Banks, which pay taxes over 50%, least affected By Sanath Nanayakkare If the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and other pension funds did not wish to participate in the proposed domestic debt restructuring process, there will be an application of higher annual income tax of 30%, Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said yesterday. The EPF […]

The World Bank yesterday (28) approved USD 700 million in budgetary and welfare support for Sri Lanka.This is the biggest funding infusion into the country since the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package approved in March. Through this funding, the World Bank said it aims to help Sri Lanka implement foundational reforms that restore macroeconomic stability and sustainability, mitigate ...

The muted, panicked voice came through the phone of a friend who croaked she was very confidentially warning Cassandra and advising her. Yours truly was immediately panic infected. With deep emphasis and concern the friend took her time to advise that Cass withdraws all money from banks. Cass was for once glad she was poor […]

By Y P Prakash Airpower has emerged as the dominant method of waging war, possessing inherent strategic value. It serves as a source of conventional deterrence and grants political leadership various prompt response options. The aerospace domain boasts attributes such as speed, range, accuracy, and lethality, enabling the achievement of military objectives. The intertwined nature […]

A jury found a former New York City police sergeant and two Chinese citizens guilty on nine counts on Tuesday in a landmark federal trial involving a suspected Beijing-backed operation aimed at repatriating a Chinese fugitive living in New Jersey. Charged in the nearly three-week trial were former police officer-turned-private investigator Michael McMahon and two […]

By DR. DAYAN JAYATILLEKA For a country with a deep crisis, galloping poverty and a very significant Left (JVP-NPP and FSP), there is a paradoxically thin contribution by the leftwing intelligentsia. This can be contrasted by a cursory glance at the volumes of back issues of the Lanka Guardian which would illustrate the far thicker […]

Actually LKI owed public an explanation as to why it never addressed the accountability issue and related matters in spite of it being the toughest foreign affairs challenge faced in post-independence era. There is no harm in addressing a variety of issues of interest but the failure on the part of the LKI to examine […]

Expressing strong opposition to the proposed domestic debt restructuring programme announced by the government, Prof. G. L. Peiris, MP, yesterday (26) accused the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa administration of being insensitive and irresponsible in addressing the issue. Instead of working on a social security net to protect the needy, the government was taking a dangerous path that would […]

There will be a Panel discussion on “The Role of Domestic Aviation in Sri Lankan Tourism” at the OPA on 27th June (Tuesday). A panel of eminent experts will discuss, among other things, how to attract foreign exchange amidst the country’s worst-ever economic crisis.

By Chandre Dharmawardana chandre.dharma@yahoo.ca According to a recent news report (The Island 23rd June 2023), Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has claimed that the “agricultural sector to be transformed into an export-oriented economy”! This is a surprising statement since the plantation sector, established by the British, has been from the start (and even now) an export-oriented economy....

ECONOMYNEXT –Sri Lanka has been moving forward in bilateral debt negotiations by talking to individual creditors despite a clearly defined process for dealing with Paris Club and other creditors, President Ranil Wickremesinghe had said last week. Sri Lanka was following a ‘debtor led’ strategy by reforming the economy and also aiming at a ‘highly efficient […]

United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung hosted an event in Colombo on June 22 to mark the 247th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence.  Ambassador Chung took the opportunity to also highlight the anniversary of 75 years of a strong and enduring partnership between the United States and Sri Lanka.  Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali […]

Sri Lanka is set to start bartering tea to Iran next month in lieu of $250 million owed for oil, a Sri Lankan official told Reuters on Friday, as the crisis-hit country tries to lift sales to a key market and protect its forex reserves.

United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung hosted an event in Colombo on Thursday (22) to mark the 247th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence. Ambassador Chung took the opportunity to also highlight the anniversary of 75 years of a strong and enduring partnership between the United States and Sri Lanka. Minister of Foreign […]

WASHINGTON —  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told U.S. lawmakers Thursday the United States-India partnership is bound by the shared values of respecting debate and equality in a democracy. “The U.S. is the oldest and India the largest democracy,” Modi said, addressing a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. “Our partnership augurs well for the […]

CNN- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi basked in the most lavish honors that the US can bestow on a visiting leader. But for much of his state visit, the specter of an uninvited guest hovered over Washington and the future of US-India relations. China – and the growing belief that the US is on a collision course with […]