Nov 5 (ST) The migratory bird season this year, has taken off with the first-time sighting of a Black-Winged Pratincole (Glareola nordmanni), a near-threatened migratory bird in Kerawalapitiya � a birding spot bordering Colombo. This bird has never been seen before in this area during the migratory season. The rare bird was spotted and identified by Malika Jayathilake and his two sons who frequent this rich birding spot. The bird was first spotted by 17-year-old Navodha on Oct 17. more..

Nov 5 (EN) Sri Lanka is likely to see $100 million infrastructure investment by Canadian diaspora into Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya said. The minister said this after meeting a visiting Canadian diaspora group this week. �A $100 million infrastructure investment is likely to be finalized,� said Balasuriya without elaborating. SL is looking to bring in more foreign investment from Diasporas from Canada, UK, US and UAE. more..

Nov 5 (ST) New driving licences will be printed with QR codes after cabinet approval is granted, the Motor Traffic Commissioner General, Nishantha Weerasingha said. He said 500,000 licences had been ordered by the end of the month and these will be distributed next month to clear the backlog. There are 600,000 driving licences yet to be distributed. The department prioritises giving licence cards to people going overseas. Others receive a temporary paper licence valid for a year. more..

Nov 5 (ST) A marriage ceremony between a 15 year old girl and a 19 year old boy was to take place on Sunday at a reception hall of Saurupura in Angulana, Moratuwa. The girl had not studied beyond Grade 10 and had been in a romantic relationship for a long time with the youth, with the consent of their families. A wedding ceremony had been arranged following an argument between the boy and the girl�s grandfather, after more..

Nov 5 (Island) The TNA is taking all possible steps to end the drug menace in the areas where Tamils live in the Northern Province, former MP Mavai Senathirajah said. He said that the Tamil people and the civil society organisations must fully support the initiatives of the TNA. Senathirajah said drugs have no place in Tamil culture. �Recently, the Minister of Justice came to Jaffna. He said that Jaffna had become a hotspot for drug consumption and a hub for narcotic transport. more..

Nov 5 (ST) Hotels are gearing up for less-than-expected numbers of visitors from Europe�s winter. Although October arrivals were slightly higher from September, hotel managers said there is not much hope for the remaining two months. In the first 25 days of October there were 31,000 foreign visitors, Tourist Hotels Association (THASL) president, M. Shanthikumar said. �Tourist hotels are faring bad, and they are trying to survive,� he added, noting that the arrivals are far below expectations. more..

Nov 5 (ST) The Welikada Prison proudly proclaims in a slogan on a wall that, Prisoners are human beings, but a recent gazette notice has alarmed lawyers and prisoner rights activists that basic rights are being breached. An extraordinary gazette was issued on July 12, 2022 by Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe. It notifies of rules made by the minister under section 94 of more..

Nov 5 (ST) More than a year after the Singapore-registered container ship X-Press Pearl carrying chemicals and other goods and operated by X-Press Feeders, caught fire in May 2021, off the coast of Colombo, interim compensation has been paid to fisherfolk by the ship�s insurer on three occasions. It was SL�s biggest marine environmental disaster. For 13 days, ship was in flames, while the Govt and the then-ports and shipping minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena, SLPA then chairman, more..

Nov 5 (CT) The recently initiated short course on parliamentary functions and procedures by Parliament for Universities was introduced to undergraduates of the Uni of Jaffna. The inauguration was held on 31 Oct at the Uni of Jaffna. Vice-Chancellor of Uni of Jaffna, Prof S. Srisatkunarajah thanked Parliament for arranging such a course and spoke to undergraduates on the importance of taking such course. Senior officials of the Parliament Secretariat provide more..

Nov 6 (SO) It has been said more than once that while other countries could be our friends, India has always been our brother. It is from India that SL received its greatest gift in the form of Buddhism and indeed, religious and cultural links between the two countries go even beyond the time of the Buddha. In more contemporary times, India has always come to our rescue whenever SL faced a dire situation. This diplomatic relationship has stood the test of time, regardless of the Govts or parties in power more..

Nov 6 (TM) The re-emergence of fuel queues last week, albeit over a technical issue of dealers delaying the placing of orders in anticipation of a price reduction according to the Petroleum Minister, showed just how fickle the new-found normalcy can be, given the hand-to-mouth existence of this nation. The queues also pointed to just how much a ministerial assurance is worth these days, with people turning a deaf ear to the Minister. As the saying goes, once bitten, twice shy. more..

Nov 6 (SO) Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said that at this critical juncture all the political parties such as SLFP, SJB, UNP and JVP should set aside their political agendas and join hands to rebuild the country by accepting portfolios and added that they are ready to quit and even offer their ministerial portfolios. He said if we want to get the country out of the present crisis we should extend our support to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe more..

