India presented a new perspective to conceptualise its relationship with the West. The perspective is based on emphasizing its distinctions from BRICS co-founders China and Russia. The new approach came through by way of a response to a query, during the recently concluded 60th Munich Security Conference, about India’s freedom to choose between multiple partners […]

Pakistan must navigate challenges in the finance sector by diversifying its economic alliances, reducing dependence on singular partners, and negotiating funding arrangements that align with its long-term developmental objectives. The road ahead demands astute diplomatic manoeuvring, a commitment to economic resilience, and a proactive approach to curb corruption and inefficiencies of the Pakistan...

By Shamindra Ferdinando Gevindu Cumaratunga, MP, has sought Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena’s intervention to ensure State Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe on behalf of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who holds the Finance portfolio, provided a satisfactory answer to several queries he raised regarding the status of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) as at 31 Dec., 2022. In […]

… several countries undertaking criminal investigations against Lankans By Shamindra Ferdinando Sri Lanka had failed again to counter unsubstantiated accusations pertaining to the Eelam conflict, at the ongoing 55th session of the Human Rights Council, authoritative military sources said. Western powers had taken specific punitive actions against selected Sri Lankan military officers as well as po...

Under the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, bilateral summits and discussions at political and official levels have increased, further strengthening the bond between the two nations. On Sept 6 in 2022, Indian PM Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina signed several significant agreements further strengthening the bilateral relationship between […]

Religious minorities in Pakistan, including Christians, Hindus, and Shia Muslims, also encounter discrimination and persecution, notably through the country’s blasphemy laws. Advocacy organizations representing Christians and Hindus, as well as other minority groups, criticize the electoral system, asserting its undemocratic nature and its marginalization of religious minorities from mainstream po...

By Rathindra Kuruwita The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has significantly overestimated the cost of electricity production and transmission for 2024 and this is reflected in their estimated cost of production, says MP Gamini Waleboda, head of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Alleviating the Impact of the Economic Crisis. The overestimation is around Rs 140 billion, […]

In a welcome development in relation to Sri Lanka’s regional policy, some state functionaries of the Ranil Wickremesinghe regime have gone on record as having stated that Sri Lanka would be taking notable cognizance of India’s security concerns, going forward. This is as it should be. None of India’s immediate neighbours could afford to overlook […]

Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry has urged the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to refrain from allowing short-term political gains or Âdomestic vote bank politics to overtake the work of the Council.

By Shamindra Ferdinando With the presidential election scheduled for later this year, political parties represented in Parliament have stepped up efforts to forge alliances. In terms of the Constitution, presidential elections will have to be conducted between Sept 18 and Oct 18, 2024. The last presidential election was held in Nov 2019. Even though the […]

JVP-led Anti-Corruption Voice convener Wasantha Samarasinghe says that 118 files on allegations investigated by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division of the police and ready for prosecution are gathering dust at the Attorney General’s Department. “We have submitted 570 files with our complaints to the FCID, CID and Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. We know...

Tuesday 27th February, 2024 Sri Lankan politics is turning red in tooth and claw; the battle for the coveted executive presidency is getting down and dirty with every passing day. The presidential election is about eight months away, but the prospective contenders are already trading blows below the belt. At this rate, they might even […]

On 24 January this year, the Chinese Vice-Premier Li Guozhong made a brief transit halt in the Maldives. During the stopover, he met with the Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer. The Vice-Premier was on his way back after attending the Non-Aligned Summit and the third South Summit in Uganda from 19-24 January. This came after President […]

Across South Asia, an ominous great game is unfolding. China is battling for regional influence, with smaller buffer states caught in the middle as pawns. Far from peaceful rise, China’s tactics reveal a belligerent dragon pulling neighbors ever tighter into its orbit through debt-trap diplomacy, data colonialism and brazen political interference – a 21st century […]

Foreign Minister Ali Sabry PC has said that in the emerging multipolar world, countries like Sri Lanka cannot afford to take sides and must be open to working with anyone. Minister Sabry made these observations when he delivered the opening address at the 3rd ‘LKI Foreign Policy Forum’, held on the theme ‘Reassessing Non-Alignment in a Polarised […]

Colombo (Sri Lanka) (AFP) – Cash-strapped Sri Lanka said Wednesday it had exported tea worth $20 million to Iran to partially repay its $251 million oil debts, with Colombo saying Tehran’s visiting foreign minister had expressed “satisfaction” at the deal. “So far $20 million worth of tea has been exported to Iran under the barter […]