Reflections on 80th anniversary of ‘Munich Betrayal’
It was one of the most tragic days of the 20th century: on September 30, 1938, Prime Minister of Great Britain Neville Chamberlain, his French colleague Édouard Daladier, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met in Munich to make a deal on the transferring of the Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia to Germany. Czechoslovak delegates were only [...]
Managing the global factor better
SEATTLE – Imagine a world in which the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund were more client-driven. Ahead of the gathering – this year’s will take place in Indonesia in October – the IMF would solicit from its 189 member countries three key policy issues on which to focus, not only in official discussions, [...]
The Revolution that bypassed its makers
The seasonal crocodile tears over Dry Zone peasants consuming dried leaves for survival have been shed. Pelting monsoonal showers are now reported to be over parched lands. Soon there will be harrowing reports of these unfortunate people seeking refuge from flood waters in temples and schools on elevated lands with marauding elephants destroying their deserted [...]
Presidential cashew fiasco: How to revive our ailing cashew industry
That the President, on a Sri Lankan Airlines flight, lost his temper on being served poor quality cashew nuts procured from a Dubai supplier is understandable. It was widely reported in the media recently. But, surely, did not the the Sri Lankan Airlines procurement and catering personnel check the quality before it was served, not [...]
A heartfelt pledge for a healthy heart
This year’s World Heart Day was celebrated yesterday (September 29) on a theme “a simple promise for my heart, for your heart, all our hearts”. As an individual, a promise to prepare and eat a more healthy diet, to do more exercise and encourage children to be more active, to say no to smoking. As [...]
Housing is a human right, stress Negombo’s poor as they mark World Habitat Day
Housing is a Human Right. Every human being has a right to a decent house. From the beginning of history, human beings had a shelter to live in whatever has been its form. In modern times, housing is recognised as a human right in a number of international human rights instruments. The most important one [...]