August 31, 2018 · 7:02 pm

Hot Press: Young Nizamdeen of Lanka arrested on Terrorism Charges in Sydney

I = News Item in NewsCom.au, 31 August 2018, entitled “Sydney man charged with terror offences”

A SRI Lankan man working at a Sydney university has been charged over a document that police allege contained plans for terrorist attacks. Mohamed Kamer Nilar Nizamdeen was arrested by counter-terrorism officers at the University of NSW in Kensington on Thursday. It followed a tip-off from a worker at the university, who police said found a notebook that allegedly named several locations and individuals as “potential targets”. “They are symbolic locations within Sydney,” Detective Acting Superintendent Mick Sheehy told reporters on Friday.

Mohamed Nizamdeen was employed by the University of New South Wales.Picture: FacebookSource:Supplied

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August 31, 2018 · 3:23 pm

Imran Khan is Ultimate Hope for Indo-Pak Amity — says Gavaskar

S.  Venkat Narayan, in Island, 21 August 2018 where the title is “Sunil Gavaskar: If “Immy” Khan’t usher in a new eram of friendship between India and Pakistan, nobody can”

Sunil Gavaskar, the Indian cricket legend, friend and rival of Imran Khan during their cricketing years, has expressed the hope that Khan will succeed in improving the strained relations between their nuclear-armed countries.  “Not just Pakistanis but the Indians also want him to take care of the problems between the two countries and bring a new zest to the relationship, for if Imran ‘Khan’t then nobody can!” Gavaskar declared in a special article published in The Times of India today.

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August 31, 2018 · 12:28 am

Nillanthan Maha steps out: Essays in Sinhala on the Sinhala-Tamil Interface

Nillanthan Maha, translated by Jivendran Nadarajah & Athula Vithanage… and courtesy of IDSLANKA.ORG

ONE =නිලාන්දන්: තිස් පස් වසක් රක්නා කළු ජූලියේ උරුමය කුමක්ද?

TWO =නිලාන්දන්: නයාරු ධීවර ගැටුම පිටුපස විජයෝන්මාදයේ සෙවණැලි

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August 29, 2018 · 4:08 am

Presidency Stakes: A Constitutional Knot that is Gordian as Gordian can be

Neville Ladduwahetty,in The Island, 29 August 2018, where the title runs “Interpreting the 19th Amendment”

The hot topic in town is whether former twice elected Presidents Chandrika Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa are qualified to seek reelection under provisions of the 19th Amendment. Dr. Nihal Jayawickrama in a legally well analyzed article titled “Disqualifying Twice Elected Presidents – A Failed Endeavour” (Sunday Island, August 19, 2018) argues that since Parliament did not provide in the 19th Amendment, a disqualification that would apply retrospectively former twice elected Presidents are not disqualified from seeking reelection.

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August 28, 2018 · 2:50 pm

“Hitler had …. ball” by Holy Cross College Female Band wins Prize at Malaysian Competition

Holy Cross College, Sri Lanka,International Marching Band competition Malaysia 2018 Bronze Medalist

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August 28, 2018 · 11:20 am

Amer in India

Amer Fort in Amer, Rajasthan, India

On top of the Cheel ka Teela (or Hill of Eagles) in India’s Rajasthan state is the Amer Fort, a princely marble and red sandstone structure of immense beauty. Roughly four centuries old, the fort was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013 along with five other Hill Forts of Rajasthan. Amer Fort is a great attraction for sightseers, and it welcomes thousands of visitors each day during the peak season. The treasures within include doors sheathed in panels of raised silver reliefs (or repoussé), marble carved with botanical motifs, and fantastic ceiling tiles inlaid with thousands of small, glimmering mirrors. A fortress palace fit for a Maharaja, indeed.

