Former Sri Lanka president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has applied for Green Card to settle in US: Report
Former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa at Bangkok airport
As Sri Lanka's former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa arrived in Thailand to seek refuge, reports claim the former president is awaiting a US Green Card to settle down in the United States with his family.
A media report in Sri Lanka stated that US authorities had begun processing Gotabaya's application. Reports claim the former president is set to return to Sri Lanka on August 25. Rajapaksa is currently staying in a hotel at an undisclosed location in Bangkok.
Also Read:Australia commits another $25 million in emergency aid to Sri Lanka
Rajapaksa had arrived in Bangkok earlier this month in a private jet. The former president had flown to Singapore from the Maldives as protests escalated in the country due to the deepening economic crisis.
Singapore had extended a 30-day visa to Gotabaya even as he sought a safe haven in Thailand. Rajapaksa stepped down after protesters overran his residence last month amid large-scale demonstrations against food and fuel shortages driven by hyperinflation.The Lankan government had decided to default on its $51 billion foreign debt in April amid talks with the International Monetary Fund for a possible bailout.
Watch:Gotabaya Rajapaksa to return to Sri Lanka?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How fast can the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet really fly?
)
Did China ask its people 'not to respond to aliens'? Origin of bizarre claim on social media
)
MS Dhoni-CSK Fallout? Report claims failed stake sale talks triggered rift
)
Scientists reveal the SAFEST COUNTRY when catastrophe strikes the planet
)
Serial killer on the loose in South Korea's Jeju Island? Fourth body found in three days as more than a dozen people go missing
)
2/3rd of glacier detached, collapsed: ISRO satellite images reveal what triggered Nepal floods
)
Trump once again claims without him there would be ‘no Israel right now’
)
Foreign espionage attacks against German companies surge to 37%, Bitkom report reveals
)
Blake Lively wins partial legal fee from Justin Baldoni after $8M request
)
Why is Pakistan deploying Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones near India border?
)
'OH MY GOD! We've found other agents!': Investigators discover not one or two, almost 700 OpenAI AI agents went rogue, hacked Hugging Face
)
Lunar eclipse 2026: India timings, places to see and more. August Blood moon factsheet
)
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on global outreach tour
)
Both pilots killed as training aircraft crashes in Lucknow – What we know
)
16-year-old charged with preparing terror attack on kindergarten in Norway
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How the S-400 protects itself from enemy attacks
)
Nepal floods: Over 165 dead, 400 missing; US, India, China, World Bank mobilise aid
)
India's multi-layered watch: The new surveillance war
)
5 doomsday planes spotted in US skies hours after CIA director's secret trip to Russia
)
9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to finally face trial in 2028, nearly 27 years after horrific attacks
)
Islamabad hospital fire: What we know about one of the biggest facility that housed Imran Khan
)
Workers run for life while filming Nepal flash flood: Scary new visuals emerge from Rasuwa
)
Russian military planes enter South Korean air defence zone amid rising tensions with North Korea: What's happening
)
Ron Weasley Is Back! Rupert Grint set to return to Harry Potter universe on Broadway
)
400-year-old 'vampire' grave in Poland reveals non-existent genetic lineage
)
Dolly Parton, global icon and queen of country music, dies at 80
)
Nepal flash floods: Kailash Mansarovar yatra affected, close to 400 pilgrims out of contact
)
'If he is dead, they're putting on a pretty good show': Trump casts fresh doubt over Mojtaba Khamenei's fate
)
Man arrested near US Capitol with guillotine in pickup truck: What happened?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI cockpit is painted bright turquoise green
During his stay in Singapore, a South Africa-based international human rights group had urgedthe Singapore government to indict Rajapaksa for crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the civil war which ended in 2009.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan protesters continued their demonstrations as police fired tear gas and water cannon on Thursday. President Ranil Wickremesinghe had earlier decided toend the state of emergency imposed in the country due to escalating protests.
(With inputs from Agencies)
WATCH WION LIVE HERE
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.