Police: The panacea for all ills
Recently newspapers highlighted a photograph of policemen carrying ballot boxes after the close of polls in the August 5 general election. According to the news item, these were police officers who were detailed for security duty at polling booths, and it was not part of their duty to carry ballot boxes, but they were giving [...]
What went wrong with the ‘Peuse’
Blackouts are a fact of Sri Lankan life in this second decade of the 21st Century. At Nawala where blackouts are of frequent, if not of daily occurrence, we asked a long-standing resident and legal pundit if anything positive can be done about it and he rejected it outright. Its Jus naturale (law of nature) [...]
Staff survey reveals widespread racism at the United Nations
UNITED NATIONS, August 22, 2020 (IPS) – As it continues to vociferously preach the virtues of equality — dedicating itself to respect equal rights for all, irrespective of race, sex, language or religion — the United Nations has been quick to condemn racism and racial discrimination worldwide. But how hypocritical is the world body when [...]
General election in the eyes of a voter
In the presidential election in November last year, 13.38 million or 83.72 percent of the registered voters cast their franchise. In the August 5 parliamentary election, only 12.34 million or 75.89 percent of the registered voters voted. The voter apathy is further vindicated by the number of rejected votes. The number of rejected votes at [...]
Focus on wetlands: Click and join National Trust lecture on Aug 27
The National Trust of Sri Lanka’s monthly lecture will be delivered online by Professor Devaka Weerakoon at 6.30 p.m on Thursday, August 27. The topic will be “Wetlands, the first line of defence against climate change”. The lecture can be accessed via the following link: meet.google.com/bep-aowz-wwj Wetlands which cover about 6 percent of the Earth’s [...]
Journalist Lynn Ockersz’s third poetry collection
Senior journalist, poet and literary critic Lynn Ockersz breaks new ground in his poetic endeavours with the publication of his third collection of poems titled, ‘The April 21st Consensus’. Essentially, the poems in this latest collection reflect the poet’s perceptions and interpretations of the most conspicuous and salient local and international socio-political realities and are [...]
Sun Pharma continues ties with Little Hearts continue
Being the number one pharmaceuticals company in Sri Lanka, Sun Pharma (Sri Lanka) has joined hand with the Little Hearts project for the second consecutive year. The partnership was started as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative in 2019. Sun Pharma Country Manager Delanjan Welikala, and General Manager Jyothi Chandran are seen handing over a [...]
How cash transfers prevent lockdown tragedies
ISLAMABAD – In 2017, I was a candidate to become the next Director-General of the World Health Organisation. At the 70th World Health Assembly, I stood before health ministers from around the world and warned that three things could destroy the planet: A celestial event, a third world war or a pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic [...]