Sri Lankan protests

Military troops were moving Thursday to secure Sri Lanka's parliament building against a takeover by protesters infuriated by the country's economic collapse and the embattled president's failure to resign a day after fleeing the country.

A state of emergency was declared in Sri Lanka hours before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was expected to resign after months of protests that culminated in storming his residence and that of the prime minister over the weekend.

Sri Lanka is in a political vacuum for a second day Monday with opposition leaders yet to agree on who should replace its roundly rejected leaders, whose residences are occupied by protesters, angry over the country's economic woes.

 As Sri Lanka continues to battle its worst financial crisis in seven decades, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has sought urgent credit support to import fuel to the island nation in a telephonic conversation with the Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (local time).

Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned Monday, his spokesman said, shortly after violent clashes between his supporters and anti-government protesters left 78 people wounded.

The 76-year-old sent his letter of resignation to his younger brother President Gotabaya Rajapaksa clearing the way for a "new unity government", spokesman Rohan Weliwita said.

protests,

Opposition lawmakers in Sri Lanka on Sunday marched in the capital, Colombo, protesting against the president's move to impose a curfew and state of emergency amid a worsening economic crisis.