Business sections on Sunday were cautiously upbeat. Stability. Recovery. Normalisation. The language is familiar — and selective. What is largely absent is a clear discussion […]
Author: Faraz Shauketaly
Social Media, Mistrust, and the New Information Asymmetry
Another undercurrent in Sunday coverage was the speed with which misinformation spreads — especially around disaster aid, corruption claims, and policy decisions. The instinctive response […]
Credit Growth and Quiet Optimism: Reading Between Economic Headlines
Sunday business pages carried cautious optimism: private credit growth, stabilising indicators, and signs of economic normalisation. After years of contraction, even modest improvements feel significant. […]
Banning Cigarettes for the Future: Public Health Meets Political Reality
The proposal to ban cigarette sales to those born after 2010 made Sunday headlines as a bold, forward- looking public health intervention. Conceptually, it is […]
Reconstruction Season Again: When Disasters Become Development Narratives
Sri Lanka’s Sunday papers this week were thick with images of bridges reopened, roads cleared, and ministers pointing at freshly laid concrete. Cyclone recovery, once […]
Cyclone Aid, Viral Videos, and Why Mistrust Travels Faster Than Facts
A viral video alleging misuse of cyclone aid has circulated rapidly, highlighting the fragility of public trust in Sri Lanka. Clarifications and corrections have followed, […]
Tourist Arrivals Are Up – But Is Sri Lanka Recovering or Just Counting Heads?
Sri Lanka recorded a 4.2% increase in tourist arrivals in December 2025, a figure widely cited as evidence of economic recovery. The narrative is simple […]
USD 50 Million for Digital Reform: When Technology Runs Ahead of Institutions
The World Bank’s approval of a USD 50 million grant for Sri Lanka’s digital transformation has been greeted with enthusiasm from government spokespeople, development partners, […]
Stocks Rise, Foreigners Stay Cautious: Reading Too Much Into a Market Bounce
The Colombo Stock Exchange has registered modest gains, largely driven by domestic buying. Analysts have framed this as a revival of investor confidence. The reality […]
US Navy Helicopters to Sri Lanka: Capability Upgrade or Strategic Optics?
The announcement that the United States Navy will transfer surplus TH-57 Sea Ranger helicopters to the Sri Lanka Air Force has been presented as a […]
Reserves, No Reserves, or Some Reserves — What’s the Story?
Here’s the most recent accurate picture we can draw of Sri Lanka’s foreign reserve position based on the latest local official data and independent reporting: Current Reserve […]
Selling Dollars at a 300% Mark-Up:
Sri Lanka’s Most Creative Fiscal Innovation “Confidence is not an accounting standard” Not long ago — close enough that no one can plausibly plead amnesia […]
Sri Lanka is not collapsing. Nor is it transforming. It is hovering
Sri Lanka enters the first week of January 2026 with the familiar choreography of a country that insists it is “stabilising” while tripping over the […]
“The Rules-Based Order”, With Asterisks
There is a sound the international system makes when it is embarrassed. It is not a bang. It is not even a protest. It is […]
The Auditor General Is Missing in a Functioning Democracy
If Sri Lanka were a functioning republic, the absence of an Auditor General for nearly a month would be a constitutional scandal. Instead, it has […]
Calling Out Misogyny
By Caryl Tozer and Devika Brendon Many women, however qualified they may be for high office, choose to stay away from the spotlight. Not because […]