Harini Amarasuriya sworn in as Sri Lanka's new Prime Minister
Colombo, Sep 24: Harini Amarasuriya was sworn in as Sri Lanka's new Prime Minister on Tuesday, becoming the first woman leader since Sirimavo Bandaranaike in the year 2000 to hold the post.
The 54-year-old National People's Power (NPP) leader was sworn in by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who appointed his cabinet of four, including himself.
She has been assigned the portfolios of the Minister of Justice, Education, Labour, Industries, Science & Tech, Health, and Investment.
She has replaced Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, who resigned from his post following the presidential election.
A rights activist and university lecturer, Amarasuriya is the first woman Prime Minister of Sri Lanka since the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike took up office in 1994 and the third female Prime Minister in the country's history.
NPP parliamentarians Vijitha Herath and Laxman Nipunarachchi were sworn in as cabinet ministers.
They would serve as the caretaker cabinet with the imminent dissolution of parliament to call for a snap parliamentary election.
The election could happen in late November, officials said.
Dissanayake, 56, was sworn in as Sri Lanka's ninth president on Sunday following his victory in the presidential election.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
