Sri Lanka curfew lifted

Colombo: A nationwide curfew imposed on May 9 was fully lifted early yesterday to allow Sri Lankans to celebrate the Buddhist festival of Vesak, while new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe assembled a cabinet to resolve the island nation’s economic and political crisis.

The curfew was after deadly clashes that forced Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign as premier, leaving his brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, ruling president.

Four cabinet appointments, all from the Rajapaksas’ party, have failed to satisfy protesters, who want the family out of the nation’s politics. — Reuters