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SLRC’s new web radio suspended immediately

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Chairman of the state owned Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) – Dr. Prasad Samarasinghe has pledged to suspend the channel’s new web radio, internal sources say.

He has pledged this as a response to a group of SLRC employees protesting at the SLRC main lobby earlier this morning (Feb. 14).

The new web radio named as ‘Ru Radio’ was set to be launched today, coinciding with the 42th anniversary of the SLRC.

Although the SLRC chairman has denied knowledge of the launch, a test broadcast had commenced via the link https://rupavahini.lk/ru-radio and video advertisements had even been publiciized.

Meanwhile, it is also reported that the Ceylon Electricity Board had disconnected power to the SLRC yesterday over the non-payment of bills but the supply was temporarily reconnected after a portion of it was settled.

It is also said that the power supply to SLRC has been disconnected around 10 times in the recent past due to inability to settle electricity bills and the Finance Manager is said to be evading producers of teledramas that are demanding arrears payments.

According to Trade Unions of the SLRC, the state owned TV is deeply in debt, with the figure exceeding Rs. 3,000 million.

It is reported that the SLRC has not paid the VAT due to the state for several years and has not paid EPF and ETF of its employees for several months as well.

Although around 65 employees have left the SLRC under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme, the institute has been unable to pay their retirement gratuity, EPF and ETF, reports add.

Leveling serious accusations against the Minister of Media – Bandula Gunawardena and against the SLRC chairman over this situation, SLRC employees also allege that the transaction of handing over Channel Eye to Subhashkaran Alirajah is a corrupt one.

They charge that the transaction is a fraudulent one where Alirajah was given the TV frequency of Nethra TV instead, after converting it to Channel Eye. The frequency of Nethra TV had an islandwide coverage, something that the Channel Eye frequency did not. 

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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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