Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Sri Lanka president warns West investment needed to keep China at bay

Sri Lanka's new president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has warned India and Western nations that his country will be forced to seek finance from China again if they do not invest in the island.

Rajapaksa told the Hindu newspaper in an interview published Sunday that other Asian nations would also turn to China's giant Belt and Road infrastructure project without alternative help.


Sri Lanka has traditionally been allied to India but became close to China, securing about $7 billion in loans and investment, when Rajapaksa's brother Mahinda was president from 2005 to 2015.

"I want to tell India, Japan, Singapore and Australia and other countries to also come and invest in us," said the president, who was in India this weekend on his first foreign trip since winning a presidential election on November 16.

"They should tell their companies to invest in Sri Lanka and help us grow, because if they do not, then not only Sri Lanka, but countries all over Asia will have the same (problem).

"The Chinese will take the Belt and Road initiative all over unless other countries provide an alternative."

India has been at the forefront of nations wary of Belt and Road, fearing it will reinforce China's military and strategic clout in the Indian Ocean region that New Delhi considers its backyard.

China has alloted hundreds of billions of dollars on the network of ports, railways, roads and industrial parks spanning Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

India's foreign and defence ministers held talks with counterparts from Japan on Saturday in a bid to step up military cooperation.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa also confirmed that he wants to renegotiate the agreement with China about the strategic Hambantota port south of Colombo that serves the key shipping lanes between Europe and Asia.

"I believe that the Sri Lankan government must have control of all strategically important projects like Hambantota," he said in the interview.

"The next generation will curse our generation for giving away precious assets otherwise," he said.

Sri Lanka was forced to hand the port over to China in 2017 on a 99-year lease after the Sri Lankan government was unable to repay loans taken to build it.

India and some Western countries have raised concerns that nations who have taken Chinese loans under the Belt and Road initiative risk falling into a debt trap.

Rajapaksa said he was certain India's government under rightwing Prime Minister Narendra Modi would move past the apprehensions it had over ties between Sri Lanka and China.

"Some of their suspicions were due to our ties with China, but that was a misunderstanding. We had a purely commercial agreement with China," Rajapaksa said.

More For You

Nirmala Sitharaman

India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure would be simplified from four slabs to two, with reductions across several sectors. (Photo: Getty Images)

India cuts consumption taxes, simplifies structure into two slabs

INDIA announced a major cut in consumption taxes on Wednesday, days after the United States imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods.

India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure would be simplified from four slabs to two, with reductions across several sectors. In some cases, levies have been reduced by more than half.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jio Platforms

Jio Platforms includes India’s largest telecom operator, Reliance Jio Infocomm, with more than 500 million users. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters

Jio IPO planned for mid-2026, AI unit announced with Meta and Google

RELIANCE Industries plans to take its telecom and digital arm, Jio Platforms, public by mid-2026, chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Friday. The announcement sets a new timeline for the long-awaited IPO of a business analysts value at over $100 billion.

At its annual general meeting (AGM), Reliance also announced the launch of an artificial intelligence unit in partnership with Google and Meta.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asda tech overhaul

Asda sales fell 0.2 per cent in the three months to June 30, 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Asda boss hails tech overhaul as key to revival despite sales slump

THE chairman of Asda has admitted the supermarket chain still faces challenges after sales slipped again over the summer, but said the completion of a major IT overhaul was crucial for its recovery.

Allan Leighton told the Times that the long-delayed technology project, called Project Future, had finally been finished after years of setbacks and costs exceeding £1 billion. The work involved separating more than 2,500 systems inherited from former owner Walmart, following Asda’s 2021 takeover by TDR Capital.

Keep ReadingShow less
JLR-Getty

A logo is pictured outside a Jaguar Land Rover new car show room in Tonbridge, south east England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

UK car exports to US rebound after trade deal

UK VEHICLE exports to the United States rose in July after a new trade deal between London and Washington reduced tariffs, industry data showed on Thursday.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), exports increased 6.8 per cent in July to nearly 10,000 units, following three consecutive months of decline.

Keep ReadingShow less
Relatives of jailed Briton appeal to UK minister in AgustaWestland row

Christian Michel

Relatives of jailed Briton appeal to UK minister in AgustaWestland row

THE family of Christian Michel, the British businessman accused of acting as a middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal, has appealed to the UK government to push for his release from Delhi’s Tihar Jail.

Michel’s relatives met Foreign Office minister Catherine West in London on Tuesday (26). The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the minister listened to their concerns and updated them on ongoing steps being taken.

Keep ReadingShow less