Victoria Police officers are walking off the job for the first time in over 20 years, pushing for better pay and improved working conditions. The action includes officers stopping work at the police academy and several stations, like Glen Waverley and Broadmeadows, and is part of a call for a 24% pay raise over the next four years, along with a move to 8.5-hour shifts. Police Association Secretary Wayne Gatt explained that the walkout will last for 30 minutes and sends a clear message: officers are frustrated and want the force to address serious staffing and support issues. "Sadly, you'll see more police walking out of the Police Academy today than walking in. That's a trend Victoria Police knows all too well recently," he said. Gatt emphasized the need for Victoria Police to engage in negotiations and actively support its workforce. With over 1,000 vacancies, more than 800 members on sick leave, and a trend of more officers leaving than joining, Gatt argued that the force needs to address these staffing shortages. This strike follows the rejection of a government offer two months ago, which proposed a 3% pay raise and a nine-day fortnight. By contrast, nurses and midwives recently secured a 28.4% pay increase over four years. Gatt warned that these work stoppages will likely continue across stations and units statewide until the force is ready to work toward a resolution. "Our members want Victoria Police to stop being part of the problem and instead, to return to the bargaining table and be part of the solution," he said. This dispute reflects a broader struggle for fair treatment and resources, as officers call on leadership to support the force's future and ensure it can effectively serve the community.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය සමඟ ඇති සමීප සහයෝගීතාවයෙන් පසු එක්සත් ජනපදය අද ආරුගම් බොක්ක ප්‍රදේශයේ ආරක්ෂක අනතුරු ඇඟවීම ඉවත් කළ බව විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය පවසයි. නිවේදනයක් නිකුත් කරමින් විදේශ අමාත්‍යාංශය පැවසුවේ, ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ශවය සමඟ සමීප සහයෝගීතාවයෙන් සහ ආරක්ෂක අමාත්‍යාංශය, මහජන ආරක්ෂක අමාත්‍යාංශය සහ අදාළ ආයතන විසින් ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන ලද ක්ෂණික හා පුළුල් ආරක්ෂක විධිවිධානවල ප්‍රතිඵලයක් ලෙස මෙම තීරණය ගත් බවයි. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ඕනෑම ආරක්ෂක අනතුරු ඇඟවීමක් බැරෑරුම් ලෙස සලකන අතර, ඒ අනුව, සංචාරකයින්, විදේශිකයන් සහ පදිංචිකරුවන් විය හැකි ඕනෑම තර්ජනයකින් ආරක්ෂා කිරීම සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකා බලධාරීන් වහාම ප්‍රදේශයේ සම්බන්ධීකරණ ආරක්ෂක පියවර මාලාවක් ක්‍රියාත්මක කළේය. සංචාරකයින්ගේ නිදහස ආරක්ෂා කිරීමේ වැදගත්කම අවධාරණය කරමින් ආරුගම් බොක්ක ප්‍රදේශයේ ආරක්ෂාව පවත්වාගෙන යාමට ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොලිසිය විසින් සවිස්තරාත්මක උපදෙස් ලබා දෙන ලදී. අදාළ ප්‍රදේශවල පදිංචිකරුවන් මෙන්ම සංචාරක ආයතන හිමිකරුවන් සහ සංචාරක ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ නියැලී සිටින සියලුම පුද්ගලයින් මෙම ප්‍රයත්නයන් සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොලිසිය සමඟ සමීපව සහයෝගයෙන් කටයුතු කළ බව විදේශ අමාත්‍යාංශය වැඩිදුරටත් පැවසීය. විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශයේ පැවති සාකච්ඡාවකදී විදේශ අමාත්‍ය විජිත හේරත් මහතා අදාළ සියලුම ආරක්ෂක සහ මහජන ආරක්ෂක ආයතන සමඟ එක්ව ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ශ්වයේ විස්තීරණ ක්‍රියාමාර්ග සම්බන්ධයෙන් සෘජුවම අදාළ රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික දූත මණ්ඩල ප්‍රධානීන් දැනුවත් කළ අතර, එම පියවර ඉවත් කරන ලෙස ඉල්ලා සිටියේය. ආරක්ෂක අනතුරු ඇඟවීම් සහ අදාළ සංචාරක උපදේශන. විදේශ අමාත්‍ය විජිත හේරත් මහතා විසින් ඊයේ මෙම ඉල්ලීම යළිත් වරක් සිදු කළ බව විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය සඳහන් කළේය. “ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය සහ නීතිය ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම සමඟ ශක්තිමත් හවුල්කාරිත්වය” එක්සත් ජනපදය අගය කරන බව පවසමින් එක්සත් ජනපද පාර්ශවය අද පස්වරුවේ ආරක්ෂක අනතුරු ඇඟවීම ඉවත් කළේය. එළඹෙන සංචාරක සමයට පෙර ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සංචාරකයින් සඳහා සාමකාමී, සුන්දර සහ මිත්‍රශීලී ගමනාන්තයක් බව විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය යළි අවධාරණය කරයි. ආරුගම් බොක්ක ප්‍රදේශයේ ජනප්‍රිය සංචාරක ස්ථාන ඉලක්ක කර ගනිමින් ප්‍රහාරයක් එල්ල වන බවට අනතුරු අඟවන විශ්වසනීය තොරතුරු තමන්ට ලැබී ඇති බව සඳහන් කරමින් ඔක්තෝම්බර් මාසයේදී එක්සත් ජනපද තානාපති කාර්යාලය සිය පුරවැසියන්ට සංචාරක උපදේශනයක් නිකුත් කළේය. වැඩි කල් යන්නට මත්තෙන්, ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොලිසිය පැහැදිලි කළේ ඊශ්‍රායල සංචාරකයින්ගේ වැඩිවීම සහ ආරුගම් බොක්ක ප්‍රදේශයේ ගොඩනැගිල්ලක් අත්පත් කර ගැනීම කොළඹ එක්සත් ජනපද තානාපති කාර්යාලයට උපදේශනයක් නිකුත් කිරීමට පොළඹවා ගත හැකි බවයි.

