Sri Lanka finance minister sacked, central bank governor calls it quits

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa dropped his brother as finance minister on Monday after disbanding the government and calling for a unity administration, as protests over the country's economic crisis focused on the role of the ruling family.

The debt-laden country, run by Rajapaksa and several members of his family since 2019, is struggling to pay for imports of fuel and other goods due to a scarcity of foreign exchange, leading to hours-long power cuts and a shortage of essentials.

Police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who gathered outside Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's private residence in Tangalle, in southern