Sri Lanka Acting President Declares Emergency Amid Protests

The decree invokes sections of the Public Security Ordinance that allow him to make regulations in the interests of public security and order.

Sri Lanka's acting president on Monday declared a state of emergency giving him broad authority amid growing protests demanding his resignation two days before the country's lawmakers are set to elect a new president.

Ranil Wickremesinghe became acting president on Friday after his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled abroad and resigned after monthslong mass protests over the country's economic collapse.

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