by Rajan Philips Last week saw a spate of summits underscoring the global economic and geopolitical headwinds that governments and countries have to cope with and navigate through. First, there was the visit to China by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. This was followed by a state visit to Washington by India’s Prime […]

by reforming the economy and also aiming at a ‘highly efficient […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita Those operating pyramid schemes often target particular geographical locations where the financial literacy of the people is low, police spokesman, SSP Nihal Thalduwa says.He said that the CID had recently busted a pyramid scheme called Sports Chain, through which peolpe had been cheated out of Rs 15 billion, and arrested eight people. […]

Friday 23rd June, 2023 SriLankan Airlines came under a scathing attack in Parliament on Wednesday. In what turned out to be a rare moment of unity among warring political parties, both sides of the House joined forces to bash the so-called national carrier left, right and centre. Not that the beleaguered airline does not deserve […]

By Prabhat Patnaik After Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Bangladesh has become the third country in our neighbourhood to become afflicted by a serious economic crisis. It has asked for a $4.5 billion loan from the IMF, apart from $1 billion from the World Bank and $2.5-3 billion from multilateral agencies and donor nations. Though the […]

Wednesday 21st June, 2023 The ‘Rice Mafia’ has emerged so powerful over the years that it is now running a parallel government of sorts. Wealthy rice millers resort to market manipulations, determine paddy and rice prices and exploit farmers and consumers alike, with impunity. This country is not short of political leaders who talk tough […]

The Sri Lanka Banks Association (SLBA) has urged policymakers to engage with commercial banks via the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to ensure a comprehensive and well-coordinated approach to alleviating the stress felt by the industrialists in loan default, following the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis. The Association, which represents all Licensed Banks […]

It is important that Sri Lanka restructures its debt and relaxes the restrictions imposed on imports by the end of this year, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India, Milinda Moragoda told News First in an interview on Thursday night. Sri Lanka has suspended its external debt repayments and the import of many goods, which are against […]

It was important for Sri Lanka to restructure its debt and relax import restrictions by the end of this year, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India, Milinda Moragoda told News First in an interview on Thursday night. Sri Lanka had suspended its external debt repayments and the import of many goods, which are against some […]

Thursday 15th June, 2023 Sri Lanka Customs has reportedly informed the government that it will not be able to meet its revenue targets due to the existing ban on vehicle imports. It has suggested that a foreign credit line be opened for the import controls at issue to be eased. But the question is why […]

By Jehan Perera The arrest of parliamentarian and leader of the Tamil National People’s Front Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam highlights two areas of particular concern.  The first is the high level of surveillance that continues in the former war zones of the north and east.  The visitors to those parts of the country would not fail to […]

By  Y P Prakash The current state of Sri Lanka evokes memories of India’s experience in the 1990s, although India was able to rectify the situation before it escalated to a critical level akin to a Bastille-like crisis. By 1991, India found itself on the brink of sovereign default. The Gulf War exacerbated the situation […]

A highly appreciative skill of the Pakistani administration is their extensive theatricals which can deceive the most intelligent of men. Lengthy speeches in the parliament are converted into minutes packed with wise counsel. After collecting enough praises and spewing venom on the opposition, they end up ultimately doing what they would do anyway — putting […]