COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: Helicopters searched for people marooned four days after rain-triggered floods and mudslides inundated Sri Lankan neighborhoods and killed at least 164 people.
With more rain expected Monday, rescuers raced to evacuate people from the most vulnerable areas. Already more than 100,000 have taken shelter in 339 relief camps set up in the south and west.
Army boats skimmed waterlogged village streets, while able-bodied flood victims waded through brackish waters to army trucks carrying relief supplies.
An air force helicopter on relief mission crash landed near Baddegama town in southern Sri Lanka on Monday. All 11 people onboard escaped unhurt. Earlier an airman died after a fall while trying to rescue a marooned person from the air.
“We are displaced and have no place to go,” said Rathana Kumari, who fled her flooded home with her family and took refuge on the Southern Expressway, a major highway linking the commercial capital of Colombo with the cities of Matara and Galle. “Now we are extremely helpless with our little children. ... Today, we didn’t get anything to eat.”
Officials say at least 104 people are still missing since the floods hit on Friday along with cascades of red mud that swallowed village homes.
Special medical teams have been sent to the affected areas, while medicine has been sent by air to hospitals unreachable by road, said Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senarathna.
Soldiers took advantage of a lull in the rain Sunday to clear roads to reach some affected areas, said Maj. Gen. Sudantha Ranasinghe, who is heading the search and rescue mission.
The United Nations said it had joined the relief efforts and would donate water purification tablets, tents and other supplies for the displaced. India sent two shiploads of goods and some medical staff while the United States and Pakistan also promised relief supplies.
Mudslides have become common during Sri Lanka’s summer monsoons, as forests across the tropical Indian Ocean island nation are cleared for export crops such as tea and rubber.
Another massive landslide a year ago killed more than 100 people in central Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka races to rescue flood victims before rain resumes
Sri Lanka races to rescue flood victims before rain resumes
Egypt rules out new energy costs as IMF reviews advance
RIYADH: Egypt’s government said it will impose no new burdens on citizens in the energy sector, including petroleum and natural gas, as it moves toward the final year of its economic reform program with the International Monetary Fund.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said the targets agreed with the IMF through the end of the program “do not relate to anything that affects the Egyptian citizen,” seeking to counter speculation about additional austerity measures.
Speaking at the weekly press conference following a cabinet meeting in the New Administrative Capital, Madbouly said the IMF has completed the fifth and sixth reviews of Egypt’s reform program.
A Facebook post on the official Egyptian Cabinet Presidency page stated: “The Prime Minister explained that the IMF program will end within a year from now, noting that what has been done during the current stage is to follow up on the targets of the fifth and sixth reviews, in addition to agreeing on the targets of the two remaining reviews in the program, the seventh and eighth, which required more effort on the part of the Egyptian government to reach an understanding with the fund on the targets of these two reviews.”
Madbouly said IMF assessments praised Egypt’s stabilization efforts, citing improved balance-of-payments indicators and a narrowing current-account deficit despite external shocks.
He pointed to stronger non-oil exports and fiscal performance, including a primary surplus of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product in fiscal year 2024-25, alongside higher tax revenues and monetary policies aimed at easing inflation.
Such evaluations matter for capital flows, Madbouly said, as foreign investors closely track IMF reporting when making investment decisions.
He also cited a Moody’s report, saying the rating agency pointed to a sharp decline in inflation to 12.5 percent year on year in October, exchange-rate flexibility, and a clearer reduction in the current account deficit, alongside expectations for stronger growth ahead.
On external inflows and trade, Madbouly said remittances reached about $34 billion in the first 10 months of the year, compared with $23.7 billion in the same period a year earlier.
He added that non-oil merchandise exports in 2025 are expected to rise by more than 20 percent versus 2024.
Tourism remains a core pillar of the government’s growth plan. Madbouly said Egypt received around 18.8 million tourists in 2025, up from about 15 million in 2024, and reiterated a target of 30 million tourists by 2030.
He said the government aims to expand aviation capacity, including doubling the fleet of EgyptAir and other state-owned carriers within “two or three” years, to align with projected tourism growth.
Madbouly also pointed to investment activity in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, saying the area recently signed new agreements with investors across multiple sectors with investments exceeding $1.15 billion, with inaugurations of major projects planned for January, including factories linked to solar energy supply chains.
Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk said IMF negotiations were “very positive” and reflect “good financial results and the underlying potential of the Egyptian economy.”
He said efforts to broaden the tax base lifted revenues by 35 percent “without any additional burdens on the business community,” while the government prioritizes reducing public debt and expanding targeted social spending, including higher allocations for health, education and cash support.
