Xi’s strategy is as meticulous as it is bold. He has purged opposition within his ranks, securing a loyal cadre committed to his vision of Chinese supremacy on the world stage. His deft handling of relationships with giants like the US, India, Japan, and Russia has redefined traditional alliances and rivalries. For those watching, there’s a palpable sense of urgency – a recognition that we are witnessing the dawn of a new global order where China’s influence is inescapable and undeniable.

Meanwhile, the stage is set in India for a political showdown as the Lok Sabha Elections close. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is poised to secure a third consecutive term with his charisma (for his critics – an engineered charisma) and steadfast leadership. Despite murmurs of an upset from the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), Modi’s decade-long tenure has undeniably transformed India into a formidable force on the global stage despite growing dissent, frustrations, and inequality in the constituency. 

Under his watch, India’s economy has flourished and its population of 1.5 billion stands as its greatest asset, driving innovation and growth. As the election results loom, the world watches closely, recognising that India’s trajectory under Modi’s continued leadership could redefine the balance of power in Asia and beyond.

China and India hold the key to unlocking the full potential of Asia, bearing the hopes and aspirations of 4.5 billion people in the region. This is undeniably Asia’s century, a period marked by rapid growth, technological innovation, and unprecedented influence on the global stage. As China leverages its economic clout and India capitalises on its vast human resources, both nations are poised to lead Asia into a new era of prosperity and power. The world can no longer deny these two giants’ pivotal role in shaping Asia’s future and the world. 

Anti-Modi narratives

Focusing on the Indian elections, many predicted an easy victory for Modi, yet doubt crept in during the campaign trail with various narratives at play. A section of Western media and their proxies crafted stories forecasting Modi’s downfall, challenging his bid for a third consecutive term. 

Historically, Western media narratives have often been critical of Asia’s rise and this election cycle was no different. For decades, one of Asia’s finest, Lee Kuan Yew, showcased the hypocrisy of Western media with one-sided narratives and it was the turn of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to turn the heat on the Western press this time.

Hundreds of op-eds and articles from around the globe were critical of Premier Narendra Modi, and the BJP mushroomed during the campaign trail. Some projected Modi as a face and Home Minister Amit Shah as everything else. It would have been a tremendous and balanced story if they had also mentioned the Bush-Cheney and Blair-Mandelson combinations without projecting only in Asia, as these things occur. Politics is universal; no one has a monopoly on the power play.

However, dissent is reasonable as it allows you to recreate your narrative compellingly, if necessary; otherwise some of it can be ignored. Premier Modi and the Opposition leaders, such as Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal, all faced cyberbullying and hate from millions of social media critics. 

Dhruv Rathee, a young Indian YouTuber with 20.8 million subscribers, was adored by the anti-Modi section and hated by the Modi lovers. On average, his videos had 15 million views; some reaching 25 million views based on controversial subjects. Some of my colleagues who held independent or anti-Modi sentiments wanted to end Modi rule. Some were fearless and some were fearful. Young Rathee has shown the price of being daring, taking on a “tyrant,” as he narrated. Some enjoy money, some want fame, and some want power. Some want all three.

In our digital age, anti-Modi sentiments were widely disseminated and consumed. However, the impact on India’s 960 million voters will only become apparent in a few days as the world watches to see if these narratives swayed the electorate.

Modi and BJP campaign

The Modi and BJP campaign was bolstered by a decade of tangible successes, earning credibility despite facing numerous challenges and frustrations. Modi was presented as the definitive leader, synonymous with India’s recent economic strides and global presence. 

In contrast, the Opposition’s campaign lacked a singular anchor, relying instead on a collective team effort. Going up against a worldwide brand like Modi, with his track record of economic achievements, demanded a monumental and unified Opposition strategy. As election results loom, the question remains whether this collective effort was enough to challenge the incumbency and sway the electorate.

Modi projected himself as a divine gift to rejuvenate India and secure its rightful place on the global stage. This ‘messiah’ narrative is a familiar trope in political communications, evoking a sense of destiny and inevitability. 

The Opposition needed another charismatic leader or a robust alternative policy, action plan, and narrative to counter such an influential figure. However, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, the latest torchbearers of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, were criticised for their lack of imagination and coherence in their campaign. As a result, their efforts struggled to gain traction against Modi’s well-crafted persona and proven track record. 

It is seldom that a leader can blow his own trumpet. You need your allies to project how great you are. However, Modi said he was a godsend and gifted and his team said he was a godsend and gifted. It was missing in the Rahul and Priyanka duo. INDIA leaders like Kumar, Banerjee, Kejriwal, Yadav, Stalin, and Pawar seldom backed an anchor in cohesion. It’s understandable; all the above political brands are too big to sing hosanna for someone else. The fragile egos, personal interests, and political empires do not allow you to be united. Even in sports, all-star teams end up faring poorly. 

Modi, the saviour

Modi’s projection of himself as India’s saviour draws parallels to historical figures like Ashoka, Napoleon, and Alexander the Great, who also cast themselves as divinely-ordained leaders. After his transformative embrace of Buddhism, Ashoka positioned himself as a benevolent ruler destined to bring peace and prosperity to South Asia. Similarly, Napoleon portrayed himself as bringing order and reform to post-revolutionary France. At the same time, Alexander the Great saw himself as a destined conqueror, spreading Greek culture across the known world. 

In the book ‘Discovery of India’ (written in 1946), the great Jawaharlal Nehru (first Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964) writes: “Often, as I wandered from meeting to meeting, I spoke to my audience of this India of ours, of Hindustan and of Bharata, the old Sanskrit name derived from the mythical founder of the race. I seldom did so in the cities, for their audiences were more sophisticated and wanted strong fare. But to the peasant, with his limited outlook, I spoke of this great country for whose freedom we were struggling, of how each part differed from the other and yet was India, of common problems of the peasants from north to south and east to west, of the swaraj that only could be for all and every part and not for some. 

“I told them about journeying from the Khyber Pass in the far northwest to Kanyakumari or Cape Comorin in the distant south and how everywhere the peasants put me identical questions, for their troubles were the same – poverty, debt, vested interests, landlords, moneylenders, heavy rents and taxes, police harassment, and all these wrapped up in the structure that the foreign government had imposed upon us – and relief must also come for all. 

“I tried to make them think of India as a whole and even to some little extent of this wide world of which we were a part. I brought in the struggle in China, Spain, Abyssinia, Central Europe, Egypt, and the countries of Western Asia. I told them of the wonderful changes in the Soviet Union and the great progress made in America. The task was not easy, yet it was not so difficult as I had imagined, for our ancient epics, myths, and legends, which they knew so well, had made them familiar with the conception of their country. Some there were always who had travelled far and wide to the great places of pilgrimage, situated at the four corners of India.”

