekara 1 for 9 Hansa Wijesundara 1 for 12 Lions Batting Hansa.Wijesundara 25 Not ...

  SunFest 2015 – New Year Celebrations by Sydney Sri Lankans Last Sunday the 19th of April, the most important cultural event of the Sri Lankans was celebrated in grand scale. Many Sri Lankan community organisations in NSW joined hands with The Sinhalese Cultural Forum of NSW (The SCF) to organise this grand event. ...

Did you know that you could virtually pay off your 30-year home loan in half the time? Imagine not having the worry of a mortgage payment every month! More importantly, have you ever considered just how much money you could save? Literally, it’s tens of thousands of dollars in interest. Financial journalist and author of Smarter Property Investment, Peter Cerexhe, advises home owners to use online mortgage calculators to see how much difference a small repayment, or more regular payments can make to reducing the life of your loan. Cerexhe says, “What you’ll find is that if you can afford to pay a little extra, you can achieve a substantial reduction in the term of the mortgage.” ...

When the British took over the island in 1796, Colombo had a population of 4, 700. In the city of Colombo, there were horse driven carriages, bullock carts and rickshaws. This was a time when ladies wore long gowns and had feathered hats. Most of the gentlemen had long whiskers and top hats. There were no established educational institutions during this era. Colombo was a hub of activity with trade, commerce and many social events. Cinnamon Gardens might have been a mere urban forest.A very fast journey in a ship from London to Galle via Cape of Good Hope took just five months. From Galle to Colombo it took only 12 hours! In 1835, Rev. Joseph Marsh, a 32-year-old Scotsman who was the acting Colonial Chaplain of St. Paul’s Church, Wolfendhal, Colombo, started a private school in the back verandah of the Church with 20 pupils. It was called “Hill ...

Cooking white rice with coconut oil and then cooling it in the fridge could drastically cut the kilojoules it contains and make your gut healthier, researchers told a recent US scientific meeting. A new rice cooking method, which could cut its kilojoules by as much as half, was one of the sexier topics presented at a recent meeting of chemistry experts. ...

What do people do- Easter weekend?   In Australia, Good Friday is the start of a four-day weekend and falls during the Easter school holidays. Many people take a short vacation around this time, often within Australia. Others take the opportunity to spend time with their family or friends. ...

By Dr Harold Gunatillake Diabetes, a disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood, is more common than ever before. In Sri Lanka, diabetics have more than quadrupled in the past two decades. Not only are more people being diagnosed with diabetes, they’re also developing the disease at younger ages. Due to economic reasons, most people find it difficult to purchase a glucometer, which is in the price range of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000, and further every test strip costs over Rs 25. Testing daily blood glucose level, even just once, would cost a diabetic Rs 700 per month. ...