Sri Lankan ex-president who fled homeland arrives in Bangkok

BANGKOK (AP) — Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who last month fled anti-government protests in his country, has arrived in Thailand on a flight from Singapore, where he had been staying since mid-July. Officials in Thailand said they had been asked by the Sri Lankan government to allow him entry, and that he would be permitted to stay temporarily. Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Rajapaksa’s visit was allowed for humanitarian reasons because the former president was seeking asylum in a third country. He did not elaborate. Protesters in Sri Lanka blame mismanagement and corruption by the Rajapaksa family for the economic crisis there.