New Sri Lankan president sworn in after weeks of crisis

Sri Lanka's new president Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in Thursday following mass protests that saw his predecessor flee the country.
The swearing-in of Wickremesinghe, 73, came a day after he was elected to the post in a secret vote held by lawmakers. He was backed by the ruling Sri Lanka's People's Party.
Heavy security was deployed around the parliamentary complex during the ceremony in front of Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, but there were no attempts to protest in the area.
Wickremesinghe is one of the nation's most experienced politicians, coming from a family of lawmakers and having served as prime minister a total of six times. He is due to name a new prime minister.
Wickremesinghe has vowed to take action against protesters who turn violent, but said he would not interfere with peaceful demonstrations.
Former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to step down after tens of thousands of people took to the streets in protest. Rajapaksa fled the country on July 13 and later officially resigned.
Sri Lanka, an island state of some 22 million, is facing severe fuel, food and medicine shortages.
It is going through its most severe economic crisis in decades, which was caused by a combination of mismanagement and poor policy decisions and exacerbated by a loss of tourism income during the coronavirus pandemic.