Sri Lankan president resigns

COLOMBO, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Friday announced the official resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the President of Sri Lanka and said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be sworn in as an interim president.

In a media briefing, Yapa said he has received the resignation letter from the president, and from this point forth the president had legally resigned from his legal duties and responsibilities.

"Under these circumstances, the constitutional procedure of appointing a new president will now be activated. Until this constitutional procedure is over, according to the constitution, the prime minister will function in the capacity of the president overseeing functions, duties, and powers of the office of the president," the speaker said.