May 11 (TM) The just-concluded LG Elections were supposed to be just that – elections with focus on grassroots-level local bodies that rarely elicit much excitement beyond the local councils. However, from the word go, the NPP Govt had other ideas. Already enjoying near-absolute power with both the executive presidency and total parliamentary control under its belt, it wanted more. So, SL’s voters were called upon to exercise their franchise for the third time in the last eight months more..

May 11 (SO) The victory of the NPP at the May 6 Local Govt election was more or less a foregone conclusion. Voters generally favour their Municipal Councils, Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas to be helmed by the party that also controls the Govt. Development and welfare work at the village level can be more easily coordinated and accomplished when the Local Govt bodies and the Central Govt sing from the same hymn sheet. The voter turnout at the Local Govt polls was much lower than more..

May 10 (CT) A possible mechanical failure is suspected to have caused the crash of a Us-made SL Air Force Bell 212 helicopter into the Maduru Oya Reservoir during a Special Forces demonstration yesterday, leaving six personnel dead. It is learnt that the tail rotor may have failed mid-ight, leading to the fatal accident that has prompted a high-level investigation by the Air Force. SLAF said that the Bell 212 helicopter more..

May 10 (EN) Sri Lanka’s official worker remittances grew 18.8% in April 2025 from a year ago to US$ 646.1 million, coming down from a pre-New Year festival high of US$ 693.3 million. March and December are usually peak remittance months for Sri Lanka. Over the past year, remittances have grown steadily around 20% a year. Up to April 2025 Sri Lanka has earned US$ 2.46 billion from remmittances, up 18.3% from US$ 2,079 million last year. SL’s worker remittances have risen more..

May 10 (DN) Dialog Axiata PLC announced the launch of the IAX (India Asia Xpress) submarine cable system—a significant investment aimed at bolstering SL’s international network and future-proofing the country’s digital infrastructure. Consequently, Dialog’s total investments in international connectivity infrastructure surpassed USD 100 million. This milestone was achieved through collaborative efforts with a consortium of regional telco partners & global hyperscalers, more..

May 10 (CT) “My daughter told me Amma, I am the one who was wronged and I have not done anything wrong Amma. Still, I am made to feel like a sinner and no one talks to me and am being cornered. My daughter was killed by this society. This society who treated her like a criminal and made her feel lonely. Aney…she was feeling so lonely and left out. Only I saw how lonely she was,” emotionally overwhelmed mother more..

May 10 (FT) The Govt this week decided to expedite the finalisation of a draft bill to legalise the SL Food Science and Technology Agency through an Act of Parliament. The move approved by the Cabinet of Ministers at their meeting on Wednesday, aims to formalise the agency’s status and strengthen its role in promoting food science and technology at both national and international levels. Established in 2004, the agency consists of professionals and scientists in the field of food technology more..

May 10 (CT) While the shortage of essential medicines continues to worsen due to the inefficiency of officials at the Medical Supplies Division (MSD), National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), and the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC), hospital directors have been instructed to procure drugs locally from private pharmacies, thus increasing the Govt’s expenditure. President of the Medical and Civil Rights Professional Association of Doctors more..

May 10 (NW) National University of Singapore (NUS) and Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education of SL have formalized a MoU to enhance collaboration in the higher education sector. MoU was signed by, Provost of NUS Aaron Thien, at a brief ceremony held at the NUS campus on 5 May. The signed document was formally handed over to the High Commissioner of SL to Singapore Senarath Dissanayake, for onward transmission to the Ministry of Education more..

May 10 (ST) Police are planning to gradually expand using CCTV cameras to identify traffic violations in other parts of the country, in addition to Colombo. Legal action has been initiated against more than 4000 motorists who were identified as traffic offenders using CCTV cameras installed in Colombo City. The project began on February 1 last year. As of April 20 this year, legal action, including imposing fines and initiating court proceedings, had been taken against 4048 drivers more..

May 10 (SO) Cabinet has declared May 10 to 16 as Vesak Week, during which religious, cultural, and social programs will take place across the country. All wine stores, nightclubs, slaughterhouses, meat stalls in supermarkets, and retail outlets nationwide selling meat products will remain closed from May 12 to 14 to mark Vesak. Govt has organised a series of events for the 2025 Vesak Festival. more..