With Year 12 exams now behind them, thousands of students across Australia are gearing up to choose their university. The latest rankings from the Australian Financial Review have given a breakdown of the country’s top universities, based on research, teaching quality, career outcomes, and equity. Here’s a look at the standouts: 1. University of Queensland – For the second year in a row, UQ takes the top spot as the best overall university in Australia. 2. Australian National University (ANU) – ANU in Canberra follows closely in second place. 3. University of New South Wales (UNSW) – UNSW ranked first for career outcomes and second for research, cementing its strong position. 5. University of Adelaide – Ranked as the fifth-best university overall. 6. University of Melbourne – UniMelb scored the top spot in research and came second for equity, but its teaching rank took a hit, dropping to 32nd place. 7. University of Western Australia (UWA) – UWA earned a solid seventh place. 8. University of Sydney – Known for its strong career outcomes, the University of Sydney ranked first in that category, but its teaching quality faced criticism, landing 35th out of 40. 9. Bond University – Bond claimed the best teaching rank, though its career outcomes and research didn’t fare as well. 9. University of Wollongong – Wollongong was recognized for equity and did well across other categories too. 12. Macquarie University – Known for strong career outcomes, Macquarie took 12th place. 13. Edith Cowan University (ECU) – Jointly ranked 13th, ECU stood out for teaching strength but lagged in research and career outcomes. 13. University of Technology Sydney (UTS) – Also in 13th place, UTS ranked 9th in research but fell short on equity. 15. A four-way tie for 15th included Flinders University,Swinburne University of Technology, University of South Australia, and University of Newcastle. 19. Griffith University and La Trobe University shared the 19th spot in the rankings, wrapping up the top 20 institutions. These rankings give a snapshot of each university’s strengths, from research to teaching quality and job outcomes. For students and families deciding on the best fit, it’s a great resource to weigh options and find the right balance of academics, support, and career potential.

