This is the first appointment made by President Wickremesinghe on his first day in office.
A Saudi airlines flight -- SV 788 -- carrying Rajapaksa landed at the Singapore Changi International Airport shortly after 7 pm (local time).
On July 9, protesters occupied President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's presidential palace and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's private house. The Prime Minister's Office was overrun on Wednesday.
Sri Lankans queued up to apply for fresh passports outside the department of immigration and emigration office in Colombo.
During the 13-minute special session, Dhammika Dassanayake, ecretary general of Parliament, announced the vacancy for the post of president.
The Sinhala and Tamil new year on Thursday, April 14, 2022, didn't halt the angry protests in Colombo against Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government outside the presidential secretariat.
Sri Lankan police on Saturday fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse anti-government protestors here as the ongoing agitation demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the worst economic crisis intensified as it entered its 50th day.
Before he fled his home, fled his country and resigned as president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa had ordered officials to ensure the smooth distribution of cooking gas after the fuel-starved country received 3,700 metric tonnes of LP gas, his office told PTI on Sunday, July 10.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on Gotabaya Rajapaksa's flight.
The 74-year-old leader, who describe himself as "a rebel with a cause", earlier served as the country's president from 2005-2015, becoming South Asia's longest-serving leader. He was also prime minister for a brief period in 2018.
After nearly two days of political deadlock, the stakeholders are engaged in prolonged talks to try and appoint a successor to Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused by the Opposition of inciting the ruling party mobs to attack peaceful protesters by making a defiant speech while addressing several thousands of his supporters to deflect calls for his resignation.
Despite mounting pressure, Gotabaya, and Prime Minister Mahinda have refused to quit office.
The anti-government protesters in Sri Lanka on Sunday continued to occupy the residences of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, a day after they stormed into the premises and set on fire one of the buildings protesting over the nation's severe economic crisis even as the island nation is still in the dark about the embattled President's whereabouts.
The SJB has begun to collect signatures from MPs for the no-confidence motion, according to media reports.
Ppolitical experts in Colombo said the ministers came under intense pressure from the public over the government's alleged "mishandling" of the economic crisis, triggered by the shortage in the foreign exchange reserve.
The Sri Lankan government has appointed an advisory committee comprising eminent economic and fiscal experts to provide guidance on addressing the current debt crisis and engaging with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other lenders as the country struggles to combat the unprecedented shortage of foreign reserves.
A statement from the finance ministry said, 'it shall be the policy of the Sri Lankan government to suspend normal debt servicing...shall apply to amounts of affected debts outstanding on April 12, 2022'.
Sri Lanka's ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa left Singapore for Thailand after his short-term visit pass expired on Thursday, according to a media report.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday fired Basil Rajapaksa from his post and invited the Opposition parties to join a unity Cabinet to tackle the raging public anger against the hardships caused by the economic crisis.
The decision was taken during a crucial all-party leaders meeting held earlier in the day.
As angry protests calling for Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation grew, supporters of Sri Lanka's ruling party stormed a protest site in Colombo on Monday, attacking anti-government demonstrators and clashing with police.
The violence occurred following reports on Monday that Mahinda Rajapksa may offer to stand down as Prime Minister.
Sri Lanka's main Opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) on Tuesday handed over to the parliamentary Speaker motions of no-confidence against the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition government and embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, even as the government announced the appointment of a cabinet sub-committee to look into the proposal for a new Constitution.
The protestors protest against interim President and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe demanding his resignation at the compound of the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Mayhem prevails in Colombo after protesters enter President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's home; mysterious vandals set afire Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's private residence.
Warner and Marsh are part of the Australian team which is scheduled to travel to Sri Lanka in June-July to play three T20Is, five ODIs and two Tests.
glimpses of the aftermath of Monday's mayhem after pro-government supporters attacked opponents of the Rajapaksa regime in Colombo.
The five-time prime minister was re-appointed to the job on May 12 following the political circus precipitated by the unprecedented economic crisis in the island's history.
A spokesman of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) said a video released by Ajith Dharmapala, a former police officer, claimed that President Rajapaksa was staying at the house belonging to Pathirana.
Rajapaksa fled the country and resigned last month in the face of a popular uprising against his government for mismanaging the island nation's economy.
Glimpses of the protests in Colombo against the worsening economic crisis
The anti-government protests near the presidential secretariat in Colombo resumed on Sunday after the authorities lifted the nation-wide curfew to celebrate the Vesak -- what we call Buddha Purnima in India -- festival.
Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's residence in the city of Kurunegala in the north-western province was set on fire on Monday, hours after the leader tendered his resignation.
There have been growing calls for President Rajapaksa's resignation over the past few weeks over his government's mishandling of Sri Lanka's worsening economic crisis.
A week from now, October 20, Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi will host Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh.
Gotabaya and Ranil's home in Colombo have become a picnic spot for Sri Lankans as they tour the premises. Some swam in Gotabaya's swimming pool, exercised in his gym, cooked breakfast and lunch, took a nap on the sofas, and, of course, took selfies.
The emergency was imposed because of the mass scale protests planned for April 3 against the current economic hardships faced by the people.
The Sri Lankan government on Sunday lifted the ban it had imposed on social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram after declaring a nationwide public emergency and effecting a 36-hour curfew ahead of a planned anti-government rally over the worst economic crisis in the island nation.
Thousands of protesters in Colombo broke through police barricades and stormed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's official residence in the Sri Lankan capital, demanding he resign and accept responsibility for the island's gravest economic crisis that has caused thousands of Sri Lankans to live on one meal a day.
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