Mahinda Rajapakse

Sri Lanka's ruling coalition became embroiled in a power struggle Tuesday as two challengers came forward to oppose Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to be candidate for a looming presidential election.

Sri Lanka's former defence secretary, who faces trials at home and in the US for alleged corruption and murder, will enter this year's presidential race, loyalists said Thursday.

A Sri Lanka court on Monday suspended Mahinda Rajapakse's powers as prime minister and ruled that his cabinet could not function until its legitimacy was established.

President Maithripala Sirisena today reignited the power struggle that has crippled Sri Lanka's government for more than a month, vowing never to reappoint arch-rival Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister. Wickremesinghe's party has a majority in parliament and Sirisena's bid to bring back the country's former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse has alrea...

Sri Lanka's president ordered the removal of a police chief investigating alleged crimes by the family and associates of his preferred candidate for prime minister Mahinda Rajapakse, officials said Monday.

Sri Lanka will hold snap election on January 5, President Maithripala Sirisena said on Friday soon after he dissolved the parliament. Normally, the parliamentary elections were scheduled to be held not until 2020

A Sri Lankan legislator on Friday said he had been offered $2.8 million and a ministerial post by a telephone caller from the opposite camp to switch his support to new Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in a week-old political crisis.

Sri Lanka's parliament speaker on Tuesday stepped up his warnings to the country's president that unrest could erupt unless lawmakers are allowed to choose between two rival prime ministers.

The US State Department on Sunday called on Sri Lanka's president to "immediately reconvene parliament" to allow representatives there to quell a violent constitutional crisis sparked by the prime minister's sudden sacking.

After Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena dismissed Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister, replacing him with the island nation's former strongman president Mahinda Rajapaksa, Mr Wickremesinghe has refused recognise his shock dismissal, in an unfolding constitutional crisis.

Sri Lanka's president issued a formal notice Saturday for Ranil Wickremesinghe to step down as prime minister and recognise his shock dismissal, in an unfolding constitutional crisis. Hours after sacking his former ally, President Maithripala Sirisena issued gazettes formalising the dramatic move, and the installation of one-time strongman presiden...

Maithripala Sirisena installed Sri Lanka's controversial former strongman leader Mahinda Rajapakse as the country's new prime minister Friday, the president's office said, in a surprise move announced moments after the incumbent premier was sacked.

A brother of ex-president Mahinda Rajapakse was indicted Monday on charges of siphoning off over $250,000 in state funds to build a memorial for his parents by a Sri Lankan anti-corruption court.

Sri Lanka's former president Mahinda Rajapakse said he was the victim of a "witch hunt" as investigators questioned him for the first time Friday over the abduction of a newspaper editor.

China has approved a $1 billion loan to revive a long-delayed expressway in central Sri Lanka, the island's government said Monday.

Sri Lanka's ruling coalition became embroiled in a power struggle Tuesday as two challengers came forward to oppose Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to be candidate for a looming presidential election.

Sri Lanka's former defence secretary, who faces trials at home and in the US for alleged corruption and murder, will enter this year's presidential race, loyalists said Thursday.

A Sri Lanka court on Monday suspended Mahinda Rajapakse's powers as prime minister and ruled that his cabinet could not function until its legitimacy was established.

President Maithripala Sirisena today reignited the power struggle that has crippled Sri Lanka's government for more than a month, vowing never to reappoint arch-rival Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister. Wickremesinghe's party has a majority in parliament and Sirisena's bid to bring back the country's former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse has alrea...

Sri Lanka's president ordered the removal of a police chief investigating alleged crimes by the family and associates of his preferred candidate for prime minister Mahinda Rajapakse, officials said Monday.

Sri Lanka will hold snap election on January 5, President Maithripala Sirisena said on Friday soon after he dissolved the parliament. Normally, the parliamentary elections were scheduled to be held not until 2020

A Sri Lankan legislator on Friday said he had been offered $2.8 million and a ministerial post by a telephone caller from the opposite camp to switch his support to new Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in a week-old political crisis.

Sri Lanka's parliament speaker on Tuesday stepped up his warnings to the country's president that unrest could erupt unless lawmakers are allowed to choose between two rival prime ministers.

The US State Department on Sunday called on Sri Lanka's president to "immediately reconvene parliament" to allow representatives there to quell a violent constitutional crisis sparked by the prime minister's sudden sacking.

After Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena dismissed Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister, replacing him with the island nation's former strongman president Mahinda Rajapaksa, Mr Wickremesinghe has refused recognise his shock dismissal, in an unfolding constitutional crisis.

Sri Lanka's president issued a formal notice Saturday for Ranil Wickremesinghe to step down as prime minister and recognise his shock dismissal, in an unfolding constitutional crisis. Hours after sacking his former ally, President Maithripala Sirisena issued gazettes formalising the dramatic move, and the installation of one-time strongman presiden...

Maithripala Sirisena installed Sri Lanka's controversial former strongman leader Mahinda Rajapakse as the country's new prime minister Friday, the president's office said, in a surprise move announced moments after the incumbent premier was sacked.

A brother of ex-president Mahinda Rajapakse was indicted Monday on charges of siphoning off over $250,000 in state funds to build a memorial for his parents by a Sri Lankan anti-corruption court.

Sri Lanka's former president Mahinda Rajapakse said he was the victim of a "witch hunt" as investigators questioned him for the first time Friday over the abduction of a newspaper editor.

China has approved a $1 billion loan to revive a long-delayed expressway in central Sri Lanka, the island's government said Monday.