Victor Melder

SRI LANKA NEWS – MARCH 2021 The Archdiocese of Colombo has declared 7 March as Black Sunday, saying they were not satisfied with the final report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday bombings. The Archdiocese of Colombo, which met on 28 February, has decided to declare 7 March as Black Sunday as a day of protest against the lack of justice for those who died and were affected by the Easter Sunday bombings. Catholics are expected to attend Mass dressed in black on that day. The Archdiocese clergy have discussed the contents of the report put out by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday terror attacks in depth. The clergy have unanimously decided that they should not be silent anymore regarding the matter of delivering justice for those who died and were injured in the ...

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VICTOR  MELDER  SRI  LANKA LIBRARY 7, Benambra Street, Broadmeadows, Vic 3047, Australia. Telephone + 61 3 9309 4040 E-mail < melder.rjvm1935@bigpond.com > Web Site < www.vmsl-library.com > THOSE WISHING TO DONATE BOOKS & OTHER PUBLICATIONS TO THIS LIBRARY, THEY ARE MOST WELCOME. PLEASE CONTACT ME AT ABOVE ADDRESS, BY EMAIL OR TELEPHONE. Thank You. ACQUISITIONS   FOR  THE  MONTH  OF  FEBRUARY  2021 BOOKS. Yakada Yaka by Carl Muller, 1994. Reflections and Ruminations, Reminiscences and Reveries by Derrick Mendis SJ, 2001 (No’s 1 -2, Donated by Mrs Beulah, Nathanielsz, Broadmeadows, Vic)  Return to Sri Lanka, Travels in a Paradoxical Island by Razeen Sally, 2019  (Donated by the Author, Singapore) Just call me DENNIS, A Retrospective on Hockey in Sri Lanka, Dennis De Rosayro with Nilanga Jayawickreme, 2021  (Donated by Dennis De Rosayro, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka)  ...

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SRI LANKA NEWS (FEBRUARY 2021) Compiled by Victor Melder. The Government of Japan provided a total sum of $ 620,379 (approx. Rs. 115 million) to Skavita Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Project (SHARP) for humanitarian demining activities in northern Sri Lanka. The grant contract was signed on 11 February at the Ambassador’s Residence in Colombo, between Ambassador of Japan Sugiyama Akira, and SHARP Program Manager Lt. Col. (Retd.) V.S.M. Jayawardhana. The Government of Sri Lanka aims to achieve ‘A Mine Impact Free Sri Lanka’ within a few years and become the next mine impact free country in the world. Towards this endeavour, Japan has been a major donor in mine clearance in the country since 2002. The Government of Japan is SHARP’s primary donor and has provided necessary funding for mine clearance since its inception in 2016 when its first program was launched in Kilinochchi. Subsequently, SHARP cleared more than 1.5 km2 of ...

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SRI LANKA LIBRARY-VICTOR MELDER 7, Benambra Street, Broadmeadows, Vic 3047, Australia. Telephone + 61 3 9309 4040 E-mail < melder.rjvm1935@bigpond.com > Web Site < www.vmsl-library.com > THOSE WISHING TO DONATE BOOKS & OTHER PUBLICATIONS TO THIS LIBRARY, THEY ARE MOST WELCOME. PLEASE CONTACT ME AT ABOVE ADDRESS, BY EMAIL OR TELEPHONE. Thank You.                                ACQUISITIONS   FOR  THE  MONTH  OF  JANUARY  2021 BOOKS. Sacred Images of Sri Lanka, Buddhist & Hindu Sculptures from the Sri Lanka National Collections, Art Gallery of NSW, 1994. Community Profiles, 1991 Census, Sri Lankan born, Statistics Section, Bureau of Immigration, Multicultural & Population Research. Separatist Ideology in Sri Lanka: A Historical Appraisal by K. M. de Silva, 1994 The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (as amended up to October 3, 2001), Parliament Secretariat, 1994. Standing Orders of the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (as amended up to February ...

