May 14 (NW) UNP has questioned Prez AKD over his congratulatory message to newly elected Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, raising concerns over diplomatic protocol. UNP said it was surprised to see the SL Prez extend personal congratulations to the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The party said that, as Head of State, congratulatory messages of this nature are generally reserved for fellow Heads of State and not foreign provincial or state leaders. more..

May 14 (AD) PM Harini Amarasuriya stated that the guidance of religious leaders is essential to further strengthen harmony and solidarity among communities in multicultural areas such as Anamaduwa, where Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim communities live together in harmony. PM made these remarks while addressing the official ceremony held today (13) at Sudampaya, Anamaduwa, to present the Sannas Patra conferring the title of Chief Sanghanayaka of Rajavanni more..

May 14 (TM) The SJB, is yet to decide whether it will make submissions to the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate alleged irregularities in coal imports and coal power generation, while the SLPP plans to make submissions in the coming days. SJB General Secretary and MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara said the Party had not yet discussed the matter. “We have not discussed this yet. more..

May 14 (ST) Accused former Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody has accepted three out of the 31 points presented to him by the CIABOC during the pre-trial conference on the case prior to the case being taken up at the High Court. Accordingly, Mr Jayakody has accepted that he had served at the Lanka Fertiliser Company during the period relating to the charges against him and that he was also a member of the company’s procurement committee. It was decided to consider the other points more..

May 14 (FT) UAE and SL yesterday discussed expanding bilateral trade and economic cooperation, with a focus on ports, aviation, maritime connectivity, and a proposed trade agreement between the two countries. Discussions took place during a meeting between UAE Ambassador to SL Khaled Nasser Al Ameri and Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe. Both sides reviewed growing economic ties between the two countries, with bilateral trade currently estimated at around $ 1.5 billion. more..

May 14 (TM) Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) has proposed sweeping legal reforms to give its recommendations greater force, including recognising the failure to comply with its directives as an offence amounting to contempt against the authority of the Commission. In a letter addressed to the President, the HRCSL argued that the move is necessary to strengthen accountability and ensure that its recommendations are not ignored with impunity. The Commission also noted that more..

May 14 (DN) Experienced SL weightlifters Chinthana Vidanage and Indika Dissanayake will compete today at the Asian Weightlifting Championship currently being held in Gujarat, India. Vidanage will compete in the men’s 79kg category, while Dissanayake will take part in the 71kg event. Vidanage won SL’s first Commonwealth Games gold medal in weightlifting when he claimed the men’s 62kg title at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia. He later secured a silver medal in more..

May 14 (TM) Medical & Civil Rights Professional Association of Doctors (MCPA) claimed that nearly 10,000 patients are currently on waiting lists for heart surgeries and related procedures at State hospitals. MCPA President Dr Chamal Sanjeewa claimed the base cost of bypass surgeries and stent procedures at private hospitals has now reached nearly Rs 1.5 million. "Total cost could increase several-fold depending on number of days more..

May 14 (FT) The SL delegation from PIM to Bhutan headed by Director Dr. Asanga Ranasinghe and consisting of Senior Professor Ajantha Dharmasiri, Dr. Samantha Rathnayake and Tharindu Ameresekere met with the Bhutan PM Dasho Tshering Tobgay at the 17th South Asian Management Forum at the Royal Institute of Management Bhutan. Pleasantries were exchanged between the parties at the Royal Institute of Management Bhutan following the keynote more..

May 14 (ST) SL has stepped in to implement Green Hydrogen and Ammonia projects, with the BOI inviting Requests for Information (RFI) till June 5, 2026. The govt has given priority to these projects for export and energy storage, targeting 70 per cent renewable energy by 2030. The Ministry of Energy and the BOI are accepting information for green hydrogen/ammonia project development. The feasibility studies with partners like Greenstat Hydrogen have evolved into concrete plans more..

