Two more Rajapaksas included in Lanka govt

Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa named two more relatives to a new government unveiled yesterday, further consolidating his family's grip on power. His brother Prime Minister Mahinda will lead the government, formed after their nationalist party's landslide win in a parliamentary election last week. Gotabaya and Mahinda will control the key defence and finance portfolios, respectively, in the new 26-member cabinet. Their elder brother Chamal kept his place in the cabinet and was joined by Mahinda's eldest son, Namal, who was named sports minister. The growing dynastic imprint was strengthened by one of their nephews, Shasheendra Rajapaksa, who joined the government as a state agriculture minister though he will not be in the cabinet.