The United States said it was “disturbed” by a Russian envoy’s announcement that Moscow will reverse its ratification of a 1996 treaty that banned the testing of nuclear weapons. Russia’s envoy to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), Mikhail Ulyanov, said on Friday that Moscow will revoke its ratification of the pact. The announcement by Ulyanov […]

The price of oil will continue to stay elevated as demand for energy increases, says the secretary general of Opec+. Opec+ is a group of 23 oil-exporting countries which decides how much crude oil to sell on the world market. “We see demand growing about 2.4 million barrels a day,” Haitham Al Ghais told the […]

Udeni Kaluthantri, a 54-year-old port worker, became an overnight sensation last year for reasons that had nothing to do with his job. Days after protesters stormed the presidential palace in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, a video surfaced of Mr Kaluthantri lounging on a bed draped with the presidential flag. Pictures of young men jumping […]

By Chani Imbulgoda “We suffer today, because leaders in the past have failed to govern this country properly”. Oh, the predecessor has not done things well, they all have let the place go haywire”. Familiar excuses… When one takes over the leadership be it the country, be it an organisation, or be it a new […]

India has done more for Sri Lanka than the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Union Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar, has told the Indian Express. The IE story, filed from Ahmedabad, said: The Modi government, he [Jaishankar] underlined, is working on developing an “extended neighbourhood” that involves islands in the Indian Ocean, Gulf countries and […]

An open letter to President Ranil Wickremesinghe Recent articles in the local press have publicised the government plans for introduction of nuclear power plants to Sri Lanka with Russian support. A similar decision was taken way back in 2010, by the then President to bring nuclear power plants to Sri Lanka from South Korea. At […]

India and Bangladesh on Saturday inaugurated a cross-border pipeline that will have the capacity to supply one million metric tonnes of diesel a year from Assam’s Numaligarh refinery to the northern parts of the neighbouring country. The India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFP), inaugurated during a virtual ceremony by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Sheikh […]

The Ukraine crisis appears to be strengthening the cooperation between the US and its partners in the Asia Pacific more than ever, amid fears that China is inching closer toward forcefully reuniting Taiwan with the mainland. In the recent few months, Japan has decided to double its defense spending and purchase long-range weapons from the […]

Washington, DC – There are no takers for China quoting the scriptures on global peace in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with the United States even warning the Asian giant of the consequences should it interfere in the conflict on the side of Russia. The visit of US President Joe Biden

Sri Lanka needs to get back to growing its economy. It needs a new push towards development, one that harnesses good ideas and creates wealth for all its citizens. The name of the game is wealth creation – for all. Then governments will have something to tax! But somehow, little Sri Lanka hasn’t quite grasped […]

(AFP)Sri Lanka on Thursday welcomed the first Russian travellers aboard a new flight service that was launched after the bankrupt nation urged Moscow to help revive its beleaguered economy by sending tourists. Russia was Sri Lanka’s biggest source of visitors at the start of the year but arrivals

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 the island nation’s recovery from the unprecedented economic crisis as it is […]

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

The 11-days that India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar allocated for his recent visit to the United States (US) to attend the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and numerous other multilateral and bilateral events were a sign of the increasing confidence and assertiveness that India is now displaying on the […]