Courtesy of Dhananjaya Samarakoon
By Uditha Devapriya
Protest movements have historically been decided by economic factors, most prominently shortages, queues, and price hikes. The Arab Spring is an obvious case in point, but a better, more significant example would be the February Revolution in Russia, which was spurred by bread shortages. Left with nothing to lose,…
All South Asian countries, not just Sri Lanka, are facing economic problems such as a shortage of essentials commodities, rising inflation, fall in the value of the local currency against the US dollar, and social and political unrest triggered by economic issues. Only the intensity varies.
The roots of these domestic problems lie both in…
By Rathindra Kuruwita
On June 19, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera informed the media that giving the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) a monopoly over the oil industry was a mistake, adding that the government was taking steps to allow multinational oil companies to recommence operations in the country.
The Minister also…
Manipulating Euro-Asian tensions in historiography and modern media
By Vinod Moonesinghe
Herodotus said that the Greeks retaliated to some Phoenicians kidnapping Io, an Argive princess, by kidnapping Europa, a Phoenician princess. These tit-for-tat abductions continued until Paris of Troy abducted Helen, wife of Menelaus of Sparta. The Persians considered the heavy-handed Greek retaliation as the…
Cartoon by Awantha Artigala
By Uditha Devapriya
On June 2, the Commercial High Court of Colombo issued an enjoining order against Flight SU-289 over a lease matter, in effect preventing it from returning home.
The flight had been handled by Aeroflot, the Russian airline at the center of a controversy over Western sanctions. The order had…
By Professor Raj Somadeva
The Pali Chronicles, namely the Mahavamsa and Culavamsa (written in the fifth century and 13th century CE respectively) do not celebrate all the kings of Sri Lanka, though they valorize quite a number of them. Very often they pin the blame for the disintegration of the State on those who ruled…
By Muhammad Aftab Alam
Covid19-related restrictions have devasted the world’s most vulnerable economies. The situation has essentially worsened since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, crushing countries whose Gross Domestic Product depends on exports of single-source goods and services such as tourism, imports of essential goods such as fuel and gas, and sustained inflows…
By Uditha Devapriya
Anthony Albanese is now officially the 31st Prime Minister of Australia. The fourth Australian Labor Party leader to win the country’s premiership since World War II, Albanese has given every indication that his policies will be different from those of his predecessor, Scott Morrison. These obviously include foreign relations. Considering recent geopolitical…
By Uditha Devapriya and Zeenath Ayub
Barely 10 minutes after his appointment as Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung congratulated Ranil Wickremesinghe on Twitter, emphasizing the need for political stability. Although the jury is still out on Mr Wickremesinghe and whether his appointment will pacify those asking for Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s…
By Dr Ranga Kalansooriya and Zeenath Ayub
Caption: Then Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, wife Imelda Marcos with President Ronald Raegan in the White House 1981
Sri Lanka’s economy is in shambles. Exacerbating this is a political deadlock between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who are exchanging pleasantries…
By Uditha Devapriya
Sri Lanka’s ties with India have been tenuous, at times friendly but very often lukewarm. Since of late, however, the dynamics have changed, dramatically. Perhaps for the first time since independence, the island has forged amicable and longstanding ties with its neighbour to the north. Since last year, India has provided around…
By Shiran Illanperuma
The NATO-Russia conflict playing out in Ukraine has brought to the fore long-simmering international tensions. These include the role of the US Dollar as the global reserve currency, and the power of the US government to unilaterally exclude nations that challenge its dominance from international trade, by sanctions and bans from international…