GOSSIPforGOSSIPER

  The world's largest aircraft, the Antonov AN-225, has been destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials, generating alarm and sadness among the aviation world in which it occupies almost cult status. The enormous aircraft, named "Mriya," or "dream" in Ukrainian, was parked at an airfield near Kyiv when it was attacked by "Russian occupants," Ukrainian authorities said, adding that they would rebuild the plane. "Russia may have destroyed our 'Mriya'. But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free and democratic European state. We shall prevail!" wrote Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Twitter. There has been no independent confirmation of the aircraft's destruction. A tweet from the Antonov Company said it could not verify the "technical condition" of the aircraft until it had been inspected by experts. Ukrainian state defense company Ukroboronprom, whi...

  Instead of continuing with the general subsidy, the Government should consider introducing a market-driven pricing formula for fuel to determine prices at the pump. Immediate and urgent measures to bring about macroeconomic stabilisation needs to complement these reforms if the country is to come out of this difficult situation, a media release from Advocate stated. The Colombo-based think-tank proposes the following reforms: Implementation of an effective fuel pricing formula, pricing energy correctly reducing the build-up of imbalances, reducing barriers to entry and promoting open markets in energy is the only viable option to reducing fuel prices, the current crisis needs far-reaching measures and allowing the price system to function is a crucial step in dealing with the problems, using direct cash transfers to address the issue of equity is more efficient than subsidising all users of a product; the Samurdhi scheme will have to be re-examined for these purposes. Another key...