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Hello, today Defectionsions treachery, betrayal.

The Sri Lankan President suddenly looks vulnerable ahead of an election next week.

There's a 12-course dinner for Russians and for the country's leader of Vladimir Putin, much to chew over at the start of 2015.

The police are given the slip in Ethiopia, all thanks to a plate of pasta and a bottle of rum, and reasons to be cheerful

in the US, driving from nowhere to nowhere else towards the setting sun.

The Sri Lankan President might just be regretting his decision to call an

early general election. Mejenda Rajapaksa, who's seeking a third term in office, called

the poll for January the 8th, nearly two years ahead of

schedule. But support for him has been dropping away, former friends turning

against him. Mr. Rajapaxa says he's guaranteeing Sri Lanka much-needed stability after a quarter century of civil war.

But Charles Haviland, our former correspondent in Sri Lanka, says that suddenly his supporters

seem less than confident.

One day last month six astrologers were brought onto government television to discuss the prospects

for the presidential election.

All six declared that not only would President Rajapaksa

secure a fabulous victory, but that nature would completely work against anyone

challenging him. For nearly a decade, Mahinda Rajapaksa has been the undisputed leader of Sri Lanka.

Perhaps I should really say king, because that's how many of his fans refer to him.

He's frequently compared to a conquering

...