I quote him again: “Sometimes I reached a gathering, a great roar of welcome would greet me. ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ – ‘Victory to Mother India’. I would ask them unexpectedly what they meant by that cry: who was this ‘Bharat Mata,’ Mother India, whose victory they wanted? My question would amuse them and surprise them, and then, not knowing exactly what to answer, they would look at each other and me. I persisted in my questioning. At last, a vigorous Jat, wedded to the soil from immemorial generations, would say it was the ‘dharti,’ the good earth of India, that they meant. What earth? Their particular village patch, or all the patches in the district or province, or in the whole of India? And so question and answer went on till they would ask me impatiently to tell them all about it. 

“I would endeavour to do so and explain that India was all this that they had thought, but it was much more. The mountains and the rivers of India, and the forests and the broad fields, which gave us food, were all dear to us, but what counted ultimately were the people of India, people like them and me, who were speared out all over this vast land. ‘Bharat Mata,’ Mother India, was essentially these millions of people, and victory to her meant victory to these people. You are parts of this ‘Bharat Mata,’ I told them, you are in a manner to yourselves ‘Bharat Mata,’ and as this idea slowly soaked into their brains, their eyes would light up as if they had made an extraordinary discovery.”

Rahul and Priyanka, the great-grandchildren of the great Jawaharlal Nehru, were leading the anti-Modi campaign. The above paragraph could have been their campaign narrative, but it was Modi’s campaign line for the last 10 years – and for the next five years, if he succeeds in securing a third successive term on 4 June. 

Religio-political wars

‘Bharat Mata’ was the underlying campaign theme for Modi 3.0, which took Nehru’s ‘Bharat Mata’ concept to a different level. Nehru was widely regarded for his stand for secular India but there are severe questions and critics of Modi’s path for India – weaponising Hinduism for political power. In India, approximately 80% of the population by religion are Hindus and 14% are believers of Islam as per the 2011 census. As per census reports, a 1951 to 2011 comparison shows a 5% reduction of Hindus and in the same period a 45% growth of believers of Islam. 

The religious political wars have become the norm again; even the rise of Muslim political leadership in the United Kingdom has been the talk of the town recently, with Sadiq Khan holding onto the Mayorship of London since 2016. In Indonesia, vote bank politics are shaping up, with Islam as a shield; in Russia, the orthodox church plays a role in politics; and in the US, Christian nationalism is on the rise. 

Unfortunately, over centuries, humankind has been divided by religion. Instead, can religion unite people? Can a rejuvenated Bharat show the way for tolerance, diversity, and harmony to the world? 

In the last 30 years, India rebranded its main cities from colonial names to national names. Today, Bombay is Mumbai, Calcutta is Kolkata, Madras is Chennai, Bangalore is Bengaluru, Poona is Pune, and Banaras is Varanasi. If Modi succeeds in securing his third successive term on 4 June, will we see Bharat instead of India? Bharat will be Modi’s Ashoka moment. If that occurs, this will be one of the most significant brand changes in humanity’s history.

Xi and the ‘Chinese dream’

Like Modi, Xi crafted a narrative positioning himself as the chosen one, uniquely destined to lead China into a new era of greatness. Xi didn’t rely solely on revolutionary or economic credentials like Mao Zedong or Deng Xiaoping. Instead, he blended these legacies, portraying himself as the leader who could fulfil China’s historic rejuvenation mission.

Just as Ashoka, Napoleon, and Alexander the Great used the mantle of destiny to consolidate their power, Xi presented himself as the harbinger of a ‘Chinese dream’ – a vision of national renewal and global prominence. Through sweeping reforms, an assertive foreign policy, and strategic purges within his party, Xi solidified his position, projecting an image of stability and certainty.

These modern leaders harnessed historical narratives of messianic leadership in China and India, crafting personas destined to elevate their nations. Modi and Xi’s stories underscore a timeless political truth: when a leader casts themselves as a divinely favoured saviour, it becomes a formidable task for any opposition to mount a practical challenge without an equally compelling vision or figurehead. As a result, their nations stand at the forefront of Asia’s rise, shaping the region’s destiny in profound and lasting ways.

Enter Arvind Kejriwal

In China, the one-party rule under Xi ensures a controlled political landscape. However, in India’s vibrant democracy, winning a third successive term is an uphill battle for any leader. Modi’s stature and the BJP’s well-oiled political machinery present formidable challenges. Yet, amidst this daunting scenario, INDIA began to find momentum in the middle of the campaign. 

Emerging against all odds, this coalition started to resonate with voters, presenting a united front capable of challenging Modi’s dominance. Its late surge introduced an element of unpredictability, with many fearing an upset. The alliance’s ability to galvanise support and craft a compelling narrative in the final stages underscored the dynamic and resilient nature of Indian democracy, where even the most entrenched leaders can face significant challenges.

Not many would agree with me, but the Arvind Kejriwal fiasco and his subsequent jail term significantly disrupted INDIA’s momentum. Suddenly, amid a carefully orchestrated campaign, the focus shifted entirely to Kejriwal. This unplanned and unwarranted incident highlights how fragile political campaigns can be. 

In the high-stakes arena of political campaigning, unexpected events can swiftly derail even the most well-planned strategies. INDIA, which had begun to find its footing and generate genuine enthusiasm, was blindsided by the controversy surrounding Kejriwal. Instead of pushing forward with its collective message, it was forced into a defensive position, grappling with damage control and standing for Kejriwal.

Power struggle on the cards

If Kejriwal survives his legal battles and Modi secures another victory, the political arena is set for a dramatic power struggle. Kejriwal, driven by boundless ambition and armed with a reputation for grassroots activism, could challenge the leadership of Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi within the Opposition. His relentless focus on anti-corruption (but he is booked for corruption now) and governance reforms resonates strongly with urban middle-class and disenfranchised voters, positioning him as a compelling alternative to Modi. 

This rise would inevitably clash with the Gandhis, who have long been the faces of the Congress Party and national politics. As Kejriwal’s influence grows, a fierce battle for dominance within the Opposition is likely to unfold, with his soaring ambitions threatening to overshadow the traditional leadership of the Gandhis. This internal struggle could redefine the dynamics of Indian politics, with both sides vying for the mantle of a chief challenger to Modi’s BJP.

‘Messiah’ narrative

The ‘messiah’ narrative is not confined to Asia. Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency in 2017 was a masterclass in creating a narrative more significant than life itself. With his ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan, he cast himself as the saviour of a nation that, in his telling, had lost its way. This powerful, emotionally-charged message resonated deeply with many Americans who felt left behind by the political establishment.

