Mahinda Rajapaksa

Mahinda Rajapaksa's elder son indicted for alleged misappropriation

Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa's elder son has been indicted in the High Court here for alleged misappropriation from an Indian investment prior to 2015. Namal Rajapaksa, 38, had been arrested in June 2016 for the alleged misuse of 70 million Sri Lankan rupees from the Krish hotel project money to develop the game of rugby, for which he had been a Sri Lanka international player. The Krish hotel project located in the heart of Colombo commercial district was aborted and the unfinished construction remains. Recently its unsafe status was questioned in another court for the danger posed to passersby. Namal Rajapaksa was quizzed recently by the police after the Anura Kumara Dissanayake-led National People's Power (NPP) government revived the Krish case stalled since 2016. A week later, his younger brother Yoshitha was arrested in the revival of a similar questionable property case. He was released on bail on Monday. Namal Rajapaksa having learnt of his indictment poste

Ex-president Rajapaksa's son arrested by Lanka police on corruption charges

Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa's son Yoshitha Rajapaksa was arrested by police on Saturday on corruption charges in a property purchase case. Ex-navy officer Yoshitha was arrested from their home territory of Beliatta over the investigation of alleged misconduct in the purchase of the property during the term of his father's presidency prior to 2015. Yoshitha is the second among Mahinda Rajapaksa's three sons. His uncle and former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was also quizzed by the police last week on the same property - a holiday home in the southern religious resort of Kataragama. The arrest came as Mahinda Rajapaksa filed a fundamental rights petition on Friday in the Supreme Court seeking its intervention to reinstate his security, which was significantly reduced by the government last month. Since the formation of a new government led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in November last year, Mahinda Rajapaksa's eldest son and legislator Namal Rajapaksa was

Sri Lanka's new govt holds its first Cabinet meeting with only 3 ministers

Sri Lanka's new National People's Power (NPP) government has held its first Cabinet meeting with just three ministers in attendance, according to officials. The new Cabinet Spokesman Vijitha Herath, who holds multiple ministries, said that he, along with the newly-appointed President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the prime minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya, were the only attendees at Monday's meeting. It was the smallest Cabinet meeting ever, he said. Last week, President Dissanayake appointed his cabinet of four, including himself, before dissolving the Parliament to call a snap election on November 14. The last parliament was convened in August 2020. The constitution limits the cabinet positions to 25 ministers. Herath said while the same number would be maintained after they win the next election, no ministers of state would be appointed. The parliamentary election to appoint 225 members of the Parliament House comes closely on the heels of the September 21 presidential election.

Rajapaksas to launch political bid in Sri Lanka, to target elections

Sri Lanka's powerful Rajapaksa clan, which suffered political battering due to the country's worst economic crisis in 2022, will launch its political comeback bid on Sunday by targeting the impending elections. Former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, ex-prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa were ousted from power during anti-government protests following the crippling financial and political crisis in 2022. The ruling Sri Lanka People's Front of the Rajapaksas, commonly known by its Sinhalese name Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), will hold a public rally later in the day in the north central rural town of Thalawa, party member and former minister SM Chandrasena told reporters. He said that Mahinda Rajapaksa would inaugurate the rally, aiming to prepare the party grassroots for the major elections - the presidential or the parliamentary. We will start our campaign to gear the party for whatever the election that comes first, Chandrasena ...

Ex-prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa accused of destroying records of mass graves

Sri Lanka's former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa reportedly destroyed police records of a mass grave discovered in the country when he was the military coordinator during the Marxist rebellion of 1988-89, an international rights group has alleged. The report titled Mass graves and failed exhumations in Sri Lanka', authored by four organisations Centre for Human Rights Development (CHRD), Families of the Disappeared (FOD), International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) and Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS) was released on Thursday. The mass graves were discovered in the Matale district of central Sri Lanka in 2013. The report aims to analyse shortcomings in the Sri Lankan exhumations which include 155 bodies at Matale, and at Mannar where 81 bodies and 318 skeletons were exhumed. The report said that Rajapaksa's alleged action was a prime example of political interference. The report advocated that the Sri Lanka state should take action against Rajapaksa under Article 12

Sri Lanka's apex court to try rights petition against ex-Prez, PM & FM

Sri Lanka's SC ordered the Auditor General to investigate reasons for economic crisis the country is going through in a case filed against former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his 2 brothers

Sri Lanka SC bars overseas travel of Rajapaksa brothers till July 28

Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka's acting president after parliament accepted the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa who fled the country

How Sri Lanka spiralled into its current economic crisis: An explainer

Analysts say that economic mismanagement by successive governments has weakened Sri Lanka's public finances, leaving national expenditure in excess of income

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka's economy shrinks 1.6% in the March quarter

The contraction likely marks the beginning of a painful and long recession for the country

FS Kwatra discusses Lanka situation with Prez Rajapaksa, PM Wickremesinghe

Sri Lanka is facing the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948 which has led to an acute shortage of essential items like food, medicine, cooking gas and fuel across the island nation

Former Sri Lankan PM Rajapaksa questioned by CID over May 9 violence

The Sri Lankan police have questioned former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and recorded a 3-hour-long statement over the violent clashes between his supporters and anti-government protesters

'We are going to die': Food shortage grapples Lanka amid economic crisis

Sri Lanka is facing a dire shortage of foreign exchange, fuel and medicines, and economic activity has slowed to a crawl

A day's petrol left, power cuts may last 15 hours: Lanka PM Wickremesinghe

Says he aims to save country, not a person or family; curfew till 5 am today

Sri Lanka's ruling SLPP party decides to back PM Ranil Wickremesinghe

Sri Lanka's ruling SLPP party has decided to offer crucial support to new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has just one seat in Parliament, to help him prove a majority in the House. The 73-year-old United National Party (UNP) leader was appointed as Sri Lanka's 26th prime minister on Thursday as the country was without a government since Monday when President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's elder brother and prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned after violence erupted following an attack on the anti-government protesters by his supporters. We have political differences with him, but he is known as someone with international support to pull this country out of the economic problems we are facing," S M Chandrasena, a former minister and a senior leader of ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party, told reporters. We see queues everywhere as we go about, we have to end this. I will support Ranil Wickremesinghe as he tries to handle the economic crisis," Premanath Dolewatta, ...

Indian envoy calls on new Sri Lankan PM Wickremesinghe, discusses crisis

Wickremesinghe, 73, was sworn-in as Sri Lanka's 26th prime minister on Thursday to stabilise the country's debt-ridden economy and end the political turmoil

PMK, VCK ask Centre not to give political asylum to Mahinda Rajapaksa

Former Union Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said that Mahinda Rajapakse was facing serious charges of genocide against the Tamil population of the island nation during civil war in that country in 2009

Sri Lanka crisis: Opposition split over choice of next PM under Gotabaya

Sri Lanka's main Opposition SJB leader Sajith Premadasa is unwilling to be the prime minister in the interim government under embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Live: Sri Lanka President says he will appoint new PM, cabinet this week

Live news updates: From the crisis in Sri Lanka and Ukraine to coronavirus developments and more, catch all the live updates here

The PM's meeting, then the mob. 'Turning point' in Sri Lankan crisis

Mahinda Rajapaksa stepped down on Tuesday and his brother, the president, gave sweeping powers to the police for enforcing order.

Sri Lankan army chief denies shoot-on-sight order at general public

Gen Shavendra Silva, while rejecting the statement, assured that the members of the armed forces would not resort to any such disgraceful acts under any circumstances