Osama bin Laden put 'holy war" on global agenda
As the world watched live on television, his
Al-Qaeda militants flattened New York’s World Trade Centre, a
devastating blow to the United States he loathed, and one that would
have repercussions in every corner of the planet. Nearly a decade
after that attack, President Barack Obama on Sunday announced bin
Laden’s death, saying he was killed at his hideout in Pakistan and
that US authorities had taken custody of his body.
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Channa Ekanayaka of Dehi Gaha Ela
Dehi Gaha Ela is run by a group appropriately
named ‘Back of Beyond’. The prime movers are well-known naturalists
and environmental enthusiasts and activists, determined to create
spaces where like-minded people have ‘the privacy of lounging on a
deck chair, gazing at the stars listening to the night sounds of the
jungle at the end of a long day where the occasional frog gazed
solemnly at you over the basin tap, where we spread our maps, books
and photo equipment on the dinner table and discuss with the
bungalow keeper the best way to approach the next day’.
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Incompetence, wastage and perversity overcome at Menik Farm
As Secretary to the Ministry of Disaster
Management and Human Rights, which was responsible for coordinating
humanitarian assistance in 2009, I am astonished at the effrontery
of the Darusman Panel. Perhaps the biggest lie was the assertion
that ‘Conditions in Menik Farm did improve over time after much
protest from the international community and threats from donors to
cut off funding.
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The controversial Darusman Report and the UNP
The Opposition UNP made monumental mistakes
under Ranil Wickremesinghe’s leadership. It changed the hitherto UNP
policy of eliminating terrorism with a one of accommodating
terrorism. JR Jayewardene even refused to talk to the terrorist and
it was at India’s behest that he agreed to talk to the terrorist
starting from that infamous ‘Thimpu talks’.
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