Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who was convicted of embezzlement and fraud in 2023, said on Tuesday he will not take part in the secret conclave to elect the new pope.

Two erstwhile strange bedfellows—the UNP and the JVP—are at each other’s jugular. Following the 2015 regime change, they embarked on the UNP-led Yahapalana government’s anti-corruption crusade. Their ...