News

National Parks to be closed

Published

2 years ago

August 2, 2023

editor

Wildlife officials have informed the Wildlife Conservation Department that Yala, Udawalawe and Wilpattu National Parks should be closed since there is a severe food and water crisis for animals due to the drought prevailing for more than three months.

The Department intends to consult with the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation to take a final decision regarding the closure of national parks after obtaining a forecast from the Meteorological Department.

Wildlife zones are spread over an area of 1.1 million hectares, of which an area of about 1 million hectares is located in the dry zone.

The water level of many small lakes, ponds and large lakes in Wilpattu, Yala and Udawalawe National Parks has decreased and the Wildlife Department has taken measures to provide water to the animals through bowers.

Meanwhile, environmentalists said the buffaloes living in the Yala National Park may die without water if the dry weather conditions continue.

Due to the drying up of ponds and lakes in the Udawalawe National Park, safari jeep drivers and environmentalists have recently volunteered to fill them.

However, a senior wildlife official said that filling up ponds is ecologically ineffective and the only benefit is the tourists visiting the national parks getting the opportunity to see animals.

He also said that giving food to animals is also ecologically wrong, and that animals have the ability to travel some distance in search of food and water.

The department has also focused on the closure of national parks without making an impact on the tourism industry.

Wildlife Conservation Director General Chandana Suriyabandara said that the department is currently providing water to the animals living in the tourist areas of the national parks, and that the department has necessary funds to do this.

“Providing water to the animals in the entire Sri Lanka is ecologically wrong. This will only harm the animals,” he said.

(Aruna)

BIZ

UK’s relaxed trade rules to boost SL exports

Published

2 hours ago

July 11, 2025

editor

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.”

News

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

Published

2 hours ago

July 11, 2025

editor

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)