One person has died and 84 others injured after protests rocked the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo on Wednesday, hospital officials have said. The 26-year-old man died from breathing difficulties after police forces lobbied tear gas at protesters, reports BBC. Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed acting president after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country. But the decision triggered further protests demanding that he also resign. A military spokesperson told the BBC said that a soldier and police officer were amongst the injured, and alleged that an assault rifle with ammunition had been stolen by a protester and had not yet been recovered. Early on Thursday, Sri Lanka imposed a new curfew, which would be in place from 12:00 on Thursday till 05:00 on Friday, said the government in a statement. The protests come as Sri Lanka has been suffering from its worst economic crisis in decades. Many blame the Rajapaksa administration for the crisis and see Mr Wickremesinghe, who became prime minister in May, as part of the problem. Hospital officials at the Colombo National Hospital said the injuries came from protesters who were outside the prime minister's office as well as those who were outside parliament later in the evening. Police had fired tear gas at protesters who attempted to break down the gates of the prime minister's office in Colombo, before finally making their way in. They later made their way towards parliament. In a television address late on Wednesday, Mr Wickremesinghe had called on protesters to leave his occupied office and other state buildings and co-operate with authorities. Read: Sri Lanka waits in confusion, anger for president to resign He also told the military to do "whatever is necessary" to restore order. His statement came hours after Mr Rajapaksa had fled to the Maldives - days after his official residence was stormed. Mr Rajapaksa had pledged to resign by Wednesday, but is still yet to submit a formal letter of resignation. The leader, who has enjoyed immunity from prosecution as president, is believed to have wanted to flee abroad before stepping down to avoid the possibility of arrest by the new administration. The president's departure threatens a potential power vacuum in Sri Lanka, which needs a functioning government to help dig it out of financial ruin. Politicians from other parties have been talking about forming a new unity government but there is no sign they are near agreement yet. It's also not clear if the public will accept what they come up with. In a press statement on Wednesday, Mr Wickremesinghe's team said he had asked the speaker of parliament to nominate a new prime minister "who is acceptable to both the government and opposition". Earlier on Monday, the main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa told the BBC he would be tilting for the presidency. But he - like Mr Wickremesinghe - lacks public support. There is also deep public suspicion of politicians in general. The protest movement which has brought Sri Lanka to the brink of change also does not have an obvious contender for the country's leadership. Sri Lanka: The basics Sri Lanka is an island nation off southern India: It won independence from British rule in 1948. Three ethnic groups - Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim - make up 99% of the country's 22 million population. One family of brothers has dominated for years: Mahinda Rajapaksa became a hero among the majority Sinhalese in 2009 when his government defeated Tamil separatist rebels after years of bitter and bloody civil war. His brother Gotabaya, who was defence secretary at the time, is the current president but says he is standing down. Presidential powers: The president is the head of state, government and the military in Sri Lanka but does share a lot of executive responsibilities with the prime minister, who heads up the ruling party in parliament. Now an economic crisis has led to fury on the streets: Soaring inflation has meant some foods, medication and fuel are in short supply, there are rolling blackouts and ordinary people have taken to the streets in anger with many blaming the Rajapaksa family and their government for the situation.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled on a military jet on Wednesday after angry protesters seized his home and office, and appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president while he is overseas. Wickremesinghe quickly declared a nationwide state of emergency to counter swelling protests over the country's economic and political collapse. Rajapaksa had earlier pledged to resign Wednesday, and Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said the president assured him he would still do so. If he does, a new president is to be elected by Parliament on July 20. Wickremesinghe has also promised to resign, but not until a new government is formed. His appointment as acting president failed to calm thousands of protesters who stormed his office compound on Wednesday demanding he step down. Over the weekend, protesters wanting him to leave politics burned down his private residence. A six-time prime minister, Wickremesinghe’s latest term is arguably the most challenging. Appointed in May by Rajapaksa, he was brought in to help restore international credibility as the government negotiated an economic bailout package with the International Monetary Fund. Wickremesinghe, who is also finance minister, became the public face of the economic collapse, which has triggered severe shortages of food, fuel and medicines. He has delivered weekly addresses in Parliament as he kicked off difficult negotiations with financial institutions, lenders and allies to fill government coffers and give some relief to impatient citizens. Read:Sri Lankan PM takes over powers of president He raised taxes and pledged to overhaul a government that had increasingly concentrated power under the presidency, a model many say tipped the country into crisis. In his new job, he left little doubt about the grave future ahead. “The next couple of months will be the most difficult ones of our lives,” he told Sri Lankans in early June, a few weeks before saying in Parliament that the country had hit rock bottom. “Our economy has completely collapsed,” he said. Ultimately, observers say, he lacked both political heft and public support to get the job done. He is the only member of Parliament in his party after it suffered a humiliating defeat in a 2020 election. His reputation had already been sullied by his previous stint as prime minister, when he was in a difficult power-sharing arrangement with then-President Maithripala Sirisena. A communication breakdown between them was blamed for intelligence lapses that led to Easter Sunday suicide bombings of churches and hotels in 2019 that killed 290 people. With no respite for citizens waiting in line for fuel, food and medicine, Wickremesinghe became increasingly unpopular. Many protesters say his appointment simply put off pressure on Rajapaksa to resign. But analysts are doubtful whether a new leader can do much more, instead fearing that political uncertainty will only intensify the crisis.

