In this photograph provided by the Sri Lankan President's Office, Ranil Wickremesinghe takes oath as the interim President in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka's interim president Friday until Parliament elects a successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned after mass protests over the country's economic collapse forced him from office.
Sri Lanka's Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana speaks during a press conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Abeywardana says President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has resigned and Parliament will convene to choose a new leader after massive protests took over government buildings to force him out of office.
Army and police stand guard as protesters leave prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office building in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan protesters retreated from government buildings they seized and military troops reinforced security at the Parliament on Thursday, establishing a tenuous calm in a country in both economic meltdown and political limbo.
Army soldiers stand guard at prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office building in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Army soldiers hold their guns as they stand guard outside prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office building in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Empty chairs are seen on the lawn of prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office building in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Protesters pose for photographs as they leave prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office building in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Protesters take a photograph as they leave prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office building in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
A woman walks past protesters blocking the entrance to presidential secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
A stray dog is seen on the road leading to president's official residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Protesters retreated from government buildings Thursday in Sri Lanka, restoring a tenuous calm to the economically crippled country, and the embattled president at last emailed the resignation that demonstrators have sought for months.
