Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena reinstates Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister

Sri Lanka's president has reappointed Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister, nearly two months after firing him and setting off weeks of political stalemate.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) said on its official Twitter account that the deposed leader took oath before President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday Dec 16,2018

His reinstatement is an embarrassment for Sirisena, who had replaced him with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa in October following bitter personal differences and disagreement over policymaking.  

However, Rajapaksa failed to win a parliamentary majority and resigned on Saturday dec 15,2018 as a government shutdown loomed.