Redoubling support for war-stricken Ukraine is the Âsingle best way to aid the global economy, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday, along with boosting emerging economies and tackling debt distress.

US President Joe Biden is heading to Europe ahead of a Nato summit after several allies questioned his decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine. The UK and Canada are among those who voiced concern about supplying the bombs, which are widely banned because of the danger they pose to civilians. The US says they […]

Kiev does not buy Chinese weapons in order to avoid irritating the US, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Vitaly Deinega has claimed. The official made the comments while discussing the importance of drones in modern warfare. “As far as it was explained to me… we cannot buy anything Chinese so as not to hurt our relationship […]

Udeni Kaluthantri, a 54-year-old port worker, became an overnight sensation last year for reasons that had nothing to do with his job. Days after protesters stormed the presidential palace in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, a video surfaced of Mr Kaluthantri lounging on a bed draped with the presidential flag. Pictures of young men jumping […]

India plans to allow Sri Lanka up to 12 years to repay its debt to help ease the financial burden on the country, India’s Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) Ltd’s Chairman-cum-Managing Director M. Senthilnathan said. Sri Lanka, facing its worst economic and political crisis in over seven decades, owes $7.1 billion to bilateral creditors— $3 […]

CP Chairman DEW G says lawmakers here should be aware of what is going on in the world. The Parliament cannot turn a blind eye to global developments, the former MP said, pointing out that the ongoing Ukrainian crisis underscored the need for greater understanding of international affairs as the rapid developments taking place with […]

Crisis-hit Pakistan has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over $3bn (£2.4bn) of funding. The deal, which still needs to be approved by the global lender’s board, comes after an eight-month delay. The South Asian nation is facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1947. To help secure […]

By Chandre Dharmawardana chandre.dharma@yahoo.ca According to a recent news report (The Island 23rd June 2023), Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has claimed that the “agricultural sector to be transformed into an export-oriented economy”! This is a surprising statement since the plantation sector, established by the British, has been from the start (and even now) an export-oriented economy....

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 […]

The boss of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, says he has seized “all military facilities” in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don. The announcement comes hours after he threatened to topple Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. President Vladimir Putin said this was “a stab in the back” and pledged to punish those who had “betrayed” Russia. [...

WASHINGTON —  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told U.S. lawmakers Thursday the United States-India partnership is bound by the shared values of respecting debate and equality in a democracy. “The U.S. is the oldest and India the largest democracy,” Modi said, addressing a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. “Our partnership augurs well for the […]

CNN- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi basked in the most lavish honors that the US can bestow on a visiting leader. But for much of his state visit, the specter of an uninvited guest hovered over Washington and the future of US-India relations. China – and the growing belief that the US is on a collision course with […]

WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and Narendra Modi hailed a new era in their countries’ relationship after the White House rolled out the red carpet for the Indian prime minister on Thursday, touting deals on defense and commerce aimed at countering China’s global influence. “Two great nations, two great friends, and […]

By Vikas Pandey Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US has assumed huge significance amid global economic and geopolitical headwinds. The White House is pulling out all the stops to welcome Mr Modi – it’s a state visit, the highest level of diplomatic protocol the US accords to visiting leaders. Mr Modi will […]

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 […]

From the viewpoint of the South, the recent visit by a delegation of African political leaders to Russia for the primary purpose of impressing on President Vladimir Putin the need to end the conflict in Ukraine is welcome news. The visit is doubly important for at least two main reasons; first, the mounting economic pressures […]

After much delay, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to China this weekend, hoping to prevent U.S.-China tensions from spiraling further. The bilateral relationship remains the focus of intense attention, but multilateral organizations have long been sites of U.S.-China conflict. The latest arena is UNESCO, which the United States just announced plans to rejoin, largely […]