May 14 (FT) Parliament’s Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) has raised serious concerns over financial irregularities and long-outstanding loan recoveries at the Dept of Cooperative Development, flagging losses of over Rs. 167 million and ordering fresh action on delayed reforms. Dept was summoned before COPA to review the National Audit Office triennial audit reports covering 2021 to 2023, more..

May 14 (DM) The Colombo Stock Exchange ended today’s session on a negative note, as weaker-than-expected Banking sector earnings for the quarter dampened overall investor sentiment. Declines in both QoQ and YoY performances across several banking counters triggered selling pressure during the first hour of trading, pushing the ASPI down by over 100 points intraday before the market gradually stabilized. Despite the early weakness, the market managed to maintain its levels during the more..

May 14 (EN) A visiting Chinese delegation headed by Xin Chunying, Member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), has met officials of SL’s Parliament and promised further bilateral cooperation. She met speaker Jagath Wickramaratne and emphasized the importance of strengthening parliamentary diplomacy between the two legislatures and reaffirmed China’s continued commitment to further enhancing bilateral cooperation for mutual more..

May 14 (FT) Sampath Bank said it has reported a total operating income of Rs. 28.5 billion and Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs. 6.2 billion for the quarter ended 31 March 2026. Total operating income was supported by steady growth in Net Interest Income (NII), up 5% year-on-year (YoY) and net fee and commission income, up 28% YoY. Notwithstanding this performance, PAT declined by 26% YoY due to significantly higher impairment provisions of Rs. 4.5 billion recognised in response to more..

May 14 (TM) The Aswesuma programme was born out of necessity. After the economic collapse of 2022, hundreds of thousands of families lost what little financial footing they had. Govt needed to act, and Aswesuma was the answer: a structured cash transfer scheme that placed money directly into the hands of the most vulnerable. That was the right call. But welfare, by design, must have a direction. It cannot simply be a monthly deposit that continues indefinitely while the underlying conditions more..

May 14 (FT) Govt announced plans to triple SL’s economy to $ 300 billion by transforming the critical small and medium enterprise (SME) sector via the first-ever National SME Strategy Framework. Framework, branded SME NEXUS has a five-pronged strategic outlook – transformational growth; integrated approach; market orientation; entrepreneurial society; and outcomes and impact focus; three implementation approaches more..

May 14 (FT) Hatton National Bank (HNC) said that against a backdrop of heightened economic volatility, bank recorded a Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs. 9.95 billion in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting disciplined balance sheet expansion and sustained improvements in asset quality. At Group level, performance remained resilient, with PAT reaching Rs. 10.35 billion for the quarter. Bank in a statement said: During 1Q 2026, interest income recorded a year-over-year (YoY) growth of 10%. more..

May 14 (CT) An enlightened mind is like a life-giving herb that makes human existence in the world peaceful. A SL monk who is taking the Buddhist tradition from America to the entire world through Vipassana meditation. Today, at the age of 99, he is mature in both academic knowledge and practical understanding. Millions of monks and laypeople around the world benefit from his Dhamma knowledge. Accordingly, the religious mission of the Most Venerable Henepola Gunarathana more..

May 14 (Island) US Prez Donald Trump’s recent statement at a business summit that he would leave the White House in eight or nine years is widely considered a light-hearted remark intended to provoke his critics. It has apparently had the desired impact, but it has also evoked the dreadful memories of his refusal to concede defeat after losing the 2020 prez election, his unruly supporters’ attacks on the US Capitol, and his previous statements that he would seek a third term. more..

May 14 (TM) Superstar Vijay (Chandrasekaran Joseph Vijay) first became Ilayathalapathy. Now, he has taken oaths as Chief Minister (CM) Thalapathy Vijay. The few hours that followed looked less like a political transition and more like the opening scenes of a blockbuster Tamil film. Seconds before taking oaths, he lifted a table on the stage by himself to help others. Minutes later, he was taking selfies. The crowd roared. Cameras swirled around him. For a moment, politics itself looked cinematic again. more..

