May 28 (ST) The Big Cat is out of the bag – the sad truth backed by strong data on leopard deaths due to the human-animal conflict has been uncovered and is crying for attention and action! Before delving into the comprehensive study in Wildlife Letters, an international academic journal, published this month by the Northeast Forestry University based in Harbin, China, and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd, more..

May 28 (GV) She has been compared to the boy David in the Bible story who challenged the mighty giant Goliath armed with just a slingshot and five stones. Confronting the brutal Israeli military, which has been credibly accused of committing horrific war crimes including genocide and sexual assault, unarmed and vulnerable aboard a fragile yacht, Sameera Mehboobdeen indeed seems like David. A humanitarian activist, medic, forensic psychologist, criminologist and mental health practitioner, more..

May 28 (Island) The IMF staff and SL authorities have reached a staff-level agreement to conclude the combined Fifth and Sixth Reviews of SL’s reform programme under the EFF. If approved by the IMF Executive Board, SL will gain access to about US$700 million in financing. While the IMF has acknowledged progress in reserves, growth, and revenue performance, it has also warned that SL remains exposed to external shocks, including the Middle East conflict and the aftermath of more..

May 28 (DN) The pending decision of the Govt to revoke the Parliamentary Membership of those crossing sides is a welcome step and a move that will help to restore the dignity and decorum of the country’ s Supreme Legislature which in recent times has been taking a heavy beating and caused public opprobrium towards the elected Members. MPs have crossed over under various guises, but it was mostly a one-way street from the Opposition to the Govt. In the majority of instances, more..

May 28 (Island) JVP-NPP govt would have the public believe that the economy is resilient enough to absorb external shocks, and the rupee is stabilising. True, the rupee has staged a countertrend rally recently, but the situation is far from rosy. Anything is possible in this topsy-turvy world, with US Prez Donald Trump acting whimsically. Much more therefore needs to be done to strengthen the rupee. This requires a truly national effort. Sadly, govt and Opposition are at daggers drawn, more..

May 28 (TM) For thousands of financially distressed Sri Lankans, the Financial Consumer Relations Department (FCRD) of the Central Bank of SL (CBSL) is supposed to represent a place of relief, a final avenue before costly legal battles, repossessions, and financial collapse. For a growing number of complainants, the experience has led instead to frustration, distrust, and troubling questions about accountability inside more..

May 28 (DM) Sri Lanka is at a point where it must make an important decision about its children and their future. Social media has become a powerful part of daily life, but for young people, especially those under 16, it is doing more harm than good. The govt has already discussed bringing in a law to restrict social media use for children. What is needed now is not more discussion, but action. For many children today, social media is not just entertainment. It is where they try to build more..

May 28 (TM) Recent disclosures obtained by The Daily Morning under the RTI Act have laid bare a sobering, financial reality regarding our cultural preservation. Over the past eleven years, Sri Lanka’s eleven national museums have cost the State a staggering Rs 4.5 billion to maintain. Yet, over that period, they generated less than Rs 740 million in total income. It is a bleak fiscal deficit that recovers barely 17% of its operational costs, exposing an institution heavily burdened by more..

May 28 (SO) For decades, the Jaffna peninsula was home to people of different communities. Long before the war deepened ethnic divisions across Sri Lanka, Sinhalese families lived in several parts of the district, including Chunnakam, Kankesanthurai, Dambakola Patuna, and a number of smaller settlements. According to the 1981 Census, 4,068 Sinhalese residents were living in the Jaffna district at the time. more..

May 28 (CT) SL’s recent, unexpected currency depreciation—which pushed the Sri Lankan Rupee (SLR) toward the 345–354 per US Dollar range—has triggered widespread economic anxiety, evoking dark memories of the 2022 collapse. While mainstream commentators routinely blame generic global shocks or resort to circular political rhetoric, they consistently overlook the structural reality. The crisis stems from a profound policy asymmetry: SL aggressively stabilized and strengthened more..

May 28 (ST) The continuing slide of the SL rupee against the US dollar and the resulting strain on the country’s economy were uppermost in the minds of lawmakers this week. Opposition MPs voiced concern that the rupee’s rapid depreciation was plunging the country towards a similarly bleak situation that was witnessed during the worst days of the 2021/2022 economic crisis – concerns which the government strongly dismissed. Addressing Parliament, Deputy Minister Anil Jayantha more..