Trump’s unconventional, often irrational approach allowed him to dominate the news cycle and overshadow his opponent, Hillary Clinton. While Clinton campaigned on experience and policy, Trump ran circles around her with his relentless energy and brash rhetoric. His ability to tap into the fears and hopes of voters, combined with a relentless focus on his narrative of national rejuvenation, ultimately won him the day. Despite his unpredictability and contentious style, Trump’s message struck a chord, propelling him to a victory that defied conventional political logic. 

Trump vs. Biden in 2024 will be a great watch. The US needs a strongman at the negotiation table with Xi, Modi, and Putin. If the former President runs, he will inevitably invoke ‘Make America Great Again’ with more vigour than in 2016. The US is not Reagan’s US anymore. It’s easier to talk about the inner core desires of Americans for pride. The pride they grew up with is slowly vanishing by the day.

Politics makes strange bedfellows. It’s not for the faint-hearted. It’s a blood sport. It’s all about the art of possibility. It’s about capturing power and, most importantly, sustaining power. The below from ‘The Panchatantra’ sums up the world: ‘All things in the world live off one another, using many different strategies to do so, some peaceful, others not so peaceful. Think.’

Rulers live off their lands,

Physicians off the sick,

Merchants live off the consumers, 

They learned from fools;

Thieves live off the unwary,

Almsmen off householders;

Harlots off pleasure seekers,

And workers of the whole world.

Snares of many sorts are carefully set;

Day and night, they lie in wait, watchful,

Surviving by sheer strength – fish eating fish. 

Fish eating fish — for survival. Once in power, you would not want to leave. Politics is a microcosm of human life. ‘Messiahs’ are not immortal and there is a downside. The sustainability of the narrative depends on not only the leader’s code of conduct but also his followers and the machinery. 

In the midst of this, Asia is rising. There is hope for the world.

Source: The Morning

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Sri Lanka has told hundreds of thousands of Russians and some Ukrainians staying in the country to escape the war that they must leave in the next two weeks, immigration officers said.

The immigration controller issued a notice to the tourism ministry asking Russian and Ukrainian people staying on extended tourist visas to leave Sri Lanka within two weeks from 23 February.

Just over 288,000 Russians and nearly 20,000 Ukrainians have traveled to Sri Lanka in the last two years since the war began, according to official data.

Commissioner-General of Immigration said the “government is not granting further visa extensions” as the “flight situation has now normalised”.

However, the office of president Ranil Wickremesinghe ordered an investigation of the notice to the tourism ministry in an apparent bid to prevent diplomatic tensions.

The president’s office said that the notice had been issued without prior cabinet approval and the government had not officially decided to revoke the visa extensions, reported the Sri Lankan newspaper Daily Mirror.

The exact number of visitors who extended their stay beyond the typical 30-day tourist visa duration remains unclear.

However, concerns have been raised over thousands of Russians and a smaller number of Ukrainians staying in the country for an extended period of time and even setting up their own restaurants and nightclubs.

Tourism minister Harin Fernando told Daily Mirror that the ministry has been receiving complaints of some Russian tourists running unregistered and illegal businesses in the southern part of the country.

Raids were conducted by the authorities following discussions with the Immigration Department, he said.

It comes amid a furious social media backlash over Russian-run businesses with a “whites only” policy that strictly bars locals. These businesses include bars, restaurants, water sports and vehicle hiring services.

In a bid to boost tourism and recover from its worst economic crisis since 2022, Sri Lanka began granting 30-days visas on arrival and extensions for up to six months.

In April 2022, the nation defaulted on its $46bn (£36 bn) foreign debt. The economic crisis triggered violent street protests for several months and ultimately culminated in the resignation of then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa three months later.

Source: Independent

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Much like its ideological counterparts at HispanTV (Iranian-owned) and Actualidad RT (Russian-owned), Telesur wraps its incitement into a sophisticated and slick twenty-four-hour news platform through its website, broadcasts, and social media presence. Though it is difficult to gauge its influence, numbers suggest that Telesur’s message is impactful. Telesur has two million followers on its Spanish X account, 117,500 on its English X account, and more than half a million on Instagram. Its YouTube account has over 1.7 million subscribers, with 100,000 new subscribers and almost 7.4 million video views since October 7 (It also posts its videos on the Daily Motion).

The network traditionally pushes out conspiracy theories, fake news, “whataboutism,” and disinformation that serve a common agenda: demonize the West, undermine the credibility of Western news outlets, paint Western leaders as hypocrites, and promote a narrative of global resistance against America and its allies. Aware that a worldwide audience of half a billion Spanish speakers—including almost sixty million in the U.S.—could be receptive to its anti-imperialist spin, Telesur began broadcasts in 2005. Since then, Telesur has routinely packaged its allies’ imperialism as resistance, their terrorism as anti-terrorism, and their authoritarianism as democracy. It has platformed conspiracy theorists, like Thierry Meyssan, the French author of the 2002 screed, 9/11: The Big Lie, the earliest 9/11 “truther” libel, accusing the United States of orchestrating the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers. It has also peddled anti-Semitic tropes, insinuating that “the Zionist Lobby” manipulates and controls U.S. media, falsely accusing Israelis of trafficking children and Israel of supporting ISIS.

Telesur news coverage since October 7, then, is hardly surprising. However, it has gained a new obsessive intensity, broadcasting a daily media diet of hatred. In its breaking news report on Hamas’ October 7 massacre, Telesur news anchor described that morning’s atrocities as an operation by the Hamas “resistance movement” in response to “continued Israeli aggressions.” The broadcast defined the event as “a new stage in the Palestinian struggle against Zionist occupation.” It then showed its viewers a news segment produced by their Syria-based correspondent, which made no mention of atrocities or Israeli civilian casualties. Telesur’s initial denial and distortion set the stage for the ensuing news coverage, which amplified a pro-Hamas narrative.

For example, after Western media corrected their reporting about Palestinian claims that on October 17, Israel bombarded the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza, killing 500 people, Telesur doubled down, relying on a report from Al Jazeera.

Opinion pieces have been even more inflammatory than news segments, consistently espousing bigotry. Telesur commentators have routinely compared Israel to Nazism, denying and, at the same time, justifying the October 7 massacre. On October 9, as the gory details of Hamas atrocities were emerging, a blog entry celebrated them as a “very special page” in the history of the great battles for freedom. On October 15, TeleSur’s special envoy in Lebanon wrote a column entitled “Agony of a macabre implant,” where, after defining Israel as a European colonial-settler “implant” and accusing it of committing genocide, he proceeded to dismiss Hamas’ atrocities, lamenting a “Western media narrative, which focuses on Hamas, and not on the unprecedented fact of the united action of all Palestinian resistance organizations.”

After denial comes the systematic demonization of Israel through the casual recourse to antisemitic tropes, with Israel described as a worthy successor of Nazi Germany. 

On October 16, another blog post accused Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of pursuing a final solution in Gaza and pleaded that the international community should not allow “the Jews to continue murdering the Palestinians in their land.”

