A proposal, set to take effect from October 1, 2023, stipulates rates of USD 130 for 5-star hotels, USD 100 for 4-star hotels, and USD 80 for 3-star hotels within the city of Colombo. While the authorities argue that this measure aims to counter underpricing by higher-tier hotels, this policy threatens to undermine the growth […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, declared in Parliament that the winners of LPL (Lanka Premier League) 2023 B-Love Kandy had been sponsored by an enterprise that was banned in the country. The statement was made in Parliament on 24th August. The one-time President of the Bar Association found fault with SLC […]

Thursday 24th August, 2023 It must have gladdened the hearts of all Sri Lankans, who are undergoing untold suffering owing to corruption, waste and economic mismanagement, to hear that the law had eventually caught up with two foreign political leaders. Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was arrested and taken to jail, on Tuesday, upon […]

that the foreign guests helped boost the country’s economy and deserved […]

(Excerpted from volume ii of the Sarath Amunugama autobiography) During one of my visits to Colombo I got a call to see the President at ‘Breamar’. Gamini Dissanayake had told him of my friendship with Parathasarathy and he wanted me to help him repair the damage done to their friendship due to the abuse heaped […]

Through the eyes of Sena Thoradeniya: Sena Thoradeniya discussed successful US operations here taking into similar interventions in the past and present. The examination of the Egyptian and Iranian scenarios is surely useful. Those genuinely concerned about what went wrong for Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who didn’t really receive the backing of any section of the international […]

Thursday 4th May, 2023 Government politicians, save perhaps a few, and their backers are still cock-a-hoop over the IMF bailout which they naively think is a kind of economic panacea. They went so far as to paint the town red when the IMF approved the much-awaited extended fund facility, in March, lighting as they did […]

Reforms to be introduced to end ‘media abuses’ President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said that the government was not in a position to lower the taxes. Delivering his second government policy statement to inaugurate the Fourth session of the Ninth Parliament, the President said: “Some people say that the primary taxable income should be raised from […]

Singapore, January 13 (ANI): At the 18th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held in 2012, China had declared its ambition to be a haiyang qiangguo– that is, a strong or great maritime power, according to The Singapore Post. As per the Singapore-based publication, a ‘maritime power’ is a country that has great […]

China’s lurch from extreme zero-Covid to extreme herd immunity is a watershed moment in the global ideological struggle of our age, an unanswerable illustration of why autocratic regimes are less successful in the end than messy liberal democracies. Leadership cults and totalitarian media control can at times enable breathtakingly destructive policies, and it is hard […]

The Sri Lanka Telecom PLC Annual Report 2021 secured a prestigious Gold accolade at the awards ceremony hosted by the South Asian Federation of Accountant (SAFA) to recognise the Best Presented Annual Reports Awards, Integrated Reporting Awards, and SAARC Anniversary Awards for Corporate Governance Disclosures 2021. The Report won Gold under the ‘Communication and Information […]

Institutions remain the most important factor for strengthening productivity and the investment climate in a country. Good governance, rule of law, and socio-political stability are crucial determinants of long-run economic growth. As famously described by Douglas North, “Institutions are the rules of the game in a society; more formally, they are the humanly devised constraints […]