Renil Wickremsinghe elected as the new president of Sri Lanka defeating

opposition's Alahapperuma

Renil Wickremsinghe, the acting President and former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, was elected
as the new President on Wednesday. He emerged victorious after defeating Dullas
Alahapperuma, a rebel leader belonging to the ruling SLPP (Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna) and
backed by the opposition.
Wickremsinghe got 134 votes and was primarily supported by the ruling SLPP. Alahapperuma,
on the other hand, won only 82 votes falling short of the position by a margin. The presidential
race was left with 3 candidates, Renil Wickremsinghe, Dullas Alahapperuma and Anura Kumara,
after opposition leader Sajitha Premadasa decided to withdraw and support Alahapperuma on the
eve of the elections.
In the house with a strength of 225 members, 113 votes were needed to secure the position of the
President. Out of the 225 members, 223 voted in the elections. Former Prime Minister Mahina
Rajapaksa also came in the Parliament to vote along with his son Namal Rajapaksa.
Renil Wickremsinghe will succeed Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country and resigned from
the post, in the midst of the worst political and economic crisis the country had seen. In a speech
after being elected, Wickremsinghe emphasised on managing the economy and working together
with the opposition.
 UK records it’s highest temperature ever as heatwave continues in Europe

Temperature in UK went over 40° Celsius for the first time on Tuesday as a massive heatwave
and wildfires continue to engulf numerous countries like Spain, Portugal, France and Greece.
According to the Met office, 40.2° Celsius was recorded in the afternoon by lunchtime at the
Heathrow airport.
The high temperatures in UK have led the authorities to declare a national emergency and issue
red alerts in different parts of the country. Flight Operations at the London airport have been
suspended and some rail lines have been closed as trains are put off track. The previous record
temperature of 39° Celsius set in Cambridge in 2019 was also broken earlier this week.
Record high temperatures have also been observed in 64 different regions in France as confirmed
by the national weather service. Meanwhile, in Portugal, Greece, Spain, wildfires continue to
destroy vast areas of land causing large scale evacuations. Spain has recorded more than 30
wildfires in the country for a week while firefighters continue to manage the fires at a large scale
in Portugal and Greece.
As per experts, the recent surge in temperature across the continent and the heatwave can be
attributed to climate change. According to a United Nations report, the global temperature is 1.2
degrees above the pre industrial levels which can result in unprecedented disasters like droughts,
floods, forest fires, heat waves similar to the one prevailing in Europe at the moment.