Dealing with COVID-19 pandemic: The bad, the devastating and the good
Most people around the world are today extremely knowledgeable about COVID-19 than any other disease but are unable to do anything to strike it down, other than to hopefully follow directions of the experts. Newspapers are packed with Covid 19 stories from the front page to the sports page; TV has learned doctors and experts [...]
Money, power and finance vis-à-vis justice, morality and public order
Money, power and finance have been the subject of discussion in this column before too. This article deals with aspects, though pertaining to the same subject, not in focus hitherto, yet within space limitations. Vis-à-vis Money, power and finance are shorthand used in many spheres of life — politics, economics, society, democracy and governance. This [...]
A commander is only as good as….
In military parlance, a General Staff consists of a group of officers who assist the commander by formulating and disseminating the commander’s policies, transmitting his orders, and overseeing their implementation. These staff officers are tasked with providing the commander with accurate and timely information as well as situational appreciations on which the commander can base [...]
US protects a client state: 45 vetoes – and counting
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – The UN Security Council (UNSC), the most powerful political body at the United Nations, has largely remained silent or ineffective in resolving one of the longstanding military conflicts in the Middle East, involving Israelis and Palestinians. But, at the same time, several attempts to condemn Israel for its excesses have been [...]
Pandemic and politics in South Asia
This edited volume published by the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies reflects on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on various countries in the South Asian region. This volume differs from much of the emerging body of literature on politics and governance of the pandemic in that it seeks to capture civil society perspectives relating [...]
What it will take to overcome the pandemic
By Palitha Abeykoon, Maha El Rabbat, David Nabarro, et al. exclusively for the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka GENEVA – As special envoys on COVID-19 for the director-general of the World Health Organisation, we have witnessed firsthand the intensity of the suffering caused by the pandemic, especially in poorer communities. This profound tragedy has been [...]