Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe takes over as acting president, declares emergency

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared a state of emergency in his role as the acting president. "The prime minister as acting president has declared a state of emergency (countrywide) and imposed a curfew in the western province," Wickremesinghe's media secretary, Dinouk Colombage, told news agency Reuters. The curfew comes into effect immediately.

Earlier in the day, Rajapaksa fled the country and arrived in Maldives where he was received by speaker Mohamed Nasheed. He had yielded to the protesters' demand of resignation from the post of president and agreed to resign today.Protests against the Rajapaksas have continued for months and intensified last weekend when thousands of protesters stormed the presidential palace and the prime minister's residence. The protesters have blamed the Rajapaksa family for the economic crisis in the country which has left the citizens struggling for fuel, food and medicines.