Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigns after fleeing country

Sri Lanka’s parliament speaker says president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has resigned effective on Thursday (Eranga Jayawardena/AP)

Sri Lanka’s parliament speaker says president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has resigned after fleeing the country.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana said on Friday that the parliament will convene on Saturday to start the process of electing a new president. He expects to compete the process within seven days.