May 27 (PMD) A series of programmes organised by the Presidential Secretariat to mark Vesak will be held from 30 May to 2 June at the Presidential Secretariat. These events will be held in conjunction with the Buddha Rashmi Vesak Zone, organised with the assistance of the Hunupitiya Gangaramaya Temple. Accordingly, Bhakthi Gee performances will begin each day at 6.30 p.m. from 30 May to 02 June, with the participation of Bhakthi Gee groups of the Tri-Forces and the Sri Lanka Police, more..

May 27 (AD) Minister Vijitha Herath says he was honoured to receive the traditional Māori Pōwhiri welcome at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand this morning. Minister noted that he was the first SL Foreign Minister to be accorded this ceremonial welcome at the start of his official visit to the country. Vijitha Herath is currently undertaking an official visit to NZ and Australia from 26 May to 3 June 2026, at the invitation of the two govts. During the visit, Minister Herath will hold more..

May 27 (DM) In a comprehensive diplomatic review, Chinese Ambassador to SL Qi Zhenhong has re-anchored the bilateral relationship within a two-thousand-year historical legacy, tracing ties from the ancient Rubber-Rice Pact to modern crisis interventions. Addressing critical geopolitical shifts, including the US-Iran conflict and a mutating global energy market, Ambassador detailed Beijing’s multi-million dollar more..

May 27 (FT) Sampath Bank has introduced integrated PayPal withdrawal and account connectivity capabilities through Sampath Vishwa, marking a major advancement in Sri Lanka’s digital banking landscape and expanding access to secure global payments. SL’s digitally connected workforce and business community continue to expand across international marketplaces and cross-border industries. Growth in freelancing, entrepreneurship, online commerce, exports, and remote work more..

May 27 (AD) SL Defence Secretary Sampath Thuyacontha, who is currently on an official visit to the Russian Federation, met with Russian Deputy Defence Minister Vasily Osmakov in Moscow. Defence Minister Osmakov stated that the meeting took place yesterday. The meeting was held in conjunction with the Defence Secretary’s participation in the first International Security Forum and the Annual International Meeting of High-Ranking Officials Responsible for more..

May 27 (DM) A flood of youth or schoolboy cricket may make matters worse for the new interim set of office bearers of SLC who will make no secret of the proliferation of the sport at junior level that is piling up quantity more than quality. The interference of parents and the deployment of substandard coaches that have mushroomed in an overnight syndrome have also contributed to the overdose of school cricket compared to more..

May 27 (TM) Former selection committee chair Pramodya Wickramasinghe says that his panel had selected three 15-man squads originally for SL’s upcoming all-format series in the West Indies. He alleged that the new panel headed by Kapila Wijegunawardene had tinkered with the selections done by his committee, at the insistence of player managers, by increasing the Test, ODI and T20I squads to 17, 16 and 15-men, respectively. Wickramasinghe stated that Kasun Rajitha more..

May 27 (NW) SL’s tourism industry has surpassed the one million mark in international tourist arrivals before the end of May 2026 for the second consecutive year, according to Minister Vijitha Herath. Herath said the milestone follows the record-breaking performance recorded in 2025 and reflects the continued strength of the sector despite recent challenges. Although Sri Lanka recorded a year-on-year decline in tourist arrivals during March and April, industry observers largely attributed more..

May 27 (Island) Most of the country’s major rivers remained at normal levels despite intermittent overnight rainfall, according to the Irrigation Department early Tuesday. However, officials warned that the Kuda Ganga at Kalawellawa (Millakanda) had reached the “Alert” level and was showing a rising trend following heavy rainfall in the catchment areas. Irrigation Department Director L.S. Sooriyabandara, said the department was closely monitoring the situation, more..

May 27 (TM) SLC has launched a special programme to educate and develop school cricket coaches under the guidance of the Cricket Transformation Committee. The inaugural session was held on Monday at the SLC High Performance Centre with the participation of 74 coaches representing Division 1 and 2 schools. Gary Kirsten, Head Coach of the SL Men’s Team, conducted a two-hour session focusing on modern coaching methods and nurturing young cricketers more..

