COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — An ally of the Rajapaksa political family was appointed Friday as Sri Lanka's prime minister, hours after security forces cleared the main protest site occupied for months by demonstrators angry at the Rajapaksas over the country's economic collapse.
New President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was elected by lawmakers and sworn into office earlier this week, appointed his school classmate Dinesh Gunawardena to succeed himself. Gunawardena is 73 and belongs to a prominent political family.
