Thursday 18th January, 2024 Various remedies are being tried for Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, prominent among them being exponential tax and tariff increases and the divestiture of state ventures. The SLPP-UNP government is making the public undergo untold suffering in the name of economic recovery

Chairman of the United National Party, Member of Parliament Wajira Abeywardena during a media briefing held at the Presidential Media Center (PMC) on Tuesday (16), said that the main purposes for President Ranil Wickremesinghe to get the Regulation of Election Expenditure Act No 3 of 2023 passed in Parliament early last year was to track […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Pivuthu Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila, MP, yesterday (16) insisted that health sector trade union coalition’s demand for Rs 35,000 allowance shouldn’t be granted under any circumstances. The former Power and Energy Minister said that those trade unions should realise that their demand for Rs 35,000 allowance because the Disturbance, Availability, […]

By M. Rodwan Abouharb Associate Professor in International Relations, UCL and Bernhard Reinsberg Reader in Politics, University of Glasgow Sri Lanka received a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in March amid soaring inflation, debt and a sovereign default. In exchange for US$3 billion (£2.4 billion), the government committed to spending cuts and tax […]

The Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and International Commission of Jurists have joined over 30 international human rights organisations to pressure the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government to halt the ongoing ‘Yukthiya’ operation. The grouping has expressed serious concern over what it called “drastic intensification” of anti-drug operations in Sri Lanka leading to significan...

… USD 5 mn paid to Iran a month By Shamindra Ferdinando Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera has confirmed that consumers of petrol and diesel have been made to pay Rs. 50 to Rs. 55 per litre since the middle of last year to settle what the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) owed its creditors. […]

by Susantha Hewa A Shramadana (collaborative work) in a village is a good example of participatory democracy in action, where it is “of the villagers, by the villagers, for the villagers”. Of course, a few would organize and lead but they don’t stand to benefit more than the others. The coordinators would get their due praise for […]

Ms. Shashi Kandambi, a leading professional in the banking sector, has assumed office as the 19th General Manager/CEO of National Savings Bank (NSB) on 10th January 2024. Ms. Kandambi was the Senior Deputy General Manager of International Banking at Sampath Bank, where she had a long-standing and successful career. Her banking experience spans over 35 […]

By Saman Indrajith Forty-eight-year-old Batticaloa District MP Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, popularly known as Pillayan, has been shaping the Eastern Province’s political narrative since he was a teenager. He was just 16-years old when he joined the LTTE in 1990 as a child soldier. Since then, he continued to rise in the ranks of the LTTE until […]

During a meeting between President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lankan authorities and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday (11), the IMF congratulated the country on completing the first review under its program. The IMF highlighted the positive start of the program, recognizing the challenging reforms undertaken by Sri Lanka and their significant impact on the […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita The government will have to spend about USD 40 million to upgrade the offshore patrol vessel to be sent to the Red Sea to take part in operations against the Houthi rebels, Y.N. Jayarathna, retired Rear Admiral and hydrographer, said in a televised interview this week. The Sri Lanka Navy would be […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita Government hospitals were crippled yesterday due to a strike by health sector trade unions.In addition to the ten unions that commenced a strike on Wednesday, hospital administrators, management assistants and attendants too commenced a 24-hour strike from 6 am yesterday. They are also demanding the Disturbance, Availability, and Transport (DAT) allowance of […]

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Ahead of Sri Lanka s Presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled this year, Eastern Province Governor Senthil Thondaman affirmed support for sitting President Ranil Wickremesinghe and backed him to be re-elected, saying that he stabilised the country and lifted the economy from dire straits.

Announcement by UNP of Presidential, General and PC polls: By Shamindra Ferdinando Former Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) parliamentarian Mujibur Rahuman yesterday (10) asked whether the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government had decided to do away with Local Government (LG) polls. The SJB Mayoral candidate for the Colombo Municipal Council at the indefinitely postponed LG polls said that the […]