By Shamindra Ferdinando National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa on Tuesday alleged that having failed to thwart Ranil Wickremesinghe’s ascent to presidency, the US was now working with the UNP leader to achieve its objectives. MP Weerawansa, the Chairman of the Uththara Lanka Sabhagaya said that President Wickremesinghe already consented to three of the […]

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva did not mince her words about emerging and heightening crisis tendencies in the global economy. She said, among other things recently, that the IMF’s projection of 2.8 percent global growth for 2023 “is not enough to bring opportunities to businesses and people around the world, and most worrisome is the projection […]

While the days of good news are going on for India, the latest good news is that our country’s currency, the rupee, is gradually making its place and influence among countries of the world. Seeing the increasing role of India in international trade, the countries of the world are coming forward to do financial transactions […]

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 […]

It is welcome news for progressive opinion in the global South that some seven countries, thus far seen as having been among the poorest countries of the world, would be ‘graduating’ out of the Least Developing Country (LDC) category. Among them are; Bhutan, Bangladesh, Laos, Nepal and Angola. Hopefully, development researchers the world over would […]

CIA Chief’s cloak-and-dagger visit: By Shamindra Ferdinando Pivuthuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader, Udaya Gammanpila, MP, yesterday (06) said that the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government and the US embassy in Colombo should come clean on CIA Director William Joseph Burns’ Colombo visit. The former Power and Energy Minister said so in response to The Island query whether the […]

Monday, 6th March, 2023 The Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe regime has been painting itself into a corner on the political front by going all out to scuttle the local government (LG) polls. It succeeded in delaying the elections by manipulating the Treasury to deprive the Election Commission (EC) of funds, but Friday’s Supreme Court (SC) interim order has […]

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 […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Eric Walsh presented his credentials to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, on Feb. 02, at the President’s House in Kandy. Wickremesinghe was flanked by Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, PC, and Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake. Canada, with the concurrence of Sri Lanka, appointed Walsh as High Commissioner of Canada to Colombo. Walsh, who had served […]

USD 3 mn Japanese grant attached to ongoing project By Shamindra Ferdinando An agreement on the much advertised cash assistance, provided exclusively to paddy farmers by the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government, was finalised several weeks before then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa stepped down on July 14, 2022 amidst violent protests. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided the […]

The UN has freshly prioritized the ushering of international peace as one of its foremost tasks in the days ahead and sensible sections the world over are likely to back it overwhelmingly in this historic undertaking. There is no doubt that those quarters that are sensitive to the constantly rising human costs of war and […]

By Dr Laksiri Fernando One mistake we normally make in analysing the situation or crisis in Sri Lanka is to do it in isolation. Sri Lanka is unfortunately only a part of a world system. Although this situation is valid to almost all other countries, smaller or weaker a country, larger are the effects of […]

Some countries, such as Algeria, Jordan, Morocco and Oman, offered concessions including constitutional changes, to stall protests. Ukraine’s famed ‘Maidan Protest,’ in 2013-14 led to the overthrow of pro-Russian dictator, Yanukovych. by HARSHA KAKAR The Arab Spring in 2010-11 challenged and overthrew authoritarian governments in the Middle East and North Africa. They commenced in Tunisia […...