Defections shatter Sri Lanka’s peace deal
The defection of opposition lawmakers to support Sri Lanka’s ruling party has scuttled chances for a landmark peace deal aimed at ending decades of ethnic bloodshed, officials say. President Mahinda Rajapakse expanded his cabinet to a record 53-members to accommodate 18 defectors from the right-wing United National Party (UNP), media minister Anura Yapa said on Sunday. Full Story