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SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS-(JANUARY 2021)Compiled by Victor Melder Spinner Akila Dhananjaya, who was banned from bowling, has been cleared to bowl by the International Cricket Council (ICC) permitting him to participate in International Cricket. Dananjaya was banned from bowling in international cricket for 12 months following an independent assessment of his action in September 2019.(Daily Mirror Online, 8.1.2021) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) released the list of the squad that are selected for the 2-match Test series against England, which will begin on Thursday (14). The squad, under the captaincy of Dimuth Karunaratne, includes newcomer Ramesh Mendis while middle-order batsman Roshen Silva joins the Test squad after a long lapse. Kusal Mendis, who scored three back-to-back ducks in South Africa, too has been named in the squad, but is highly unlikely to make it to the playing XI. Regular opening batsman Oshada Fernando, though being named, will miss the first Test ...

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SRI LANKA NEWS(JANUARY 2021)Compiled by Victor Melder. The Central Bank had printed a record Rs. 650 billion in 2020 to help manage with the country’s monetary and fiscal challenges.  As per Bank data, as at 31 December 2020, the face value of CBSL holding Government securities amounted to Rs. 725.19 billion whilst at the beginning of 2020 it was Rs. 74.7 billion. In contrast, the net figure of money printed in 2019 was Rs. 4 billion. The Central Bank also began the New Year by printing Rs. 13.2 billion as per its data.  Today the Central Bank will unveil its key strategy document Roadmap for 2021 and beyond. (Daily Financial Times, 4.1.2021) Four persons, aged 82, 47, 84 and 65 died from COVID triggered pneumonia and other complications on Tuesday, the Government Information Department said. The deceased are residents of Colombo 13, Wellampitiya, Hanwella and Matale.  The four deaths increase the death ...

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SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS (DECEMBER 2020)-Compiled by Victor Melder The national cricket team landed in South Africa Friday night and soon will resume training lead up to the two match Test series against the Proteas. Compared to most places in the world, South Africa’s health guidelines are lot more flexible and  all what  a person needs is two negative PCR reports before being allowed to assume daily activities. For a cricketer, a day’s activities in these times of pandemic means practice, weight training and rest.  They will be restricted to their hotel and the cricket ground and South Africa’s fantastic tourist destinations will be out of bounds. The team will be in a bio-bubble during their three week stay and their contact with the outside world will be limited. Following their stunning series win in South Africa during the last tour, Dimuth Karunaratne’s side can expect green tops this time ...

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SRI LANKA NEWS(DECEMBER 2020)-Compiled by Victor Melder A total of eight inmates of the Mahara Prison have died due to the unrest which had arisen at the Mahara Prison last Sunday. Police Media Spokesperson DIG Ajith Rohana said that another 71 inmates had been injured in the unrest and in addition to that two prison officials are also in critical condition. “All injured persons including two prison officials were admitted to the hospital for the treatments,” he added. A tense situation had arisen at the Mahara Prison due to a clash between the prison guards and remand prisoners. A group of inmates had attempted to escape from the Mahara Prison after another group of the prison had contracted COVID-19.Inmates had also set fire and destroyed the property in a bid to distract prison officials. (Daily News, 1.12.2020) The government will find out who was behind the clashes and resultant destruction at ...

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SRI LANKA NEWS – NOVEMBER 2020-Compiled by Victor Melder.  Sri Lanka’s emergency needs in various sectors including agriculture, education, ICT, transport and disaster management brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic are to be handled at cost of over Rs.10 billion under the Contingent Emergency Response Components (CERCs) framework, a Finance Ministry report revealed. Following the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, the ministry has requested the banks to activate several CERCs in the existing portfolio to finance a set of emergency activities for the COVID-19 response. The funds from several project CERCs will be “pooled” into one Designated Account (DA) to finance a common emergency action plan and similar activities, the Treasury document disclosed. A sum of Rs. 3.15 billion has been set aside to assist agriculture and food security during COVID -19 while Rs. 985.28 million was allocated for the establishment of a system for tele-education and e-learning for school ...

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SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS (OCTOBER 2020) – Compiled by Victor Melder With England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) not willing to put their players through a two-week quarantine and the sudden spike in COVID-19 positive cases in Sri Lanka, there is uncertainty surrounding the proposed England Test tour to the country. England was in Sri Lanka in March to play the two-match Test series but returned home just days ahead of the first Test following the global outbreak of the virus. Though dates are yet to be confirmed, both Boards agreed to play it in January next year. “We are working to ensure the business of international cricket keeps going,” Tom Harrison, the ECB Chief Executive, was quoted as saying. “(But) the Bangladesh tour to Sri Lanka is an understandable situation for the Bangladeshi team; two weeks of quarantine is not an easy thing to agree to for players and ...

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