News Item in Sunday times, 7 July 2019, with this title “Sri Lankan Railway revealed as one of most beautiful sleeper trains in world”
Travelling by sleeper train has long been a glamorous and exciting way to see the world – allowing one to fall asleep in one country and wake up in another feeling refreshed and ready to explore. But which sleeper trains are the best value?
Item in Sunday Times, 7 July 2019, with this title
“Tale of a French ambassador in the time of the Kandyan Kingdom
Author Yasmin Rajapakse
The story of the ambassador from the French imperial court who became a naturalized subject in Kandy, producing progeny who were to make their mark on the island’s history, is an adventure told against the backdrop of an Indian Ocean made dark and stormy with colonial battles and a mountain kingdom at its edge. “The Odyssey and Living Legacy of Monsieur de La Nérolle, The French Lieutenant of the Expedition Escadre de Perse to Ceylon in 1672” by Yasmin Rajapakse was launched last month in the presence of former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Eric Levertu, Ambassador of France to Sri Lanka.
Filed under authoritarian regimes, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, Kandyan kingdom, landscape wondrous, life stories, military strategy, modernity & modernization, power politics, sri lankan society, transport and communications, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
Political Editor, Sunday Times, 7 July 2019,where the title is “Inside story of how Sri Lanka fell into the ACSA-SOFA trap”
Amid mounting opposition, President should appoint expert probe team to identify weakness in the national security system
Despite denials and clarifications by the US, the two deals give America a major footprint in Sri Lanka
With little or no prospect of contesting presidential election, Sirisena may settle for a portfolio close to his heart
Opposition is mounting over the two defence related agreements between Sri Lanka and the United States, one already signed and another now pending.The first is the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA). For almost two years it was not tabled before Parliament. Nor was there a government statement explaining the contents, on a matter of such national importance to Sri Lankans.
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, centre-periphery relations, China and Chinese influences, conspiracies, economic processes, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, military strategy, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, transport and communications, world events & processes
Sunday Times News Item, 7 July 2019, where the title is “Stage II of Galle Fort development project under way”
Work on Stage II of the proposed ‘Galle Fort Development Project’, has commenced. The project funded by the World Bank is estimated to cost rupees 217 million. The project will be jointly handled by the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development, the Department of Archaeology, the Galle Heritage Foundation and the Sea Conservation Department. Stage I of the project which commenced in January this year is nearing completion.
Chandre Dharmawardana, in Colombo Telegraph, 5 July 2019, where the title “Two Alleged Genocides – And Canada’s Claimed Support For Conflict Prevention In Sri Lanka”
David McKinnon, Canada’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka has stated, on Canada’s National Day that “Canada would continue to support conflict prevention efforts in Sri Lanka, where it has been seen how hate speech and media can entrench communal divisions”. Meanwhile back in Canada, successive Canadian governments have failed to understand how this very “hate speech” is being entrenched in Canadian municipal discourse and even in parliamentary proceedings by militant diaspora groups. They wish to replay the old ethnic animosities of their homeland in Canada too.
fervent demonstrations in Toronto mounted by Canadian Tamils in 2009 … presaging recent claims
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Gerald Peiris, in The Island, 5 July 2019, with this title “India-England cricket Encounters – An Opinion by G. H. Peiris”**
I am no cricket commentator. Cricket, however, has been one of my ardent interests since childhood. And what I write now is no more than a fan ‘Opinion’. May I add that, in the very early stages of my cricket career my uncle who was awaiting demobilization from the British forces at the Ratmalana airbase, brought to our home in Angulana (less than a mile to the south) discarded sports goods like tennis balls hardly ever available to children like us during WWII; and I was allowed by the ayyas of the neighbourhood with whom we played to bat with a tennis racquet. Then, the Indians were our favourites, with those like Nawab of Pataudi, Vijaya Merchant and Vinoo Mankad et. al. figuring prominently in my treasured cricket-picture collections. It remained that way until recent times when I liked India to win against all others except our team.
Andrew Fidel Fernando, in ESPNcricinfo, 1 July 2019, with this title “Angelo Mathews and the craziest ball of the 2019 World Cup”
Gather round, kiddos. Let me tell you a story about Sri Lankan cricket. What would you like to hear? The story about how Dimuth Karunaratne, who hadn’t played ODI cricket for four years, became captain for the 2019 World Cup. Ah, that is a good one. Crazy, no? Unbelievable even. All the things you want in a good story. Or what about the tale of the Sri Lankan selectors who picked about five wrong players in a squad of 15 for the tournament? That is not that hard to believe, I suppose, but it’s not bad as well.
But actually, lamayi, the one I’m thinking about is even better than those two. It’s dramatic. It’s funny. It’s colourful. It is hauntingly sad and fabulously uplifting at the same time. Like the best stories, it has so many layers. Most of all, it’s beyond insane.
Angelo Mathews dismissed Nicholas Pooran off his first delivery to seal the match for Sri Lanka Getty Images
Michael Roberts
The article by Wilfrid Jayasuriya on “The Force of the Moors” in Sri Lanka generated an ethnographic note which led to clarifications from Mohamed Mowzil and Ameer Ali.[1] They provided details about the practices followed by the Moor (Muslim) people in the course of meals termed sawan and kidu. This practice of feeding oneself from the same communal dish in the centre of a small table is especially marked on days of feast or collective recollection. In some instances, the family collective would include men and women. Where outsiders (usually bosom friends or distinguished personnel) are party to this intimate occasion, only males would participate in this practice.
John Richardson, whose title in this article conveying diary notes runs thus: “Ordinary Living” in the Midst of Civil War Notes to Family and Friends“[1] … with highlighting and pics inserted by The Editor, Thuppahi
February 1988: After getting settled in our home at number 5 Bagatelle Terrace, within walking distance of Colombo University, we have begun to fit into our neighborhood and the city. Already we have made a number of Sri Lankan acquaintances. Emily knows the city better because she is an inveterate walker. She covers three to five miles each day on foot; more than any expatriates and most Sri Lankans, except the very poor. She feels quite safe walking about during the day. We walk about at night, too, but are more careful as the streets are poorly lighted. “Homeless” people do live on the streets here. They are about as visible as they are in Washington, D.C., but I think the culture here is more accepting; the gap between rich and poor is much less than in America. In fact, what strikes me about the majority of Sri Lankans, both rich and poor, is their unfailing honesty, courtesy and decency. (The principal exception appears to be some of those who deal regularly with foreigners). They are a considerate, friendly people – and for many, life is arduous.
Filed under atrocities, authoritarian regimes, communal relations, governance, historical interpretation, island economy, JVP, life stories, LTTE, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, terrorism, tolerance, transport and communications, travelogue, unusual people, vengeance, war reportage
Lisette Thooft, 18 January 2015, in NieuwWij, where the title is “Karen Armstrong: “There is nothing in the Islam that is more violent than Christianity” .… https://www.nieuwwij.nl/english/karen-armstrong-nothing-islam-violent-christianity/
The terrorist attacks in Paris rendered her new book Fields of Blood. Religion and the History of Violence suddenly and tragically very urgent. In over five hundred pages Karen Armstrong, once a nun and the respected author of bestsellers like A History of God and The Case for God, answers the question whether religion is the principal cause of violence. A conversation about Islam and terrorists, Western responsibility and the world in which we live.
Karen Armstrong, a former nun
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thuppahi
