COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—A political standoff that began in October eased as allies of a former president said he was poised to drop his controversial claim to the post of prime minister of Sri Lanka. Mahinda Rajapaksa, who served as president for a decade until 2015 and has been making a new bid for power, agreed to back down after Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court issued rulings that were unfavorable to him, according to his son and other political allies.

Source: Wall Street Journal December 14, 2018 16:30 UTC