May 10 (FT) Colombo stock market yesterday ended the week with mixed sentiment. During the week, both the benchmark ASPI and S&P SL20 gained 0.4% but on Friday S&P SL20 gained by 0.06% while ASPI lost by 9.75 points or 0.06% on Friday. Turnover yesterday was over Rs. 1.54 billion involving 97.21 million shares. Turnover during the week averaged Rs. 1.98 billion. Foreign participation in the market activity remained at subdued levels, though it turned positive with net inflows more..

May 10 (DM) In a heartfelt last-ditch appeal, the Principal of Sri Pragnarathana Central College, Geli Oya, W.M.U.J.B. Weerasinghe has urged Sports Minister Sunil Gamage to intervene and rectify what he calls a serious injustice to two of the school’s boxers, who have been controversially omitted from the SL squad for the upcoming ASBC Asian Youth and Under-22 Boxing Championships to be held in Colombo from May 10 to 24. Two athletes in question - G.G.N.A. Gimhani (52-54kg) and more..

May 10 (ST) While native plant species like Ran Dothalu continue to decline in SL, a non-native ornamental palm is rapidly spreading through the country’s southwestern rainforests, posing a threat to native biodiversity, according to a recent study. The palm in question, Areca triandra, is native to Southeast Asia and has now naturalised in SL, particularly in disturbed forest edges and shady understory habitats. First introduced to the country in 1867 via Botanic Gardens Peradeniya, more..

May 10 (ST) SL’s National Lifesaving Championship ended on a high note, with five new national records broken and two top schools – Nalanda College and Musaeus College – crowned as overall champions in the Boys’ and Girls’ categories. The Junior National Lifesaving Championship, organised by Sri Lanka Lifesaving, took place over two days. The event began at the Sri J'pura University Swimming Pool Complex on April 10 and concluded at the SL Lifesaving Headquarters in Mount Lavinia. more..

May 10 (FT) SL’s solar industry is warning of a looming collapse in renewable energy development if urgent reforms are not made to the country’s energy policy framework. In a powerful submission to Public Utilities Commission (PUCSL), Solar Industries Association (SIA) has outlined a raft of challenges that it says are crippling investor confidence, destabilising the sector, and threatening tens of thousands of jobs. more..

May 10 (DM) The global rubber market is already feeling the tremors of policy uncertainty, with Sri Lanka caught in the crosshairs, analysts said, while warning there could be a prolonged and painful reshuffle of trade routes, pricing and production flows. Analysts state that Sri Lanka’s rubber sector could face competitive disadvantages if Sri Lanka fails to secure equitable tariff terms, following the proposed increase in the US tariff rates on rubber products. more..

May 10 (FT) United States of America, represented by US Ambassador to SL Julie Chung, assumed the Presidency of the Colombo Plan Council during a Special Session held on 7 May. The Presidency of the Council rotates annually among its 28 member States in alphabetical order. It was previously held by Thailand. Colombo Plan Council comprises representatives from the diplomatic missions of member States based in Sri Lanka and convenes quarterly in Colombo. more..

May 10 (ST) Sri Lankans working overseas, mostly women in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE, have poured billions into the economy in the first three months, underwriting their homeland at a crucial time of structural and policy reforms driven by the IMF under a financing programme. Up to March, Sri Lankans have sent home more than US$ 1.81 billion (Rs 543.134 billion) to keep their families fed and the national economy oiled. more..

May 10 (ST) The Supreme Court (SC) has expressed strong disapproval that its order to arrest Royal Park murder convict Jude Shramantha Jayamaha had not been carried out for more than a year. State Counsel Sajith Bandara told the SC this week that there has been a delay in arresting Jayamaha because the original case file in the trial against the accused had not been found. Justice S. Thurairaja, presiding the case, said this was most unsatisfactory. Jayamaha had been more..

May 10 (Island) The much-awaited LG elections are over, but political battles continue. The govt and the Opposition are all out to gain control of the hung local councils, which outnumber those with clear majorities. This issue has distracted the public from a crucial issue––campaign funding and expenditure. The NPP obviously outspent its rivals, who also must have spent huge amounts of funds on their election campaigns. Election Commission (EC) has asked all candidates who contested more..

