Author Archives: thuppahi

Dr Nihal D Amerasekera, in The Island, 18  January 2026

Dodwell Keyt

The first oil painting by Sybil Weereratne was a vase with flowers. She recalls it without emphasis, as though the moment needs no special framing. The painting still hangs on the wall of her lounge room today, not as a declaration of beginnings, but as a quiet witness to them.

We are seated in the back room of her Australian home, a space that serves as both studio and sanctuary. Canvases line the walls. Light filters through a curtained window and settles across a vibrant painting shaped by memory, colours drawn from years of travel through Sri Lanka and India. The scene feels remembered rather than observed, assembled slowly, layer by layer.

 Sybil and her husband Neville Weereratne

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Anonymous Author in Digital Source featured in The Island

[A few weeks back] Charith Asalanka faced the media for the first time since being stripped of Sri Lanka’s T20 captaincy and there was no bitterness in his tone. Instead, he sounded like a man choosing to play with a straight bat, pragmatic, reflective and determined not to let emotions drag him into more trouble after a bruising few weeks.

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Item in  THE ISLAND newspaper, Thursday  22 January 2026

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Expanding Participation in Tapping the Dutch East India Company Archives: Call for participation: user questionnaire

The GLOBALISE project is developing a digital platform to make Dutch colonial-era records—specifically Dutch East India Company archives—more accessible to communities around the world. These records include material connected to South Asia, including Sri Lanka. Based in Amsterdam, the project works with around five million digitised pages and uses AI-based techniques to make 17th- and 18th-century handwritten documents searchable through keywords, a feature already available in the current beta version. Additional tools to support searching and interpretation are still under development.

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Netherlands: Today’s GLOBALISE Project ….“GLOBALISE and Sri Lanka–related archival materials”

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Michael Roberts

I got to know Kushil Gunasekera in the early 2000s because of his services to SL Cricket Board and a side-benefit was information on the wide range of welfare benefits provided by the FOUNDATION OF GOODNESS …. shorten-form FOG. This welfare work was/is not limited to its immediate environs -though obviously, the greatest reach is local.

The philanthropic commitments of FOG have been recognized publicly by such well-known cricketing personalities as Kumar Sangakkara, Ian Botham, Muttiah Muralitharan and Mahela Jayawardene. What better ENDORSEMENT can an NGO get!!

So — dip into your pockets ladies and gents and consider donations towards its activities.

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Observer in A Black Sea Resort

In a stunning moment of candour, Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, shreds the facade of the ‘US Rules-Based Order’, confessing it was a ‘living lie’ where the strong break rules with impunity and enforcement is fatally biased. But not wishing to offend Trump and suffer the consequences of economic retaliation, if not outright economic asphyxiation, Carney deliberately avoided mentioning the order was fundamentally the ‘US-led Rules Based Order’.

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HOT NEWS: A TELEGRAPH Editorial

The secret to a longer life may lie in gardening as opposed to more exercise, according to Harvard scientists who believe they have found the formula to extend your longevity. Laura Donnelly, our Health Editor, has analysed the findings to show you what a perfect weekly routine looks like, and it’s surprisingly achievable.

Elsewhere, US-UK trade talks are on hold after Sir Keir Starmer was said to have “let down” Donald Trump over the Chagos Islands. Trump was on his way to the World Economic Forum in Davos but Air Force One had to turn around over the Atlantic owing to an electrical issue. In the past hour, Trump has landed in Switzerland, where European leaders are braced for a president on the warpath after fresh swipes at Sir Keir and Emmanuel Macron.

Chris Evans, Editor

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Item in THE ISLAND, 21 January 2026, entitled “Dushmantha Chameera, Dhananjaya de Silva return for England ODIs”

Charith Asalanka, who was sacked as Sri Lanka captain for the upcoming T20 World Cup, will resume leadership duties in the upcoming ODI series against England, with the selectors also recalling Dushmantha Chameera and Dhananjaya de Silva after their recent absences in the 50-over format.

Charith Asalanka will continue to lead the ODI side despite losing the role ahead of the T20 World Cup [CricibuzAsalanka had cut short Sri Lanka’s tour of Pakistan midway, returning home along with Asitha Fernando before the T20I tri-series after falling ill, but is now deemed fit to lead the side once again. Chameera’s comeback strengthens the pace attack, while Dhananjaya de Silva adds depth and versatility to the middle order. Lahiru Udana, who featured in the ODI squad in Pakistan, is the absentee this time around.

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