German conservatives, Social Democrats tied in vote to decide Merkel successor
Germany's CDU/CSU conservatives and their Social Democrat rivals were virtually tied in Sunday's national election, exit polls showed, leaving open which of them will lead the next government as Angela Merkel prepares to stand down after 16 years in power.
The issue with the UN
The Sunday Times Editorial (26-09-2021)
In his recently published book on reporting 40 years from the United Nations, our special correspondent Thalif Deen, often called Sri Lanka’s ‘permanent ambassador’ to the world body, writes; “Come September, Sri Lankan Presidents or Prime Ministers routinely visited New York to address the annual sessions of the UN”.
The Bandaranaike family had three members address the UN General Assembly (UNGA), a record parallaled only by the Nehru family of India. Now Sri Lanka has two brothers who have addressed it. There were a few exceptions though. Presidents D.B. Wijetunga and R. Premadasa never bothered. President J.R. Jayewardene — “Yankee Dicky” to his political opponents — never even stepped in to meet the UN Secretary General when he was in New York during a state visit to the US.
Mr. Deen relates a story of President Jayewardene’s brother, H.W., when he was in Geneva at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights during the northern separatist insurgency at home trying to upstage a resolution against Sri Lanka instigated by the West. The telephone rang at “Braemar’, the Ward Place residence of the President seeking instructions. Towards the tail-end of the conversation those in the hotel room in Geneva heard the Queen’s Counsel saying to his elder brother, the President; “Yes, Dicky, Yes, Dicky, No, Dicky, we can’t do that, Dicky”. Asked what President Jayewardene’s instructions were, they were told; “the President wants us to leave the UN”.
