Around 150 people are feared dead after more than three days of heavy rain triggered two landslides in central Sri Lanka, disaster officials said on Wednesday as rescuers stopped work after recovering more than a dozen bodies.

I call upon the government to stop persecuting our armed forces personnel and to release those who have been wrongfully arrested and detained, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

Remains of thirteen persons have been recovered from the Aranayaka landslide so far, the police confirmed a short while ago.

‘A Reminiscence of Reconciliation’, a cultural presentation of victory by the tri forces, police and civil security department will be held today (18) evening at the Independence Square premises in Colombo.

Sri Lankan rupee forwards ended weaker on Tuesday on dollar demand from importers, but the currency was expected to stabilise in June after money from an IMF loan flows in, the country’s finance minister said.

A landslide in Sri Lanka, triggered by more than three days of rain, buried three villages in a central district and the death toll is yet to be determined, government officials and area residents said on Tuesday.

President Maithripala Sirisena instructed officials to keep every section vigilant to be able to face any emergency disaster caused by the prevailing adverse weather condition.

Sri Lankan rupee forwards ended weaker on Monday on dollar demand from importers, but the decline was limited due to moral suasion by the central bank, dealers said.

The Central Bank (CB) destroyed 110.5 million soiled currency notes bearing a face value of Rs.16.46 billion in an attempt to maintain its clean currency note policy.

State Finance Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena yesterday told The Island that the government intended to raise Rs 100 bn through the increase in Value Added Tax (VAT).

In the wake of reports that the Sri Lankan government was planning to pull down St. Antony’s Church at Katchatheevu islet, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi…

Unlike former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the current President Maithripala Sirisena never threatened editors, says Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed on the need for a permanent solution to the fishermen issue during talks with visiting Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena in New Delhi.

In a recent meeting with a former Indian diplomat, leaders of fishermen from Jaffna raised the issue of the easy availability of drugs in the region, and sought India’s help to tackle the problem.

Former Minister Basil Rajapaksa, who was arrested by the FCID this morning, has been released on bail after being produced at the Matara Magistrate’s Court.