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2-day adjournment debate on the “Clean Sri Lanka”, next week

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Secretary-General of Parliament, Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera states that Parliament is scheduled to convene from Tuesday (Jan.21) – Friday (Jan. 24) next week.

This was decided at the meeting of the Committee on Parliamentary Business held on Jan. 10 under the patronage of Speaker, Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne.
Accordingly, on Tuesday, January 21st, the time from 9.30 a.m. to 10.00 a.m. has been allotted for Business of Parliament as per (1) to (6) of Standing Order 22 of the Parliament. The time from 10.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. has been allotted for Questions for Oral Answers and the time from 11.00 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. has been set aside for Questions under Standing Order 27(2) of the Parliament. Thereafter, the Adjournment Debate on the “Clean Sri Lanka” program moved by the government will be held from 11.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. and it was decided to adjourn the debate to be held on Wednesday, the 22nd , the Secretary General said.

On Wednesday, January 22nd, the time from 9.30 a.m. to 10.00 a.m. has been set aside for Business of Parliament as per (1) to (6) of Standing Order 22 of the Parliament. The time from 10.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. has been allotted for Questions for Oral Answers and the time from 11.00 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. has been allotted for Questions under Standing Order 27(2) of the Parliament. Thereafter, the Adjournment Debate on the “Clean Sri Lanka” program moved by government will be held for the second day from 11.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

On Thursday, January 23rd the time from 9.30 a.m. to 10.00 a.m. has been set aside for Business of Parliament as per (1) to (6) of Standing Order 22 of the Parliament. The time from 10.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. has been allotted for Questions for Oral Answers and the time from 11.00 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. has been allotted for Questions under Standing Order 27(2) of the Parliament.

It has also been decided to debate the Regulations published in the Gazette No. 2413/37 under the Import and Export (Control) Act, the Notification published in the Gazette No. 2399/16 under the Strategic Development Projects Act, the Regulations published in the Gazette No. 2384/35 under the Import and Export (Control) Act, and the Order published in the Gazette No. 2377/39 under the Ports and Airports Development Levy Act from 11.30 am to 3.30 pm. It has also been agreed to hold the Adjournment Debate as per the motion moved by the opposition from 3.30 pm to 5.30 pm.

On Friday, January 24th, the entire day has been dedicated to the Votes of Condolence on the late Members of Parliament. Accordingly, it was decided to set aside time from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm on that day to express condolences for the late Members of Parliament Hon. Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, Hon. Rukman Senanayake, Hon. Reginold Perera, Hon. Sirinal De Mel and Hon. Mahamed Illiyas the Secretary-General said.

Also, on all four sitting days, time from 12.30 pm to 1.00 pm has been set aside for the lunch Interval.

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UK’s relaxed trade rules to boost SL exports

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The Government of the United Kingdom (UK) has unveiled a package of reforms to simplify imports from developing countries like Sri Lanka after upgrades to the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS).

The changes, announced as part of the UK’s wider Trade for Development offer, aim to support economic growth in partner countries, including Sri Lanka, while helping UK businesses and consumers access high-quality, affordable goods.

New measures include simplifying rules of origin, enabling more goods from countries such as Sri Lanka, Nigeria, and the Philippines can enter the UK tariff-free, even when using components from across Asia and Africa.

These changes are expected to be in place by early 2026.

This move strengthens Sri Lanka’s position in its second-largest apparel market, supporting exports, jobs, and economic growth.

The British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Andrew Patrick, said: “This is a win for the Sri Lankan garment sector, and for UK consumers. With the UK being the second largest export market and garments making up over 60% of that trade, we know manufacturers here will welcome this announcement.

“We want Sri Lanka to improve the utilisation of the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme for a wider range of goods, not just garments. With the Sri Lankan government’s ambition to grow exports, and with the simplification of rules of origin for other sectors too, we strongly encourage more exporters to explore how they can benefit from the preferences offered by the DCTS. The UK remains committed to working towards creating shared prosperity for both our countries.”

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Pakistan police arrest 149 including 2 Lankans in ‘scam call centre’ raid

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Pakistan police have arrested 149 people in a raid on a scam call centre, the country’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) said on Thursday.

The agency told the BBC it acted after a tip-off about the network, which was operating in the city of Faisalabad.

It said the centre was involved in Ponzi schemes and tricked people into handing over vast sums of money in the name of fake investments.

Those arrested included 78 Pakistanis, 48 Chinese nationals, eight Nigerians, four Filipinos, two Sri Lankans, six Bangladeshis, two Myanmar nationals and one Zimbabwean national.
Eighteen of the 149 were women, the agency added.

A copy of a police report said victims of the alleged scam would initially receive a small return on their first investments, before being persuaded to hand over larger sums of money.

“The charged individuals ran WhatsApp groups where they lured ordinary people by assigning small investment tasks like subscribing to different TikTok and YouTube channels,” the agency said.

“Later, they shifted them to Telegram links for further online tasks requiring larger investments.”

Pakistani citizen Muhammad Sajid told BBC Urdu that he was added to a Telegram channel with tens of thousands of members and was impressed by the company’s work. He said he gave them more than 3.138 million rupees ($36,600) in various instalments.

The raid, which took place on Tuesday, saw authorities seize hundreds of computers, servers, cryptocurrency exchanges and foreign SIM cards from the site.

On Wednesday, 149 suspects appeared in court, 87 of whom were handed over to the NCCIA on a five-day physical remand.

A further 62 suspects have been transferred to the district jail on judicial remand until 23 July.

The agency said the raid was at the residence of Malik Tehseen Awan, the former head of Faisalabad’s power grid, who has not been arrested.

(BBC News)

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Milk tea price upped by Rs. 10

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The All Island Canteen and Restaurant Owners’ Association has announced a Rs. 10 increase in the price of a cup of milk tea.

Association President Harshana Rukshan stated that the decision was made in response to the recent rise in the price of imported milk powder.

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