Sri Lankan immigration officials stopped the president's brother and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa from flying out of the country on Tuesday, as anger mounted over the island's worst economic crisis in decades.
It was not clear where Rajapaksa, who also holds U.S. citizenship, was trying to go. He resigned as finance minister in early April as street protests surged against shortages of fuel, food and other necessities, and quit his seat in parliament in June.
The main opposition party has nominated its leader, Sajith Premadasa, the son of an assassinated president, for the post. The ruling party is to decide on a nominee later in the day. Read full story "We are concerned for our security. So until this issue is resolved, the immigration officials working at the VIP lounge decided to withdraw their services."
The Rajapaksa family, including former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, has dominated the politics of the country of 22 million for years and most Sri Lankans blame them for their current misery. Police have said that if a court ordered, they could investigate how about $50,000 in cash was found by protesters at the president's house.Read full storyU.S.
The tourism-dependent economy was hammered badly by the COVID-19 pandemic and a fall in remittances from overseas Sri Lankans, while a ban on chemical fertilizers damaged farm output. The ban was later reversed.
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