Sri Lanka’s ousted president expected to return home

By KRISHAN FRANCIS and KRUTIKA PATHI
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Ousted Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to return home more than seven weeks after he fled the country amid mass protests that demanded his resignation, holding him and his family responsible for the country’s economic crisis. Rajapaksa currently does not face any current arrest warrants. Officials familiar with arrangements for his arrival say he is expected to return from Thailand on Friday, while local media say it will be Saturday. Rajapaksa fled from the president’s official residence on July 9 when tens of thousands of people stormed the building and occupied it, along with several other key state buildings. Later he fled to the Maldives, then to Singapore and Thailand.