A Sri Lankan Diplomat
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Bernard Van Cuylenberg, whose chosen title is “An Odyssey: The Search for Heritage, Part Two”
Nilaweli Beach in 2020 –Pix by one Mike Roberts
PROLOGUE: Saying “Goodbye” is never easy. The “Goodbyes” I bid to the Staff at Nilaveli Beach Hotel after a relaxed idyllic holiday following the first leg of my tour was hard. This was where I cut my teeth on life’s road and the ties that bind me to this Hotel were, and remain, very strong. But there was a long road ahead, a road I never travelled before. Travice Ondaatjie, whose late Dad Mr. George Ondaatjie was my Boss when I worked for Nilaveli Beach Hotels Limited drove up to Nilaveli on Friday the 24th and told me that on Sunday the 26th March we would leave for Passekudah, Arugam Bay and travel down the Eastern seaboard right down to the Lahuggala National Park in Amparai to visit the archaeological sites there, and then head for Wellawaya and finally to Colombo.
Graham Hryce, in RTcom.news, 20 March 2023 where the title runs thus “The AUKUS deal confirms Australia’s complete dependence on the US and the UK” …. Canberra is once again serving, and paying for, Washington and London’s regional ambitions.
Last week, amidst a great deal of pomp and ceremony at a San Diego, California naval base, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed off on the AUKUS submarine deal with the United States and the UK.
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A China Watcher
India and China’s defence ministers sit down for talks at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) security summit in New Delhi, with Pakistan’s top diplomat and Russia’s defence ministers present. It was a very productive meeting with a strong emphasis on diplomacy to resolve disputes.
Filed under accountability, China and Chinese influences, economic processes, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, Pacific Ocean politics, politIcal discourse, power politics, power sharing, security, self-reflexivity, slanted reportage, tolerance, world events & processes
Item in the DAILY MIRROR, 28 April 2023… with this title “Designating Karannagoda; Russia hits back at US: Says West should not interfere in other countries affairs”
The United States has designated former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, for his alleged involvement in gross violations of human rights. The US State Department said that Karannagoda has been designated pursuant to Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2023, due to his involvement in a gross violation of human rights during his tenure as a Naval Commander. As a result of today’s action, Karannagoda and his wife, Srimathi Ashoka Karannagoda, are ineligible for entry into the United States.
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REPORT ONE: Daniel Byrne: “Ireland almost reaches 500, but Madushka and Karunaratne make it clear that the Sri Lankans are far from beaten yet. Day Two in Galle” …..
Woods and I arrived early to ensure there were time to get the electricians to put the wires into the wall in order to get the fans working before the start of play. As the rest of the Irish players warmed up with a game of football, Paul Stirling sensibly opted for slip catching practice instead. My old friend Keerthi the Sri Lankan scorer turned up to say hello just as the TV in the Member’s Bar was showing highlights of the previous day’s play. Tucker should have been out caught at silly point off bat-pad just before the new ball was taken, but the umpire missed it and Frank was minded not to potentially waste his team’s last review. Unfortunately for Ireland Tucker was unable to take advantage of his lucky escape and was bowled by Vishwa from the fourth ball of the day for 80. It looked to everyone near where I was sitting that he had been caught at second slip as that was where the ball ended up. It’s hard to watch a game properly sitting in the sun at deep square leg ( 321–5).
Michael Roberts
In the course of composing items for THUPPAHI and during our family travels around the globe, photographs were ‘shot’ at will. These, of course, are amateur products. But on occasions the settings and subjects are striking or unusual. As one ages and withers, there is less hesitation in focusing on one’s past and the display of personal ventures.
I commence with a ”shot” taken on quick whim that happens to be spectacular … 
Casting Net near Wattala in Lanka where a canal meets the sea and I was at the prow of a padda boat
… and there are a few more chance moments that could spike reader interest.
Mary Kostakidis, in https://johnmenadue.com/wong-defines-australias-foreign-policy/ …. where the title reads “Wong defines Australia’s foreign policy … all the way with the USA”
It was an extraordinary feel-good speech that nevertheless sent a very clear message to the region: the vehicle through which Australia will ensure we participate in shaping in the region, is AUKUS – an Anglosphere alliance to steer the Asia Pacific.
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Senator Penny Wong addresses the National Press Club in Canberra, Monday, April 17, 2023. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch) NO ARCHIVING
Regardless of reassurances and pledges regarding respect, inclusiveness and sovereignty, Asian leaders will understand well the essence of her message, in spite of the dulcet tones, the dignity and gravitas.
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Andrew Fidel Fernando, in ESPNcricinfo, 16 April 2023,
Dimuth Karunaratne struck an assured 179, Kusal Mendis amassed 140, and Sri Lanka took firm grip of the Test, as that pair’s 281-run partnership for the second wicket formed the centrepiece of the hosts’ dominant day one. Not only were Karunaratne and Mendis largely untroubled by the Ireland bowlers on a flat Galle deck, they also ensured that their progress was brisk, hitting 33 fours and a six between them.
NOTES from “Raucous-Aucous”
ONE: Aukus wins the Marx/Goebbels Award for propaganda campaign of 2023…………..
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thuppahi
