Srilanka

South-west monsoon conditions are gradually establishing over the island. Therefore, showery and windy conditions (particularly in the South-western part) are expected to continue. Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Western, Southern, Central, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces. Several spells of showers will occur in Anuradhapura and Mannar districts. Showers or thundershowers may occur at several places elsewhere particularly after 2.00pm. Heavy falls about 100mm can be expected at some places in Sabaragamuwa, Central, Western and North-western provinces and in Galle and Matara districts. Fairly heavy falls about 75mm can be expected at some places in Eastern and Uva Provinces. Fairly strong gusty winds up to 40-50 kmph are also likely over the country, particularly in the central hilly areas and over western and southern coastal areas. There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

‘An occasion to dispel darkness, mistrust&

The fasting period led by the Islamic devotees, withholding the worldly pleasures, sacrificing, indulging in religious rituals and offering ones& own earnings to the poor and the helpless symbolises the spirituality common to all South Asian religious philosophies. I offer my warm wishes to the Islamic devotees who observe Ramazan ceremony held at the end of the period of one lunar month of fasting in accordance with Islam, a religion built on the strong pillars of trust, generosity, faith and fasting to depict sacrifice. A religion that teaches to experience the hunger of the others and learn to sacrifice to merge with others is, indeed, an invaluable gift to the society.In this long journey of human civilisation, we come across all the religious practices, beliefs and philosophies of the world.Thus the common string of humanity is much further than the religious followings. Any form of religion that teaches to respect the greatness of humanity will not mislead the followers to get detached from the human kind. Islam is that kind of a religion. I wish a joyful Ramazan to the Islamic devotees, who accomplishing the rituals of the religion, adhering to the discipline of fasting and fulfilling ones& own humanity from devotion. My expectation is that all of you pray for a future that can make us join hands together as brothers dispelling the darkness and disarray of misery and mistrust.Maithripala SirisenaPresident‘Festival to celebrate true spirit of Islam&

The annual observance of Ramazan is of profound significance to Muslims everywhere. It centres around the spirituality, humanistic ideals and social principles that lie at the heart of Islam. These are the values that have guided the Sri Lankan Muslim community, which has long been an integral part of our nation. Today, Muslims celebrate the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr after a month of fasting, with the sighting of the crescent new moon.May the sense of gratitude, generosity and charity associated with the event inspire us all to find meaning in higher ideals. This is an occasion to celebrate the true spirit of Islam. It is a faith that stresses the brotherhood and equality of all people. It is far from the despicable, hateful creed of those who killed so many innocents in the recent Easter Sunday attacks. I urge the faithful to be vigilant about extremism, which seeks to stain the name of their great religion.Let us all live in solidarity so that our motherland can rise to greater heights. Together, we must usher in a society where liberty, equality and human dignity prevail.May the blessings of this Eid bring peace and happiness to all Muslims in Sri Lanka and across the world! Eid Mubarak!Ranil WickremesinghePrime Minister‘Let us unite as one nation&

Let us open our hearts this Eid-ul-Fitr festival and give generously to the families who have been unfortunate victims of various attacks in the recent past in our country. Prophet Muhammed (Sal) has stressed the importance of charity in Islam, particularly during the blessed month of Ramadan. It is therefore the duty of each and every Muslim to extend our hands and our hearts to the affected during their time of grief and loss and share their burden in whatever capacity we can.Islam teaches us that fasting makes us better people. People who are patient, generous, tolerant, and who don&t speak ill or harm others. We should become people who build a better society. Fasting fosters love peace and brotherhood & three basics that we need to take beyond the month of Ramadan and help restore peace in this nation. From this blessed day onwards, let us as a nation, forget our differences - look beyond religion, caste and creed, respect each other as brothers and sisters of one country and identify ourselves only as human beings.Let us emulate the beautiful qualities of our beloved Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon Him) - his love for the entire humanity, his generous spirit and his patience. Let us come together and celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr as one nation with one voice. A voice of peace and love.M.H. Abdul HaleemFormer Minister of Postal Services and Muslim Religious Affairs

‘Ramazan portrays brotherhood&

Any religion existing in a country should respect the existing culture of the country. A religionideology contrary to the existing culture in that country will not last long. The vast majority of Sri Lankan Islam devotees have celebrated their religious customs and traditions down the ages by abiding with local culture and becoming its shareholders. The ideological base of Islam which binds people together in brotherhood and humanism is portrayed by Ramazan.With due respect to the majority Muslim people, I wish to reiterate on this Ramazan day that a minority extremist group going against the true essence of Islam cannot establish themselves in this country and break fraternal bonds of friendship in this country. I take this opportunity to wish Muslim devotees celebrating Ramazan a happy festival.Karu JayasuriyaSpeaker

Sri Lanka denied Afghanistan a famous victory by winning a low-scoring thriller in the World Cup at Cardiff. After a dismal batting collapse by Sri Lanka, Afghanistan needed a rain-revised target of just 187 from 41 overs but were beaten by 34 runs.Afghanistan slipped to 57-5 in their chase but a partnership of 64 by Najibullah Zadran and captain Gulbadin Naib gave them hope.

Australia has now revamped its border protection procedures and there is ‘zero chance& of any illegal migrants gaining entry in the country, visiting Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said yesterday. He also disclosed that Australia is assisting Sri Lankan authorities in the investigations into the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in terms of forensic analysis,