Sri Lankan president wins re-election

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa won re-election today in a hard-fought race against his former army chief for control of a nation trying to rebuild after a devastating civil war.

Both Mr Rajapaksa and Sarath Fonseka, who jointly led the victory against the Tamil Tiger rebels after 25 years of conflict, were considered war heroes by the Sinhalese majority, but a bitter falling out pushed Mr Fonseka to quit, join the opposition and challenge the president.