Sri Lankan President Unveils New Cabinet

Colombo: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena unveiled a new Cabinet on Thursday, days after Ranil Wickremesinghe was reinstated as Prime Minister in a move that ended a nearly two-month-long political impasse that erupted after his surprising dismissal.

The 29 Ministers chosen by Wickremesinghe, who is also the leader of the United National Party (UNP), were sworn in before Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat here after which the new Cabinet held its first meeting, according to a statement by the Presidential Press Department. Sirisena, who triggered a constitutional crisis on October 26 when he replaced Wickremesinghe with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, retained the Defence portfolio, raising the total number of Ministers to 30, Efe news reported. Out of the 30 Ministers, 29 were from the ruling United National Front (UNF) alliance which includes the UNP. (IANS)

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