On October 21, another commentator evoked the old Antisemitic canard of Jewish control of world media to denounce what its author considered a global media coverup of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Those controlling the “spiral of silence” in the mainstream media were, according to the author, “the transnational Jewish lobby.” On November 3, the theme of a conspiracy of silence orchestrated by Israel, the United States, and “the hegemonic media” recurred in another column. Its goal, thundered the author, was to enable Israel to turn Gaza into “a Palestinian cemetery.” The next day, Telesur published another blog post accusing Israel, whose creation the author described as the machinations of the “international Zionist oligarchy,” of committing “the third largest genocide in history.” And on November 7, Chilean columnist Pablo Jofre Leal (an author frequently posting on HispanTV as well and a government advisor to Gabriel Boric’s ministry of health in Chile) attacked what he labeled “the Ukraine-Israel national socialist-national Zionist alliance,” called the Hamas massacres a “legitimate action of the Palestinian resistance,” and described Israel’s response as a modern version of 1942 Wannsee Conference, the Nazi gathering that finetuned Hitler’s final solution.

Telesur, whose broadcast includes an English language channel and a Washington, DC, based correspondent, continues to spread misinformation and incitement through the ether, the internet, and social media. Washington, whose battle against disinformation has taken multiple steps to curb Russia’s and Iran’s misinformation channels in the anglosphere, seems mostly oblivious to Spanish language propaganda by Maduro’s Venezuela, despite its ability to shape public opinion in Latin America.

Downplaying the importance of the battle of ideas in Spanish will have long-term implications, especially in Latin America, where the Maduro regime continues to leverage a long history of anti-Americanism to its own advantage. Commenting on Russia’s Spanish language propaganda in Latin America, Southern Command’s General Laura J. Richardson recently said, “In 2020, Russia Today (RT)’s Spanish-language media outlets more than doubled their social media followers from 7 million to over 18 million. These disinformation campaigns are just one part of Russia’s broader efforts to influence national elections throughout the region this year.”

With much of the region’s political winds blowing leftward, the pro-Iran and pro-Hamas echo chamber of the Maduro regime should draw as much urgent attention from the White House and State Department as Russia’s disinformation does.

If Washington does wake up to the threat, it can take three initial steps to address it. First, it can slap sanctions against Telesur, much like it did against Iran’s Press TV, for its key role in supporting censorship and televising forced confessions, and Russian state-owned propaganda outlets for their role in Russia’s disinformation campaign. Second, it can lobby the telecom private sector to have Telesur de-platformed. Third, it can appeal to U.S.-based social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, X, the Daily Motion, and YouTube, to ensure they restrict Venezuelan regime disinformation.

The pro-Hamas, pro-Iran disinformation that Telesur spews daily is inflammatory, inciteful, and rife with antisemitic hatred. Telesur should be treated as a foreign state influence operation of the Maduro dictatorship for its continued rhetoric inciting hatred against Jews and driving global antisemitism. It should not be given free rein. Washington has sanctioned similar media disinformation campaigns before. Telesur should not be an exception.

Source: FDD

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Brussels (08/11 – 50)

On March 20, the IMF approved a $3 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to support Sri Lanka amid its economic crisis. The approval is expected to pave the way for other financial institutions to extend support to the bankrupt South Asian country. IMF program was made possible largely due to the untiring efforts of the President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The IMF links financial assistance to a country to policy reform, a conditionality that usually imposes political as well as economic changes in the recipient nation. The logic behind IMF conditionality is multifold. It is supposed to prevent moral hazard by governments that receive loans. These conditions allow the IMF to monitor the behavior of the recipient states and allegedly promote best practices and good governance.

Sri Lanka has been to the IMF 16 times before; five of these since 2000. The full amount of the IMF loan was not disbursed on six occasions because Sri Lanka did not fully comply with the conditions of the loans. This included the previous EFF in 2016, when the conditions imposed by the IMF built additional pressure on the domestic economy. There has been much skepticism about Sri Lanka adhering to the more stringent IMF conditions this time around.

Despite the skepticism that prevails among journalists and economists, the IMF is very happy about the progress Sri Lanka is making on the commitments it made as a part of the IMF’s four-year EFF to the country.

An IMF delegation, which was in Colombo recently to assess the progress of the agreement, is optimistic. IMF Director of Asia and Pacific Department Krishna Srinivasan told a press conference in Colombo on May 15 that the Sri Lankan government has shown “commitment to the reform effort” that is a part of the agreement with the IMF.  He added that the “authorities are making good faith efforts to negotiate with all the creditors, both private creditors and official creditors.”

Ranil Wickremesinghe took over as President of Sri Lanka in July 2022 when the country was in the middle of its worst economic and political crisis since independence in 1948. On March 20, 2023, the IMF approved a $3 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to support Sri Lanka amid its economic crisis.

Peter Breuer, IMF’s Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka, Asia, and Pacific Department said they “see things developing more or less in line with expectations.”

Srinivasan added that Sri Lanka had to complete a number of prior actions before the IMF approved its bailout package. These actions were extensive and required a significant commitment from the Sri Lankan government.

Among these are cost-reflective of a number of goods and services that the government had subsidized for decades.  Sarwat Jahan, the IMF Resident Representative in Sri Lanka said the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) would have to recover their costs until the end of the IMF program.

The government met all these requirements, which shows that they are serious about implementing the reforms necessary to address the country’s economic crisis, Srinivasan said.

The conditions attached to IMF loans often involve actions aimed at discontinuing industry subsidies, avoiding exchange rate manipulation, adjusting budget priorities, and regulating wage levels. Leaders, who face diverse political limitations, differ in their willingness to engage in an agreement with the IMF and make compromises in these four areas.

Considering that IMF loan conditionality agreements usually involve implementing fiscal austerity measures, leaders with larger winning coalitions will encounter more challenges when attempting to negotiate an agreement for IMF financing.

On the other hand, when a regime maintains power through a narrower network of closely-connected supporters, he or she finds it easier to enter into an agreement with the IMF.

Miles Kahler, a senior fellow for global governance at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC, in his 1993 book chapter titled “Bargaining with the IMF: Two-Level Strategies and Developing Countries,” outlines two key aspects of domestic politics that influence the process of loan negotiations: firstly, the degree to which a technocratic elite is insulated from economic interests, and secondly, the frequency with which elites face political challenges like elections.

Another factor that can impede the formation of a loan agreement is the presence of multiple veto actors, such as a separation of powers or the existence of multiparty governing coalitions.

Kahler says that when a country has a higher number of veto actors capable of obstructing a loan agreement, the scope of domestic political consensus becomes narrower, resulting in increased negotiation costs for the IMF. Typically, the count of veto actors is determined by assessing the number of parties in a government coalition in countries where genuine political competition exists.

