NewsPresident Srisena announced Saturday that he would directly manage the economy through a special economic council headed by him, taking over the responsibility from Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his United National Party (UNP). ¨Although the UNP was allowed to manage the economy in the past three years, from this month, the President will take it over," his office said in a statement. There was no immediate reaction from Wickremesinghe to the decision, which came after a heated cabinet meeting in which Sirisena accused the UNP of unleashing a smear campaign against him, the AFP reported according to sources close to the president.

Source: Sunday Times January 21, 2018 11:26 UTC