Sri Lanka’s new leader appoints the first female prime minister in 24 years

Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has sworn in an opposition lawmaker as his prime minister, making her the country’s first woman to head the government in 24 years. Harini Amarasuriya, 54, a university lecturer and activist, comes from a similar background as Dissanayake and both are members of the Marxist-leaning National People’s Power coalition. His victory in Saturday’s election over the former president and an opposition leader came as Sri Lankans rejected the old political guard whom they blamed for pushing the country into an unprecedented economic crisis.