In a vital sense history could be considered as having come full circle in the Ukraine theatre. For those sections of international opinion that began to look upon military invasions of one country by another as things of the past, the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russia came as a rude awakening

Pope Francis has told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky he is constantly praying for peace after the two met privately at the Vatican. The pontiff also stressed on the urgent need to help “the most fragile people, innocent victims” of the full-scale invasion launched by Russia last year. Zelensky earlier met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni […]

The Asian region’s steady rise to economic, political and military dominance in the current world order is bound to have substantial foreign policy implications for the global South in particular. For the more prominent of the region’s powers these foreign policy dilemmas could prove to be considerably challenging. This is particularly so in the case […]

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 […]

India, in the last nine years, has been making big strides following Buddha teachings, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. Speaking at Global Buddhist Summit 2023 in New Delhi, Modi said that India has followed Buddha’s teachings including the path of Theory, Practice and Realisation. India has progressed rapidly on all these three points. […]

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 […]

‘Finland has made a dangerous historical mistake.’ So said Russia in reaction to Finland formally joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on April 4. The ominous pronouncement could have the effect of renewing fears among the publics of the world of another Europe-wide war. The hope of peace-loving peoples is likely to be that Russia […]

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 […]

Russia has said that a division of its Bastion coastal defence missile systems has been deployed to Paramushir, one of the Kuril Islands in the north Pacific, some of which Japan claims as its territory. The move is part of a wider strengthening of Russia’s defences in its vast far eastern regions, Defence Minister Sergei […]

As should be expected, the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Russian President Vladimir Putin on war crimes allegations has given rise to a widespread debate on how effective it would be as an instrument of justice. What compounds the issue is the fact that Russia is not obliged to cooperate […]

India and Bangladesh on Saturday inaugurated a cross-border pipeline that will have the capacity to supply one million metric tonnes of diesel a year from Assam’s Numaligarh refinery to the northern parts of the neighbouring country. The India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFP), inaugurated during a virtual ceremony by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Sheikh […]

Aljazeera reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Moscow for a state visit in a show of support for an increasingly isolated Russia Xi and Russia’s Vladimir Putin published separate articles on Monday; Xi said China’s proposal to end the Ukraine crisis reflects global views

The Ukraine crisis appears to be strengthening the cooperation between the US and its partners in the Asia Pacific more than ever, amid fears that China is inching closer toward forcefully reuniting Taiwan with the mainland. In the recent few months, Japan has decided to double its defense spending