Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa to be sworn in
On Friday Mahinda Rajapaksa is to be sworn in for the second time as president of Sri Lanka. It is ten months since he won the election but the Supreme Court ruled that his six-year term should only begin now.
Rajapaksa is revered by many for presiding over the defeat of the separatist Tamil Tigers. But his opponents accuse him of indulging in a personality cult and giving his closest relatives too much power.
Charles Haviland reports from the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.