May 10 (DN) Musaeus College’s Rushalee Dissanayake set a new Junior National Record in the 800m Freestyle, breaking a nine-year-old record on Day 3 of the HNB 49th National Age Group Swimming Championship, organized by the SL Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU), took place at the Sugathadasa Swimming Pool Complex yesterday. 14-year-old clocked an impressive 10:00.24 in the heats of the Girls Under-15 800m Freestyle, finishing far ahead of 2nd-place Anjalee Sathsarani more..

May 10 (Island) A full strength Sri Lanka 4×400 metres mixed relay team will compete against formidable European powerhouses when they take part in the first heat of the relay on day one of the World Relays in Guangzhou, China on Saturday. “We will field our best four for the heats,” said W.M.G. Thushara, the mamager cum coach of the SL team. There is one junior athlete in the six member team but SL authorities have decided to field the full strength team in the heats. more..

May 10 (CT) The final results of the 2025 LG Election reflect a significant shift in public sentiment, revealing a more complex and competitive political environment across the country. Although the NPP emerged as the largest single party, it failed to replicate the sweeping dominance witnessed during the 2024 Parliamentary Election. Despite achieving the highest overall vote share, the NPP experienced a marked drop in support, with the possibility of more..

May 10 (CT) In SL, a common misconception persists: that Election observation is a task confined solely to Election days. As someone who works professionally as an Election observer, I often encounter this misunderstanding firsthand. People I meet on the street, upon recognising my role, usually exclaim in surprise, Ah, you must finally be busy now! And if the conversation lingers, they invariably pose the same question before parting: What do you do when there are no Elections? more..

May 10 (FT) The win this week of the NPP at the 2025 local govt elections is not a black swan event although in many respects it is a departure from the norms. For one, successive previous administrations had postponed conducting LG polls since 2018 for one reason or another, citing lack of funds or being suspected of shying away from testing the people’s will with no guarantee of victory. In fact, they arguably reasoned that there could have been a devastating loss of face more..

May 10 (DM) The LG elections have been held. The NPP emerged overall winners as predicted in these columns on polling day. As we forecast, the NPP victory was not as overwhelming as their victory during the parliamentary elections. Be that as it may -- the NPP won. The NPP’s rivals SJB, UNP, SLPP, SLMC & SB all contested independent of each other. They also condemned each other with vigour and vitality. They believed that they could independently, while crossing swords with each other more..

May 10 (ST) Our discussion last week on Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) as a missed opportunity for SL over the past 25 years has sparked significant curiosity and raised several important questions. One such question I would like to explore today is: Can FTAs be an alternative approach to adopt instead of fully committing to free trade? In SL’s case, I believe neither path was pursued effectively. The journey toward free trade, after gaining some momentum, eventually faltered more..

May 10 (TM) With tourist areas in the island facing challenges in accessing utilities such as water and electricity for businesses, it is learnt that the unavailability of a steady supply of electricity and water are among issues consistently faced by business owners in these areas. Multiple business owners and managers from the southern and eastern coasts have flagged issues with power outages and fluctuating power supply, more..

May 10 (GV) Writing in March after studying 2,000 comments against Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s (AKD’s) consequential budget speech, I observed there was a growing public sentiment (bordering on embryonic disenchantment) around the govt’s inability to deliver what it promised and that “while unwavering support for AKD and the NPP persists, the public discourse (as studied on Facebook) evolves from emotional affirmation to a more nuanced (critical even?) assessment more..

May 10 (CT) Education is wings that can rise you up from where you are, This was the promise of the NPP during the last election—a profound truth about the power of learning to uplift lives. But for 15-year-old Dilshi Amshika, education became something else entirely: a source of trauma, fear, humiliation—and finally, unbearable despair. On 29 April, Amshika died by suicide. Her death did not come out of nowhere. It followed months of agony. It was the consequence of repeated failures more..

May 10 (CT) Ceylon Fishery Harbour Corporation (CFHC), which has been entrusted with the task and responsibility of developing and facilitating the fisheries sector with adequate facilities, is actively working to bring the non-functional Oluvil Fishery Harbour back to operational status, said CFHC Chairman Kapila Bamunuarachchi. He made these remarks during an interview to discuss the current state of more..