Srilanka

Sri Lanka Police says that several army roadblocks which were in place at Palali and Pallai areas in the Northern Province have now been removed. The roadblock had reportedly been set up yesterday while residents had complained of the military roadblocks ahead of voting.Police Spokesman SSP Ruwan Gunasekera said that all roadblocks had to be removed by yesterday morning according to election laws. The military had been informed about the legal provisions and the requirement to remove the barriers, he said.

Election watchdog groups and the Elections Commission are hailing the tightly managed election campaign that has resulted in one of the most peaceful election periods in decades and have called on citizens to actively participate by voting in the country 8th Presidential Election today. In the light of the violence-free atmosphere with a complete absence of major incidents, the Election Commission expects a high voter turn-out that could reach 85 per cent of the total registered voters. This will be higher than the 80 per cent at the 2015 Presidential poll.

There is a high possibility for afternoon thundershowers with severe lightning in Sabaragamuwa, Central, Western and North-Western provinces. Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in Western, Central, Sabaragamuwa, Uva and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Anuradhapura and Mannar districts after 2.00 p.m. fairly heavy falls about 75 mm can be expected at some places. Several spells of light showers will occur in Eastern province and in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya Polonnaruwa and Hambanthota districts. Misty conditions can be expected at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces during the morning.General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has hit out at attempts to increase the price of wheat flour pointing out that the price of flour could not be raised without the consent of the Cabinet appointed Cost-of-Living committee and the Consumer Affairs Authority. The Minister took to his personal twitter account to say that any vendor selling the above mandated price will be dealt with severely.