sri lanka

Morning Digest | Opposition parties resolve to conduct caste census; PM Modi says coalitions of ‘negativity’ never successful, and more

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Morning Digest | Opposition parties resolve to conduct caste census; PM Modi says coalitions of ‘negativity’ never successful, and more

Team effort: Sonia Gandhi, second from right, and other leaders at the second day of the joint Opposition meeting in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: ANI Coalitions of ‘negativity’ never successful, says PM The 25-year-old National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is a “coalition of contributions and not compulsion”, with development as its main agenda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on July 18, drawing … Read more

Tamil civil society in Sri Lanka seeks India’s push for provincial polls   

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Tamil civil society in Sri Lanka seeks India’s push for provincial polls   

Sri Lankan ethnic Tamil women wait to cast their votes during the 2013 northern provincial council election in Jaffna. | Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO   A group of religious leaders, educationists, and professionals from Sri Lanka’s Tamil-majority north and east have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to “persuade” President Ranil Wickremesinghe to call for provincial council elections, without further delay.  The civil society members handed over their letter at the … Read more

Former Sri Lankan President Sirisena pays SLRs.15 million in compensation to victims of 2019 Easter terror attacks

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Former Sri Lankan President Sirisena pays SLRs.15 million in compensation to victims of 2019 Easter terror attacks

Former President Maithripala Sirisena has paid the first instalment of 15 million Sri Lankan Rupees as compensation to the victims of the Easter terror attacks in 2019 | file photo | Photo Credit: AP Ahead of a deadline set by Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court, Former President Maithripala Sirisena has paid the first instalment of 15 … Read more

Sri Lanka unveils domestic debt restructuring plan, asks foreign investors for a 30% haircut

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Sri Lanka unveils domestic debt restructuring plan, asks foreign investors for a 30% haircut

Sri Lanka announced a restructuring plan for its massive domestic debt on Thursday to meet targets set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and aim to turn around its economy, which has been hammered by a financial crisis. The island nation is asking foreign investors in its international sovereign bonds to take a 30% haircut … Read more

Morning Digest | 233 people killed, over 900 injured in Odisha triple train crash; PM Modi announced ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh for next of kin of deceased, and more 

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Morning Digest | 233 people killed, over 900 injured in Odisha triple train crash; PM Modi announced ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh for next of kin of deceased, and more 

Locals gather after the Coromandel Express derails after hitting a goods train near Bahanaga station in Balasore on Friday. | Photo Credit: ANI Odisha train accident | 233 people killed, over 900 injured in Odisha triple train crash The accident took place at around 7 p.m. when two coaches of 12864 (SMVB-HWH) Yashwantpur-Howrah Express derailed near Bahanaga … Read more

Morning Digest | Judicial commission to probe Manipur ‘ethnic violence’, says Amit Shah; India beats Pakistan to win its fourth junior men’s Asia Cup hockey title, and more 

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Morning Digest | Judicial commission to probe Manipur ‘ethnic violence’, says Amit Shah; India beats Pakistan to win its fourth junior men’s Asia Cup hockey title, and more 

Sedition law can be retained but with safeguards: Law Commission The Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code dealing with sedition needs to be retained but certain amendments could be made for greater clarity regarding its usage, the 22nd Law Commission has said in its report to the government. The commission said sedition being a … Read more

Sri Lanka at 75 is a failed state, says former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga 

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Sri Lanka at 75 is a failed state, says former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga 

Chandrika Kumaratunga. File Photo | Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY Despite possessing enviable social indicators at the time of Independence in 1948, Sri Lanka, at 75, is a “failed state”, former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga said on Sunday.  “Seventy-five years is a long time for a nation to achieve considerable progress. Even after 450 years of … Read more

Mano Ganesan moots Tamil caucus in Sri Lankan Parliament

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Mano Ganesan moots Tamil caucus in Sri Lankan Parliament

In a bid to ensure Sri Lanka’s main political parties do not “take numerical minorities for granted” anymore, Opposition MP Mano Ganesan has recently mooted setting up a “Tamil caucus” in Parliament. The “caucus”, he said, would allow Tamil legislators to express the “collective desire” of the island’s Tamil speaking peoples. Although Sri Lanka’s Tamils … Read more

FM Sitharaman to join her French, Japanese counterparts to announce Sri Lanka debt restructuring process

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FM Sitharaman to join her French, Japanese counterparts to announce Sri Lanka debt restructuring process

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with Gita Gopinath, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, during a meeting on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Spring meetings 2023, in Washington D.C, USA. Photo: Twitter/@FinMinIndia via PTI Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will join her French and Japanese counterparts on April 13 to announce Sri … Read more

In Sri Lanka, a long and rocky road to economic recovery

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In Sri Lanka, a long and rocky road to economic recovery

For Sri Lanka’s ruling establishment and its backers, March 20 was a good news day. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) finally responded to the government’s distress call following the collapse of the debt-ridden economy last year, by approving a $3 billion loan aimed at restoring economic stability and growth. “Sri Lanka will no longer be … Read more