May 27 (AI) Malaiyaha Tamils working on private tea estates and smallholdings in Sri Lanka are being subjected to abuses that meet many of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) indicators of forced labour, while being denied access to the country’s strict labour protections, Amnesty International said in a new report. The research, which documents the plight of workers in SL’s Southern Province, found that members of more..

May 27 (DM) A controversy has erupted over alleged fund and donation collections at Thurstan College, Colombo, with a parents’ union claiming the school has been requesting dry rations and school supplies from parents despite the govt’s stance that schools have no legal authority to collect money. According to the parents’ association, the school principal recently convened a meeting and urged parents of students from Grades 1 to 13 to contribute dry rations and school essentials for nearly 600 more..

May 27 (AD) OIC of Welikada Police has been arrested in Veyangoda by the Central Crime Investigation Bureau over allegations of illegal possession of passports belonging to 19 Chinese nationals, according to police. He was arrested for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs. 300,000 per person to release passports of 19 Chinese nationals arrested in connection with an online scam. Investigations indicate that the OIC had retained the passports of the individuals arrested more..

May 27 (BBC) Rooted in Buddhist teachings, Sri Lanka's roadside dansal offer free food and drinks to strangers – and this year, amid rising costs and extreme heat, the tradition feels especially relevant. When I was a little girl growing up in SL, I always looked forward to the month of May. That was when my father and I would decorate octagon bamboo lanterns to celebrate Vesak – the sacred day marking the birth, enlightenment and more..

May 27 (DM) A 25-year-old mother accused of selling her 20-day-old infant for Rs. 100,000, along with a woman alleged to have bought the baby were arrested by officers attached to the Puttalam Divisional Crime Investigation Unit, the Sri Lanka Police said. The arrests were made following investigations into an incident reported from the Kammandaluwa area in Pallama. Police said the infant had allegedly been handed over to a woman residing in the Kadayamottai area of more..

May 27 (AD) Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar ordered that the case filed against former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and former IGP Pujith Jayasundera be called on June 12. The two face charges, including criminal negligence of duty, for allegedly failing to prevent the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks despite prior intelligence warnings. The cases were taken up today before a three-judge High Court bench comprising Justices Priyantha Liyanage, Viraj Weerasuriya, and more..

May 27 (NW) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake is scheduled to inaugurate construction work on the second phase of Section 3 of the Central Expressway on Friday at the Galagedara Public Grounds. This phase of the project covers the stretch between Rambukkana and Galagedara and forms part of the broader Central Expressway development. It is aimed at improving connectivity between the Central Province and other parts of the country. Earlier this month, Cabinet of more..

May 27 (AD) Hatton Police said the suspect allegedly involved in the recent double murder of an elderly couple inside a shop in Dikoya, Hatton, had escaped from the custody of prison officers early this morning while receiving treatment at hospital. According to police, the suspect had been admitted to the Kandy National Hospital yesterday by prison officials due to an illness he mentioned while in remand custody until June 3. The suspect, who was receiving inpatient care, more..

May 27 (DM) The following is a statement issued by the National Commission on Women regarding protection and access to justice of the child in alleged sexual abuse case. National Commission on Women established under the Women Empowerment Act No. 37 of 2024, submits the following statement regarding recent reports of alleged sexual abuse of a girl child. Commission emphasises that the rights of the child more..

May 27 (NW) The Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction and 10-year prison sentence imposed on a Buddhist monk over the sexual abuse of a minor boy in 2009. According to the judgment delivered on 26 May 2026, the accused, Rev. Uduwila Sujatha, had appealed against the conviction handed down by the Balapitiya High Court in August 2023. The monk had been convicted for committing grave sexual abuse on a nine-year-old boy who had been living at the temple at the time. more..

May 27 (AD) Dept of Excise has announced that all liquor stores across the island will remain closed on May 30 and 31 in view of the 2026 Vesak Festival. Excise Commissioner General Premaratne Bandara confirmed the closure when contacted for comment on the matter. Meanwhile, Ministry of Public Admin, PCs & LG had announced that all meat shops, slaughterhouses, betting centres, casinos, and nightclubs will remain closed for three days in view of the 2026 National Vesak Festival. more..