Gender equality: The camel, the needle– and the UN’s first woman Secretary-General
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – A 2.0 version of an ancient Biblical saying reads: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a woman to become the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The male/female ratio for the Secretary-General stands at 9 vs zero. And the [...]
It’s business as usual for some of our ministers
Just like all of you, my dear readers, I have been finding life increasingly difficult during these past months. Since I no longer drive, I have for many years depended on my ageing legs to take me from A to B – and if A is a fair distance from B, I resort to three [...]
If there is a nut above you while others have not
When Rome was burning, Nero was fiddling. Now, Colombo’s starving, paralysed and dying and the rulers are quibbling. President Rajapaksa has admitted to two fatal mistakes—financial and agricultural— that caused the crisis but says he has a mandate of the people to rule for two more years and does not want to go down in [...]
A world of 8 billion and what it means for Sri Lanka’s 21.5 million
Commemorating World Population Day By Kunle Adeniyi, UNFPA Representative for Sri Lanka and Country Director for the Maldives Monday, 11 July, is World Population Day and brings a significant milestone with it. This year the global population will reach 8 billion people. Collectively, the human race has made significant progress over time. Remarkable advancements have [...]
How Abe changed Japan
By Bill Emmott, Exclusively for the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka Former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzō’s assassination at an election campaign event in Nara, Japan, is both shocking and puzzling. It is shocking because Japan has known almost no political violence for at least a half-century, and because gun ownership in the country is [...]