Author: Edwin Omar Owens

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Asian Development Bank said Friday that it has approved $200-million concessional loan to debt-stricken Sri Lanka to help stabilize the country’s finance sector following an unprecedented economic crisis that engulfed the Indian Ocean island nation last year. The bank’s announcement comes as Sri Lanka is awaiting International Monetary Fund approval for the second installment of a $2.9-billion bailout package to rescue the country from bankruptcy. The ADB said its Financial Sector Stability and Reforms Program for Sri Lanka includes two subprograms of $200 million each that would help strengthen the stability and governance of the country’s…

Sri Lanka has been informed that a debt-restructuring agreement with creditor nations has been reached but is yet to receive a letter of confirmation from the official creditor committee, a government source told Reuters on Wednesday. Sri Lanka, mired in its worst financial crisis in decades, has been trying to reach restructuring deals with creditors since last year, having being forced to default on its foreign debt in May 2022 after its foreign exchange dwindled to record lows. “Sri Lanka has been informed of an agreement,” the source, who did not want to be identified, said. “It is confirmed that…

Copenhagen (13/11 – 37.5) When Ranil Wickremesinghe took over as Sri Lanka’s president in July after a popular uprising ousted his predecessor, the South Asian island nation was engulfed in its worst economic meltdown in 75 years. Since then, President Wickremesinghe has managed to a keep a lid on mass protests, improve supplies of essentials and on Monday, secured a nearly $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that opens the door to restructuring about $58 billion of debt and receive funding from other lenders. He has done that despite a deeply unpopular government, his own party commanding just one…

She opened  24 completed development projects and laid foundation stones of five other schemes at a grand rally at Khulna Circuit House ground on Monday (Nov 13). The inaugurated projects implemented by Public Works Department included- Genocide and Torture Archive and Museum Building, Civil Surgeon Office Building and Residence, Technical Training Center in Paikgacha upazila, Renovation and Modernisation of Khulna Apprentice Training Office, 10-stroey building of Khulna and Chattogram BSTI Regional Offices, 10-storey women’s hostel building, Paikgacha upazila sub-registry office building construction (Civil, Sanitary and Electrical) works, and a 4-storey boys hostel construction of Agricultural Training Institute at Daulatpur. The…

BEIJING: The Chinese and Pakistani navies are holding weeklong drills in the Arabian Sea days after the Russian Pacific Fleet and Myanmar practiced repelling attacks in their first maritime exercise, while India and the United States pledged security cooperation. At a naval base in Karachi on Saturday, the Chinese and Pakistani navies kicked off the exercise in the waters and airspace of the northern Arabian Sea in drills that include anti-submarine operations. The exercise will end on Nov. 17. During the exercise, China and Pakistan will conduct joint maritime patrols for the first time, the People’s Liberation Army Daily reported…

Leaders of Russia, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan are all making stops in Central Asia as global powers seek to expand their influence in the traditionally Russia-dominated region. Russian President Vladimir Putin touched down in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana on Thursday morning for talks with his counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The trip comes just a week after French President Emmanuel Macron also paid a visit there, hoping to “accelerate” economic cooperation. Meanwhile, Turkey’s leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, and Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar are visiting Uzbekistan on Thursday for a regional economic summit. The flurry of engagement shows how…

The renewable energy sector in Bangladesh has emerged as a promising arena for foreign investment. Such an assessment emerged at a virtual dialogue organized by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on Monday. The dialogue, titled “China’s Case Study: Opportunities and Challenges of Foreign Investment in Renewable Energy Sector in Bangladesh,” shed light on the increasing interest among foreign investors as Bangladesh aims to achieve 30% renewable energy by 2030 and 40% by 2041. Over the past 13 years, foreign investment of approximately $30 billion has flowed into Bangladesh’s energy sector. The investments have predominantly been in fossil fuels. However,…

The Sri Lankan government’s CEB has kicked off a 70 MW ground-mounted solar tender in the South Asian country. According to recently published tender documents, the Sri Lankan-based projects will range from 1 MW to 5 MW and be developed on a 20-year build, own and operate (BOO) basis. The projects will be connected to existing grid substations. These are the 1 MW (AC) Kurunagala grid substation; the 2 MW (AC) Ampara grid substation; the 2 MW (AC) Habanara grid substation; the 3 MW (AC) Veyangoda grid substation; the 5 MW (AC) Kosgama grid substation; and the 5 MW (AC) Pannala…

It can’t get better and bigger than this as India is next on the list of things to visit for Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The star couple will likely attend the Indian Film Festival of India which happens annually in Goa. This year, at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May, Michael received an invitation to IFFI and accepted it.  Now, reports suggest that he will be attending IFFI with his wife-actress Catherine. This year, IFFI will be held in the later part of November. According to reports, the star couple will stay in India for a week. They will be…

Pakistan on Friday declared the extension of legal residence status for approximately 1.4 million Afghan refugees until the end of the year, following a four-month delay. However, the country maintained its stance against halting deportations of undocumented Afghans and other foreign nationals. The official statement, obtained by VOA news, stated, “[The] government of Pakistan is pleased to extend the validity of the Proof of Registration, or PoR, cards issued to the registered Afghan refugees … till [31st] December 2023.” The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Pakistan expressed satisfaction with the decision, emphasising that the delay, which was anticipated in…