Six times Sri Lanka's prime minister, President Ranil Wickremesinghe had long aspired to the pinnacle of power, enduring setback after setback but always managing to recover from seemingly impossible defeats. He has moved quickly to consolidate his position since lawmakers elected him this week to finish the term of his predecessor,
Author: Associated Press
Rajapaksa ally named PM in Sri Lanka
An ally of the Rajapaksa political family was appointed Friday as Sri Lanka's prime minister, hours after security forces cleared the main protest site occupied for months by demonstrators angry at the Rajapaksas over the country's economic collapse. New President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was elected by lawmakers and sworn into office
School in east Ukraine hit by Russian strike
Ukrainian emergency workers recovered three bodies from a school hit by a Russian strike in the east of the country, officials said Friday, as attacks continued in several parts of the nation. The reported casualties follow a barrage Thursday on a densely populated area of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, that killed
Japan Cabinet sets Abe state funeral amid mixed public view
Japan’s Cabinet on Friday formally decided to hold a state funeral on Sept. 27 for assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe amid national debate over the plan, which some criticize as an attempt to glorify a divisive political figure. Abe was gunned down earlier this month during a campaign speech in
Wickremesinghe elected president of crisis-hit Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan lawmakers chose six-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as president Wednesday to succeed the ousted leader who fled the country in a vote that risks reigniting political turmoil in the troubled South Asian island nation. Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed Wickremesinghe as prime minister in May, hoping to bring stability
Pant, Pandya star as India wins ODI series vs. England
Hardik Pandya's all-round brilliance and Rishabh Pant's 125 not out off 113 balls carried India to a five-wicket win in the one-day international series decider against England on Sunday. India won the series 2-1. Pandya dismissed Jason Roy and Ben Stokes in an outstanding opening burst in the third and final ODI
Japan’s ex-PM Shinzo Abe assassinated
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a divisive arch-conservative and one of his nation's most powerful and influential figures, has died after being shot during a campaign speech Friday in western Japan, hospital officials said. Abe, 67, was shot from behind minutes after he started his speech in Nara. He was
Inflation pushed 71m people into poverty since Ukraine war
A staggering 71 million more people around the world are experiencing poverty as a result of soaring food and energy prices that climbed in the weeks following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations Development Program said in a report Thursday. The UNDP estimates that 51.6 million more people fell into
Thousands demonstrate in Madrid against NATO summit
Thousands of demonstrators rallied here on Sunday to call for peace and protest against a NATO summit to be held here this week. Social, antimilitarist and pacifist movements from around the world gathered to show support for a congress concluded here on Saturday by an anti-NATO group, and its latest declaration
Ranil Wickremesinghe takes oath as Sri Lankan PM
Five-time former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was reappointed Thursday in an effort to bring stability to the island nation, engulfed in a political and economic crisis. Wickremesinghe took his oath before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a ceremony at the president's residence. Protesters have blocked the entrance to the president's