Sri Lanka’s former strongman leader had a narrow lead in early parliamentary elections results yesterday as he awaits a verdict on his comeback bid eight months after being unseated in a shocking election loss.
Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s United People’s Freedom Alliance won 21 of the 225 seats in results released so far from Monday’s vote, while his closest rival, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party, has won 20.
Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s leader for nine years until his Jan. 8 presidential election defeat to a former ally, was running for prime minister, a position that is second to that of president in the country.
Photo: AP
However, he faces a daunting hurdle, because his party’s leader and the man who beat him in the election, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, has vowed not to appoint him prime minister even if he secures a majority.
If Rajapaksa does win a majority, it is likely to result in a protracted power struggle, with his loyalists likely to pressure Sirisena to appoint him prime minister.
Since the presidential election loss, there has been a reversal of fortunes for Rajapaksa, his family and friends, who were once all powerful controllers of the island nation. Some of them now face investigations or lawsuits for corruption, misuse of power and even murder.
Sri Lankan Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said the election was incident-free, other than some minor complaints.
Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said 35 people were arrested for election law violations.
Rajapaksa was hailed a warrior king for defeating the Tamil Tiger separatists to end a nearly 26-year civil war. However, he is accused of using his popularity to take control of Sri Lanka’s Parliament, courts, armed forces and all government institutions.
He was also accused of widespread human rights abuses and suppressing freedoms.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number