Nov 2 (DN) Sri Lanka, led by Lahiru Madushanka, recorded back-to-back wins against Oman and Bangladesh to enter the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes tournament played at Mission Road Grounds in Hong Kong yesterday. It was a superb, fighting effort from the SL bowlers to secure an 18-run win over Bangladesh in their second game. Paceman Dhananjaya Lakshan started with a very successful first over, dismissing Bangladesh skipper Yasir Ali, who was bowled after more..

Nov 2 (ST) The election mood is yet to improve in the North as most candidates are campaigning online, particularly on social media. Several candidates across party lines are using Facebook, Viber, WhatsApp and websites. For first-time candidates like Varatharajah Partheepan, canvassing with limited financial resources is challenging since he is depending on his relatives and friends to assist. He is contesting under the ticket of Tamil Makkal Kootani (TMK) more..

Nov 2 (FT) Ambassador Qi Zhenhong pledged that China will fully consider the development needs of the new Govt in SL. “In the new year, the Chinese Govt will fully consider the development needs of the new SL Govt, improve the pertinence and effectiveness of training programs,” Ambassador Qi said at the 2024 China Aid Training Alumni Reception held in Colombo. The event, the first China Aid Training Alumni Reception, more..

Nov 2 (ST) Locomotive engine drivers say that some locomotives and power sets provided under the Indian credit line are of poor quality. Locomotive Operating Engineers Union chairman Chandana Wiyanduwa said that some locomotives provided under the Indian credit line are too heavy or too lengthy for local conditions. He said that Indian power sets, S Ceylon, have many issues related to the braking systems. Corrosion, engine repairs & replacement of parts are also issues. more..

Nov 2 (ST) People with serious skin burns can now have their skin replaced with the skin (tissue) of a deceased or close relative, according to National Hospital Consultant Plastic Surgeon Dr. Gayan Ekanayake. A severe burn is a trauma associated with long-lasting consequences. Many accidents related to burns are reported to the National Hospital as many women in SL tend to self-immolate due to family problems and many also sustain severe burns following gas cylinder explosions. more..

Nov 2 (IE) If you look at satellite imagery, you will notice a faint hint of a connecting strip between India and SL. This is Adam's Bridge, also known as Ram's Bridge or Ram Setu (राम सेतु), a vast chain of natural limestone shoals that spans an impressive 30 miles (48 km) over the Indian Ocean. This ancient land bridge is celebrated for its geological, historical, and mythological significance, and it fascinates scientists & scholars alike. more..

Nov 2 (ST) Colombo Magistrate Court has imposed an overseas travel ban on a company owner who allegedly defaulted on payment of Rs 9.8 million to the EPF accounts of employees who worked on several projects including the BIA project funded by JAICA. The owner of N T Perera of Ceylon Pvt Ltd was subjected to the overseas travel ban by Colombo Additional Magistrate. Magistrate also ordered that summons be issued on the suspect for him to appear before court on Dec 19. more..

Nov 2 (FT) In a move set to strengthen relations and enhance tourism between the two countries, Russia’s Red Wings Airlines has officially launched direct flights between Samara and Mattala. This new route between Samara’s Kurumoch Airport & Mattala Rajapaksa Int'l Airport (MRIA) is expected to significantly increase tourist traffic to SL, particularly from Russia’s federal constituent entities. The service will run throughout the winter season, until April next year, offering six flights more..

Nov 2 (FT) Swiss airline, Edelweiss Air resumed scheduled seasonal flight operations to Sri Lanka yesterday carrying 221 passengers on the inaugural flight that arrived at 9.25 a.m. at BIA, to cater to winter tourism. The inaugural flight was ceremonially welcomed with a water salute by Airport and Aviation Services (SL) Ltd. The airline offers a premium on board experience across all classes, with a total capacity of 314 seats (27 business, 76 premium economy, and 211 economy). more..

Nov 2 (DM) Sweden has expressed a strong interest in expanding business collaborations with SL, specifically to increase Sri Lanka’s contributions to its fast-growing food industry, the EDB said. A Swedish delegation, led by Swedish Ambassador to India and SL Jan Thesleff, recently met with the EDB to explore the potential business collaborations and opportunities between the two countries. The delegation included Consul General of Sweden in Colombo Sanjay Kulatunga and more..

Nov 2 (EN) Tourist arrivals to SL has remained higher in the last eight days of October compared to last year, despite the U.S. Embassy in Colombo and six other foreign missions issued travel advisories over a potential attack on a tourism hot spot in the island nation’s Eastern coast of Arugam Bay. Foreign visitors to the country recorded a 35% gain in the last eight days of October this year to 37,287, compared to 27,649 in same period more..

