image

epa10077408 Trade union members shout slogans during a protest against the acting president Ranil Wickremesinghe, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 18 July 2022. The trade unions say acting president Ranil Wickremesinghe 'has no proper mandate to run for the new presidency'. The Sri Lankan parliament will run to a fresh vote to elect the new president on 20 July after accepting the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after he fled to Singapore through the Maldives following months of anti-government protests fueled by the ongoing economic crisis. Protests have been rocking the country for over four months as Sri Lanka faces its worst-ever economic crisis in decades due to the lack of foreign reserves, resulting in severe shortages in food, fuel, medicine, and imported goods. EPA/CHAMILA KARUNARATHNE