By Shamindra Ferdinando Foreign Minister Ali Sabry has reiterated that a handful of persons who advised President Gotabaya Rajapaksa caused the unprecedented economic meltdown. Sabry has alleged that politicians, officials, public sector as well as the trade unions are responsible for the crisis. The Minister said so in response to ‘Hiru’ anchor Chamuditha Samarawickrema seeking […]

Wednesday 5th October, 2022 The Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe government has proved once again that probity is anathema to it. Its leaders have engineered the exclusion of dissident SLPP MPs Prof. Charitha Herath and Prof. Tissa Vitharana from the COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises), and the COPA (Committee on Public Accounts), respectively. Never do they baulk at anything […]

Police fire tear gas after fans invade pitch in East Java, triggering a stampede that killed at least 174 people and injured 100 more (Al Jazeera) At least 174 people have been killed and dozens more injured in a riot and a stampede at an Indonesian football stadium.The tragedy on Saturday night in the eastern […]

by Goolbai Gunasekara The political scene changes from day to day….indeed from hour to hour it seems. Here are some thoughts on subjects being discussed among people like me who have no influence in politics but have plenty to say on the bizarre events that have shown a rich vein of eccentricity running through the […]

Kabul [Afghanistan], September 24 (ANI): Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday lambasted Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for his remark at the United Nations General Assembly session that a threat of terrorism emanates from Afghanistan. “The statement at #UNGA of Hon. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of #Pakistan regarding the presence of terrorist groups in […]

Treasury forced to bear responsibility for Rs 2 bn in loans By Shamindra Ferdinando State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has said that the State Banks weren’t in a position to release funds to the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) as the enterprise owed them a staggering sum, running to over Rs 20 bn. Due to the […]

By Shamindra Ferdinanado State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has said that Sri Lanka wouldn’t have ended up being bankrupt if previous governments had adhered to agreements with the International Monetary (IMF). Reiterating that the country is experiencing the worst ever economic crisis, lawmaker Siyambalapitiya warned that the government would be under IMF scrutiny this time [...

By Alexandra Stevenson & Zixu Wang | NYT  When a prominent woman in China’s #MeToo movement took on a powerful man in court, it was the accused, not the accuser, who was held up as the victim. When several women were savagely beaten by men after resisting unwanted advances in a restaurant, the focus of […]

Rohini asks why squander money on more ministers if basic needs cannot be met By Shamindra Ferdinando The Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) yesterday (11) lambasted the government for failing to purchase paddy purportedly for want of funds.SJB lawmaker Rohini Kaviratne said that the SLPP-led President Ranil Wickremesinghe government should be ashamed of its failure especially against the […]

"But this time, because of this special situation that money can be used to finance the fiscal deficit as well."

That means authorities we should not talk about debt restructuring parameters

This is in response toDharshan Weerasekera’s (DW) article appearing in The Island of 02 September, 2022, which suggests that Aragalaya is illegal, and people have to wait for elections if the present government is not doing its job properly. Seeking solutions to our perennial problems through elections has been a futile exercise, if our dismal […]

Minister Kanchana Wijesekera has publicly stated that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) have employees far in excess than required for the normal functioning of these institutions. For instance, Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd., has 4,200 employees where only 500 are required, and the CEB has around 26,000 employees when […]

Welgama voted for the interim budget for 2022 presented by President and Finance Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Wednesday 31st August, 2022 Trade unions in the power and energy sectors are up in arms against a government move to restructure the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC). They would have the public believe that the blame for the staggering losses the two institutions have been incurring should be laid […]

Yes, of course, the older folks would all remember Edward Joseph; the young ones may find the name unfamiliar as Edward now lives in Germany and does his thing in that part of the world. Better known as Eddy, he was with the leader of the group Steelers and they were big in the local […]