By Deshani Samaragunarathna
In the contemporary landscape of the Middle East, information technology has become a potent tool for power. The region's social and political landscapes are diversifying, reflecting significant changes in how information is disseminated, consumed, and wielded. Over the past few decades, particularly since the Arab Spring, the media landscape has transformed dramatically.…
By P. K. Balachandran
India has reached a stage where it sees itself as a power that can pursue its “national interest” in defiance of the top dogs of the world order. Undeniably, India has successes in the economic and technological fields to validate its claim to an extent.
India is wooed by the major…
By Shiran Illanperuma
From October 22 to 24, the 16th BRICS summit was held in Kazan, Russia. Alongside the core group members of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, this year saw the formal addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. During the summit, another 13 countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand,…
By Dulmi Thimansa
On Wednesday, October 2, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz declared United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres persona non grata, banning him from entering the country. Katz justified the move on the grounds that Guterres had supposedly failed to “forcefully condemn” Iran’s missile attacks on Israel. He added that anyone who “cannot unequivocally condemn…
By Mohamed Shafkath and Dulmi Thimansa
On September 21, 2024, Sri Lankans elected their ninth Executive President, Dissanyaka Mudiyansalage Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
His win was not a simple victory; rather, a phenomenal one. Dissanayake managed to secure 5,634,915 votes in the first preference votes itself, leading by more than a million votes than the candidate…
By Rear Admiral Y. N. Jayarathna (Retd)
The recently held presidential election in Sri Lanka has opened the doors for a new and younger political leadership in the island nation. Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s ascension from a third-party candidacy to President was not a journey of comfort and pleasure, since along the way he was pitted…
By Rear Admiral Y. N. Jayarathna (Retd)
The people’s uprising in Bangladesh against the Sheikh Hasina government has become an eye-opener for South Asia. It may mark not the end, but the beginning, of a cascading flow of events destined to unfold in our neighbourhood.
This analysis is based on the trends and patterns on…
By Nithu Ardithya
Indonesia is facing widespread protests opposing proposed amendments to its election laws. These protests underscore both domestic and international concerns. They not only throw Indonesia's devotion to the principles of democracy to the test, but it also has serious repercussions for the country's political stability and foreign relations.
The controversy erupted on…
By Uditha Devapriya
There are decades when years happen, years when months happen, and days when decades happen. Then there is Bangladesh. The images coming out of Dhaka over the last few weeks should astonish anybody who thought that Sheikh Hasina, who won a fifth consecutive term as Prime Minister in January this year, would…
By Britney Martil
In a dramatic escalation of unrest, Bangladeshi students have targeted the state broadcaster, Bangladesh Television (BTV), setting fire to its reception building and numerous vehicles parked outside.
This violence signifies a significant intensification of the ongoing protests against the country’s civil service hiring rules, with the death toll now reaching at least…
By Ramindu Perera
“Is there any reason why we in India should inherit the age-long rivalry of England against Russia? That is based on the greed and covetousness of British imperialism and our interests surely lie in ending this imperialism and not in supporting and strengthening it”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1929)
The recent meeting between Indian…
By Aakil Riyaz
News outlets were recently in a frenzy over Putin’s recent visit to North Korea. Reports of a pact between the Russian premier Vladimir Putin and the supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) initially led to much speculation.
These rumors were not without a basis. It was later revealed…