This explains why it was extremely difficult for former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who came into power through a coalition of populism and with the support of a number of interest groups, from big businesses to professional associations, to enter into negotiations with the IMF.

On the other hand, Wickremesinghe is the head of the United National Party, a political party that obtained around 250,000 votes from 15 million eligible voters. He has one MP in Parliament, Wajira Abeywardana, who is a staunch loyalist. Wickremesinghe is backed in parliament by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), whose MPs depend on him for political survival and would vote for any legislation that he brings forth.

Sri Lankan legislators are entitled to several perks at the end of the full tenure of five years and most of the SLPP MPs that back Wickremesinghe are adamant on completing their terms. Wickremesinghe has also indicated that there will be no elections until the economy is stabilized and it is likely that the first election Sri Lankans will see is a presidential election, probably in 2024.

Therefore, Wickremesinghe can implement the IMF recommendations completely, as he is not answerable to any political coalition or interest groups. Neither does he face an election. Wickremesinghe’s personal ideology also aligns with that of the IMF. It is unlikely that these factors were ignored by the IMF when the loan was approved and when they evaluate whether Sri Lanka will adhere to IMF conditionalities.

Source

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London (05/11 – 44.44)

Benjamin Wey, a Chinese-American financier, founder of Fintech Holdings and a history of legal trouble, is suing Sri Lanka for $250 million. Wey claims that he was assured by Sri Lanka’s central bank governor that the country would repay a $250 million bond. However, Sri Lanka defaulted on the bond in April 2022.

Wey is seeking to collect the full amount of the bond, plus interest. He has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The lawsuit is a major setback for Sri Lanka, which is already facing a severe economic crisis. The country is struggling to repay its debts, and the lawsuit could make it even more difficult to secure a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The US government has intervened in the lawsuit, and it is unclear how the case will be resolved. However, it is likely to drag on for several years, and it could further destabilize Sri Lanka’s economy.

Notorious financier, Benjamin Wey wants to collect from Sri Lanka, the full amount of the $250 million bond plus interest. He has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Wey is a controversial figure. He was arrested in 2015 on charges of fraud, but the charges were dropped. He was also sued for sexual harassment, and he settled the case for $5.65 million.

Wey is the founder of Fintech Holdings, a holding company that owns several businesses, including Hamilton Reserve Bank (HRB). HRB is the entity that is suing Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is facing a severe economic crisis. The country is struggling to repay its debts, and it has been forced to default on several bonds. The crisis has led to widespread shortages of food, fuel, and other essential goods.

The IMF has offered to bail out Sri Lanka, but the government has been slow to agree to the IMF’s terms. The lawsuit filed by Wey could further complicate the negotiations with the IMF.

It is unclear how the lawsuit will be resolved. However, it is likely to drag on for several years. The case is complex, and there are many legal issues that need to be resolved.

The lawsuit could also have a significant impact on Sri Lanka’s economy. If Wey is successful, it could force the country to default on even more debt.

This could further destabilize the economy and make it even more difficult for Sri Lanka to recover from the crisis.

The lawsuit is a major setback for Sri Lanka, but it is also a test of the country’s legal system. If Sri Lanka is able to defend itself against the lawsuit, it will send a message to other investors that the country is a safe place to do business.

The outcome of the lawsuit will also have implications for the IMF. If the IMF is seen as being unable to protect its borrowers from predatory lawsuits, it could discourage other countries from seeking bailouts from the IMF.

The lawsuit is a complex and far-reaching case. It will be interesting to see how it is resolved and what impact it has on Sri Lanka, the IMF, and the global economy.

Source : Lanka News Line

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Toronto, Alaska (16/11 – 50)

Our lives are being maneuvered and we are being manipulated by unelected, insidious forces, toward objectives not necessarily in the people’s interest.

Now that the so-called “pandemic”, declared by the mysterious self-appointed World Health Organization, and followed obediently by governments everywhere, has been decreed “finished”, we should devote a moment to introspection, considering who is running the show and for whose benefit, as governments gaily abdicated their vested responsibility to govern.

Pandemic is over? I hope they told those killer viruses who destroyed the population of Europe and North America. What? Oh, just 1% mortality? And that 1% mostly old, sick, fat folks riddled with comorbidities? How interesting. Get a booster.

Cui bono? Who benefited from the mammoth lockdowns, forced injections, prescription of powerful, deadly medications and jamming of lethal respirators down the throats of elderly, often demented patients? Have people forgotten already how hospitals became like prisons, and families often had to get a court order in order to force them to release a family member, or halt medications they did not approve of: “Remdesivir” (which nurses used to refer to as “Run! Death is near!”) causes kidney failure, and was being prescribed to patients already diagnosed with … kidney failure. Then, in mid-2022 the WHO suddenly did a volte-face and recommended against it.

Who is the WHO, and how have previously sovereign states obligingly sacrificed their independent judgment to it? Advertising itself as “Working with 194 Member States across 6 regions and on the ground in 150+ locations, the WHO team works to improve everyone’s ability to enjoy good health and well-being.” Founded in 1948 as an arm of the fledgling United Nations, like any unimpeded bureaucratic monster, the World Health Organization has swollen to gargantuan proportions, and has a gargantuan appetite, which can only be sated with a gargantuan budget … Do you see where this is going?

Our hidden masters who pull the strings of the governments and corporations adhere to the time-honored principle of “Never let a crisis go to waste” and if the crisis is a tempest in a teapot, well then, use the obedient media to whip up fear and panic among the buffaloed masses, so a flu variant becomes a humanity-destroying monster. Yes, I’m talking about the recent wave of flu infections – oh sorry, “Covid-19”. Give it a scary Hollywood name.

Do you, dear readers, recall those dramatic early-on videos of Wuhan citizens keeling over dead from the mystery virus (which many pranksters loved to tease the Chinese by calling it “Wu-Flu”)? Strangely enough, that horror movie never played out in the rest of the world, or am I mistaken? Are there videos of pedestrians strolling along in Düsseldorf, or Chicongo, or Osaka, and then toppling over kaput? No? I wonder why.

If you are a conspiracy theorist, you might well wonder whether total social control over the masses was not the real goal, from the outset. “Scare them half to death with a mystery medical panic – then sell them the potentially lethal poison to finish the job” may have been the motto of “Big Pharma”, whose money-glazed tentacles stretched through every aspect of medicine, academia, Government… turn on your computer; check out the video montages called “Brought to you by Pfizer” on YouTube, to see how money doesn’t just talk – it never shuts up. Billions were lathered around, so that many more billions could be squeezed from the public purse.

Big Pharma makes big billions – government does what government does: extend control over each and every citizen, with a “digital ID”. For your own good and public health! See how it works?

