Sri Lankan prime minister resigns after weeks of protests

By KRISHAN FRANCIS, BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI and KRUTIKA PATHI
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned following weeks of protests demanding that he and his brother, the president, step down over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades. Rajapaksa said on Twitter that he submitted his resignation to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The resignation follows attacks by Rajapaksa supporters on peaceful protesters demanding that the brothers leave office. The president has so far refused to resign and his office issued a notice late Monday confirming the prime minster’s resignation. A severe foreign currency shortage has resulted in acute shortages of imported essentials such as fuel, cooking gas and medicine, forcing Sri Lankans to wait in long lines to buy scarce necessities.