Nov 2 (FT) The inaugural charter flight of Enter Air arrived at BIA on Wednesday connecting Poland and SL. The move signifies the beginning of a series of charter flights scheduled to operate between Warsaw and Colombo till the end of March 2025. The flight was welcomed with a water salute upon touchdown and the passengers were greeted with a vibrant display of traditional dancers organised by Sri Lanka Tourism. Enter Air, recognised by its ICAO code ENT, is Poland’s premier charter airline more..

Nov 2 (FT) The SL Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) yesterday announced an exciting initiative aimed at promoting Sri Lanka as a premier travel destination through a series of influencer-led creative press trips from 28 Oct to 8 Nov. This event will feature 30 renowned international travel bloggers and social media influencers from ten countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Australia, India, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Hong Kong. more..

Nov 2 (Island) The primary reason for train derailments is inadequate maintenance of railway engines, tracks, and compartments, the Railway Department has said. Railways Deputy General Manager, N.J. Indipolage, attributed the Dept’s inability to maintain engines, tracks, and compartments to a shortage of staff and spare parts. “The rolling stock and tracks cannot be properly maintained due to a severe shortage of personnel, particularly technicians and supervisors,” more..

Nov 2 (DN) Theldeniya Police found a Mitsubishi jeep worth around Rs.40 mn with fake number plates allegedly used by former State Minister Lohan Ratwatte in a house at the Digana ICC housing complex on Thursday. During an investigation carried out regarding the number plate of this vehicle found in the garage of an uninhabited house, it has been revealed that it belongs to a red Prado type jeep belonging to a woman in the Pilawala area, Kandy. Police investigations have revealed more..

Nov 2 (EN) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake has expressed interest in learning from India’s expertise in power and energy sector development when he met the Indian High Commissioner to SL. Prez’s expression comes as India’s Adani renewable energy project is facing a delay due to a raft of legal cases filed in the island nation’s Supreme Court due to environmental concerns amid higher cost per tariff quoted more..

Nov 2 (ST) While most of the older, more established political parties are contesting the upcoming parliamentary election, many newer parties that might be less familiar to voters are also in the mix. The Sunday Times spoke to a few of the more prominent candidates who are contesting from some of these parties and asked why they chose to contest from these parties, what their party policies are and why people should vote for them. The United National Freedom Front (UNFF) more..

Nov 2 (FT) The Colombo stock market yesterday began trading for November on a positive note with Rs. 5 billion turnover despite initial struggle by the indices. On a choppy day of investor sentiments, the benchmark ASPI closed with a gain of 0.7% and the active S&P SL by 0.4%. The positive start for November comes on the back of ASPI finishing October by a 7.7% gain and the S&P SL by 12%. Turnover yesterday was Rs. 4.9 billion involving 104.3 million shares. more..

Nov 2 (FP) The conventional wisdom is that a growing economy helps the incumbent, and a weakening one helps their opponents. But the effects of economics on election outcomes are never straightforward. SL’s prez election, held in September, came in the middle of a steady recovery from a debilitating economic crisis two years ago. Despite this, the election results saw a political transition, from a seasoned politician who more..

Nov 3 (SO) The Govt deserves plaudits for recalling 16 unqualified diplomatic personnel including Ambassadors and High Commissioners who had been posted to various world capitals solely due to their political links or relationships to powerful figures in former Govts. There are many more of them but this is a good start. According to newspaper reports, political appointees serve even in some key capitals such as London, Washington DC, Jakarta and Abu Dhabi. more..

Nov 3 (CT) The rejected presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe has come out of the woods and demanding the new president and his interim cabinet to increase the salaries of about 1.2 million public servants out of a total 8 million wage earners. According to RW, that increase was approved by the govt under his presidency. It has now come to public knowledge that although the former govt approved the increase the necessary financial allocation was not provided. more..

Nov 3 (CT) British PM Winston Churchill once said, “You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” This seems very apt for the current Anura Kumara Dissanayake-led govt, which appears to be entangled in endless counter-arguments and attempts to debunk claims by opponents since the interim Cabinet was formed. In the past few weeks, this has been particularly evident, more..

Nov 3 (CT) Sri Lanka’s tertiary education system is at a critical juncture, requiring significant upgrading to meet the evolving demands of its youth and the modern workforce. The current State-funded higher education institutions face substantial challenges in accommodating the growing number of students seeking higher education, resulting in overcrowded classrooms, limited resources, and a curriculum that often fails to align with industry needs. As the job market becomes increasingly competitive, more..

