Sri Lanka stir: Gotabaya finally quits, successor to be picked in a week| Top 10

Sri Lanka crisis: Parliamentary speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywarden said on Friday that he accepted Gotabaya's resignation as President.

Anti-government protests in crisis-hit Sri Lanka, which have been going on for months seem to have paused for now as Gotabaya Rajapaksa officially resigned from the President's post on Thursday. His resignation was accepted by parliamentary speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywarden on Friday. Celebrations broke out across the country on Thursday evening when Gotabaya, who was blamed for his economic mismanagement, decided to officially put in his resignation. A new president of Sri Lanka is likely to be elected within a week.

A protester drinks a cup of tea as she sits by a defaced poster carrying portraits of ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, center, and his brothers at the entrance to president's office in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Friday. (AP)

Here are the top updates on Sri Lanka crisis:

1. Parliamentary speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywarden said on Friday that he accepted Gotabaya's resignation as President and Parliament will convene to choose a new leader.

2. The new president, which will be elected within a week, will serve the remainder of Rajapaksa’s term, which ends in 2024. A report by the Associated Press said that the new leader could potentially appoint a new prime minister, who would then have to be approved by parliament.

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3. The top three likely contenders for the President's post are- current Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Leader of the main opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Sajith Premadasa and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) leader Dullas Alahapperuma. Ranil Wickremesinghe is the acting president for now.

4. One of the protesters in Sri Lanka, school teacher Arunanandan, said that the protesters were the real power in Sri Lanka. "We are so happy today that he resigned and we feel that when we, the people, come together, we can do everything," Arunanandan told news agency Reuters.

5. Protesters have retreated from government buildings in Sri Lanka, restoring a tenuous calm in the capital city of Colombo.

6. The economic crisis in Sri Lanka was blamed on the alleged mismanagement of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his cabinet prevailed with a severe shortage of food, fuel and other essentials.

7. His brother Mahinda Rajapaksa had quit in May as the prime minister.

8. The fuel shortage has intensified with citizens queuing at petrol pumps for days without any guarantee of a refill.

9. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled to the Maldives from Sri Lanka late Tuesday, is currently in Singapore with the country's foreign ministry saying that he was allowed entry on a private visit.

10. “He has not asked for asylum and neither has he been granted any asylum. Singapore generally does not grant requests for asylum,” the Singapore foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday as Rajapaksa arrived at the Changi Airport on a Saudi Airlines flight.

(With agency inputs)