Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, July 24 (Reuters) - A rights group documenting alleged abuses in Sri Lanka has filed a criminal complaint with Singapore's attorney general, seeking the arrest of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for his role in the South Asian nation's decades-long civil war.

The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) said Rajapaksa committed grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions during the civil war in 2009 when he was country's defence chief, according to a copy of the complaint seen by Reuters.

COLOMBO, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Dinesh Gunawardena was sworn in as the prime minister of Sri Lanka by President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday.

Gunawardena, parliamentarian of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party, took his oath in the capital Colombo in the presence of other senior legislators.

Wickremesinghe was elected as the new president of the South Asian country in a parliamentary vote on Wednesday, and was sworn in as Sri Lankan president on Thursday.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Six-times Sri Lanka’s prime minister, President Ranil Wickremesinghe had long aspired to the pinnacle of power, enduring setback after setback but always managing to recover from seemingly impossible defeats.

COLOMBO, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's new cabinet of ministers are scheduled to be sworn in on Friday at the Prime Minister's Office.

Issuing a statement, the President's Media Division said that the ceremony will start from 9 a.m. in the day.

Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as president of Sri Lanka on Thursday in parliament before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya.

Wickremesinghe was elected as president in an election held in parliament on Wednesday.

COLOMBO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as the new president of Sri Lanka in an election held in parliament on Wednesday.

Soon after winning the election, Wickremesinghe addressed the parliament, calling on all legislators including the opposition parliamentarians to unite and work together with him to lead Sri Lanka out of the current economic crisis.

"We are at a critical juncture. There is an economic crisis and the youth want a system change. People want all parliamentarians to come together," said Wickremesinghe.

Colombo, Jul 17 (PTI) Sri Lankan protesters have vowed to continue their struggle for a complete change of the system by abolishing the presidency, as the popular uprising that ousted Gotabaya Rajapaksa as president marked the 100th day on Sunday.

The anti-government protest began on April 9 near the presidential office and has been continuing without a break.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s interim president Friday until Parliament elects a successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned after mass protests over the country’s economic collapse forced him from office.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan protesters who occupied official buildings to push their demands for a new government said Thursday they would voluntarily vacate the offices while Parliament seeks a solution.

Protest leader Devinda Kodagode told The Associated Press about the move Thursday after the Parliament speaker announced that he is seeking legal options after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left the country without submitting a resignation letter.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president fled the country early Wednesday, slipping away only hours before he promised to resign under pressure from protesters angry over a devastating economic crisis. But crowds quickly trained their ire on the prime minster, storming his office and demanding he also go.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s lawmakers agreed to elect a new president next week but struggled Tuesday to decide on the makeup of a new government to lift the bankrupt country out of economic and political collapse.

Suffering from severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine, protesters on Saturday stormed embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s home, his seaside office and the official residence of his prime minister in the most dramatic day of a three-month crisis.