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600MT of fortified rice funded by USAID arrives in Colombo

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An initial shipment of 600 metric tons of fortified rice funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) arrived in Sri Lanka last week to support the Government of Sri Lanka’s national school meal program.
The shipment is part of a larger food assistance initiative by USAID and WFP that includes 3,950 metric tons of fortified rice, 768 metric tons of red lentils, 1,188 metric tons of soya, and a planned 2,310 metric tons of maize. This assistance will help provide school meals and nutritional supplements for 1.7 million children as well as 300,000 pregnant and lactating mothers.

“US-SL relations celebrate 75 years this year, and ours has been a story of friendship and partnership,” said U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung. “The American people swiftly responded when Sri Lanka’s economic crisis reduced access to nutritional food for many Sri Lankans, including children and mothers. This shipment reflects our continued commitment to the people of Sri Lanka.”

According to a Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission report by U.N.’s World Food Program (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization, nearly thirty percent of the Sri Lankan population is currently facing food insecurity. Through ongoing initiatives as well as new funding and food shipments, the United States is working with the Government of Sri Lanka, the WFP, and other partners to address these needs.
The United States has announced more than $270 million in new support to Sri Lanka over the last year. “As one of Sri Lanka’s longstanding development partners, we recognize how critical daily vital micronutrient intake is for young people. Therefore, child and maternal feeding programs were one of USAID’s very first assistance interventions in Sri Lanka, more than six decades ago,” said Gabriel Grau, USAID Mission Director for Sri Lanka and Maldives.

 “We are grateful for USAID’s assistance, which has enabled WFP to rapidly expand its emergency operation to reach the most food-insecure communities,” said Abdur Rahim Siddiqui, WFP Sri Lanka Representative and Country Director. “The latest shipment of fortified rice funded by USAID will support the continuation of the school meal program while providing children with added nutrients through a mix of iron and folic acid, relieving parents who are struggling to provide healthy meals to their families.”
Pregnant and lactating mothers will receive Thriposha – a nutrition intervention in Sri Lanka that provides a combination of energy, protein, and micronutrients as a ‘ready-to-eat’ cereal.

This initiative is one component of the longstanding partnership between the American and Sri Lankan people to promote economic prosperity and democratic good governance for all Sri Lankans.

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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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