Yes, this is no “conspiracy theory”, no. Yes, it is a conspiracy by the World Economic Forum, with its 15-minute cities, no more automobile or steak for your family, Buster – shut up, sit still in your locked-down flat and eat those bugs.

The Critical Difference: “Dying from Covid-19” in that corner, vs. “Dying with Covid-19” in this corner. The first combatant? Miniscule. Around 1%, which statistically signifies “margin of error”. The second refers to those poor souls already riddled with comorbidities, obese, polluted by their junk food and smokes. They were 75% toward Death’s Door anyway – why not give them that “extra push” with Mengele-injections and forced intubation?

Note how the medical establishment, swimming in money from Big Pharma at this point, strongly discouraged any discussion of natural immunity, in their rush, their amazing rush to inject an experimental gene therapy into toddlers, teenagers, anybody within range – most of whom were more than willing to be lab rats for Big Pharma. Experimental Animals’R’Us!

Those not afflicted with memory loss will recall the Presidents and Prime Ministers and Health Poobahs guaranteeing that with the magical jabs we would not fall ill with the dreaded Covid. That story changed because it had to. Then it became “Oh yes, you can still get Covid but it is milder than if you’d not been injected”. The story shifted at each point, as celebs and politicos got their arms pumped with gene therapy on television while grinning … Or was it? Not saline solution perhaps, for those “in the know”?

Hey, look over there – it is American Defense Secretary Colin Powell – you know, the dude holding up the bag of yellow powder which was Saddam Hussein’s nuclear bomb instant mix. Colin Powell had been vaxxed out the kazoo, with multiple boosters, and Colin Powell is what cynical docs refer to as “room temperature”: he ain’t movin’, folks, that feller’s daid.

Early on, strange, unexpected, painful results were being reported from injections of the “vaccine”, which earned its “quotation marks” from being the beneficiary of a refreshened definition of what a vaccine was and was not. Rabies, smallpox, tetanus, polio and so on: prepared from weakened or dead viral matter. That’s what defines “vaccine”.

mRNA: experimental gene therapy, never submitted to proper double-blind trials to ascertain long-term effects. Thus, mysterious cases of athletes collapsing during play (and not infrequently dying on the spot), morticians reporting mysterious fibrous wads found in the blood vessels of autopsies, cases of myocardia and pericardia, conditions inflicting permanent and irreversible damage on the heart muscle, appearing in 15-year-olds, 8-year-olds, and being called “mild…”, “rare” or “…inconsequential”.

Astoundingly-low rates of Covid-19 infection reported from Africa (mostly by Japanese researchers, who were much less compromised or bought off by the global authorities). Was that linked to their steady use of Nobel Prize-winning Ivermectin? No, nothing to see here, move along now, forget about the horse dewormer. Such a propaganda campaign for the miracle jabs and against a cheap prophylactic.

Oh wait, a new variant has been reported, so you need a booster, Buster.

That never seemed to happen with traditional killers. There is not relentless “booster campaign” for tetanus or polio. (Rabies, yes, get your kitty her shots every six months.)

Who were these mysterious authorities to whom governments around the world were sacrificing their decision-making to? Let’s take a close look at WHO, and the sinister money-lubed forces behind it.

Money plays a role, from the git-go. Oh, you have heard those lyrics before?

Consider the “regulatory capture” factor, something the inconvenient Covid-heretic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. talks about. In the much-trumpeted democratic republics, where vox populi is supposed to be championed and held up as a model, mass mandates, lockdowns, a fear campaign, media control, non-conforming physicians threatened with the loss of their careers – all played a part, singing a melody trumpeted by mass media, all crooning “Get the jab, safe and effective”.

Was that true? has a part, and last but not least, allowing unelected bodies that shouldn’t even exist at the federal levels, make decisions that negate our inalienable rights, also having “democracy” decide issues of science.

“Rest homes” for the elderly became extermination camps, with stratospherically-soaring death rates – and not from the effects of the coronavirus. Every death that could be attributed to this “flavor-of-the-month” disease yielded $13,500 to hospitals, often teetering on bankruptcy before the great money-spinner appeared on the scene (too many indigent patients – obese lazy smokers living on grease, sugar and preservatives – not able to pay their bills).

Apart from the millions suffering permanent damage or even-more-permanent death from the fancy, untested “vaccines”, there is the big issue of “truth decay”. Loss of trust in the medical establishment is no joke. When the customers start to balk at what the purported “experts” are prescribing for them, and going to court to fight the institutions, you know something is wrong.

1918 “Spanish Flu” death rate = 35%. 2019 “Wu-Flu” death rate = ~1%, and that includes many deeply-unhealthy citizens already at death’s door.

Vaccine injuries: oh let’s not talk about that. There isn’t time. All line up for your 43^rd booster now, before yet another profitable variant is screamed out over the TV, and that 43^rd turns out to be ineffective.

Actual scene in government hospital, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia: uncle is ailing, has been quite weak and sick for several years. Now he picks up the dreaded <tee hee> “Covid-19” virus, and how does that happen? With a PCP test the inventor of which claimed repeatedly cannot correctly diagnose this type of viral infection. Check out inventor Kary Mullis.

Uncle turns up his toes, buys the farm, checks out, leaves the building, is “lights out”, abandons this mortal realm.

Immediately after the family is told of his death, a smiling hospital employee in a white smock shows up and says “Hey, if you’ll sign right here on the dotted line – we’re going to give you sixty million Rupiah! [equivalent to US$ 4000 at the time of writing this essay]

The grieving family is bewildered at this. Money? For our dead uncle? No thanks, Hank. They edge away, suspicious, knowing full well that nobody gives away free money these days without expecting something in return.

In return? Oh yes: the hospital would have been paid Rp 180 million for that “certified death from Covid-19”, taking away a handsome Rp 120 million ( = US$ 8000) as a reward. What’s going on here? Families of patients dying from typhus, diabetes, heart failure, cancer – they’re not offered bribes to sign. Unless the above-mentioned illnesses can miraculously be re-diagnosed as the coronavirus.

Doesn’t something stink? Have we forgotten the Nürnberg Trials of 1947, where Nazi doctors were experimenting on hapless prisoners with all sorts of dangerous, even lethal, substances? The ultimate casualty is the trust of the public. Millions upon millions of citizens are backing away, avoiding hospitals, consulting with Dr. Google on the sly when their family physician smiles, frowns and dispenses medical wisdom.

Trust is lost. As any experienced businessman can assure you, that’s a big one, as trust is exceedingly difficult to ever repair again.

Follow the money. Be alert to the creeping control.

Who voted for WHO? Nobody did, that’s who. You’re being handled and WHOdwinked – and you’re paying for it.

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Toronto, Atlanta (28/11 – 20)

A wise old expression intones “Behind every bad borrower is a bad lender”. Like many such cute, amusing aphorisms, it is accurate as far as it goes … but what if?