Good news for travelers! Qantas, Jetstar, and Virgin Australia have restarted their flights between Australia and Bali after earlier cancellations caused by a pesky ash cloud from recent volcanic eruptions. Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki on Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara has been quite active lately. Since a big eruption just over a week ago that tragically took nine lives and sent ash miles into the sky, there have been several eruptions. But it looks like things are calming down enough for flights to get back on track. This Thursday, there are nine flights scheduled between Australia and Bali. Jetstar is running six return flights, including four regular services and two extra recovery flights to help catch up with the backlog. Qantas has three flights lined up, with two of them being delayed flights from Wednesday. A spokesperson from Qantas Group shared that their teams worked overnight to keep a close eye on the situation and decide when it was safe to fly again. “Conditions this morning have improved, allowing us to resume operations between Australia and Denpasar on both Jetstar and Qantas,” they said. They’re also planning to add more recovery flights using different aircraft to help passengers get to their destinations as quickly as possible. They understand the frustration and appreciate everyone’s patience, advising travelers to check their flight status on Jetstar.com and Qantas.com before heading to the airport. Virgin Australia has also jumped back into action, confirming that all their flights to and from Denpasar are up and running. “Safety is always our highest priority,” Virgin Australia stated on their website. They’ve been closely monitoring the situation and are now handling any rebookings needed for passengers affected by the cancellations. They apologize for any inconvenience and assure everyone that their team is working hard to get everyone to where they need to go safely and promptly. For those still affected by cancellations, Smartraveller recommends reaching out to your airline or insurance provider to make alternative arrangements. So, if you were stuck because of the ash cloud, it’s time to breathe a little easier and check those flight statuses. Bali awaits!

Sri Lanka will hold its Parliamentary Election today, the first since the 2022 economic crisis.  Over 17 million out of the country’s 21 million population will be eligible to cast their ballots from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. at more than 13,314 polling stations across the island. Notably, around 1 million voters are first-timers in this election, which will see the selection of a 225-member Parliament for a five-year term. Voters will directly elect 196 members from 22 constituencies through a proportional representation system, with the remaining 29 seats distributed based on each party’s share of the national vote.Today ’s election will be a crucial test of support for the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) party, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Parliament was dissolved on 24 September following Dissanayake’s Presidential Election victory, as he seeks a solid Parliamentary majority to back his anti-corruption and reform agenda.The election will see the Western Province district of Gampaha elect 19 MPs, the highest number of any district, followed by the Colombo district with 18 MPs. The Eastern Province district of Trincomalee will elect the fewest, with just four MPs. The Police have mobilised a robust security force to ensure a smooth and secure election process. A nationwide operation involving approximately 93,000 personnel has been activated, with 70,000 police officers, 10,000 Civil Security Force members, 10,000 military personnel, and 3,000 officers from the Special Task Force deployed across Sri Lanka. A special IGP operations room was also set up yesterday. International and regional election observers will closely monitor the election. The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) deployed short-term observers on 11 November and stationed 13 long-term observers in advance to monitor campaign activities and election preparations. In total, 30 observers, including two electoral analysts, are in place to oversee the voting and counting process. The International Election Observers (IEO), representing 10 countries, have also expressed their hope for a peaceful election, with full observation of the entire electoral process to ensure a free and fair outcome. The Election Commission of Sri Lanka is expected to announce the winning party on Friday, with a new Cabinet to be formed immediately. The newly-elected Parliament is scheduled to convene on 21 November to elect a Speaker, and President Dissanayake will present his throne speech to outline his Government’s key policies on the same day. [source : https://www.ft.lk/ ]

