Briefly

SRI LANKA

Cruise ships to get tourism moving again

Nine international passenger cruises are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka by March next year, which will boost the country's tourism sector and attract much-needed foreign exchange, said a minister on Monday. Speaking in parliament, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva said Sri Lanka had welcomed its first international cruise liner with 880 passengers last week since the beginning of the pandemic. Another one with 3,000 passengers is scheduled to arrive at the Colombo Port on Nov 28.

LEBANON

UN food agency to give $5.4b over 3 years

The World Food Programme has agreed to allocate $5.4 billion for aid to Lebanon over the next three years, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday, following a meeting with the agency's country director. Mikati said the aid would be split, with half going to Lebanese and the other half to Syrian refugees, more than 1 million of whom live in Lebanon. Lebanon has a population of roughly 6 million people, among them over 1 million Syrian refugees who fled the wartorn country over the past decade.

CAMBODIA

Rare species caught on sanctuary cameras

Camera traps have recently captured 20 rare wildlife species in sanctuaries in Cambodia's southwestern Koh Kong province, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Environment Neth Pheaktra said on Monday. Camera traps were deployed at 34 locations in sanctuaries from Aug 8 to Nov 14, he said in a news release. Those rare species included pangolins and hairy-nosed otters. Cambodia has designated 76 protected areas and biodiversity corridors across the country.

Agencies - Xinhua