March 31, 2024 · 2:30 am

Elephant Orphanage & Elephant Lore: Dilmah Initiative at Uda Walawe

Kamanthi Wickramasinghe, in Daily Mirror, 25 March 2024, where the title reads thus: “Üda Walawe ETH: A home away from home for baby elephants”

Spectators witnessing another busy feeding hour at the Uda Walawe ETH —Pix courtesy: Dilmah Conservationh

Inauguration of ‘Elephant Knowledge Walk’ 

In a bid to spread more awareness among visitors to the Uda Walawe ETH, Dilmah Conservation in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife Conservation renovated the ‘Elephant Knowledge Walk’ to educate local and international visitors on why the Asian elephant needs to be protected. Apart from that a souvenir shop was also opened to support local communities.

The Uda Walawe ETH was set up to rehabilitate elephants that were orphaned due to various reasons including the Human-Elephant Conflict. At the ETH, elephant calves have very little contact with humans which is vital to boost their chances of survival in the wild. Here, human interaction is only limited to feeding hours. The calves are being fed every three hours with infant milk but also encouraged to develop natural foraging habits including grazing.

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March 29, 2024 · 8:14 pm

The LTTE Bomb Attack on the Central Bank Building in the Heart of Colombo, 31 January 1996

Michael Roberts

Colombo in the 1990s was a rather different world from the city today because its heartland centred around the Fort with its venerable shops (Cargills, Millers) leading mercantile offices, three premier hotels and the huge Central Bank building looming on the horizon. The expansion and transformation of the Port of Colombo and many other developments have transformed the city since then and the ‘weight of the Fort’ has diminished considerably since then.

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March 29, 2024 · 6:06 pm

Hot Press: Ukraine on the Backfoot in War with Russia

An Observer in A Black Sea Town …. with highlights and a title imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

Kazakh authorities in Kazakhstan have called on all citizens to leave Odessa and Kharkov which suggests Russia will soon take these two strategic cities. Once Russia takes Odessa,  Ukraine will became a landlocked country, and will no longer have access to the Black Sea.

Map of Ukraine.

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March 29, 2024 · 1:39 pm

For Ceylon. Roman Szechowycz in Gal Oya, 1950-61

Andreas Szechowycz … detailing his father’s dedicated work in the Gal Oya Project in the 1950s and in communication with  Michael Roberts in ways that mark his deep attachment to the island

Group Photo – Dr. Roman Szechowycz in middle.

L-R: Mr. (not legible), Mr. P. W. Richards, Mr. Coel Menai North Wales UK, Dr. Roman Szechowycz, Dr. A. J. Kostreamaks Bongor, Mr.. Anwari Dilmy Indonesia, Mr. B. A. Abeyvickram Colombo, Mr. R. A. DeRosaryro Colombo

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March 29, 2024 · 10:16 am

Differentiation in the Foundations of Criticism in Recent Struggles in Sri Lanka

Abeysekara, Ananda …. presenting a synopsis of an article with the same title presented in the web journal Academia  …………………. https://www.academia.edu/116523255/Buddhism_Politics_and_Criticism_in_a_Time_of_Struggle_in_Sri_Lanka

As I have argued elsewhere (Abeysekara 2002), the relation between religion and politics changes in historical debates. Debates themselves are forms of “criticism” in that debates change the questions of who and what constitute the parameters of religion and politics.[1] In that sense, I want to think about how the relation between religion, politics, and the state became the subject of debate during postwar Sri Lanka and ask what such a debate may say about our postcolonial politics and democracy itself.

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March 28, 2024 · 6:42 pm

Australia’s Cricket Squads for Forthcoming Seies Announced

Alex Malcolm in ESPNcricinfo.com, 27 March 2024

Marcus Stoinis and Ashton Agar have lost their Cricket Australia central contracts for 2024-25 despite both being firmly in the mix to play in the upcoming T20 World Cup while fast bowler Xavier Bartlett has been rewarded with a deal for the first time having vaulted into international cricket late this summer.
Aaron Hardie, Matthew Short and Nathan Ellis have all been added to the 23-player list. Jhye Richardson retains his spot despite not playing international cricket since 2022 and appearing in just two Marsh Cup games, one Sheffield Shield match and eight BBL matches in the recent domestic summer due to a spate of injuries.

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March 28, 2024 · 5:18 pm

The Crocus Terrorist Attack: Steven Seagal, the Australian Embassy, the Perpetrators and Victim

An Observer in a Black Sea town  …. with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

The American actor Steven Seagal has just visited the victims of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, who are now in the National Medical and Surgical Centre named after N. I. Pirogov.  Steven said: “What happened was a terrible tragedy that should not have happened. And I think that Russia will serve as an example and let the world understand that you can’t just do this to any people and go unpunished. I thank the doctors for the prompt work they are doing. I am glad to see that the patients are feeling well and are recovering. God bless them.”

 Steven Seagal visiting the victims of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack.

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March 27, 2024 · 7:44 pm

Why the West is wrong to blame ISIS for the Crocus Terrorist Attack

An Observer in a Black Sea town 

” The American Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) assert Russia has no evidence to claim Ukraine was involved in the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall on 22 March 2024.”

Actually, the Russians do have evidence and they have shared some of it with the world including,

  1. The terrorists were heading to the Ukraine border to escape.
  2. A window was opened at the border from the Ukrainian side, which means instructions must have been issued to Ukrainian border guards from the highest levels of the Ukrainian government.
  3. The terrorists do not fit the typical Jihadist prototype as they were motivated by money, not religious ideology. It would be more accurate to describe them as “mercenaries”, or “mercenary terrorists”. Each was to be paid a half a million roubles (US$5400; AUS$8272)

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March 27, 2024 · 4:28 pm

Islamic Jihadists Assault on Moscow Concert Hall

 and in The Guardian 25 March 2024, where the title reads thus: “Four suspects in Moscow concert hall terror attack appear in court

Footage of gunmen reinforces Islamic State’s claim to have masterminded worst terror attack on Russia in two decades.

Four suspects have appeared in court in Moscow charged over the terrorist attack on the Crocus City concert hall on Friday that left 137 people dead. The men were officially identified as citizens of Tajikistan, the Tass state news agency said, and were remanded in custody for two months at Sunday’s hearing.

People bring flowers at the Crocus City Hall concert venue following a terrorist attack in Moscow, Russia.

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March 27, 2024 · 1:17 pm

Bala reviews Upali Wickremeratne’s Book on Colonial Rule

P. Balakrishnan, reviewing Upali Wickremeratne’s Book on Colonial European Rule in Sri Lanka, in Daily Mirror, 26 March 2024, in item entitled “Sri Lanka’s European rulers doggedly retained traditional structures”

In his book “The Conservative nature of the British rule of Sri Lanka”  (Vijitha Yapa 2014), Dr. Wickremeratne says that even conversion to  Catholicism under the Portuguese or the Dutch Reformed Church under the  Dutch did not alter the culture, values, thought and social structure of  the Sinhalese and the Tamils.

“There would otherwise only be a very remote possibility of finding out  everything that was happening and of which it was also important to be  aware.” …. Ryckloff van Goens

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