Eastern Australia is on high alert as the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has warned residents in New South Wales and Queensland about severe thunderstorms brewing in the area. These storms could bring intense weather conditions like damaging winds, large hail, and heavy rainfall, which might even lead to flash flooding. Thunderstorms are expected across much of the eastern region, but areas in southeast Queensland and northeast NSW are particularly likely to see severe conditions from mid-afternoon into the evening. Queensland weather presenter Tony Auden explained that upper-atmosphere activity is making conditions ripe for these intense storms. “Today promises to see some more potentially destructive cells in southeast Queensland,” he said. "The wind in the upper atmosphere is adding the extra ingredients to make them spicy." BOM shared that a combination of a moist air mass along the east coast and a surface trough is setting up an unstable environment perfect for storm formation. An upper-atmospheric disturbance is also increasing the chances of supercells, which are especially dangerous storms capable of producing destructive winds over 125km/h and hail larger than 5cm in diameter. Auden mentioned that the storms will likely start inland early in the afternoon and quickly move toward the coast by late afternoon and evening. He advised people to stay alert, especially in areas from the Sunshine Coast and Kingaroy down through the Darling Downs and far northern NSW, including towns like Casino, Ballina, and Byron Bay. Lismore is also in the zone for these potentially dangerous supercells, though it depends on where exactly the storms form. BOM meteorologist Jonathan How added that if you’re directly under one of these supercells, you could see 50-100mm of rain in an hour, which can quickly flood creeks and rivers. Because the ground is already soaked from recent storms, any heavy rainfall increases the risk of flash flooding. BOM is working closely with emergency departments in both NSW and Queensland, providing constant updates and advice as these storms develop. So, if you’re in these areas, keep an eye on the radar and BOM alerts this afternoon and evening.

ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා නව පාර්ලිමේන්තුව නොවැම්බර් 21 වැනි දා පෙ.ව. 10:00 ට රැස් කරවීමට නිල වශයෙන් ප්‍රකාශයක් නිකුත් කර ඇත. එම ප්‍රකාශය තුළ, “මම, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රජාතාන්ත්‍රික සමාජවාදී ජනරජයේ ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක, මෙම ප්‍රකාශය මඟින් පාර්ලිමේන්තුව 2024 වර්ෂයේ නොවැම්බර් මස 21 වන දා , පෙ.ව. 10.00 ට, ශ්‍රී ජයවර්ධනපුර පාර්ලිමේන්තු සභා ගර්භයේ දී රැස් කරන ලෙස කැඳවමි,” යනුවෙන් ප්‍රකාශ කර තිබේ. මෙම නිවේදනය ගැසට් නිවේදනයක් ලෙස නිකුත් කර ඇති අතර, මෙම මාසයේදී අලුත් පාර්ලිමේන්තුව නිල වශයෙන් ආරම්භය සනිටුහන් කරයි.

Wage growth has stayed ahead of inflation over the past year, but it’s showing signs of slowing down, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). For the 12 months leading up to September, wages rose by 3.5%, while inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), increased by 2.8%. That puts real wage growth at 0.7% for the year. Interestingly, this is the first time since mid-last year that wage growth has dipped below the 4% mark. During just the September quarter, wages grew by 0.8%, outpacing a 0.2% rise in CPI for the same period. Another shift this quarter is that public sector wages grew faster than those in the private sector for the first time since December 2020. Public sector wages increased by 3.7% compared to 3.5% in the private sector. Although this public sector growth is a bit higher than last year’s, it’s still lower than the December 2023 peak of 4.2%. Michelle Marquardt, head of price statistics at the ABS, noted that the recent slowdown in wage growth is partially due to the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review. The 3.75% increase awarded in July this year was lower than the 5.75% rise last September, as well as the increase of up to 5.2% granted in 2022.

Flights in and out of Bali’s Denpasar Airport have been hit with cancellations as Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki continues to spew massive plumes of ash into the air. The volcanic activity began with a major eruption last week, and airlines have been adjusting their schedules daily as the situation evolves. Virgin Australia has grounded all flights to and from Denpasar for the day, while Jetstar has canceled flights until at least 2 p.m., promising updates as the day progresses. Qantas’ Sydney-Bali flights are still planned for later but are currently delayed. Garuda Indonesia also posted about delays, while Batik Air Malaysia flights appear to be running on time. Virgin Australia emphasized that passenger and crew safety is the priority and apologized for the disruption. The airline assured passengers that it’s working to get everyone to their destinations as soon as possible. Jetstar is offering affected customers the option to rebook or cancel for a voucher. They’ve also arranged additional return flights today, including a larger 787 aircraft to help clear the backlog. Qantas managed to complete some flights yesterday, but one was turned around mid-flight. Meanwhile, four Virgin Australia flights in and out of Denpasar were canceled. Mount Lewotobi’s increased activity has kept meteorologists on alert, with the most recent eruptions reaching new heights. Just last Friday, ash plumes were recorded soaring up to 10 kilometers high. Volcanic debris, including smoldering rocks and thumb-sized fragments of ash, has been thrown up to eight kilometers from the crater. Indonesian authorities are monitoring closely and have expanded the safety zone around the volcano, meaning airlines will likely reassess their schedules in the coming days.

