The International Monetary Fund is considering Sri Lanka’s request for a standby agreement after the country’s foreign exchange reserves fell to a two year low.

The IMF’s response will depend on an assessment of Sri Lanka’s macroeconomic vulnerabilities, the nature of the balance of payments said the IMF’s representative in Colombo.

 Responding to emailed questions, Eteri Kvintradze said,

“We have not formally entered into program negotiations nor do we have any new missions to Colombo scheduled outside of technical assistance and regular surveillance.”

President Maithripala Sirisena said that appointing the liberation Tamil Tigers of Tamil Eelam defector Karuna Aman as a minister and as Sri Lanka Freedom Party Vice President was the right decision.

Speaking during the committee debate on the budget, criticised extremist elements of criticising his government when the Rajapaksa government had acted in the same way.

The Sri Lankan finance minister, Ravi Karunanayake, made clear on Wednesday that the ban on foreigners buying freehold land in the country, would include China's port city project, reported Reuters.

The project, which was initially agreed by the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, has been suspended pending further discussions since the new government came to power.

"There will be no granting of outright land ownership for foreigners. Investors will be able to obtain land on a 99-year lease arrangement. This provision will also be applicable to the port city project," Mr Karunanayake said as he addressed parliament on Wednesday.

A 15-year old girl died after being hit by a military vehicle on Thursday morning.

Students in a school in the North-East resorted to holding umbrellas while writing their exams.

Heavy rains meant that the roofs of the makeshift classrooms at the Iraanaipalai Roman Catholic Maha Vidhiyalayam, in Mullaithivu, were unable to keep students dry.

Sri Lanka’s 2016 budget fails to tackle risk of further deterioration in the fiscal deficit said Fitch Ratings last week.

The ratings agency found that Sri Lanka’s new budget relied on the presumption of a strong global trade environment, warning that Sri Lanka’s growth assumptions may be overly optimistic.