Nov 6 (TM) SL is in the midst of deep and abrupt reforms; the economy will have contracted by several percentage points by the end of 2022 � austerity is upon us and it is beginning to bite. A news report revealed that the Colombo National Hospital�s Accident and Orthopaedic Service (AOS) is routinely unable to perform X-rays and CT scans; S.B. Mediwatte of the All Ceylon Nurses� Union stated that the supply of film for the X-rays were intermittent and that the scanner had broken more..

Nov 6 (CT) When one thinks of a system change, item number one that occupies one�s mind is the obvious one: system change in the political arena. The disgust and abhorrence one holds the current political milieu and its players in cannot be discounted. We have spent enough time and online space in critiques and analyses with regard to the status of the existing political platform and the mindless expressions by many a political player on it. Change in the constitutional amendments more..

Nov 6 (TM) President Ranil Wickremesinghe left for Egypt yesterday to attend the COP27 summit with hopes of turning to the topic of climate change as an alternative means of raising much-needed funds for Sri Lanka. President�s commitment to expand on climate issues, including climate financing, is evident by recent statements made by him as well the move to set up a separate secretariat for the purpose more..

Nov 6 (Island) Some news stories published in the front page of our stablemate, The Island, on Friday together with a letter to the editor on an inside page deserves deep reader reflection. The news stories were a convocation address at the Sri J'pura Uni by Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda and Prof. GL Peiris�s warning that the necessary procedures to hold LG election by March next year as required by the law have not yet begun. Ms. Goolbai Gunasekara, the eminent educationist, wrote the letter more..

Nov 6 (CT) Seeking to bury past differences, two main Tamil political parties have come together. Veteran leader Mano Ganesan has declared that the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) under his leadership and the Ceylon Workers� Congress (CWC), now headed by third-generation leader, Jeevan Thondaman, would work like a double-barrelled gun for the benefit and betterment of the community. The occasion was provided by the inauguration of the TPA�s HQ, more..

Nov 6 (AFP) Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood said Saturday he took a lot of positives from the Twenty20 World Cup after his side�s narrow loss to England in Sydney, but admitted there were areas to work on, notably fielding. His young team only defeated sides in Australia they were expected to beat � Netherlands, UAE, Ireland and Afghanistan � while losing heavily to New Zealand and Australia. But they ended their campaign by pushing England hard and Silverwood was content. more..

Nov 6 (ST) Having come to Australia for the T20 World Cup giving our fans so much hope, it was bitterly disappointing to see the team bowing out without putting up a proper fight. In this campaign, we have beaten four teams � Ireland, Afghanistan, UAE and Netherlands. We lost our away against stronger teams like Australia, England and New Zealand despite being in stronger positions. We were soundly beaten by even a team like Namibia, for the first time in our history. more..

Nov 6 (ST) CID has uncovered further details in its investigations regarding Thilini Priyamali and her close associates who are accused of swindling money from the people. Detectives informed courts that among the evidence their investigations have come up with was the issue of invalid cheques for a value of US$ 60,000 and AUD 100,000. This followed a complaint lodged in July this yr by Kamal Hassan, resident of Malabe. more..

Nov 6 (ST) My dear Dasun and the cricket team, I thought of writing to you to thank you for your performances at the World Cup. We know you didn�t become champions, and that you were knocked out without making it even to the semi-finals, but your performances have helped us in Paradise immensely, especially Uncle Ranil. I will tell you why. For the past few weeks, Dasun and the team, most of us in Paradise have been talking of nothing but cricket. more..

Nov 6 (ST) COP27 � the Conference of Parties � is the United Nations Climate Change Conference that kicks off tomorrow in Egypt in the noble pursuit of coming towards a common agreement among nations to reduce Earth�s rising temperature. Ice caps are melting, sea levels are rising, so are forest fires on the rise; prolonged droughts and floods are ravaging countries across the world as nature�s fury is associated with Climate Change triggered by a warmer planet. more..

Nov 6 (Island) SL singer-songwriter-rapper Yohani has shifted her base to Mumbai. She is focussing on Bollywood, and is learning to speak Hindi, the language in which films are made in Mumbai. Hindi is spoken by half a billion Indians but understood by 1.4 b Indians who love films made in Bollywood. TV channels and popular TV shows, Yohani said she did dream of singing for Hindi films, but didn�t think she would one day shift base to Mumbai. �I honestly didn�t think would be able to sing for B'wood more..

Nov 6 (Island) It remains to be seen whether Wanindu Hasaranga can end up a second T-20 World Cup as the leading wicket taker. In the last event in 2021 in UAE, he finished with 16 scalps, which is the most by a bowler in a T-20 World Cup of which the eighth edition is being played in Australia. In the ongoing tournament, with the game against England left, he has accounted for 13 victims. Hasaranga is one of the most feared bowlers in the world and it�s just a matter of time before more..