The National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (NAHTTF) has issued a serious warning about a new trafficking scam targeting Sri Lankans in the UAE, luring them into cyber scam centers in Myanmar. According to recent information, Sri Lankans are being recruited under false promises of high-paying IT jobs and then sent to Myanmar, where they end up trapped in these scam operations. Here’s how the scam works: traffickers attract IT professionals by advertising high-paying job opportunities abroad. Once workers arrive in places like Dubai, thinking they’re going for job interviews, they’re coerced into illegal work at cyber scam centers in Myanmar. Investigations have even revealed disturbing cases where workers endure mental abuse and physical torture, including electrocution. The NAHTTF strongly advises against taking illegal migration routes, which are both risky and against the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment Act. Instead, they urge job seekers to stick to safe, legal migration options. To protect yourself and others, the NAHTTF recommends: - Always use authorized channels when looking to work abroad. - Be vigilant and report any suspicious activities related to trafficking. - If you know Sri Lankans working abroad who may be at risk, or if you have friends and family in similar situations, inform the relevant departments to help keep them safe. It’s essential to stay alert to prevent anyone from becoming a victim of these scams.

නොවැම්බර් 14 වැනිදා පැවැත්වීමට නියමිත පාර්ලිමේන්තු මැතිවරණයට පෙර ඡන්දදායකයින්ට තම ඡන්ද කාඩ්පත් වෙත ප්‍රවේශ විය හැකි මාර්ගගත ක්‍රමයක් මැතිවරණ කොමිෂන් සභාව විසින් හඳුන්වා දී තිබේ. ඒ අනුව, මැතිවරණ කොමිෂන් සභාවේ නිල වෙබ් අඩවියේ ‘Online Registration’ හරහා ඡන්ද කාඩ්පත් ලබා ගත හැකිය. තවමත් නිල ඡන්ද දැන්වීම් පත්‍රිකා නොලැබුණු ඡන්දදායකයින්ට වලංගු හැඳුනුම්පතක් භාවිතා කරමින් නම් කර ඇති ඡන්ද මධ්‍යස්ථානවලට ගොස් ඡන්දය ප්‍රකාශ කළ හැකි බව කොමිසම පැහැදිලි කළේය. තවද, තවමත් තැපෑලෙන් ඡන්ද කාඩ්පත් ලැබී නොමැති ඡන්දදායකයින්ට, එම පත්‍ර යැවීමට අදාළ තැපැල් කාර්යාලවලට පැමිණ එම තත්ත්වය පරීක්ෂා කරන ලෙසද කොමිසම මගින් විශේෂයෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටී.

The Victorian government is gearing up to bring in the country's toughest penalties to tackle the growing illegal tobacco trade. They’re introducing a new law in parliament that’s set to shake up the way tobacco sales are regulated. Premier Jacinta Allan explained that a licensing scheme for tobacco businesses is on the way, which means stores could actually be denied a licence if they’ve got a problematic history. This change couldn’t come at a better time, as just recently, a convenience store in Melbourne’s north was hit twice in 24 hours. Part of this new legislation includes giving the police more search powers, making it quicker and easier for them to raid stores suspected of selling illegal tobacco. Alongside the police, a dedicated tobacco regulator will be established. Inspectors will have the authority to search stores, suspend licences, and seize illegal products, all as part of the new licensing scheme. Police Minister Anthony Carbines noted that Victoria Police has been relentless in taking down organized crime, and these new powers will give them an even better chance to crack down on these crime bosses. Premier Allan made it clear that anyone caught violating these laws will face some of the toughest penalties in the country. Individuals could face fines over $355,000 or up to 15 years in jail, while businesses caught in the act could be fined more than $1.7 million. Allan summed it up: "We’re bringing in the toughest laws in the nation to stamp out the illegal tobacco trade and protect Victorians." Once the Bill is passed, these tougher penalties will kick in immediately, with the new licensing scheme expected to roll out by mid-next year.