Sri Lanka's Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said on Wednesday that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to perform and discharge the powers and duties of the president. Read: India denies helping Prez Gotabaya flee Sri Lanka Rajapaksa has appointed Wickremesinghe in accordance with the constitution, as Rajapaksa was away from the country, the speaker said in a statement.

Sri Lanka’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund are more complex and difficult than in the past because it is a bankrupt nation, the country’s prime minister said Tuesday. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told lawmakers that recent discussions with a visiting IMF mission were fruitful but not as straightforward as in the past. “Our country has held talks with the IMF on many occasions before. But this time the situation is different from all those previous occasions. In the past, we have held discussions as a developing country," Wickremesinghe said. Read: With no fuel and no cash, Sri Lanka keeps schools closed “But now the situation is different. We are now participating in the negotiations as a bankrupt country. Therefore, we have to face a more difficult and complicated situation,” he said in explaining a roadmap for recovery from Sri Lanka's worst economic crisis in memory. The crisis has resulted in acute shortages of essentials, food, fuel, cooking gas and medicines forcing people to stay in long lines to buy the limited supplies. The government has shut schools and asked employees other than those in essential services to work from home. Wickremesinghe said earlier that a preliminary agreement has been submitted to the IMF's board of directors for approval. “But due to the state of bankruptcy our country is in, we have to submit a plan on our debt sustainability to them separately. Only when they are satisfied with that plan can we reach an agreement at the staff level. This is not a straight-forward process,” said Wickremesinghe. He said Sri Lanka's financial legal advisors are working on a debt sustainability report to be submitted in August. Discussions are underway with India, Japan and China to form an aid consortium once a staff-level agreement with the IMF is reached, Wickremesinghe said. Sri Lanka suspended repayment on foreign debts worth about $7 billion that were due this year because its foreign exchange levels fell to record lows. The country's total foreign debt is $51 billion, $28 billion of which must be repaid by 2027, an average repayment of about $5 billion a year. Read: Gas lines and scuffles: Sri Lanka faces humanitarian crisis Frustrated people have been holding street protests for months and often scuffle among themselves and with police at fuel stations. Wickremesinghe said the Central Bank is forecasting an economic contraction of 4% to 5% this year. The IMF estimates Sri Lanka's economy will shrink 6% to 7%. Sri Lanka's economy has been gutted by the pandemic, which compounded longstanding problems of economic mismanagement. It's GDP fell to $76.2 billion in 2021, down from $94.4 billion in 2018 and won't recover to the level it was at in 2018 until 2026, Wickremesinghe said. He said one government target was to achieve minus 1% growth by the end of next year.

Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been sworn in as finance minister as this Indian Ocean island nation confronts its worst economic crisis in memory. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa named Wickremesinghe minister of Finance, Economic Stability and National Policies in an apparent bid to regain Sri Lanka’s credibility as the government negotiates a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund. Sri Lankans have been enduring shortages of food and fuel, power outages and other privations. The country lacks the financial wherewithal to buy imported necessities and pay its debts, and the economic crisis has fueled political turmoil, with protesters demanding Rajapaksa’s resignation. Wickremesinghe’s appointment followed a government announcement that Sri Lanka was hiring firms to restructure its $51 billion external debt. Lazard of France will provide financial advice and Clifford Chance LLP will assist with legal help in restructuring Sri Lanka’s debts to international creditors. A five-time former prime minister, Wickremesinghe was appointed to the post two weeks ago after his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa — who is the president’s elder brother — resigned following violent attacks by his supporters on peaceful anti-government protesters. Also read: Wickremesinghe to be appointed Sri Lankan PM: Party official Sri Lankans for months have been forced to stand in long lines to buy scarce essentials, with many returning home empty-handed. There is a severe shortage of many goods, from food, cooking gas, medicine and fuel to toilet paper and matchsticks. The economy has suffered under the pandemic, which has kept tourists away, and surging costs for most imports. Nearly bankrupt, the country has suspended repayments of $7 billion in foreign loans due this year. The IMF has said any short or long-term assistance will hinge on talks with creditors on restructuring loans. Sri Lanka must repay about $25 billion in foreign loans by 2026. The finance ministry said earlier this month that the country’s usable foreign reserves had plummeted to $25 million. Wickremesinghe, 73, has been in Parliament for 45 years. His political party split in 2020 amid a leadership crisis and its most senior members left to form a new party, which is currently the country’s main opposition. He said last week that petrol stocks had dwindled to a single day, but shipments of gasoline paid for by an Indian credit line started arriving over the weekend. Also read: Sri Lanka leader vows to shed powers, appoint prime minister Protesters have been occupying the entrance to the president’s office for more than 40 days demanding Rajapaksa’s resignation. Attacks on peaceful protesters by government supporters triggered countrywide riots in which nine people died including a lawmaker and 200 were hurt. Homes and properties of government ministers and their supporters were burned down. The violence has nearly dismantled the Rajapaksa dynasty after Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as prime minister. Apart from being tasked with reviving the economy, Wickremesinghe is working on a constitutional amendment to dilute presidential powers and better empower the Parliament.