by Eng Parakrama Jayasinghe parajayasinghe@gmail.com  Electricity consumers reeling from the massive increase in tariff in February (adjusted somewhat in July 2023) were naturally appalled by the request for a further increase by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).  A public consultation was held on 18 October 2023 by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) […]

National security oversight committee head slams HRC, questions US Ambassador’s conduct By Shamindra Ferdinando Chairman of Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security retired Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera, MP, has alleged that flaws in the government’s defence strategy particularly security lapses contributed to the unprecedented crisis that forced President Gotabaya Rajapak...

By Gamini Seneviratne It was just twenty years ago that George W Bush of the USA declared that Saddam Hussein possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) that threatened the security of The Free World. Today, we are presented with a whole range of similar – and much worse – fictions by and on behalf of Israel. It […]

Israel was warned by Egypt of potential violence three days before Hamas’ deadly cross-border raid, a US congressional panel chairman has said. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee head Michael McCaul told reporters of the alleged warning. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu described the reports as “absolutely false”. Israeli intelligence services are under scrutiny for ...

President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday issued orders to police to provide necessary security measures for Israelis in Sri Lanka The President issued the directive during his briefing to the Cabinet of Ministers, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said. PMD said: In a briefing to the Cabinet, President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed deep concern over the recent attacks […]

President Ranil Wickremesinghe addressed the 5th Forum of Ministers & Environment Authorities of the Asia Pacific at the Shangri La Hotel in Colombo today (05), delivering a passionate speech that emphasized three crucial points: the urgency of the climate crisis, Sri Lanka’s ambitious climate plans and the dire state of global biodiversity. President Wickremesinghe opened […]

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President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said all media should engage in a discussion on whether to enter into international agreements or work within the country’s legal framework. He said so at the felicitation ceremony to honour one of the most distinguished figures in Sri Lankan journalism, Edmund Ranasinghe, the founding Editor of ‘Divaina’ newspaper and former […]

By Jehan Perera The government has allocated Rs 11 billion in the provisional budget for next year for the presidential elections due in September. This is a positive indication that the government intends to hold those elections.  Free and fair elections being held when due is a core concept of a functioning democracy. This was […]

Fitch Ratings upgraded Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Local-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘CCC-‘ from ‘RD’ (Restricted Default), in its latest report.Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks to sovereigns with a rating of ‘CCC+’ or below. The Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR has been affirmed at ‘RD’ and the Country Ceiling at ‘B-‘. ...

and eliminate fossil fuel-based electricity generation by […]

First Executive President JR Jayewardene’s grandson, Pradeep Jayewardene, who recently switched allegiance from SLFP to UNP, says that it is the duty of all to support President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his quest to steer the nation out of the prevailing crisis. “This is not the time to debate whether President Wickremesinghe has a mandate to […]

Monday 18th September, 2023 Some henchmen of the Rajapaksa family, which is responsible for ruining the economy, have taken upon themselves the task of investigating the causes of the country’s bankruptcy! They are all out to absolve their political masters of wrongdoing in a bid to shore up the latter’s chances of winning future elections. […]

By Jayantha Somasundaram When Dr Salvador Allende was elected President of Chile in 1970 at the head of a coalition that included the Socialist and Communist Parties, and with a mandate to nationalise foreign capital, carry out land reform and implement sweeping welfare measures, his government was targeted by Washington and opposed by Chile’s business […]

Thursday 14th September, 2023 Everyting is weaponised in politics and war, and not even corpses are spared. A long time before the advent of biological warfare in its present form, Mongolian warrior-ruler, Genghis Khan, used infectious agents as a military weapon. Historical records reveal that he had rotting corpses catapulted into the fortresses his army […]