May 14 (FT) CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe yesterday rejected the notion that the CBSL’s role was to directly drive economic growth, productivity gains, or foreign direct investment (FDI), arguing instead that its mandate was confined to preserving monetary and financial stability. The remarks amounted to one of the clearest public attempts yet by the CBSL to draw institutional boundaries around its post-crisis mandate following more..

May 14 (AD) A former Director of the National Institute of Education has been sentenced to six years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs. 3 million by the Supreme Court after being found guilty of contempt of court in relation to the non-implementation of a court order concerning the 2024 Grade 5 Scholarship Exam. The accused, I.G.S. Premathilaka, former Director of the National Institute of Education, was convicted of contempt of court for failing to comply with a Supreme Court directive more..

May 14 (NW) Sri Lanka and Belarus have signed a bilateral Air Services Agreement aimed at enhancing air connectivity between the two countries. The agreement was signed by SL’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath and Belarus Transport Minister Alexei Lyakhnovich during Herath’s official visit to Minsk. The Foreign Minister also called on Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, with discussions focused on strengthening the longstanding friendship between the two nations and more..

May 14 (DM) Former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena’s suspicious death took place at the residence of Aravinda de Silva, where the CCTV cameras were operational, but the system had not been recording footage for a long period and no footage of the location where the death occurred had been captured by the CCTV system, Colombo Crimes Division informed Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena today. The magisterial witness examination into the suspicious death of more..

May 14 (DM) All Ceylon Medical Officers Association (ACMOA) has called for an investigation by the Investigation Division of the Health Ministry into four procurements carried out under the Health Information and Quality Improvement (HIQI) Project, implemented through the United Nations Office for Project Services, involving around Rs. 2.8–3.0 billion in grant funding. The Association has raised concerns over the necessity of the procurements, alleging possible duplication of existing more..

May 14 (AD) The Supreme Court has concluded hearing fundamental rights petitions filed by Director of the CID Shani Abeysekara and two others challenging their arrest and remand by the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) and has postponed delivering its judgment. The petitions were taken up before a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, Justice Achala Wengappuli and Justice Gihan Kulatunga. Counsel for the petitioners argued that their clients were more..

May 14 (FT) Delivering the keynote address at the Global Innovation and Leadership Summit in Colombo organised by Z Media and WION on 2 May, the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Shri Santosh Jha attempts to give Sri Lanka a bit of a hurry-up, insisting that it gets on with constructing permanent land connectivity which links Talaimannar in Sri Lanka to Rameshwaram in India. His Excellency’s strident push for land connectivity is part of Delhi’s double-tap. more..

May 14 (FT) SL’s slow GDP growth vis-à-vis the rapid economic progress of high-income Asian countries was the centrepiece of discussion at the public seminar on Macroeconomic Policy Directions, hosted by the SL Economic Association (SLEA) and the Gamani Corea Foundation (GCF), last Friday. The well-attended event was organised under the collaborative arrangement of the two organisations, with Daily FT as the media partner. The collaboration between the SLEA and the GCF aims at more..

May 14 (FT) CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe yesterday drew a sharper distinction between the CBSL’s role as banker to the Govt and its function as regulator of licenced banks, as scrutiny intensified over the Treasury’s $ 2.5 million phishing scam and the Rs. 13.2 billion fraud uncovered at NDB. Governor sought to clarify where operational responsibility sits within Sri Lanka’s public payments architecture and more..

May 14 (DN) Sinhala publication of the book Buddhist–Muslim Dialogue was launched at a ceremony held at the BMICH on Tuesday. Event was organised by the Tanweer Institute for Islamic Studies and Interfaith Dialogue as part of its ongoing efforts to promote interreligious understanding and peaceful coexistence in SL. The book was jointly authored by Dr. Asad Shiraz and Tripitakaacharya Ramesh Madushanka. The launch was held under the patronage of Ven. Professor Gallelle more..

May 14 (DN) With the commencement of the tourist season in Pottuvil-Arugambay, health authorities have launched surprise inspections at restaurants and hotels to ensure the cleanliness and hygiene of food consumed by tourists. The arrival of both foreign and local tourists has now begun in the Pottuvil and Arugam Bay areas. While large numbers of foreign visitors are seen in the surfing zones of Arugam Bay, many local tourists frequent the bathing spots in the area. more..

May 14 (Island) The widespread torrential rains currently experienced countrywide are expected to provide significant financial relief to the debt-ridden CEB by sharply increasing hydroelectric power generation and reducing dependence on costly thermal and coal-powered electricity generation. Senior engineers of the CEB said the rapid rise in water levels in major catchment areas and reservoirs had already strengthened more..

May 14 (TM) Central Environmental Authority (CEA) has directed the developer of the Ambuluwawa cable car project to repair environmental damage linked to the project, following observations and reports submitted by both civil society groups and State institutions. CEA Director General Kapila Rajapaksha said that the project remains suspended, but that the developer has been instructed to dismantle any remaining structures that pose a threat to the environment and to more..

May 14 (NW) A private bus travelling from Kalpitiya to Colombo has come under police investigation after a video showing the vehicle dangerously overtaking another bus in the Madampe area circulated on social media. Officers from the Madampe Police Station stopped the bus on the same day after observing the traffic violations shown in the video. The driver was severely warned, and his driving licence was taken into police custody while a temporary licence was issued. more..

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..