Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa swore in a new Prime Minister on Thursday, in a bid to end the political turmoil and street violence wracking the South Asian nation.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, 73, a former prime minister and a veteran politician now with the opposition, was picked for the post.
The former Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa, elder brother of the president, resigned on Monday.
After weeks of mostly peaceful protests, Sri Lanka has been rocked this week by clashes between anti-government protesters and ruling party supporters, with residences and vehicles of lawmakers also attacked.
The political trouble comes amid a severe economic crisis and shortages of fuel, food and medicine. (dpa/NAN)