May 14 (TM) As tractors rolled into paddy fields across Sri Lanka for the 2026 Yala season, a different kind of anxiety travelled alongside the farmers preparing their land. It was not only the fear of drought, pests, or fluctuating paddy prices. This time, the uncertainty came packed into sacks of urea, or the lack thereof. Across the global market, fertiliser prices are once again soaring upward, driven by a geopolitical crisis more..

May 14 (SO) While grappling with various local challenges including the recent fuel crisis spurred by Middle East tensions, the Govt boosted its international image in the past few days with the two high level visits of Prez Dr. Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives and Vietnam Prez Tô Lâm. Thus in a single week, Sri Lanka hosted two strategically important leaders in the region, signalling that the island-nation is emerging once again as a diplomatic beacon in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). more..

May 14 (ST) For the last couple of months, I have been trying to unravel the thinking process—if that is what it is—of that cacophonous and egregious president of the US, Donald Trump. If it was just his convoluted and confused talk that has caused so much bother, one might excuse him. After all, he is an American, and they have this habit of making things stand on their heads. Trump made quite a hash of his first term as president, even to the point of letting loose some armed & adventurous more..

May 14 (SO) The demand for public transport has increased significantly over the past few years, but the quality of the supply remains poor and is improving slowly. However, a major transition in the private bus industry has taken place in recent months with many air-conditioned bus services (Luxury buses) coming into operation in large numbers on long-distance (Inter-provincial) routes. Many of these buses are new, more..

May 14 (CT) The massive turnout at the last May Day rallies, coupled with the strategic insights gained from the recent Vietnamese delegation’s visit, has undeniably forced Sri Lanka into a moment of reckoning that demands a clear, disciplined vision for national survival. This convergence of populist energy and a proven blueprint for Vietnam’s success signals that we can no longer afford to drift. While IMF & official statistics suggest a stabilizing economy, the ground reality for more..

May 14 (GV) For decades, the Tamil people have endured war, displacement, political betrayal, economic neglect & repeated cycles of disappointment. Yet despite these hardships, the aspirations of the Tamil people have remained remarkably consistent: dignity, equality, meaningful power sharing, economic opportunity, cultural protection and a secure future for the next generation. A new and deeply important question is emerging across the North, East and more..

May 13 (NW) Sri Lanka and Belarus have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation across a range of sectors following talks between Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath and Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov during an official visit to Belarus. Minister Vijitha Herath said discussions focused on expanding SL–Belarus ties in political, economic, educational, cultural and people-to-people cooperation. The two sides also agreed to enhance bilateral engagement through regular more..

May 13 (AFP) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake's vow to deliver sweeping reforms has been criticised since he was elected into power in 2024, the latest of which includes posts sharing an altered news graphic falsely claiming his system change includes mandating people to secure permission first from the police before they can enter into a romantic relationship. The original graphic actually reports on the police refuting a similar claim that surfaced in 2023, even before AKD became prez. more..

May 13 (NW) SL’s health sector is set for a major upgrade in cardiac care, with 16 state‑of‑the‑art cardiac catheterization laboratories (Cath labs) to be installed in leading hospitals islandwide this year under the instructions of Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa. The new facilities will be established at Colombo, Kandy, and Galle National Hospitals, as well as teaching hospitals in Batticaloa, Ratnapura, Badulla, Jaffna, more..

May 13 (FT) Ports Minister Anura Karunathilaka denied speculation that the Govt has decided to privatise the East Container Terminal (ECT), insisting that no policy decision has been taken despite growing investor interest. He said the Govt remains open to receiving investment proposals, but stressed that no formal move has been made to privatise the strategic terminal. “As a Govt, we have not told investors not to submit proposals. We are engaging in discussions with interested parties, but more..

May 13 (Island) The Jaffna Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre, comprising 11 floors, has been constructed with the assistance of the Govt of India with the objective of serving as a hub for cultural activities in SL and expanding bilateral cooperation for the promotion, preservation, and fostering the cultural heritage of Jaffna. In accordance with the approval granted at the Cabinet meeting held on 2022-02-21, a Joint Management Committee has been appointed to make decisions relating to more..