Nov 3 (TM) Looking around the streets of Colombo these days, or any other city in the country for that matter, it is hard to tell that an all-important General Election is just one more Sunday away, making this poll somewhat of an aberration from the norm and, indeed, a case study of SL’s evolving political scene. While credit for this unusual phenomenon must accrue to the new leadership, there is more to it than meets the eye. The prevailing calm is unusual in the sense that it was just two-and-a-half yrs ago more..

Nov 3 (TM) It is now becoming evident that JVP-led NPP, despite waxing eloquent about governance and actions needed to be taken for economic recovery while in Opposition, is still trying to find its footing in real-time governance now that JVP/NPP Leader, Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) is holding the highest office in the country. AKD Govt and supporters have called for time until after the new govt is formed following more..

Nov 3 (ST) SL’s membership bid, along with that of dozens of other aspirants to join BRICS—the group of emerging markets and developing countries of the Global South—was put on ice at its summit in Kazan, Russia, last week. The ostensible reason: BRICS’ (originally Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, later adding Egypt, Iran, UAE, and Ethiopia) decision to freeze membership for now. Instead, they proposed a new partner membership status for which SL will hopefully be more..

Nov 3 (ST) My dear Uncle Ranil, I thought I must write to you after seeing and hearing you, so soon after the last big election. Maybe I should have written to you earlier to offer you my commiserations about the outcome of that election but I really didn’t expect to see you bounce back and be so much in the public eye again so soon. Uncle Ranil, I am not sure what your thoughts are about your performance at the big election. Many feel you did better than expected. more..

Nov 3 (Island) On Tuesday (5), Americans will vote for a new president at an election that most observers and commentators agree is destined to be as consequential, if not even more so, as only two other elections in the chequered history of the US. Americans will either choose to continue with the Great Experiment of democracy envisaged by the Founding Fathers over two centuries ago; or they will change course and adopt an authoritarian govt on the model of other authoritarian nations more..

Nov 3 (ST) Under pressure following its Ethics Committee’s call for an immediate suspension of Maxwell de Silva, Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee (NOC), de Silva and his proxies have ignited a significant controversy by calling for an immediate Special General Assembly (SGA) on Nov 29, 2024. This was after eight Executive Committee members, who have turned a blind-eye to Ethics Committee’s call, requested for an immediate SGA. Following the request, more..

Nov 3 (ST) Initially, the govt wanted to keep the reopening of an access road in Palali in the north after 34 years as a low-key event for a couple of reasons: one was not to allow the opportunity to be used for political campaigning purposes ahead of the general election, and the other was not to leave space for elements in the south to stir controversy on national security grounds. Therefore, the event was planned as early as 6 am on Friday, more..

Nov 3 (Island) About ten months ago, among other things, I informally discussed the devolution of power with Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was an MP at the time. The consequences of his low-priority approach to devolution, as predicted then, were reflected in the presidential election results in the North and the East. Perhaps, there were other reasons also for the low level of popular support for him over there. Now that he is the Prez of 23 million Sri Lankans, he must consider more..

Nov 3 (Island) Imagine SL striding onto the hallowed turf at Lord’s next June for the World Test Championship final. That would be a real shot in the arm for the nation’s cricket. Who would have imagined that little SL could climb such heights? Yet here they are, on the cusp of making history, thanks to stellar performances both at home and away, making steady strides towards glory. As things stand, five teams are still in the hunt for the WTC final, but India and NZ have a mountain to climb. more..

Nov 3 (TM) Sri Lanka, fresh from their 2-1 T20I and ODI series triumphs over the West Indies last month, are set to retain the same white ball squads for the upcoming series against New Zealand as well. The white ball series against Mitchell Santner’s team is scheduled to start with the two-match T20I series in Dambulla commencing Saturday (9) and the selectors are reportedly determined to bank on the same set of players to maintain their current winning streak at home. more..

Nov 3 (EN) Vietnamese women in Sri Lanka have met newly appointed envoy Trinh Thi Tam at an interactive session to mark Viet Nam Women’s Day 2024, a statement said. The Vietnamese community in SL numbering about 200, is made up of Buddhist monks and nuns, ladies married to SL men and staff of foreign projects. “This program allowed the female Vietnamese community in SL to explore ways to bring Viet Nam closer to SL through people-to-people exchanges and activities,” more..

Nov 3 (EN) Sri Lanka’s trade deficit widened to US$ 634 million in Sept 2024 from US$ 429 million a month earlier, while the services surplus plunged to US$ 156 million from US$ 287 million in August. Imports remained at US$ 1,645 million in Sept 2024, compared to US$ 1,654 million in August while exports fell from US$ 1,224 million to US$ 1,011 million, and remittances were marginally down to US$ 555.6 million, CB data showed. more..