Sri Lanka government enacts social media crackdown law, tables new anti-terrorism law
By Sanjaya Jayasekera. Sri Lanka Speaker, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena last Thursday (01) signed into law the Online Safety Act (No 09 of 2024) (OSA), a piece of legislation long prepared by the ruling class to crack down upon freedom of dissent in the country. The law was approved by the Parliament
ATB driven by class hate, will be used against working class fighting austerity: Submissions to Court against ATB – Part 03
Our Reporter. This is the Part 03 of the article we commenced posting on Tuesday (30), detailing the submissions made to Supreme Court of Sri Lanka against the Anti-Terrorism Bill, challenged by PTA victim poet Ahnaf Jazeem. Read Part 01. Read Part 02. Testing Constitutionality Jayasekera also submitted to court that the standard
Debt repayments by low-income nations record high
By Nick Beams The genocide in Gaza, where bombs rain down every day killing thousands, destroying schools, hospitals and refugee centres and pulverising the facilities and resources necessary for life, leading to starvation and disease, is only the most egregious form of capitalist-imperialist violence against the world’s people, against life itself. Another
Sri Lanka’s debt trap and the vultures
By Michael Roberts Last week a US district court granted Sri Lanka’s request for a six-month pause on a creditor lawsuit against the country. Hamilton Reserve Bank holds a big chunk of one of Sri Lanka’s now-defaulted bonds and had been suing it for immediate repayment. The court decided that
US Fed pauses interest rate hikes amid rising bond yields
By Nick Beams Interest rate payments on US debt will grow as yields rise and budget deficit increases. The US Federal Reserve has paused its interest rate hikes for the second meeting in a row and sent out some mixed signals about whether it will lift rates at its last meeting for
UN report says global economy could be heading for systemic crises
By Nick Beams One of the key features of the present situation is the increasing domination of the global economy by giant corporations and finance capital which has led to the reduction of the labour share of income from 57 percent in 2000 to 53 percent today. The latest UN Trade and
IMF downgrades global growth forecast as global financial problems still loom large
By Nick Beams The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slightly revised down its forecast for global growth, largely on the back of worsening conditions in the euro zone and China. It has stated that a “full recovery toward prepandemic trends appears increasingly out of reach, especially in emerging market and developing
Fed pauses rate increases but indicates more to come
By Nick Beams The US Federal Reserve decided not to lift interest rates at its meeting yesterday, in line with market expectations. However, it signalled it could raise them again in at least one of its two scheduled meetings remaining for this year. After instituting a steep climb in rates, from near
Report to G20 summit glosses over problems in global financial system
By Nick Beams Sometimes it is hard to know whether statements issued by financial authorities are aimed at fooling themselves, the organisations to which they are being delivered or whether, they consider it best not to say too much in public documents lest this “frightens the horses.” This is the case regarding
Share buybacks and the parasitism of US capitalism
By Nick Beams The economist William Lazonick is a long-time campaigner against share buybacks by major corporations which he rightly regards as an extreme form of parasitism, financial plundering and a major factor in social inequality. His political perspective is, however, an entirely reformist one. He would like to see increased regulation,