World’s poor hit by double jeopardy: a deadly virus and a devastating debt burden
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – The world’s poorer nations, reeling under an unrelenting attack on their fragile economies by the COVID-19 pandemic, have suffered an equally deadly body blow: being buried under heavy debt burdens. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, said last week that in 2019, 64 [...]
Easter attacks: Your sin will find you out
“Your sin will find you out”. This universal saying is borrowed from the Holy Bible. Moses, admonishing two tribes for disobeying God, said, “Your sin will find you out.” This is quite true in conduct after crime, too. That is why Police mount surveillance on suspects with a view to collecting evidence of behaviour after [...]
The Easter Attacks One Year On: How Far Have We Come?
A few months ago, I got into a PickMe cab, on my way to a midday work meeting. It was prior to the presidential election, and the radio was playing an hourly news alert with an update on the candidates. The driver, with no prompting on my part, asked me in Sinhalese, “Miss, are there [...]
An abysmal failure of leadership
CAMBRIDGE – Leadership – the ability to help people frame and achieve their goals – is absolutely crucial during a crisis. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill demonstrated this in 1940, as did Nelson Mandela during South Africa’s transition from apartheid. By these historical standards, the leaders of the world’s two largest economies have failed abysmally. [...]