Crispy rice pancakes and spicy salad, both traditional Sri Lankan dishes, were on the menu the night of Nov. 19 when President Mahinda Rajapaksa dined with long-time ally and cabinet member Maithripala Sirisena.
Two days later, Sirisena vowed to end Rajapaksa’s decade-long rule in a Jan. 8 presidential election. The betrayal shook up the island nation, which has undergone a growth spurt since Rajapaksa oversaw the end of a 26-year civil war in 2009.
