First protest death boosts calls to oust Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa

Sri Lanka's economic crisis -- the worst since it gained independence more than 70 years ago -- has brought angry citizens to the streets demanding the ouster of the Rajapaksa family

The first fatality after weeks of protests in Sri Lanka over food and fuel shortages intensified calls for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign, with a key opposition leader saying Rajapaksa was “responsible for every death.”

Officers fired live rounds Tuesday night in the central Rambukkana area after tear gas failed to dispel a group of protesters who had blocked a train track and tried to set fire to a diesel truck, the police media unit in capital Colombo said by phone. One person was killed in the clash, according to Agence France-Presse and several local media outlets.

Those injured, including police officers, were