Nov 6 (Island) Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith says that while people suffer by not being able to make ends meet due to the economic downfall, their so-called representatives look for all means to stabilize themselves by increasing their wealth and raising their insurance coverage. Delivering the homily at the Festive high Mass at the Annual Feast of St Jude�s Shrine at Indigolla in Gampaha, Cardinal said: more..

Nov 6 (SO) Govt is exploring the possibility of setting up a separate entity to promote and channel Foreign Direct investments (FDI) to SL from the diaspora, said the Director General of Board of Investment Renuka Weerakone. She said this proposed unit which is now awaiting the Cabinet nod will also look at attracting investments from SL youth who are successfully employed overseas for a long period. �This would be mainly for SME ventures which range from agriculture, dairy and similar ventures.� more..

Nov 6 (SO) A full house one-day rugby championship called the �C Rugby Tag Rugby Tournament that brings out ex-school players to play alongside women�s players will kick off at the CR and FC ground at Longdon Place on Nov 12 (Saturday) commencing at 2 pm. In the tournament 16 combined teams will contest featuring past students from what the organizers say are brother-sister schools. Teams will be Royal College/Visakha Vidyalaya, Isipathana College more..

Nov 6 (ST) A team of six experts from the Ruhunu University on Friday visited the scene at the Yala National Park, where young drivers of dozens of modified off-road vehicles were seen spinning and carving patterns on Oct 22. The visit came after the Tissmaharama Magistrate court called for reports from the experts. Motor Traffic Dept was ordered to provide the names of the owners of the vehicles. more..

Nov 6 (SO) Pre Ranil Wickremesinghe will leave for Egypt early this morning to participate in the UN COP 27 World Conference on Climate Change in Sharm-El-Shiek, Egypt from today until Nov 18. Prez is due to address the conference tomorrow and on Nov 8. Prez Wickremesinghe will speak on the Climate Change Secretariat to be set up in SL and on Climate Change in SL and around the world. Prez will meet Egyptian Prez Abdel Fattah Sissi and PM Mostafa Madbouly during his four-day visit. more..

Nov 6 (SLN) Sri Lanka Navy conducted a special operation in seas north of Talaimannar to chase away Indian poaching trawlers from Sri Lanka�s waters on the evening of 05th Nov. The operation led to the seizure of 02 Indian trawlers with 15 Indian fishermen, poaching in the island's waters. SL Navy remains ever alert to foil illegal fishing practices of foreign fishing trawlers in Sri Lanka�s waters and regularly conducts patrols and operations to prevent such activities. more..

Nov 6 (ENS) Unable to bear the punishing economic distress in SL, 10 more Tamils, including a three-month-old boy, fled the island nation and landed at Naduthurai islet near Dhanushkodi in Ramanathapuram district early on Saturday after undergoing a perilous journey for hours braving rough sea, lashing wind and pounding rain. According to sources, M Jeyakumar (45), his wife J Yogeshwari (42) and daughters J Tamilmathi (22) and J Kanimathi (15) of Mannar; more..

Nov 6 (ST) SL�s last quarter borrowing plan via the issuance of treasury bonds and bills to meet recurrent expenditure while cutting down bank borrowings and money printing is in a bind following the recent downward trend in sales in the secondary bill and bond markets, CEOs of banks and dealers confirmed. General Manager of a leading bank who wished to remain anonymous told the Business Times that the drop in T-bill sales witnessed at the primary auctions recently was due to more..

Nov 6 (ST) SL�s two state-owned fertiliser companies paid China�s Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group more than US$ 6.87mn or Rs 2.4bn for organic fertiliser in a court-mediated dispute settlement nearly one year ago but the shipment is yet to come. Not only has this disbursement gone to waste, but SL officials also failed to redeem two performance bonds of US$ 4.4mn provided by Qingdao Seawin that could have cushioned more..

Nov 6 (SO) Minister Bandula Gunawardena said that he had begun discussions to transform the Railway Dept into a Railway Authority to provide the best possible benefits to commuters. The discussions held in this regard have been fruitful. He said the Railway Dept would be converted after a careful study of the proposals and ideas of the Railway Dept officials, trade unions and employees. He assured that it will have no effect on any welfare schemes or benefits, or on workers� pensions. more..

Nov 6 (ST) Treasury has given orders to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to discontinue the system of handing over ownership of official vehicles to top officials when they retire. Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana has issued a circular to this effect to ministry secretaries and chairpersons of state banks, corporations, statutory boards, and state-owned enterprises. The decision came after COPE raised questions on instances of transferring ownership of official vehicles to SOE more..