Sri Lanka anti-government protests continue despite curfew

By KRISHAN FRANCIS and BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Several hundred protesters are defying a countrywide 36-hour curfew in Sri Lanka, a day after widespread clashes left four dead and led to the prime minister’s resignation. He and his brother, the president, are accused of dragging the island nation into its worst economic crisis in decades. Protesters occupied the entrance to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office for the 32nd day Tuesday. They shouted slogans demanding that he follow his brother’s lead and resign. For months, people have been forced to stand in long lines to buy essentials because a foreign exchange crisis has caused imports of everything from milk to fuel to plunge, spawning dire food shortages and rolling power cuts.