- India extends a US$ 1 billion credit line for Sri Lanka by one year, as part of about US$ 4 billion in emergency assistance: Deputy Treasury Secretary Priyantha Ratnayake says post negotiations, the credit line was extended until March 2024.
- President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake on the instructions of President Ranil Wickremesinghe informs all Provincial Secretaries in writing to take all precautionary measures to prevent the spread of dengue: Armed Forces and Police instructed to extend their fullest cooperation to the Chief Secretaries in accordance with the requirements of the Dengue Control Programme.
- The Committee on Parliamentary Business decides to hold a two-day adjournment debate on the MV X-Press Pearl maritime disaster: Debate to be held today, May 10 and tomorrow, May 11, from 9.30 am to 6 pm.
- Speaker informs Parliament the Supreme Court cleared the way for the House to decriminalise same-sex relationships through a simple majority, as the proposal to add amendments to the Penal Code decriminalising same-sex relationships is “consistent with the Constitution.”
- Chairman of City Construction Pvt. Ltd. and Chairman of Ocean Edge Suites and Hotels in Colombo Priyank Gupta says Sri Lanka tourism can attract over 3 million tourist arrivals from India alone if proper focused promotions are done to India; asserts to achieve this Sri Lanka does not have to offer free visas on arrivals, nor host regular mega road shows spending millions of rupees; adds a move to make Indian Rupee accepted in the island too would increase Indian arrivals.
- Australia deports 41 Sri Lankans after attempting to enter Australia illegally: Majority of the deportees are reportedly residents of Jaffna and Valachchenai, who had entered the Australian maritime border using multi-day fishing vessels.
- Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena says the Fiscal Management (responsibility) Act No. 3 of 2003 could have successfully curbed the financial crisis, but because of several amendments, the budget gap has risen to 10-12% and state debt to over 125% of GDP and guarantees for state debt up to 15%; adds the new Financial Management Act has been approved by the Cabinet to ‘correct’ the situation.
- Sri Lanka’s creditor nations hold their first meeting Tuesday online to coordinate restructuring the island nation’s debt: The creditors hope it will serve as a model to resolve the debt difficulties of middle-income economies: Sri Lanka owes US$ 7.1 billion to bilateral creditors, with US$ 3 billion owed to China, US$ 2.4 billion to the Paris Club and US$ 1.6 billion to India.
- Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena says a request was made by the Cabinet of Ministers to form a Presidential Commission with absolute power “to prevent future protests similar to the ‘Aragalaya’ peoples’ movement”; adds such a request was made “to ensure law and order in the country.”
- The Afghanistan National Men’s Team to arrive in Sri Lanka to play a three-match ODI series in May–June 2023: The Afghanistan team will arrive in Sri Lanka on May 29, 2023.
