Factum LK – Page 5

Factum Perspective: Sumitra Peries – A Sri Lankan woman of the world

History and CultureJanuary 22, 2023934Views 0Likes 0Comments

As Ambassador / Undated / Courtesy of Sumitra Peries Read this article in Tamil: vidiyal.lk/post/--2806 By Uditha Devapriya Sumitra Peries passed away last Thursday, 19 January. One of the last definitive auteurs of the Sri Lankan cinema, Sumitra was also one of the last few international figures from the island nation. Having begun her career…

Factum Perspective: The road ahead for Emerging Markets

Health and Economic Cooperation, International DevelopmentJanuary 16, 2023942Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Kasun Thilina Kariyawasam “The dollar is our currency, but it's your problem.” John Connally, US Treasury Secretary, 1971 In the post-COVID global economy, Emerging Markets were hit with a double-whammy downward spiral. Even prior to the pandemic, Emerging Markets (EMs) were struggling with high inflation, lack of investment, unemployment, and other issues. Then COVID-19…

Factum Perspective: Elections in Asia – A game-changer in a game-changing region

Regional GeopoliticsJanuary 9, 2023594Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Dr Ranga Kalansooriya Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev tweeted his predictions for 2023 last month. He noted that “all the largest stock markets and financial activity will leave the US and Europe and move to Asia.” At the outset, such claims may seem overstretched. In fact, however, this was hardly a new prediction.…

Factum Perspective: Scientific literacy – Are we there yet?

Science and TechnologyJanuary 2, 2023683Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Sachie Panawala In its report in 2018, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) defined scientific literacy as an understanding of how the knowledge of science changes the manner one can interact with the world, and the way it can be used to accomplish broader goals. Kathleen…

Factum Perspective: Peace on Earth, the message of Christmas?

History and Culture, Peace and ConflictDecember 25, 2022822Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Vinod Moonesinghe With the expansion of proselytizing Christian empires in the centuries before the second millennium, Christianity became a world religion. As Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta said, "When the missionaries arrived, the Africans had the land and the missionaries had the Bible. They taught us how to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened…

Factum Perspective: Buddhism in the Cold War

History and Culture, Regional GeopoliticsDecember 19, 20222KViews 0Likes 2Comments

By Chandani Kirinde What prompted the US government to put in place a “Buddhist policy” in Southeast Asia during the Cold War and how successful were these clandestine efforts at using a predominant religion of the region to counter the spread of communism? And did Sri Lanka play a role in shaping the US policy of co-opting Buddhists…

Factum Special Analysis: Emerging Markets and International Sovereign Bonds

Health and Economic Cooperation, Regional GeopoliticsDecember 15, 2022897Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Kasun Thilina Kariyawasam A total of USD 1,737.2 billion has been invested in the sovereign debt of emerging markets over the last 12 years. As a result of the high interest rates, emerging markets (EMs) paid 63% of the total interest on the bonds. Since 2020, Argentina, Zambia, and Sri Lanka have defaulted on…

Factum Perspective: Indonesia’s new draft criminal code

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsDecember 5, 2022730Views 0Likes 0Comments

By P. K. Balachandran In a sharp turn towards authoritarianism and archaic religiosity, Indonesia’s parliament is expected to pass, later in December, a new Criminal Code that will extend the ambit of blasphemy, ban criticism of State Institutions and criminalize cohabitation and sexual relations outside wedlock. The proposed code, which smacks of Wahhabi Islam, is…

Factum Perspective: Are China and Russia imperialist?

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsNovember 28, 2022955Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Shiran Illanperuma Recent geopolitical and economic developments disrupting the US-led unipolar world order have renewed debate on the concept of imperialism. In the post-war period, the term was politically deployed by National Liberation movements around the world, and worker states in the Communist bloc, to describe the policies and actions of the West (namely…

Factum Special Perspective: Four shortfalls in Budget 2023

UncategorizedNovember 23, 2022689Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Sunil Abhayawardhane While delivering his budget speech in parliament, President Ranil Wickremesinghe asked perhaps the most important question he could have: “Where did we go wrong?” President Wickremesinghe asked the same question in 1989, when he was the Minister of Industries. Though the answer to it is as self-evident as it was back then,…

Factum Perspective: IORA and Climate Change

Climate and environment, Health and Economic CooperationNovember 22, 20221KViews 0Likes 0Comments

By P. K. Balachandran Set up in 1997, the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is an inter-governmental organization aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and sustainable development in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). It is also meant to help member countries meet the many challenges posed by climate change. The IORA has 23 Member States and…

Factum Perspective: The geopolitics of the Jewish Homeland

History and Culture, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsNovember 15, 20221KViews 0Likes 0Comments

By Vinod Moonesinghe The history of Palestine is fraught with controversy, obscured by religion. Emigration and conversion to Christianity and Islam reduced the Jewish population: by the 1516 Ottoman Conquest, they comprised 2% of the population, with Muslims 85% and Christians 11%. Ottoman Palestine thrived, exporting soap, olive oil, sugar, barley, cotton and, from the…