Lanka News – Lanka Gazette – Sri Lanka News Portal

‘The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.’ So begins Leslie P Hartley’s novel The go-between’. He meant that the way that our ancestors thought and acted were qualitatively different from how we approach things. He was referring in particular to the enormous dissimilarity in social norms between the fin de si

Reproduced below is chapter 76 from Gota’s War, a book by senior journalist C. A. Chandraprema on Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s crucial role in ending LTTE terrorism in Sri Lanka.

During the final months of the war, tremendous pressure was brought on Sri Lanka by certain Western countries to halt military operations. One of the means adopted by the West to bring the Sri Lankan government to heel was by exerting economic pressure.

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The Supreme Court yesterday dismissed without costs the petition filed by two members of the Free Media Movement (FMM) against the blocking of five web sites.

The Bench comprised Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, Justice R. Suresh Chandra and Justice Nimal Gamini Ameratunge.

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A cross section of the public, including religious leaders and politicians, yesterday hailed President Mahinda Rajapaksa‘s statement that his government will not allow any communalism to raise its head in the country.

They voiced their dissatisfaction over attempts by certain elements with sinister motives, to create a rift among communities to realise their hidden agendas at a time when the government led by the President is making genuine efforts to promote reconciliation and achieve lasting peace in the aftermath of the 30 year conflict.

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The following is the text of the speech made by National Languages and Social Integration Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara at the 150th birth anniversary celebration of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore

I feel humbled and honoured at one and the same time to be the guest on this 150th birth anniversary celebration of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore an illustrious son of India and an inspiration for entire Asia and who left his mark in the world of literature.

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The word education is derived from the Latin word ‘Educare’. The Latin word ‘Educare’ means ‘to lead out’ or ‘bring forth’ which indicates that through education students’ knowledge, understanding and aptitude are nurtured.

These aptitudes, abilities and skills should be developed through education. Furthermore, this indicates that education is not conceived as a process whereby the child’s mind is considered an empty receptacle, which can be stored with information. Teachers, parents and elders who use a variety of techniques and methods to fill the minds of the younger generation with knowledge and information make Aldous Hurxley’s statement alive – ‘Unlike filling a sack with goods a human mind cannot be mechanically stored with knowledge.’

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Gac Filipaj, 52 year old, has been employed at the Columbia University as a janitor since he came over to America from the then war torn Yugoslavia.

His finest hour came recently when he became one of the gowned graduates to walk out of the prestigious Ivy League University – despite his status as the cleaning man at the university.

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Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage recently presented the National Sports Policy of Sri Lanka to Parliament.

Following is the text of the speech.

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The government is to appoint a high level committee with a view to restructuring the Z-score system for the admission of students to universities.

According to Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake , this committee will be entrusted with restructuring the present Z-score system to ensure that no student is subjected to any injustices in university admission.

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“We reject all types of communalism, be it Sinhalese, Tamil or Muslim. We will not let any communal force raise its head in Sri Lanka,” President Mahinda Rajapaksa told Heads of media institutions at a breakfast meeting held at Temple Trees yesterday.

President Rajapaksa requested the Heads of Sri Lankan media organizations to act in a very responsible manner and requested their co-operation in not allowing communal elements to raise their head in the country.

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