July 20, Wednesday, 2022 (1:30 p.m.) Newsline

1.Sri Lanka’s lawmakers have chosen Ranil Wickremesinghe as their new president. The political veteran has been acting in the role since Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and resigned amid growing protests.
2.The Japanese government is finalizing arrangements to hold a state funeral for former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on September 27 at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. Abe was fatally shot in Nara City, western Japan, on July 8 while making a campaign speech for a candidate in the Upper House election.
3.A senior US official says Russia appears to be preparing to annex Ukrainian territory that it now has under its control. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House, John Kirby said, “Russia is laying the groundwork to annex Ukrainian territory that it controls in direct violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.”