Sri Lanka ruling party seeks assurances to let Gotabaya Rajapaksa back into country

New president has been approached to provide security for predecessor who fled country amid economic crisis

Sri Lanka's ruling party has asked the country's new president to provide security and other assistance for his predecessor, who fled to south-east Asia last month after protests flared amid a crippling economic crisis.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa flew to Singapore last month and quit as Sri Lanka's president, making way for veteran politician Ranil Wickremesinghe to win a vote in parliament and take the top job.