By Shamindra Ferdinando ‘Sarvajana Balaya’ political alliance consisting of former SLPP constituents has declared the grouping as the only viable alternative to President Ranil Wickremesinghe as SJB leader Sajith Premadasa as well as JJB/JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake were pursuing the same agenda inimical to national interests. The grouping pointed out the position taken by […]

President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday (19) announced the establishment of a new development bank to provide financial support to industrialists in Sri Lanka. This initiative will offer industrialists the opportunity to obtain loans at low interest rates, the President declared. The President also revealed plans to set up an Economic Commission to oversee these activities. A […]

…interest payments alone increased by USD 2.8 bn; foreign debt USD 100 bn By Shamindra Ferdinando Declaring that the economy had further deteriorated under President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s watch since July 2022, dissident SLPP parliamentarian Prof. G. L. Peiris said that the government was working overtime to depict a much improved situation. Addressing the media at […]

by Neville ladduwahetty Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Himalee Subhashini Arunatilaka, in her statement to the HR Council stated that Sri Lanka has “consistently rejected Resolutions 46/1 and 51/1”, because Sri Lanka is “in fundamental disagreement with its unacceptable content in particular the so-called evidence gathering mechanism, the establishment ...

Washington (District of Columbia, United States) The International Monetary Fund released $336 million as part of a bailout loan instalment for Sri Lanka despite delays in the crucial restructuring of its foreign debt, including to China, the Washington-based lender said Wednesday. The South Asian nation was starting to recover, but the economy was “still vulnerable and the path […]

Chair of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security retired Vice Admiral Sarath Weerasekera has said an external mechanism is in place to prepare the ground for a war crimes probe against the Sri Lankan military and those who provided political leadership for the country’s war on terror. Addressing the last SOC held in the Parliamentary complex, […]

Friday 14th June, 2024 The US presidential race has taken another dramatic turn with a federal jury finding President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, guilty of having illegally purchased and possessed a gun while being addicted to crack cocaine. A sentencing date has not yet been set. The offence carries a prison term. Hunter is reportedly […]

Nepal, which earlier hesitated to completely pivot towards China because of several economic and geopolitical factors, seems to have tilted heavily towards its big northern neighbor, giving it an opportunity to further increase its footprint in the Himalayan country’s political, economic, and social space. Yet what concerns Nepal watchers the most is the Himalayan nation’s […]

by ACB Pethiyagoda A desire to visit Burma (Myanmar since 1989) having seen the film ‘The Story of Dr. Wossell’ as a school boy was fulfilled recently. The film was about a dedicated British Army Medical Officer who during World War II fell in love with the country and more deeply with a lithesome and […]

Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement By Gomi Senadhira [email protected] “You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Retired Foreign Secretary H. M. G. S. Palihakkara says Sri Lanka shouldn’t hesitate to recongise a Palestine state formally against the backdrop of Spain, Ireland and Norway having done so already.The veteran Foreign Service officer was responding to The Island query regarding what Sri Lanka’s response should be to the raging Gaza […]

Sri Lanka has again requested Canada not to repeat baseless allegations of genocide here. Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane took up the issue when she met Canadian Deputy Minister for International Development Christopher MacLennan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday (28) Recently, Foreign Ministry accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of repeatedly propagating lies […...

Sri Lanka s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry says that the western countries have shown their double standards by turning a blind eye to the crisis in Gaza and that, serious amendments must be made to the international laws on how the United Nations functions in order to protect international democracy.