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August 27, 2018 · 11:52 pm

Repression of Uighurs in China: Why Islamic States are Silent

Alexandra Ma, in UK Business Insider, 17 August 2018, where  the title runs “Why the Muslim world isn’t saying anything about China’s repression and ‘cultural cleansing’ of its downtrodden Muslim minority”

China’s crackdown on its Uighur citizens, a mostly-Muslim ethnic minority group, has faced heavy international scrutiny in recent months. In August the United Nations said it was “deeply concerned” by reports that China had forced as many as 1 million Uighurs into internment camps in Xinjiang, western China. In April, the US State Department said it had heard of Uighurs who had “disappeared” or were unexpectedly detained.

Meanwhile, Muslim countries have been deafeningly silent.

 Map showing the projects subsumed under the Belt and Road Initiative as of December 2015. Reuters

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August 27, 2018 · 2:49 pm

Sri Lanka’s Ancient Cities in Ultra High Definition Video

Preview YouTube video Ancient Sites in Sri Lanka in 4K Ultra HD

Amazing Places on Our Planet….Published on Aug 24, 2018

The major ancient historic sites in Sri Lanka, all UNESCO World Heritage sites: Sacred City of Anuradhapura and Mihintale, Ancient City of Polonnaruwa, Golden Temple of Dambulla, Ancient City of Sigiriya, Sacred City of Kandy. Anuradhapura was capital of Sri Lanka from the 4th century BCE until the end of the 10th century CE. Anuradhapura and the nearby Mihintale are the birthplace of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Polonnaruwa was the second capital of Sri Lanka, from 1070 to 1310. The Golden Temple of Dambulla is a cave-temple complex, pilgrimage site for 22 centuries, with beautiful mural paintings and statues. Sigiriya (Lion Rock) is an ancient fortress on top of a 200 meter high rock, capital of Sri Lanka for a short time in the 5th century, and Buddhist monastery until the 14th century. Kandy was the last old capital of Sri Lanka. Temple of the Tooth Relic is a famous pilgrimage site in Kandy, keeping the sacred tooth of the Buddha.

Recorded January 2016 in 4K Ultra HD with Sony AX100. Music: Mike Wall – Passage – 1 – Dawn of Light Licensed via ilicensemusic.com ————————————– Continue reading →

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August 27, 2018 · 3:33 am

Fervent Faces as Signs of Extremism and Deceit? From Lakemba to Lanka

Michael Roberts

The video report on Lakemba in Sydney by Emma Reynolds is causing a minor stir. My reproduction of the web report in Thuppahi and its circulation drew comments from one George Rupesinghe who challenged her sweeping presentation of “Muslim monoculturalism” and the alleged no-go sites in Lakemba.

Says Rupesinghe: “This Canadian woman came to Oz merely to draw attention to herself. She set out to be deliberately provocative and the police officer very rightly warned her against using her “free speech” rights to incite unrest. Besides the mosque there is a Christian (Uniting) Church on the main street. Another Christian Church just off the main street along the Lakemba Street and a Catholic Church also on Lakemba Street.” Continue reading →

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August 27, 2018 · 2:04 am

Michelle de Kretser: From Methodist College to Global Platforms

ONE: Wikipedia Notice on Michelle de Kretser

Michelle de Kretser = born 11 November 1957 =  an Australian novelist who was born in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), and moved to Australia in 1972 when she was 14.[1]   De Kretser was educated at Methodist College, Colombo and in Methodist College, Colombo,[2] and in Melbourne and Paris.

She worked as an editor for travel guides company Lonely Planet, and while on a sabbatical in 1999, wrote and published her first novel, The Rose Grower. Her second novel, published in 2003, The Hamilton Case was winner of the Tasmania Pacific Prize, the Encore Award (UK) and the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Southeast Asia and Pacific). Her third novel, The Lost Dog, was published in 2007. It was one of 13 books on the long list for the 2008 Man Booker Prize for fiction. From 1989 to 1992 she was a founding editor of the Australian Women’s Book Review. Her fourth novel, Questions of Travel, won several awards, including the 2013 Miles Franklin Award, the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal (ALS Gold Medal), and the 2013 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards for fiction. It was also shortlisted for the 2014 Dublin Impac Literary Award. Her 2017 novel, The Life to Come, was shortlisted for the 2018 Stella Prize.[3]

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