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Chinese cruise ships to visit SL after travel restrictions are relaxed

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The Sri Lanka Embassy in Beijing, with a view to attracting more Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka, is also actively exploring the possibility of Chinese cruise ships and yachts visiting Sri Lanka.

The Ambassador, Dr. Palitha Kohona had a very successful online meeting with the Vice President of the China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association (CCYIA) Zheng Weihang, on 23 November 2022.

Vice President Zheng said that Sri Lanka will be promoted as a new market for Chinese cruise ships. On 15 November, he had attended a conference of Chinese cruise ship operators, where he formally proposed that Sri Lanka be designated as a destination for cruise ships after the travel restrictions are relaxed. He had proposed creating four/five Sri Lankan cruise itineraries. Ships will dock in Sri Lankas’ ports for a day and give the passengers the option of taking tours in the region close to the port thus engaging land operators as well. He specified that the CCYIA will work with the Embassy to promote Sri Lanka at cruise-related conferences.

Ambassador Dr. Kohona responded that the Embassy will also assist with these goals actively. Sri Lanka has three well-established ports for cruise ships: Colombo, Galle, and Trincomalee. He stated that there were many cruise visitors from Europe before the pandemic, and recently welcomed the Cruise ship VIKING MARS with 900 tourists on board. He highlighted that other European cruise ships are scheduled to call at Sri Lanka ports in the coming weeks. The Ambassador suggested that tourists could experience not only the coastal cities but also the Buddhist sites of the island, like the Temple of the sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy, or the lush green forests, home to the biggest concentrations of wild elephants and leopards in Asia.

Vice President Zheng added that CCYIA plans to organize exhibitions of Sri Lankan products in Shanghai (Nov 2023), Shenzhen (Nov 2023), and Haikou (Apr 2023) and the association will also organize exhibitions and sales outlets on Chinese cruise ships to promote Sri Lankan gems, tea, artifacts and other products.

Ambassador Dr. Kohona said that the Embassy successfully participated in the last CIIE, with two National Pavilions (Food and Beverages, Gem and Jewelry). He opined that a collaboration with CCYIA will benefit both Sri Lanka and the cruise industry. The Ambassador extended an invitation to Vice President Zheng and the team of CCYIA to participate in the upcoming Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Event which is to take place in mid-December at the Embassy.

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Charges against Keheliya & others postponed

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The Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar has postponed the formal serving of charges against former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and 12 others to Sep. 16, citing delays in the printing of annexures required to accompany the chargesheets.

Deputy Solicitor General Lakmini Girihagama, appearing for the prosecution, informed the court that while the chargesheets had already been filed, the annexures had not yet been submitted due to printing delays. She noted that it would cost approximately Rs. 866,565 to print the annexures for each accused and that the documents for all twelve defendants are yet to be prepared.

The Government Printer has indicated that it would take about 21 days to complete the printing. Therefore, the prosecution requested the court to reschedule the case accordingly. The court granted the request and fixed the next hearing for Sep. 16.

The Attorney General has filed 13 charges against the accused, including allegations of conspiring to fraudulently misappropriate Rs. 1.444 billion in public funds by supplying 6,195 vials of human immunoglobulin and non-pharmaceutical substances such as Ritopsimap to the Ministry of Health’s Medical Supplies Division.

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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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