Colombo, Jul 20 (PTI) The Sri Lankan Parliament is all set to elect the successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a three-way presidential contest on Wednesday, following a high-voltage political drama which saw the former president fleeing the country and resigning after a popular uprising against his government for mismanaging the economy.

London: The UK broke an unwelcome record on Tuesday when Heathrow in south-west London recorded 40.2 degrees Celsius on the hottest day ever experienced in the country.

Cairo: A passenger bus slammed into a parked trailer truck on a highway in southern Egypt early on Tuesday, killing 23 people and injuring at least 30, authorities said.

London: Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak extended his lead in the race to replace Boris Johnson as the Conservative Party leader and British Prime Minister, as he added 14 more votes to his tally in the latest round of voting by Tory members of Parliament.

Colombo, Jul 18 (PTI) Sri Lanka's acting president Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday declared a state of emergency in the country with immediate effect, ahead of the July 20 election for the post of the president which fell vacant after Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation following the popular public uprising against him.

Palaiochori: Experts investigating the site of a cargo plane crash in northern Greece said Sunday they have found no evidence of dangerous substances but say there is still a lot of widespread ordnance, while Serbia's defense minister confirmed that all eight crew members had died in the crash.

"I served my motherland to the best of my ability and I will continue to do so in the future," former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said, as he defended himself in his resignation letter which was read out during a special session of Parliament on Saturday.

Colombo: Sri Lanka's Supreme Court on Friday barred former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa from leaving the country till July 28.