What if a loan approval is held up, then granted, after a couple of phone calls from the office of the Vice President? What if the borrower is a crony or relative of Mr. Big, which is what practically bankrupted Indonesia, when the Soeharto vampire children took out multi-hundred-million-dollar “loans” (wink wink) for projects whose profit-making potential was near zero?

What is the potential borrower tells you that he knows your daughter is in medical school, and implies a carrot-or-stick reaction to the granting of a loan, plausible or implausible? Will she suddenly be framed for a narcotics charge? Will she simply disappear one lonely night? Or will she be graciously accepted into one of the finest, most expensive clinics in the land, as a junior physician? Depends on that loan approval, buddy.

Magnify this to a national or global level. Nations grant loans often contingent, in an implied or explicit fashion, on the recipient purchasing from them. A “defense loan” or “grant” from the USA may hinge on the purchase of overpriced, maintenance-intensive, soon-obsolete weaponry which may or may not work: the military-industrial complex is concerned with profits, not effectiveness.

Take the Lockheed F-104. Go ahead, take one. (Nobody else wants them.) How many pilots in Occupied Germany, oh sorry, the Federal Republic of Germany have come to grief in the stubby-winged fighter jet? Here, don’t bother, Bing will save you the trouble: “According to the International F-104 Society, Germany lost 292 of its 916 F-104 Starfighters and 116 pilots from 1961 to 1989. The high accident rate of the F-104 earned it the nickname ‘Witwenmacher’ or ‘widowmaker’ from the German public.”

Would you buy a car with an accident history like that? Maybe if the terms were great, and Lockheed, in league with Uncle Sam, undoubtedly offered terrific E-Z Time Payments to the German Government to buy those sweet fighters. The widows may moan and bawl but for the big fellows in industry and government, it’s “…just doing business…” Killing Germans was never such a big bother for them, either.

Flash-forward to Century 21.

The West is [mock]-outraged that the People’s Republic of China has followed the model, diverting some of those trillions of chancy fiat dollars, a tsunami of wealth following the Reagan-era offshoring of American manufacturing to the Middle Kingdom (with the added bonus of deindustrializing the USA), into developing countries for infrastructure projects, through its “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI), also known as “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR).

The global development strategy was initiated by the Chinese government in 2013 for infrastructure projects, ideally promoting their concept of “economic cooperation” with raggedy-ass, flat-broke countries across Asia, Europe, and Africa.

Why would Communist China do that, apart from the urgent need to unload its trillions before the pranksters in Washington suddenly drastically devalue the American Rupee? (PROTIP: Your dollars will suddenly and magically become worthless museum pieces, like their Zimbabwe counterparts, when their trillions of debt bite hard).

Well, because the People’s Republic of China wishes to extend a hand of friendship and cooperation to fellow developing nations, in a benevolent spirit of international harmony and global progress.

What’s that pouty face you’re making? You don’t believe? OK, try this: China gives loans to profligate deadbeats who can’t possibly pay them back, for projects ranging from borderline to worthless, with a smart ulterior motive on the part of the clever Orientals.

Borderline: The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya, funded and built by China for a cool $3.2 billion, with a second phase costing $1.5 billion. Built to connect the port city of Mombasa to the capital city of Nairobi, and later extended to Naivasha, it sort of made economic sense: get those chickens and veggies and fish to market in the capital more quickly and efficiently. Give tourists a nice train ride.

Yes, yes – but does that justify going into the hole for nearly US$ 4 billion? Sounds like a pack of roving gypsies buying a Lamborghini (as opposed to stealing one, which is their customary style), simply because the car dealer (holding too much inventory) agrees to a fifty-year time payment plan on the car.

The Kenyan deal clicks into a logical strategy when you consider that Mombasa would make a fine and dandy PLA naval base, complementing the one the Chinese already built on the coast of Djibouti.

Watch what happens when a fresh new Kenyan government comes whining and wringing their hands with “Sorry we weren’t the ones who agreed to the loan, and we can’t pay you back quite yet”. Just watch. Indonesia take note – those billions owed to the PRC will come due as well.

ÜBER-Worthless: tragic, desperate Sri Lanka, ripped apart by two decades plus of civil war, and nothing worthwhile to export – one of the “basket cases” famously described by Henry W.C. Kissinger. They don’t even have a decent sex trade to attract moneyed tourists, unlike Thailand or the Philippines.

When a reckless, desperate (& notoriously corrupt) government started to “print money” to cover deficits, inflation obediently followed, rocketing to 60 percent by June 2022. A Chatham House study: “Sri Lanka’s debt crisis was made, not in China, but in Colombo, and in the international (i.e. Western-dominated) financial markets.” Heard those lyrics before, Reader?

That brings us to the sad story of Hambantota Port, a narrative of political and economic incompetence, facilitated by lax governance and inadequate risk management on both sides. Repeatedly shot down by experts, with multiple feasibility studies showing Hambantota couldn’t compete with the thriving Port of Colombo, the largest in Sri Lanka, which also had plenty of potential for expansion.

What if I told you that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, an emperor of corruption, conspired with the PRC to build it? Rajapaksa wanted political power, from reviving his home region and main political base, where the gigantic port was to be built. China, the only candidate to proffer a loan when all the other borrowers shied away, saw a way to a military and commercial foothold in the region, as the authorities trumpeted how they would deliver “the biggest port constructed on land in the 21st century”.

Well, the inevitable punch line: Hambantota fared so badly, mostly ignored by thousands of ships passing it by daily, that it eventually defaulted on its debts, and the Sri Lankan Government had little choice but to hand over 80% of the port’s ownership to China, as well as a large swathe of surrounding land on a 99 year-long lease. No non-Chinese allowed inside any longer, sorry.

Even if the “debt vultures” demanding full repayment are thwarted, and a deal with creditors is reached, Sri Lanka will still be burdened by a huge debt liability that can only be ‘serviced’ by cuts in the already low living standards of 22m Sri Lankans. The IMF has already indicated it will encourage austerity in Sri Lanka – reducing spending and increasing taxes. Sorry mama – no government-sponsored free milk or medical examinations for your baby. And we can’t fix that bridge that fell down, either.

It is reported that wild animals have begun to creep into the abandoned structures at Hambantota Port, seeking burrows and nests in the lonely, unused infrastructure. Hey, maybe the facility can be repurposed as a “Hambantota Wildlife Refuge”, and attract tourists that way.

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Sri Lanka is mired in a deep political and economic crisis and the country’s then President Rajapaksa has flown out of the country, days after a huge crowd of protesters stormed his residence in July 2022. Protesters for months have demanded the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whose government has been blamed for chronic mismanagement of the country’s finances.

