Articles about Mahinda Rajapaksa

In a televised speech on Monday, Sri Lanka's new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe announced plans to privatize its national carrier SriLankan Airlines.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, the leader of Sri Lanka's United National Party (UNP), was sworn in as the country's 26th prime minister on Thursday, succeeding Mahinda Rajapaksa, who resigned on Monday amid protests over the island nation's current economic crisis.

The Indian High Commission in Colombo on Wednesday firmly denied rumors that New Delhi was sending soldiers to Sri Lanka.

Former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family have reportedly sought refuge at a naval base in Trincomalee, in the country's northeast region.

Amid the deepening economic crisis in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned from his post on Monday, local media reported.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday declared a state of emergency for the second time in just over a month as anti-government protests escalated in the island nation.

Amid the deepening economic crisis in Sri Lanka, former president and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) chief Maithripala Sirisena called for fresh elections on Sunday.

To solve the political impasse ailing Sri Lanka, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday agreed to form an interim government without his older brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as the PM.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Tuesday night revoked the state of emergency in the nation with immediate effect.

Sri Lanka's ruling coalition lost its parliamentary majority on Tuesday, amid growing unrest over the ongoing economic crisis, Reuters reported.

At a late-night meeting on Sunday, the entire cabinet of Sri Lanka resigned amid mounting public anger and growing anti-government protests over the severe economic crisis.

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan is set to participate in the impending Lanka Premier League (LPL).

Even after actor Vijay Sethupathi quit the controversial movie 800, a biopic on legendary Sri Lankan cricketer Muthiah Muralitharan, he continued to receive flak for having considered the film.

Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi has opted out of the movie 800, a biopic on former Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa is set to become the next Sri Lankan President as the ruling United National Party's presidential candidate, Sajith Premadasa, conceded.

PM Narendra Modi, who arrived in Sri Lanka on Sunday morning, has paid tributes to the victims of the Easter Sunday bombings in Colombo that took place in April this year.

Sri Lanka observed a nationwide three-minute silence today to pay homage to more than 300 people killed in the gruesome Easter Sunday bombings, the country's worst terror attack blamed on a local previously little-known Islamist outfit.

Media rights activists yesterday urged the Sri Lankan government to withdraw proposed anti-terror legislation, calling it is a set of draconian laws aimed at suppressing media freedom and democratic rights.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has welcomed the resolution of the political crisis in Sri Lanka and called on all the political actors to resolve all outstanding differences in the interest of people of the country.

Sri Lanka's Parliament is set to convene today for the first time after the reinstatement of Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister that ended the 51-day political standoff in the country.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was appointed as Sri Lanka's Prime Minister on October 26 by President Maithripala Sirisena in a controversial move, resigned today, as two crucial Supreme Court decisions made the embattled former strongman's efforts to cling to premiership "untenable".

Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena has described the ongoing political crisis in the country as one between foreign and local values.

Sri Lanka's main Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA), said that President Maithripala Sirisena has assured that he will resolve the ongoing political crisis when the Parliament meets again next week even as the talks between the two sides ended without any breakthrough yesterday night.

In a major setback to Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena, the Sri Lankan Parliament today passed a no-confidence motion against the government headed by his controversially-appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's decision to dissolve the nation's Parliament, underlining the "utmost importance" of respecting democratic processes and resolving differences in accordance with the rule of law.

Sri Lanka's political crisis deepened yesterday as President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved the Parliament and announced snap polls on January 5.

Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena has decided that there will be no snap elections or a national referendum to end the current political and constitutional crisis in the island nation, according to his close aide.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's legislator son Namal today indicated that the long-held demand of the Tamil minority community to release all Tamil prisoners in the country may be fulfilled soon, a move aimed at persuading the Tamil legislators to support Rajapaksa.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has voiced concern over the ongoing political crisis in Sri Lanka, urging President Maithripala Sirisena to revert to parliamentary procedures and allow Parliament to vote "as soon as possible".

The US urged political parties in Sri Lanka to abide by the Constitution and refrain from violence, as the island nation faces a constitutional crisis after President Maithripala Sirisena sacked his former ally Ranil Wickremesinghe and made controversial strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa the new premier.

Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena today issued two extraordinary gazette notices making controversial strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa the new Prime Minister and formally recognizing Ranil Wickremesinghe's dramatic dismissal, leading to a constitutional crisis.

Opposition party DMK in Tamil Nadu today announced it would stage state-wide protests to 'condemn' the ruling AIADMK for getting involved in corruption, and not focusing on public welfare.

New Cabinet of Sri Lanka's unity government will be sworn in on Tuesday, President Maithripala Sirisena announced today, weeks after he had suspended Parliament in backdrop of ongoing political turmoil in country.

Information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that Congress has roped in Cambridge Analytica (CA), UK-based data analytics firm, for strategizing for the 2019 parliamentary elections.

Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency for 10 days to curb communal violence. This decision comes a day after Buddhists and Muslims clashed in the island's Kandy district.