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34 parties sign “Puluwan Sri Lanka” agreement supporting President at poll

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Thirty four political parties and alliances signed ‘Puluwan Sri Lanka’ agreement supporting President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the forthcoming Presidential Election. SJB MPs Kumara Welgama and A. H. M. Fowzie who expressed support to ensure the victory of President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Election also participated in the ceremony.

The signing ceremony was held under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Water’s Edge Hotel in Battaramulla yesterday.

The leaders of parties and alliances signed the agreement amidst the chanting of Seth Pirith by the members of the Maha Sangha. Other religious leaders blessed the ceremony by conducting religious rites. Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, representing the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, Nimal Siripala de Silva and Mahinda Amaraweera from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, alongside Ramesh Pathirana and Prasanna Ranatunga of the Sri Lanka PodujanaPeramuna signed the agreement.

President’s Counsel M. U. M. Ali Sabry and Susil Premajayantha from the New Alliance, Douglas Devananda of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party, and Hemapriya Kaviratne of the United People’s Party Wajira Abeywardena from the United National Party, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan from Tamil Makkal Vidudalai Pulikal, A.L.M.Ataullah from the National Congress, Rajitha Senaratne and A.H.M.Fowzie from the SJB placed their signatures in the agreement

Additionally, Asanka Navaratne of the Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya, Kumara Welgama from the New Lanka Freedom Party, Aravinda Kumar of the United People’s Party, S.Viyalendran representing Mutpokku Tamilar Aalaham, Udayana Kirindigoda from the Jathika Nidahas Peramuna, Mohammad Mussammil of the National Freedom Front, and Vadivel Suresh of the Ceylon National Plantation Workers Union signed the document.

Velu Kumar, representing the Democratic United Workers Congress, S.M.M.Musharraf from the All Ceylon Makkal Congress, and Chatura Senaratne of the Democratic National Movement, Asad Sali from the National Unity Front, Champika Lowe of the Sri Lanka Progressive Front, and M. Rajanathan Prabhaharan from the Eelam Revolutionary Students Organization, Shyamala Perera of the New Democratic Front, and Sugath Hewapathirana representing the Deshapremi Janabalawegaya also signed the agreement. This agreement was also signed by Anwar M. Mustafa from the Sri Lanka Democratic Party and Chinthaka Weerakoon of the Lakjana Front along with Sirimasiri Hapuarachchi of the United People’s Front, Dr.A.M.Jayaratne representing the National People’s Front, and W. M. Gamini Wijenayake representing the Nawajana Setha Peramuna, Nisham Mohammed representing the Mawbima Sanwardhana Peramuna and K.B.Jayamini Jinadasa of the United Social Democratic Party.

(dailynews.lk)

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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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