Sri Lanka's acting president declares state of emergency

COLOMBO -- Sri Lanka's acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared a nationwide state of emergency with effect from Monday.

A special gazette notice said Wickremesinghe declared the state of emergency in the interests of public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community.

Sri Lanka's parliament is scheduled to elect a new president on July 20 following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who flew to Singapore via the Maldives, amid a severe economic crisis in the South Asian country. Nominations for the presidential candidates will be called on Tuesday.