Sri Lankan prime minister appointed as acting president
Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed as the country’s acting president, speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana announced on Wednesday.
In a statement broadcast on TV, Mr Abeywardena said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who left the country earlier in the day, had given the authority for Mr Wickremesinghe to act on his behalf.
Mr Rajapaksa fled the country to the Maldives on an air force flight after weeks of protests and the storming of his office on Saturday.
Mr Wickremesinghe,73, was appointed as the prime minister by Mr Rajapaksa after they held a closed-door discussion on Wednesday.
Mr Wickremesinghe, who served as the country’s prime minister four times, was in October 2018 fired from the post by Sri Lanka’s seventh president, Maithripala Sirisena.
However, he was reinstalled as the prime minister by Mr Sirisena after two months.
(dpa/NAN)
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Economy
Navy recovers 80,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil in Delta
The Nigerian Navy recovered approximately 80,000 litres of crude oil in anti-crude oil theft operations in Delta State.
States
Kano govt restores 39.8 million-litre Goron Dutse reservoir after 30 years
Governor Abba Yusuf said restoring the facility was part of his government’s broader effort to revive the state’s critical infrastructure.
Sport
AFCON Qualifiers: Guinea-Bissau trash Nigeria 3-0
The victory lifted Guinea-Bissau to the top of Group L with six points while Nigeria’s qualification hopes suffered another setback.
Economy
Pension fund assets rise to N31.8 trillion
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) says pension assets grew by N289.40 billion from the N31.51 trillion recorded at the end of July.
World
Three teenagers die after car veers into river
Police said the fourth person, a 17-year-old survivor, will be questioned.
Showbiz
Saved by the Bell actor Dennis Haskins dies at 75
His agent, Jay Schachter, confirmed the news of his death, which occurred on Sunday in Burbank, California.