The island nation of 22 million people has suffered months of lengthy blackouts, acute food and fuel shortages, and galloping inflation in its most painful downturn on record.

Island nation of Sri Lanka is mired in a deep crisis, they ousted their president who fled the country days after a huge crowd of protesters stormed his residence in July 2022. The country’s 22 million people have suffered months of lengthy blackouts, acute food and fuel shortages, and galloping inflation in its most painful downturn on record.

Here is how the crisis unfolded:

April 1: State of emergency

Rajapaksa declares a temporary state of emergency, giving security forces sweeping powers to arrest and detain suspects, after a spate of protests.

April 3: Cabinet resigns

Almost all of Sri Lanka’s cabinet resigns at a late-night meeting, leaving Rajapaksa and his brother Mahinda – the prime minister – isolated. The governor of the central bank, having resisted calls to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), announces his resignation a day later.

April 5: President loses majority

President Rajapaksa’s problems deepen as finance minister Ali Sabry resigns just a day after he was appointed. The embattled leader loses his parliamentary majority as former allies urge him to quit. He lifts the state of emergency.

April 10: Medicine shortages

Sri Lanka’s doctors say they are nearly out of life-saving medicines, warning that the crisis could end up killing more people than the coronavirus.

April 12: Foreign debt default

The government announces it is defaulting on its foreign debt of $51bn as a “last resort” after running out of foreign exchange to import desperately needed goods.

April 19: First casualty

Police kill a protester, the first casualty of several weeks of anti-government protests. The next day, the IMF says it has asked Sri Lanka to restructure its colossal external debt before a rescue package can be agreed.

May 9: Day of violence

A mob of government loyalists bussed in from the countryside attacks peaceful protesters camped outside the president’s seafront office in Colombo. Nine people are killed and hundreds more injured in the reprisal attacks that follow, with crowds targeting those responsible for the violence and setting fire to the homes of politicians.

Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns as prime minister and has to be rescued by troops after thousands of protesters storm his residence in Colombo. He is replaced by Ranil Wickremesinghe, a political veteran who had already served several terms as premier.

May 10: Shoot-to-kill orders

The defence ministry orders troops to shoot on sight anyone involved in looting or “causing harm to life”. But protesters defy a new government curfew, which is rolled back at the end of the week. The top police officer in Colombo is assaulted and his vehicle set ablaze.

June 10: ‘Humanitarian emergency’

The United Nations warns that Sri Lanka is facing a dire humanitarian crisis, with millions already in need of aid. More than three-quarters of the population had reduced their food intake due to the country’s severe food shortages, the UN says.

June 27: Fuel sales suspended

The government says Sri Lanka is nearly out of fuel and halts all petrol sales except for essential services.

July 1: New inflation record

The government publishes data showing inflation has hit a record high for the ninth consecutive month, a day after the IMF asks Sri Lanka to rein in prices.

July 9: President’s house stormed

President Rajapaksa flees his official residence in Colombo with the assistance of troops, shortly before demonstrators storm the compound. He is taken to an undisclosed location. Footage from inside the residence shows jubilant protesters jumping in the pool and exploring its stately bedrooms.

Wickremesinghe’s residence is set on fire. Police say he and his family were not at the scene. Rajapaksa later offers to step down on July 13, parliamentary speaker Mahinda Abeywardana says in a televised statement.

July 13: President flees country

President Rajapaksa flies to the Maldives on a military aircraft, accompanied by his wife and a bodyguard. His departure comes after a humiliating airport standoff in Colombo, where immigration staff did not allow VIP services and insisted all passengers go through public counters.

July 21: Sri Lanka has a new president

Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the President of Sri Lanka.

Source: Al Jazeera

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Berlin (3/11 – 40)

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will visit China in the upcoming week as the crisis-hit country makes progress on debt restructuring talks with its biggest lender.

Wickremesinghe took office in July last year, after a popular uprising, brought on by an economic meltdown, had forced his predecessor out of power. His Oct. 15-19 visit to Beijing will be his first to China since then.

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also finance minister, has been leading Sri Lanka’s push to manage its heavy debt and keep funds flowing from a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. He will visit China to continue debt talks.

Wickremesinghe, who is also finance minister, has been leading Sri Lanka’s push to manage its heavy debt and keep funds flowing from a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

He will attend a Belt and Road Forum in Beijing that would mark the 10th anniversary of the initiative championed by China’s President Xi Jinping to develop global infrastructure and energy networks.

Wickremesinghe is expected to meet Xi on the sidelines of the forum, said the source who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak with the media. The Sri Lankan leader intends to meet China’s finance and foreign ministers too.

Sri Lanka owes Chinese lenders – bilateral and commercial – around $7 billion. It reached an agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China on Thursday covering about $4.2 billion of outstanding debt but is still working with other key bilateral creditors including Japan and India on reaching a debt restructuring plan.

Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt in May last year after its dollar reserves fell to a point where the island nation of 22 million people could no longer pay for essential imports like fuel and medicine.

Sri Lanka needs to reach agreements with creditors to push forward its first review of the IMF programme, which will release a second tranche of about $334 million. The first tranche was released in March.

The country has been a key receiver of loans under China’s Belt and Road infrastructure drive, helping it to build highways, a port, an airport and a coal power plant.

Source

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Greece’s Waterway Committee, made up of representatives from the Civil Aviation Authority, port authorities and the fire brigade, completed an inspection this week of the Patra waterway, a project approved in 2017.

The waterway will be managed and operated by Patra Waterway, in which Greek Water Airports (Ellinika Ydatodromia) is a majority partner.

Grecian Air Seaplanes will be carrying out the flights from Patra to the Ionian and Saronic islands and to Peloponnese destinations as well as to other destinations to be included on its network.

Indicative seaplane flight times from the Patras Waterway to Athens will be 45 minutes, to Corfu (55 minutes), Spetses (42 minutes), Pylos (38 minutes), and to Kefalonia (28 minutes).

“The return of seaplanes to our city will maximize its brand name, attracting Greek and foreign tourists to visit Patra and Western Greece,” said Patra Port Authority CEO Panagiotis Tsonis, adding that this was the final stage of the licensing procedure for the Patra waterway to be the first to open in Greece.

Also commenting on the news, Greek Water Airports SA Founder and Managing Director President Tasos Govas, said that the Patra Waterway, once operational, would serve as “guide” for the creation of an extensive network of waterways across the Peloponnese, allowing fast, safe and flexible movement of residents and tourists.

The security checkpoint at the Patras Port Water Airport. Photo source: Hellenic Seaplanes

Three years ago, a 12-year concession deal between the city’s port authority and Patra Port Waterway made up of Greek Water Airports SA and Hellenic Seaplanes was finalized, granting Patra Port Waterway the right to operate, manage and exploit a waterway airport on the northern side of the port.

Source: GTP

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