- President Ranil Wickremesinge is expected to head to Bali, Indonesia next week to attend the World Water Forum. The 10th World Water Forum will take place from the 18th to the 14th of May, and is hosted by the Government of Indonesia. Wickremesinghe is expected to do bilateral discussions with the Indonesian President.
- Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa alleged that 56 out of the 322 ambulances belonging to the ‘1990’ ‘Suwa Seriya’ free ambulance service are now out of service.Premadasa urged the government to take immediate action to safeguard the ‘Suwa Seriya’ Ambulance Service from collapse.
- The Government of India on Tuesday (May 14) extended the ban imposed on the now-defunct Sri Lankan militant group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), for five more years. According to Indian media, The Hindu, the ban has been extended as it continues to foster a separatist tendency amongst the masses and enhance the support base for it in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu.
- A/L classes to begin immediately after O/L exams. The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal to commence Advanced Level (A/L) education immediately after the completion of the GCE Ordinary Level examination. The Department of Government Information in a statement detailing cabinet decisions noted that the Department of Examination currently takes at least three months to release O/L examination results.
- President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena to look into the possibility of invalidating the nominations accepted for the postponed 2023 Local Government (LG) election. Joining the Cabinet press briefing, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena stated that accordingly, President Wickremesinghe has called on the Prime Minister to seek legal advice from the Attorney General in this regard.
- Colombo Magistrate’s Court instructed the Criminal Investigations Department to provide an update on the investigation into the death of businessman Dinesh Schaffter. The case was heard by Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunawela. The CID reported ongoing investigations, while the victim’s lawyers requested access to mobile phones held by the police, citing sensitive family content.
- Cabinet approval has been received to gazette the ‘Economic Transformation Bill’ and to present it to Parliament for approval, the Department of Government Information (DGI) reported.
- The non-academic staff of state universities have decided to withdraw from the essential services of the university system including water and electricity services from 14th May. The strike action launched by the Joint Committee of University Trade Unions continued for the 13th consecutive day, citing wage issues.
- The Court of Appeal ordered that the writ application filed by former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, seeking an order to invalidate the decision taken by the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court to remand him in custody until the conclusion of the trial related to the import of substandard immunoglobulin vials, will be taken up for consideration on May 31.
- Sri Lanka opener Chamari Athapaththu has made notable progress in the ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings after some fine performances over the past week. Nilakshi de Silva has moved up two places to 48th in the batting rankings, while Inoshi Fernando moved up five places to 19th and Udeshika Prabhodhani moved up five places to 30th.
