Memories etched in stone and in our hearts
This is the third and final part of an article based on the writer’s recent visit to China. The first two articles were published in the Sunday Times of Sept. 18 and 25. By Ameen Izzadeen For the first time, in our 10-day stay in China, we felt we were like a group of social [...]
Between the worlds of Kautilya and Nye
By Dr. Sarala Fernando Everyone is talking of soft power today and referring to the work of Joseph Nye. In a nutshell, soft power is the ability to shape the preferences of others through appeal and attraction rather than by hard power (i.e.military force). Nye sets the frame in the changing global power equation which [...]
Trump versus West
By Dominique Moisi NEW YORK – In less than 50 days, we will know who the next president of the United States will be. Though Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has a lead in national opinion polls, it has narrowed to a near-tie, meaning that her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, could well triumph. Indeed, US observers [...]
International Financial City must be a win-win project
By Carmel L. Corea At the 71st United Nations General Assembly sessions in New York President Maithripala Sirisena proudly announced that Sri Lanka is a free, independent and sovereign nation with territorial integrity, his speech also appeased the hearts of environmentalists when he stated his government’s commitment to environment sustainability. He further added, “My government’s [...]
National Unity Govt’s achievements and challenges ahead
By Krishantha Prasad Cooray Twenty months ago a decision was made that changed the course of our country. Many factors contributed to what happened next. Many individuals, organizers and in the end the majority of the voters played important and even crucial roles in how things unfolded. However, if one man had not taken an [...]
Microcephaly surveillance in Lanka
Dr. Kapila Jayaratne Microcephaly, small head size in new born, is a rare condition. This condition has recently gained much media and public focus because of its association with the Zika virus. On February 1 this year, WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in response to reports of clusters of microcephaly [...]
Public service and service to the public: The need for efficient systems
By Ariyaratne Hewage Public means the people in a country. Public service therefore, should concentrate on providing the required services to the people. The main objective of the members of public service is to ensure that the functions entrusted to each one of them would be performed in an efficient and effective manner to improve [...]
Ban Ki-moon Successes and frustrations of his 10 years as UN Chief
In his decade in office, Ban never overcame his aloof image. But in many ways he modernised the United Nations, and pushed it to confront its deepest challenges By Barbara Crossette Ban Ki-moon became the eighth secretary general of the United Nations in January 2007, in a world that was a much quieter place than [...]
Mrs. Ban learns of challenges faced by WIN to end violence against women here
The empathy was obvious, even though it was a closed session. Intense and emotional seemed the story being told, eliciting a strong supportive response. This we gathered, peering through the glass with large tinted squares, into the first-floor room at the Women-in-Need (WIN) office down Tickell Road in Borella recently. Madam Ban Soon-taek, wife of [...]
Trail 2016 all set to begin on October 6
By Minushi Perera Trail was initiated by Nathan Sivagananathan and Sarinda Unamboowe, co-founders of the project together with the Colours of Courage Trust in 2011 in an effort to bring communities across Sri Lanka together and collectively drive the nation’s fight against cancer. This year the ‘Trail’ walk will begin from Point Pedro in Jaffna [...]
J’pura Alumni Association felicitates Wegapitiya
The Alumni Association of University of Sri Jayewardenepura felicitated its president and Laugfs Gas PLC chairman W.A.H. Wegapitiya for winning the Sri Lankan of the Year award in the entrepreneur category at the Derana Sri Lankan of the Year ceremony held recently. The award was given to him in recognition of his achievements that have [...]
Royal doctors hold fund-raiser for free health programmes
The Royal College Doctors Association will hold their fifth fund-raising dinner on October 8 at the Hotel Galadari from 7 p.m. onwards. The proceeds of the dinner will be utilised to carry out the RCDA’s health programmes at Royal College, Colombo and in other schools in rural and remote areas. As the leading boys’ school in [...]
Essay and oratory competition to mark Malay Language Day
For the 10th year in succession, Conference of Sri Lankan Malays (COSLAM) will mark Hari Bahasa Melayu (Malay Language Day) on January 08 next year in an effort to encourage and popularise the use of the language among Malays and other people. In pursuance of this, COSLAM will conduct essay and oratory competitions in Malay [...]