<p>Sri Lanka’s leader of the opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa slammed the current government’s handling of national security, accusing it of weakening security measures after he lost power in 2015.</p> <p>Blaming the current government for allowing ‘terrorism to raise its head again,’ Rajapaksa went on to criticise attempts to repeal the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), a legislation that has been criticised by the UN and several rights group.</p>

Staff and students at the University of Jaffna held a vigil in tribute to the victims of the bomb blasts in Batticaloa and Colombo.

Attended by lecturers, students and campus staff, the vigil took place at the campus on Monday morning.

Business owners in Mannar town shut their stores and raised black flags in an act of mourning for the victims of the Easter Sunday bombs which killed nearly 300 people in Colombo and Batticaloa.

STF troops checking luggage at Jaffna bus stand

A man was arrested in Jaffna town while curfew was imposed on Sunday evening, and released after inquiry on Monday.

<p>US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has blamed the “radical Islamic terror” for the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka.</p> <p>The attacks have claimed the lives of close to 300 people and Pompeo has claimed that several Americans were amongst the casualties. At least 35 foreigners were among the fatalities.</p> <p>Speaking at a news conference Pompeo said:</p> <blockquote><p>

<p>For the second day in a row, Pope Francis condemned the attacks in Sri Lanka describing them as “terrorist acts, inhuman acts, never justifiable”.</p> <p>The death toll from the attacks is close to 300 with at least 35 foreigners among the fatalities. Sri Lankan police said 24 people had been arrested in connection with the blasts.</p> <p>A state of emergency is to be declared with 'anti-terrorism clauses' effective from midnight Monday.</p>

US President Donald Trump called Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today, as reports arrive that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is assisting with investigations.

Trump “pledged United States support to Sri Lanka in bringing the perpetrators to justice, and the leaders re-affirmed their commitment to the fight against global terrorism,” according to a White House statement.

<p>INTERPOL has deployed a response team to Sri Lanka to assist with investigations into the Easter Sunday bombings which left nearly 300 dead and 500 injured.</p> <p>The Incident Response Team (IRT) has been deployed at the request of the Sri Lankan government who will be aided with specialists “in crime scene examination, explosives, counter-terrorism, disaster victim identification and analysis”.</p>

Several Sri Lankan government ministers have claimed that they received prior warnings that an attack on the island was imminent, after bombs killed at least 290 people in Easter Sunday.

“Fourteen days before these incidents occurred, we had been informed about these incidents,” cabinet spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne told a press conference in Colombo on Monday.

<p>Acting on the direction of the Commander of the Army, the Directorate of Operations has mobilised additional troops to be deployed for security precautions in large vulnerable areas in response to the Easter Sunday attacks.</p> <p>Military Spokesman, Brigadier Sumith Atapattu, told a media briefing at the Ministry of Defence (MOD) that at least “a thousand Army members have been deployed in Colombo soon after the blasts”.</p>

<p>The Sri Lankan government will declare a state of emergency from midnight on Monday, in the wake of a series of bombings that killed at least 290 people on Easter Sunday.</p> <p>In an official announcement, Sri Lanka’s Presidential Media Division stated that &nbsp;Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena&nbsp;“anti-terrorism clauses” will be effective from midnight.</p>

The United States offered its “deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed” in a press statement by Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo.

<p>A pipe bomb was found and safely defused at Sri Lanka’s main international&nbsp;airport earlier today.</p> <p>Speaking to the Sunday Times on Easter Sunday, Airforce Spokesperson Gihan Seneviratne said,</p> <p>“A PVC pipe which was six feet in length containing explosives was discovered.”</p>

<p>Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe missed out on foreign intelligence warnings of imminent attacks due to an ongoing feud with Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena.</p>