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News Video Alerts from Dialog

The SMS news alerts service comes better with the introduction of News Video Alerts by Dialog Mobile. News Video Alerts are presented in collaboration with Ada Derana, giving users the facility to watch video clips of news and events on the go. Supported by audio and imagery, this service gives customers the opportunity to receive comprehensive updates of latest news from Sri Lanka and around the world in a timely manner.

News Video Alerts entails no activation charges or monthly rentals. Subscribers could register for this service by simply typing DV and texting it to 678. Upon registration customers will receive a text message with a URL that provides access to news clips via download or video streaming. News video alerts will only be available on GPRS-enabled phones and will be subject to GPRS charges.

News video alerts are expected to be highly popular in the backdrop of increasing demand for news and information applications amongst mobile users.

Video alerts offer subscribers an inclusive look at news and events from around the world - as and when they happen directly to their mobile phones.

Hemas assists Menik Farm children

Pre-schools for Northern areas in the pipeline:

Hemas, one of the first private sector organisations to commence work at Menik Farm in Vavuniya, recently opened three more children’s play areas in Zone 1 in Menik Farm in partnership with the Children’s Secretariat of the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Empowerment. The first pre-school and play area was set up in the Kadirgamar relief village in March in keeping with the company’s CSR project ‘Piyawara’ which focuses on Early Childhood Development.

Manager CSR, Hemas Shiromi Masakorala said, “Our first visit to Menik Farm was in March 2009 with personnel from the Children’s Secretariat to distribute urgently required items to the IDPs, especially the little children. Subsequent to our visit in March, the first pre-school and play area was opened in the same month. In addition, all items such as crutches, wheel-chairs and toys were distributed amongst the IDPs.

Our focus on pre-schools and play areas is driven by research which indicates that early childhood development in the first five years of life, influences a child’s lifetime education and social achievement.

In addition to helping these children overcome the trauma of war, the pre-schools also aim to develop the language, cognitive and social skills that will prepare them for Primary School. The temporary pre-schools are constructed by the Ministry while the teachers are trained in Early Childhood Education and Trauma Counselling by the Children’s Secretariat,” she said.

Director Hemas Holdings PLC Abbas Esufally said, “Our previous experience in running 29 pre-schools in make-shift camps in tsunami affected areas has given us the experience in working with IDPs.

Our partnership with the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Empowerment has fast tracked our work, and in fact, their involvement has made it easy for us to understand the national needs. In consultation with the Ministry we hope to develop state-of-the-art pre-schools in the Northern areas as a long term project.”

Lanka Bell ties up with Union Bank

Lanka Bell’s bill settlement network has grown further with the company’s new partnership with Union Bank Sri Lanka.

Lanka Bell subscribers will be able to settle their monthly payment bills at any Union Bank branch islandwide and the money will be credited to the subscriber’s account on the same day, the company said.

Lanka Bell also offers bill settlement through the branch networks of 13 other banks, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Sampath Bank, Bank of Ceylon, Hatton National Bank, People’s Bank, HSBC, Nations Trust Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Seylan Bank, National Savings Bank, NDB Bank, DFCC Vardhana Bank, PABC Bank, and 350 outlets of Singer Sri Lanka and 250 outlets of Abans.

Winners of 2009 Global ThinkQuest competition

Students from 13 countries took top honours in the 2009 ThinkQuest Competition this year. The ThinkQuest Competition is sponsored by the Oracle Education Foundation (OEF).

“ThinkQuest benefits not only the students who participate in the contest, but also the wide audience of schools and individuals who access the wonderful student-developed resources in the ThinkQuest Library,” said Executive Director, California Technology Assistance Project (CTAP) Region four and ThinkQuest judge Bonnie Marks. “The contest provides children with a unique opportunity to develop resources that will be used to teach others-and does so in a way that compels them to examine important humanitarian issues,” he said.

The students who participate develop skills, including teamwork, technology, and communication skills. Qualifying entries are published in the ThinkQuest Library, the world’s largest online repository of student-developed learning projects.

The 15 winning teams were selected from among 955 teams from 83 countries. The countries represented by winners include Australia, China, Hungary, India, Italy, Pakistan, Singapore, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The winning websites covered a range of educational topics, including child labour, global warming, and leadership skills for students.

CIMA updates syllabus from 2010

The Director of Education for CIMA Dr. R.G. Jelly said, “With the world’s economy facing turbulent times, never before has there been a greater need for organizations to train and develop their people to manage the impact of these changes.

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) with the new changes in its syllabus effective from 2010 remains true to its long and proud history of providing finance professionals with a different style in management accounting”.

“We are obviously living in a world where businesses are constantly changing and in addition to this the recent downturn experienced in the world economy has largely affected how business enterprises function and operate.

Amidst such turbulent economic environments CIMA however remains committed towards upgrading its qualification every five years through its research conducted in close coordination with its employers and members located throughout the world.

This time we have consulted around 12,000 employers representing over 165 countries where we questioned areas such as ‘What do finance professionals require?’, ‘What areas need more importance and ‘What are the areas that require less attention?’ It is only after proper analysis that we set out to refresh the CIMA qualification”, he said.

The first examinations under the new syllabus will commence from May 2010. To-date CIMA Global has been extremely involved in keeping the qualification relevant to meet the modern industry requirements in addition to grooming business leaders of the future.

The CIMA qualification provides equal relevance to management as well as financial reporting. Therefore CIMA is considered to be not only be attractive and unique qualification but also one that is relevant, differentiated, and geared to provide young individuals with sustainable careers.

Dr. Jelly said, “We truly believe that the CIMA qualification is rounded enough to meet employer demands. The Sri Lankan Government is looking at attracting direct investment to service BPOs.

Organizations such as WNS, Amba Research and HSBC have already been attracted to Sri Lanka due to its large pool of CIMA qualified and partly qualified students.”

This time due to increasing demand the syllabus has largely focused on the areas of Risk Management and Change Management which today are vital areas of growing importance.