Sri Lanka’s prime minister tackles thorny finances, economy

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been sworn in as finance minister to try to address the nation’s devastating economic crisis. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa named Wickremesinghe to the position 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 endured shortages of food and fuel, power outages and other privations for months. The country can’t buy imported necessities or pay its debts. The economic crisis has caused a political crisis with protesters demanding Rajapaksa’s resignation.