Lanka votes to curb presidential powers

Sri Lanka's parliament yesterday voted to curtail the powers of the president, a partial concession to the protest movement that forced the island nation's former head-of-state into exile. An unprecedented economic downturn this year fuelled intense public anger, with the government accused of mismanagement and of precipitating drastic food and petrol shortages. Parliament voted overwhelmingly to endorse a constitutional amendment that limited presidential control of the police, judiciary and appointments to the civil service.