, and doom and gloom, Ukraine did not fall. Ukraine is alive and kicking.” To […]

Having lost out to China considerably in its efforts to expand its influence in the global South and the ASEAN region, the West is giving every indication of making-up for lost time. While the US is in a stepped-up drive to cultivate the African continent, the EU is intensifying efforts to strengthen its economic ties […]

Analysis by Matthew Brooker It was the year that the scales fell from Europe’s eyes on China. Heading into 2023, the clarity engendered by Beijing’s stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine is in danger of being lost. Leaders of a continent beset by soaring energy prices and economic hardship

The United States is planning to announce new sanctions against Russia and China on Friday, targeting human rights violations in both countries, the Wall Street Journal newspaper reported, citing sources. The report said part of the restrictions will be related to the Global Magnitsky Act, a law that authorizes the US government to sanction foreign […]

Months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it is becoming increasingly clear that the latter’s traumas would not end any time soon. Nor is the invader registering any notable gains from its fatal decision to annex Ukraine by armed means and might. However, it’s abundantly

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reiterated the UK’s commitment to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India as part of the country’s wider focus on enhancing ties with the Indo-Pacific region. Delivering a talk Monday night at the Lord Mayor of London’s Banquet — his first major foreign policy speech since taking charge at […]

US President Joe Biden has said he would be ready to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin “if in fact there is an interest in him deciding that he’s looking for a way to end the war”. Addressing reporters alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, he stressed Mr Putin had not yet done that.The two men stressed they […]

FitchRatings has downgraded Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Local-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘CC’, from ‘CCC’, and has affirmed the Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR at ‘RD’ (Restricted Default). Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks to ratings of ‘CCC+’ or below. Fitch has also removed the Long-Term Local-Currency IDR from Under Criteria Observation, on which it was placed […]

BY Lili Bayer At one end, China hawks like the U.S. are trying to converge NATO’s goals with their own desire to constrain Beijing. At the other are China softliners like Hungary who want to engage Beijing. Then there’s a vast and shifting middle: hawks that don’t want to overly antagonize Beijing; softliners that still […]

President Xi Jinping revives interaction with world leaders after securing his third term of power at the communist party’s 20th congress last month. He makes it apparent that in full control of power internally, he now wants to bolster China’s image in the world as its tensions rise with the West. Within days of the […]

By Ramesh Khan At the beginning of the year 2022, none in Sri Lanka would have thought that the end of the pandemic would not signal the end of misery. Instead, it signaled the advent of misery in forms that had been unknown to the Sri Lankans until now. A country filled with tourist spots, […]

Support for Ukraine apparently cannot involve heightened diplomatic efforts to halt the bloodshed — after all, how would that help the weapons manufacturers and arms traders who are reaping a bonanza? All too many of those who justifiably excoriate the Chinese and Russian intolerance of dissent

Poland said early Wednesday that a Russian-made missile fell in the country’s east, killing two people, though U.S. President Joe Biden said it was “unlikely” it was fired from Russia.The blast, which Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy decried as “a very significant escalation,” prompted Biden to call an emergency meeting of G-7 and NATO leaders. A […]

By MAHADIYA HAMZA ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s tourism revival is facing a challenge in bringing in more high spending foreign visitors due to increasing protests locally while monetary tightening, impacts of Russian invasion into Ukraine, and rising inflation globally.The move is likely to slow

At least eight million tonnes carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent have been emitted from February to September this year as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that started on February 24, 2022, a team of researchers announced at Sharm El-Sheikh November 9, 2022.The greenhouse gas impact

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz could very well have broken rank with some of his fellow member states in the European Union by choosing to visit China with the aim of mending economic fences with the latter. Scholz sought to reassure the political leadership of the Union and their publics that he meant well by his […]

By Rebecca Bundhun India’s economy and equity markets are outperforming most of their global peers. Despite a slew of challenges including macroeconomic headwinds stemming from Russia’s war in Ukraine, elevated crude oil prices and tightening liquidity globally, the growth story of Asia

Tamil Guardian asks: The UK policy, regarding mainly Sri Lankan Tamils held in Diego Garcia, is likely to remain unchanged. Some of those who reached Diego Garcia, home for the strategic US military base, over a year ago, have already been sent back “voluntarily” to Sri Lanka. They returned in the wake of the UK […]