Thuppahi's Blog

This Item is derived from WS Weerasooriya, Links Between Sri Lanka and Australia, Colombo, Government Press 1988, pp.30-41 and was prepared for Thuppahi by David Sansoni of Sydney on the confused foundations of a muddled pdf copy.

Overseas immigration has been responsible for a substantial increase in Australia’s population growth. It has been estimated that of the population growth between 1788-1913, 35 per cent was the result of immigration and 65 per cent from natural growth (National Population Inquiry 1975). From the beginning, the preferred migrant was British, and, until the Second World War, the Anglo-Saxon characteristics of the population were strongly maintained (Price 1973).

The “White Australia Policy” which was introduced by the Commonwealth Parliament in 1901 through the Immigration Restrictive Act of that year prevented non-European persons from migrating to Australia. Despite some minor administrative changes in the 1960s, this restrictive immigration policy remained unchanged until the election of the Labour Government in 1972.

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Shyam Tekwani, whose chosen title in this article presented on 30 December 2025, runs thus: ‘India Out’: In South Asia, India Bears the Burden of Nearness

Across South Asia, moments of protest framed as ‘India Out’ recur not as ideology, but as reflex. Proximity, power, and perception have converged, often accelerated by media, to turn internal strain into external blame. India’s greatest challenge lies in managing the burden of nearness.

This season, once again, the street in Bangladesh fills before it decides why it has filled. Bangladesh has once again become the place where South Asia’s unease gathers. The protests are familiar in form – students, slogans, police lines – but their cause resists precision. They are not only about water, though the rivers matter. They are not only about borders, though the dead along them are remembered. They are not only about diplomacy, though the language of insult and interference circulates freely.

People visit the India Gate at Kartavya Path in New Delhi. Photo: PTI/Kamal Kishore

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https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQgMgLbzHgqMFVkvxsHkcBTcptC?projector=1

ALSO

 

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Nandasiri  Jasentuliyana  in MEMO to Thuppahi from his ‘outpost’ in USA, 3 July  2026

The World Bank has reclassified Sri Lanka as an Upper-Middle Income Economy as of July 1, 2026.

Following the economic crisis of 2022, the country has demonstrated significant resilience, recording a 5% GDP growth in 2025. This recovery is largely attributed to a rebound in the manufacturing and industrial sectors, alongside growth in financial and tourism services.

While the country narrowly crossed the threshold for this reclassification, the update is a significant marker of economic progress. These annual classifications, based on GNI per capita, determine access to concessional loans and development assistance and serve as a global economic reference through June 2027.

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A TPS NOTE: An Item in the local Blackwood Rag has the title “Hurd’s Hill: designed to make a colonist’s wife feel ‘at home’ in her nee home”

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Chaturanga  Pradeep  Samaratunga in Daily  Mirror, 30 June 2026, … https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news/Rotary-car-parking-system-introduced-to-Sri-Lanka-for-the-first-time/108-344267

Sri Lanka’s first-ever rotary car parking system has been introduced, marking a significant advancement in urban parking solutions in the country. The facility has been introduced by Hayleys Aventura, a subsidiary of the Hayleys GrouP.

The innovative parking system, which enables vehicles to be parked and retrieved through a vertically rotating structure, was officially inaugurated at a recent ceremony attended by Hayleys Chairman Mohan Pandithage and Co-Chairman Dhammika Perera.

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HAI HOYI on Facebook…. with  Rebecca Quinlan 

Summary Note on WEB:

Kemar Roach rampaged his way to his 300th Test wicket, Jayden Seales, Shamar Joseph, and Alzarri Joseph all bowled menacing spells, and West Indies blasted Sri Lanka out for 101, completing a behemoth innings-and-217-run victory.2 days ago.

Andrew Fidel Fernando, IN ESPNcricinfo,

.West Indies 626 for 9 dec (Jangoo 233, Chase 194, Rathnayaka 5-124) beat Sri Lanka 308 (De Silva 120, Chandimal 54, Greaves 3-39) & 101 (Chandimal 43, Roach 4-51, Seales 3-14) by an innings and 217 runs

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Vithushan Ehantharajah ….  in ESPNcricinfo, 29 June  2026 where the title reads  ‘Stokes stokes England’s flames as his church becomes a funeral pyre”

Ben Stokes walks off after his final international innings  •  PA Images via Getty Images

To die in the church you created is a beautiful thing. Under the roof of your own guiding principles, a rare final bliss as the light fades. Comfort in the spirituality you promoted, and the faith you nurtured in others.

Ben Stokes, however, decided to burn his church to the ground. The man who kept Ashes series alive, brought World Cups back from the brink and, four years ago, resuscitated English Test cricket decided that his final act was to bring it all down in a blaze. It was utterly needless, entirely self-centred … and mind-meltingly stunning from a renegade allrounder who built his legacy out of astounding displays, but none quite like this..

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Bedgar Perera

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