News Item in Island, 4 August 2020, with this title “Lanka only second to Canada in World Schools Debating Championship 2020”
Sri Lanka National Debating Team became the first runner-up in the online World Schools Debating Championship 2020, while Canada beat Sri Lanka to win the Championship, in the final held on Sunday. Sri Lanka was also named the best ESL (English as a second language) team. Sri Lanka team’s Shalem Sumanthiran won the seventh place in the best ESL Speakers’ category.
PK Balachandran
Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, chauvinism, cultural transmission, education, elephant tales, fundamentalism, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian religions, Indian traditions, landscape wondrous, life stories, literary achievements, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, slanted reportage, Sri Lankan scoiety, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, world events & processes
Editorial in The Island, 31 July 2020, bearing this title “Battles and Puzzling Moves”
SLPP founder and chief strategist Basil Rajapaksa has said something very interesting in a recent press interview. He has explained why he is not contesting the upcoming election. Others in the SLPP are guided by Rafferty’s rules, to all intents and purposes, in trying to win; they and their supporters flout election laws and health guidelines with impunity.
Intra-party battles for preferential votes are raging in some political parties, and the worst affected is perhaps the SLPP, whose candidates are hurling abuse at one another openly. Only the JVP-led coalition is apparently free from such problems. What we see in the SLPP, which brought down the yahapalana government, is like a Nat Geo wildlife programme, where big cats fight fiercely, unable to share the flesh of the animals they jointly pursue and kill.
Filed under life stories, unusual people, world events & processes
Raj Gonsalkorale, in DailyFT, 4 August 2020, with this title “The Northern Province: The centre for Tamil culture in Sri Lanka”
As much as the Sinhala Buddhist culture and its richness should be recognized, the Tamil culture, in particular the Tamil Hindu culture and its universality, too needs to be recognized. All Sri Lankans should be proud that the country has two such ancient cultures as its foundations.
– Pic by Shehan Gunasekara
http://www.ft.lk/columns/The-Northern-Province-The-centre-for-Tamil-culture-in-Sri-Lanka/4-704036
Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. … The word “culture” derives from a French term, which in turn derives from the Latin “colere,” which means to tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and nurture.
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Camelia Nathaniel in Ceylon Daily News, 4 August 2020, where the title reads “Forces thwart attempts to revive LTTE terror”
Since the LTTE’s defeat in 2009, there have been several attempts over the years to revamp the terror outfit. From 2012 there have been 12 such attempts that are on record. All of these incidents have had some form of foreign hand in them. Intelligence units are investigating these incidents and the international connections.
Filed under accountability, conspiracies, Eelam, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, politIcal discourse, refugees, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, Tamil Tiger fighters, unusual people, world events & processes
The Population of Galle Fort in 2018
Muslims 561
Sinhalas 432
Tamils 14
Malays 02
Burghers 02
Foreigners 60 …… Total 1071
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Echo Hui, ABC Investigations, and Hagar Cohen
The Federal Government’s foundation that was meant to “turbocharge” relations with China is beset by dysfunction, a lack of purpose and possible conflicts of interest, say senior insiders.
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I = Rajan Philips: “On your marks, get set – for the weakest parliament to face the gravest crises” 2 August 2020, https://island.lk/on-your-marks-get-set-for-the-weakest-parliament-to-face-the-gravest-crises/
II = Lucien Rajakarunanayake: “save Democracy froma Two-Thirds Majority,” 3 August 2020, https://island.lk/save-democracy-from-a-two-thirds-disaster/
III = Sumedra S Amarasekera: “Reality of two-thirds power in parliament,” 3 August 2020, https://island.lk/reality-of-two-thirds-p: ower-in-parliament/
Filed under accountability, democratic measures, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, human rights, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, parliamentary elections, politIcal discourse, power politics, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, unusual people, world events & processes
thuppahi
