Fitch Ratings upgraded Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Local-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘CCC-‘ from ‘RD’ (Restricted Default), in its latest report.Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks to sovereigns with a rating of ‘CCC+’ or below. The Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR has been affirmed at ‘RD’ and the Country Ceiling at ‘B-‘. ...

An explosion at a fuel depot in Azerbaijan s Nagorno-Karabakh has killed 20 people and injured hundreds more, local Armenian authorities say.

At least 35 people have been killed in Benin after a fuel depot exploded into flames, sending a black cloud of smoke into the sky, according to officials and witnesses. The fire broke out on Saturday at a warehouse for smuggled fuel in the town of Seme-Podji near the border with Nigeria, where cars, motorbikes […]

By Sanath Nanayakkare The Global CEO Forum Sri Lanka held at the Galadari Hotel on Thursday showed a clear shift of discussion topics by Sri Lankan business leaders compared to what they were talking about just a year ago. Completely deviating from airing worries about how to run their businesses amid economic turmoil, business leaders […]

by Neville Ladduwahetty In order to assuage the apprehensions of India regarding the intended arrival of the Chinese research vessel Shi Yang 6 to Sri Lanka, an informed source of the National Aquatic Resources Research Agency (NARA) is reported to have said “a team of officials from the NARA would board Shi Yang 6 to […]

Russia has temporarily banned exports of gasoline and diesel to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect in order to stabilise the domestic market, the government said on Thursday.

“Our focus is on achieving 70% renewable energy by 2023. This includes 25% from solar panels, 15% from wind power, and 10% from natural gas. However, transitioning the energy mix is a gradual process, requiring meticulous planning and execution. We aim to reach 60% renewable energy by 2026 and eliminate fossil fuel-based electricity generation by […]

First Executive President JR Jayewardene’s grandson, Pradeep Jayewardene, who recently switched allegiance from SLFP to UNP, says that it is the duty of all to support President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his quest to steer the nation out of the prevailing crisis. “This is not the time to debate whether President Wickremesinghe has a mandate to […]

A special gazette notification has been issued declaring the supply of electricity and all related services, the supply or distribution of petroleum products and fuel, and health services as essential services.

Monday 18th September, 2023 Some henchmen of the Rajapaksa family, which is responsible for ruining the economy, have taken upon themselves the task of investigating the causes of the country’s bankruptcy! They are all out to absolve their political masters of wrongdoing in a bid to shore up the latter’s chances of winning future elections. […]

By Jayantha Somasundaram When Dr Salvador Allende was elected President of Chile in 1970 at the head of a coalition that included the Socialist and Communist Parties, and with a mandate to nationalise foreign capital, carry out land reform and implement sweeping welfare measures, his government was targeted by Washington and opposed by Chile’s business […]

Why we, the public, need to understand Climate Change (Part 3) by Dr. Ranil Senanayake Another largely unaddressed fact that frames Climate Change is that global Oxygen concentration is falling. According to two graphs, one from the US and the other from Australia, this loss is global. The only process that can add free molecular Oxygen […]

Thursday 14th September, 2023 Everyting is weaponised in politics and war, and not even corpses are spared. A long time before the advent of biological warfare in its present form, Mongolian warrior-ruler, Genghis Khan, used infectious agents as a military weapon. Historical records reveal that he had rotting corpses catapulted into the fortresses his army […]

Plans are currently underway by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) to implement a daily automated price revising system for next year, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekra said.

In a determined effort to seek truth and justice following the tragic Easter Sunday bombings of 2019, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has taken a significant step by appointing a committee, led by a retired Supreme Court judge. This committee’s primary mission is to investigate the serious allegations recently brought to light by Channel 4 in a […]

By Pradeep Prasanna Samarakoon Three tonnes of vegetables had been thrown away by the traders of the Manning Market on Wednesday (06), Deputy Chairman of the market’s traders association H. T. N. Samaratunga told The Island on Thursday (07). The traders of the Manning Market had thrown away eight to ten tonnes of vegetables from […]