President Maithripala Sirisena's new Cabinet was also sworn in and Rajapaksa was named the new minister of finance and economic affairs.
Sri Lanka's new government on Sunday said it will probe whether longtime president Mahinda Rajapaksa sought military help to cling to power after he realised that he had lost the closely contested election.
President Pratibha Patil and her Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa will watch the World Cup final match between India and Sri Lanka at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. Authorities in charge of security arrangements had asked the two presidents to cut down the size of their entourage from 40 to 20. President Patil then intervened to save the government from a potentially embarrassing situation, said sources.
Rehabilitation of displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka on Friday came up for discussion during a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa amid India's insistence that it was time for its neighbour to act decisively to 'win over' the ethnic minority.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today declared that the war against the LTTE was over as he reached out to the Tamil population, saying their protection was the responsibility of his government.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa will visit India later this month, primarily to lay the foundation stone of a Centre for Buddhist Studies in Madhya Pradesh's Sanchi, home to some of the vital and finest Buddhist monuments.
The stage is now set for what is expected to be the most closely contested Presidential polls in Sri Lanka, with the incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa and his main challenger Sarath Fonseka are exuding full confidence of emerging victorious.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has launched his son Namal into active politics ahead of the April 8 parliamentary polls in which the 23-year- old would contest from the southeastern Hambantota district.
Mahinda Rajapaksa, a populist leader who trounced his former ally-turned-foe Sarath Fonseka in the Sri Lankan presidential elections, is proving to be a man with a Midas touch and has enjoyed good rapport with India in his first four years in office.
With barely five days to go for the crucial Presidential elections in Sri Lanka, incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa has vowed not to allow re-emergence of the LTTE that was defeated in May last year.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived in Beijing on Monday on a 4-day state visit, his sixth, with Colombo saying that its ties with Beijing were not an "exclusive one" and would not harm interests of others.
"The President in his capacity of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces has confirmed the findings and the punishment handed down by the first court martial," a military official said.
Unlike in the presidential polls, victory might not have been complete, at least as yet, for Mahinda Rajapaksa's electoral rivals. While his one-time aide and confidant, Maithripala Sirisena, became president without any issues after defeating him, incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who again may not command an absolute majority in the 225-member parliament, would have to count on his 'national government' concept to carry the day and the nation with him, this time round, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Sri Lankan government hit back at defeated opposition candidate General Sarath Fonseka on Thursday alleging that he had attempted to "assassinate" President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family.
As Sri Lanka staged an impressive military parade to mark its victory over the LTTE, President Rajapaksa today told his troops that it was now time to win over the hearts of the minority Tamils who should be able to live without "fear and mistrust".
Ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, a Sri Lankan man, who migrated to Australia, has filed war crimes charges against Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a Melbourne court. Rajapaksa is scheduled to arrive in Melbourne to participate in the CHOGM to be held at Perth. Jegan Waran, a retired engineer who migrated to Australia from Sri Lanka, said before the magistrate that he was still haunted by what he saw in the hospitals.
Rajapaksa sworn in new Chief Justice Mohan Peiris to replace Sri Lanka's first woman chief justice who was impeached by the parliament in a controversial move.
Rajapaksa has blamed India, the United States and European countries for his humiliating defeat.
It is time the political leaderships in this country arrived at a common ground over issues of foreign and security policy concerns. There has to be a greater communication between the government and the Opposition leaderships for the nation to present a unified face against the rest of the world, advises N Sathiya Moorthy.
Engagement with neighbours is a strategic imperative, and not an option, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
Mahinda Rajapaksa's re-election as Sri Lankan president has come as a disappointment for the Tamil diaspora, which is still reeling from Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels' defeat in the country's civil war last year. The influential community of Tamils living overseas now doesn't know about what role it should play in their homeland, the Christian Science Monitor reports.
Triumphant Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared on Thursday that emergency provisions in the country would be scrapped but not hastily and said he would soon unveil a political plan for the estranged Tamils. A day after his thumping victory in the presidential elections, 64-year-old Rajapaksa said he would come out with his plans after a dialouge with Tamil leaders.
Dismissing reports that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was planning constitutional amendments to extend his term without holding elections, the Sri Lankan government said on Monday that he had no intention to be in power "beyond the period mandated by the ballot".
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that he did not want lessons on human rights from outside, days after the UN Human Rights Council adopted a US-sponsored resolution censuring Colombo.
"It is important that they feel that they're going to be able to live a future of hope and of opportunity, that the internally displaced people that are now in camps -- there are still approximately 100,000 of them -- that they be allowed to go back to their homes," US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake said.
Sri Lankans on Thursday voted in large numbers in the bitterly contested presidential election in which incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa is seeking a record third term against his friend-turned-foe Maithripala Sirisena, with an unusually high voter turnout in Tamil and Muslim areas.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday vowed to protect the country's military from possible international scrutiny over allegations of human rights violations during its prolonged conflict to end ethnic violence.
A Sri Lankan federal minister on Monday alleged that 'certain Indian officials' wanted President Mahinda Rajapaksa to lose the recent polls and worked towards it, but India rejected the claims, saying it does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.Minister of Post and Telecommunications Nandana Goonathilake also claimed that the Indian government 'strengthened' Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) on Thursday won two more seats in Kandy and Trincolamee districts, but still fell short of two-thirds majority it was seeking to carry out constitutional changes.
Incumbent Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has acquired an initial lead in postal vote counting in the country's sixth presidential election against main challenger and former army chief General (retired) Sarath Fonseka.According to the island-nation's Election Office, over 70 per cent of the 14 million-plus voters exercised their franchise in Tuesday's presidential election, which was held from 7 am to 4 pm.
Disclosing that more than 5,000 LTTE cadres had surrendered before the gvernment, Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa made it clear that criminal elements among the surrendered Tiger cadres would be brought to book while others will be rehabilitated.
Seeking to mollify Sri Lanka after the vote against it in United Nations Human Rights Council, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday wrote to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, telling him that India made all efforts and succeeded in introducing an "element of balance" in the United States-sponsored resolution.
Sri Lanka's ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa left Singapore for Thailand after his short-term visit pass expired on Thursday, according to a media report.
The ex-president returned to Sri Lanka on a Singapore Airlines flight.
Sri Lankan authorities are questioning 37 persons, including a brigadier, a colonel and some army deserters, detained for their alleged role in a plot to assassinate President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Rajapaksa has departed from the Maldives on Saudi Airline flight SV 788 to Singapore, sources said.
Laying the foundation stone of a Buddhist University in Sanchi, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday said tolerance is of "equal importance" to both East and West, as enmity and hatred lead to violence and destruction.
India has assured Sri Lanka of its support to the process of resettlement and rehabilitation of Tamil civilians displaced due to the war and pushed for a political solution to the decades-old ethnic question.
"I have also urged upon the Sri Lankan president the need for reconciliation among communities in Sri Lanka and for practical arrangements, including devolution of powers, to enable all minorities in Sri Lanka, particularly the Tamil minority, to lead lives of dignity," Dr Manmohan Singh said in his letter dated June 10
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances