The South West monsoon has wreaked havoc in many parts of the country already claiming four lives while six remain missing, Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said today.

Higher Education and Cultural Affairs Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said the government was considering amending the existing laws in order to protect the Buddhist religious sites as well as the places with archaeological value.

Landslide warnings have been issued to Kalutara, Kegalle, Ratnapura, Kurunegala, Nuwara-Eliya, Badulla, Galle, Colombo and Gampaha Districts since the rainfall within the past 24 hours has exceeded 100mm, the National Building Research Organization (NBRO) said.

Southern Province Education Minister Chandima Rasaputhra today requested the parents to not to send their children to schools if they are suffering from cold, cough and fever.

At least six road accidents have been reported by this evening on the Southern and Katunayake expressways, Police Media Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said.

Taking a swipe at former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera today said that both former leaders now seem to be engaged in an untiring effort to throw the country again into “Vipath Maga” (the destructive path).

The Road Development Authority (RDA) requested motorist using expressways to maintain an average speed of 60 kmph and switch on headlights due to heavy rains.

Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) to receive six brand new PT-6 Aircraft from the China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) for primary training of the SLAF.

Electricity supply in the Kegalle, Rambukkana, Mathugama and Agalawatta areas had been disrupted due to the heavy rain, the Ceylon Electricity Board said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated his call to the Sri Lankan Government to establish a process of accountability that has the trust and confidence of the survivors of the war.

Two persons were killed when they were struck by lightning while working at a paddy field at Welikanda in Polonnaruwa yesterday evening.

President Maithripala Sirisena said that it is a shame that certain politicians and NGOs have failed to identify the difference between the soldier and the terrorist.

Electrical engineers and senior staff of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) have neglected to pay the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax owed to the government amounting to Rs.3465 million since 2010 and we as customers have been paying for their sins, Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) Executive Director Keerthi Tennakoon charged.

An immediate inquiry will be conducted into reports about the administration of injectable- contraceptives to Sri Lankan housemaids, Foreign Employment Minister Harin Fernando told Daily Mirror yesterday.

President Maithripala Sirisena has told the 'rebel' group of 16 former Cabinet, State and Deputy Ministers, who left the government, to decide when the rest of the SLFPers should quit the Yahapalana Government, former Sports Minister and Kurunegala District Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara said yesterday.