Sri Lanka Declares State Of Emergency After Unrest Over Economic Crisis

Sri Lanka is facing severe shortages of essentials, sharp price rises and crippling power cuts in its most painful downturn since independence from Britain in 1948.

Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Friday declared a state of emergency giving security forces sweeping powers a day after hundreds of people tried to storm his residence amid an unprecedented economic crisis.

Rajapaksa said he believed there was a "public emergency in Sri Lanka" that necessitated invoking tough laws that give security wide authority to arrest and detain suspects.

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