Former Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe has been arrested after arriving at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Colombo today to record a statement in connection with an ongoing investigation.

The arrest is linked to allegations that Wickremesinghe misused state funds to cover expenses for a private visit to London during his presidency, where he attended a university graduation ceremony of his wife, Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe.

Sri Lanka’s former president Maithripala Sirisena has claimed that the “masmtermind” behind the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings is already well known to the Sri Lankan government, military, and intelligence services, but remains untouchable.

Speaking at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute in Colombo this week, Sirisena said that while authorities continue to scramble in search of the “so-called mastermind”, the truth is already known at the highest levels.

The iconic Nallur Kandasamy temple in Jaffna has drawn thousands of devotees for its annual chariot festival, ther thiruvizha, today.

Devotees from across the world gathered at the temple to see the temple's primary deity Murugan paraded through the streets of Jaffna.

Over 500,000 pilgrims from across the island gathered in Mannar last week to mark the annual feast of Our Lady of Madhu.

The August 15 festival, marking the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, has long been one of the most significant events in the Catholic calendar. The site is the most revered Catholic shrine on the island.