The French Development Agency’s (Agence Française de Développement also known as AFD) Regional Directorate is strengthening its base in Sri Lanka in line with the commemoration of 75 years of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and France. It also marks the enduring partnership between AFD Group and its Sri Lankan partners, which began in 2005 […]

SLPP leader Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday (28) hit back at critics, claiming that a robust economy had been built under his presidency. He said the UNP-SLFP government which ruled the country during the 2015-2019 period should be held responsible for the current economic crisis. The following

By Hiran H.Senewiratne ‘Since local inflation has declined faster than expected, the CBSL Monetary Board has decided to reduce policy interest rates by 100 basis points to enable the economy to reach its true potential, CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said at the monthly monetary policy

by Jehan Perera The government is facing an uphill task to rebuild the country which continues to be in a state of economic and moral decline which was evident in parliamentary proceedings last week. The initial hopes of a quick transition from the economic and moral decline that accompanied the pre-Aragalaya period ended with the […]

Monday 27th November, 2023 The SJB has commenced collecting signatures for a public petition as part of a campaign to have those who are responsible for the current economic crisis stripped of their civic rights. Given public resentment, which is palpable, the SJB may be able to obtain hundreds of thousands of signatures for its […]

Sri Lanka’s rights abuses flout EU trade benefits requirements By Claudio Francavilla (from Human Rights Watch website) Sri Lanka’s economy has contracted every year since 2019, but exports to the European Union have increased, providing vital income in desperate economic times

(Excerpted from the memoirs of Lalith de Mel) He returned to a Sri Lanka going through a difficult phase due to the JVP uprising. There were curfews and a sense of fear in the air. His predecessor in Sri Lanka had a young family and was glad to get away from the chaos that prevailed […]

The Monetary Policy Board of the Central Bank, at its meeting held on Thursday (23), decided to reduce the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank by 100 basis points (bps) to 9.00 percent and 10.00 percent, respectively, CB said in a press release. It said: […]

Friday 24th November, 2023 Sri Lanka’s cricket crisis has become internationalised. Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe and the Opposition insist that some Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials were behind the International Cricket Council’s decision to suspend SLC. They have produced documentary evidence to prove their claim and tabled in Parliament the copies of the letters that […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, PC, yesterday said that Parliament like other institutions should bear responsibility for the unprecedented economic crisis caused during President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration. Minister Sabry said so when The Island sought his response as regards the responsibility of Parliament for the developing situation against the backdrop of the cou...

By Rathindra Kuruwita Historically, Sri Lankan governments have failed to reduce the budget deficit, SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne says. Sri Lankan governments have consistently looked at maximising revenue but paid minimal attention to curtailing expenditure, MP Wickramaratne has said. Even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had not factored in state expenditures when the latest bailout […]

By Saman Indrajith Yesterday’s parliamentary session was marred by aggressive protests by government MPs against Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, who demanded that those whom the Supreme Court had held responsible for the collapse of the national economy be stripped of their privileges

Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara says that the country has lost an opportunity to support rebuilding the tourism industry and the economy as a result of the decision taken by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to move the Under 19 World Cup to South Africa from Sri Lanka.

By C. A. Chandraprema The judgement delivered by a divided five-member bench of the Supreme Court with regard to two fundamental rights cases numbered 195/2022 and 212/2022 filed by several individuals including Mahim Mendis, Chandra Jayaratne, Julian Bolling and the NGO Transparency International has stirred up a political storm. The majority judgment was delivered by […]

by Ahilan Kadirgamar Sri Lanka is going through its worst economic crisis since the 1930s, and the stabilisation policies of the Government could drastically change the political economic landscape of the country. Amidst these changes underway, education more broadly and the university system in particular, have come under considerable strain. In this column, I analyse […]