Arundathie Abeysinghe

Corruption and labour shortages are among the causes, but the latest challenge comes from President Ranil Wickremesinghe's budget proposal to increase VAT by 18 per cent. For some observers, the sector is on the verge of collapse.

At the ongoing UN conference in Dubai, the Sri Lankan president proposed two initiatives: the establishment of the Forum of the Countries of the Global South to exert political weight in the dialogue with the countries of the North, and the creation of a university on the island to work exclusively on the issue of global warming.

An organised crime cartel allegedly brought 13 children 'regularly' from Sri Lanka to Malaysia and from there, using false documents, they were trafficked to the rest of the world, including Europe. The chairman of the National Child Protection Authority, Udayakumara Amarasinghe: 'Parents are given a certain amount of money to take them abroad even though this is a criminal offence'.

Sri Lanka is increasingly tying its fragile economy to China. After the debt agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China, Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe said he was ready to expand the direct corridor with China bypassing India. Xi Jinping’s special envoy, State Counsellor Shen Yiqin, used her visit to the island to "lay out” China’s cards.

The policy of tariff adjustments has left more than half a million users without electricity. Privileges enjoyed by politicians, like longer credit periods because of higher bills, are very controversial. Accounts are closed after 30 days and a 10-day notice. For the company, everything is in order.

Colombo anticipates the timing and before approving the budget law announces the change in VAT from 15 to 18% from next year. In addition, some exemptions to essential goods and services will be removed, which will hit people and families in poverty the hardest, in the wake of the increases in electricity tariffs

According to Save the Children, “three out of every ten children interviewed in the study have experienced some sort of online violence”, ranging from cyberbullying to child trafficking and child pornography. The country has no legislation in the matter.

The president and leader of the United National Party (UNP) presents himself as a "strong man" in a country in crisis with cumbersome neighbours like China and India. Voters hope that the next parliament will lift the economy and solve endemic problems, but some analysts doubt whether they will actually be held next year.

A series of preliminary agreements have been signed with the China Exim Bank. An intervention with a double value: to recover as much as possible, given that China is Sri Lanka's main creditor, and to increase ties with the country in an anti-India perspective

"Strengthening the regional ties and identity of the 23 countries of Asia, Africa and Oceania bordering the same sea, but also improving the status of women and the sustainability of the area's economy" are the objectives of Colombo's two-year leadership of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)

The revenue agency and the customs and excise administration are in the crosshairs. It will be difficult for the government to meet the short-term targets set by the IMF. According to experts, the executive 'has little or no room to increase tax rates'. The incidence of corruption has been growing since 2005, weighing more and more heavily on the budget.

The government and school authorities decided to crack down on the practice of "ragging", widespread in the country's universities. A phenomenon that causes thousands of school dropouts every year, but the most vulnerable struggle to overcome physical and psychological violence. The testimony to AsiaNews of three victims who still suffer from the disabling effects today.