Sri Lanka

The President's Office said that among those who took oaths as Cabinet Ministers were Ali Sabry as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Harin Fernando as the Minister of Tourism and Lands, Nalin Fernando as the Minister of Trade, Commerce and Food Security, Kanchana Wijesekera as the Minister of Power and Energy.

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

Military and riot police, who entered the protest site armed with clubs and wires, attacked the protesters taking control of the protest site while arresting at least eight, including protest leaders and a lawyer. Journalists and lawyers were not allowed to enter the area and at least two journalists who were covering the clearing off were attacked by the military.

Days before his election, rampaging mobs had burnt down his house in a tony area of the capital, Colombo, indicating that popular perception sees him no different from Gotabaya Rajapakse who has fled the country. Well, Wickramasinghe is certainly not a very popular leader. In the last nation-wide poll, he was the lone winner of his party, United National Party (UNP).

FPCCI President Irfan Iqbal Shiekh said the rupee's free fall has reached a point where it has become a threat to national security as the letters of credit (LCs) for petroleum imports were being opened at a much higher rate than the interbank rate, Dawn reported. He feared that a serious law and order situation might emerge in the event of any fuel shortages for transportation and electricity generation.

Out of 225 parliamentarians, 223 voted in the ballot of which four were invalid votes, while two MPs abstained from voting. Soon after getting elected as President, Wickremesinghe invited all political parties to join hands with him and work together to overcome the economic crisis and bring in a new political change.

Wickremesinghe won 134 votes, Treasurer of Rajapaksa's party Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (Sri Lanka People's Alliance) Dullas Alahapperuma (82), Marxist party leader Anurua Kumara Dissanayake (3), two MPs abstained from voting while four votes were declared invalid by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.

On Tuesday, three names, including acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Treasurer of Rajapaksa's party Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (Sri Lanka People's Alliance) Dullas Alahapperuma and Marxist party leader Anurua Kumara Dissanayake, were nominated but main contest would be between Wickremesinghe and Alahapperuma as majority have opted to vote either of them.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that Sri Lanka is in a serious crisis but dismissed suggestions that India could have a similar crisis. He said that the big lessons of Sri Lanka is to be drawn on fiscal prudence and good governance, and "fortunately in this country, under the leadership of the PM we have both in very ample measures".

Leader of Samgai Jana Balawegaya (SJB) or United People's Power party and the Opposition Leader, Sajith Premadasa withdrew from the contest and proposed the name of Dullas Alahapperuma, former Media Minister of Rajapaksa government and also a member of the SLPP for the presidential post while it was seconded by SLPP chairman G. L. Peiris.